Document Assembly -- Overview

     Document assembly is the process by which an operator creates an entire document from a variety of component parts and then personalizes it to meet the needs of the intended recipient (a client, a customer, etc.) Document assembly also encompasses working with complete documents (without the actual 'assembly' of individual clauses into a whole).

     Included within the scope of the term 'document assembly' are the means by which the individual clauses (or a whole document) are

• created
• neutered, and
• assembled.

     Pathagoras prides itself on making all of the above steps as simple, as intuitive and as automatic as possible. Everything can be done using plain text.

Assembly of Document

     With Pathagoras, you can assemble documents from a list of 'base clauses' displayed on an intuitive clause selection screen. All you need to do is point Pathagoras to the location of the base clauses. (Creation of the base clauses is discussed in the very next section.) The base clauses can be documents in a folder, or they can be contained in what Pathagoras calls a 'glossary.' (A glossary is simply a collection in a single document of clauses used for document assembly. Each clause is separated from the next by 'bookmarks'. More on bookmarks in other web pages on this site.)

     Upon command, Pathagoras will read the base clauses and display them on a selection form overlaying your work screen. Choose one, some or all of the clauses. You may either create a brand new document to be the target of your selections, or you may insert the selected clause into your current document.

     As powerful as the clause selection method described above is in allowing you a very quick way to build complete document, Pathagoras doesn't limit you to that alone. Pathagoras provides a wide variety of 'mouseless' operations and functions. Each allows you quick and easy access to your document assembly terms, either one at a time, all at a time, or any number in between. Please explore this website for more information.

Creating the base forms and variables

     At the 'front end' of the process, you must create and designate text as your base clauses. Pathagoras makes the job of creating base documents easy. Indeed, if you have a folder of clauses, you already have base documents.  You may wish to neuter the text in those documents (i.e., turn personal text into 'variables') so as to make to document assembly process more automatic, but that is very easy, too:

create a variable simply by enclosing the [variable term] within plain text [brackets]. 

     Documents and forms containing those plain text brackets can be quickly and automatically 'scanned' and personalized using the other tools in Pathagoras.

   Creating a base documents/forms:

     A form in Pathagoras is simply a Word document.  Any Word document will do. Properly neutered, the form is considered a 'base document'.

     A single document can be 'recalled' and the variables replaced by personal text, resulting in a client-ready document. But multiple documents likewise can be used to create client-ready documents. In such case, each document in a folder might constitute a single clause of a larger document, just a 'snippet' of a what you intend to be a larger form. Each 'snippet' in the folder is a base document. Let's assume you have 50 separate snippets (a paragraph, a group of paragraphs, a picture, anything). You want to be able to select 10 of those 50 clauses to create a complete document. This is true document assembly. If all of these short documents are stored in a single folder, Pathagoras can instantly display them all onto a 'Clause Selection Form' (the same one described in the first section of this page). From this form, you can select just the 'right' clauses and instantly build a complete document.

     Picture in your mind the same 'separate clauses' setup described in the preceding paragraph, but instead of each clause being a separate document, they are kept in a single document, separated by 'bookmarks.' A document of this type is called a 'glossary.'  Pathagoras can do with glossaries what it can do with folders. Indeed, the user really cannot tell the difference between a 'folder full of clauses' and a 'document full of clauses' when Pathagoras is in full operation.

     You will likely find that glossaries are actually the more flexible of the two 'clause storage devices,' but don't let us dissuade you from using the device with which you are most comfortable. (It is easy to switch from one to the other if you ever decide to convert.)

     See the following pages for more information on designing and creating the base forms:

     Whether folders or glossaries, in order to truly automate the process you will want to 'neuter' the base form or document so that variables can be quickly discerned by Pathagoras during the final stages process of document assembly. the next section discusses this 'neutering process.

   Creating variables in the base form ('neutering' the forms):

     All Pathagoras needs to 'see' a variable is to have that variable enclosed within brackets-- plain text brackets. So, [this is a variable] and [so] [are these words]. Of course, as they might appear in your document, the words within the brackets should be a bit more meaningful. 'Real' variables would be more like [Client's Name] and [Customer Address], but hopefully you get the idea about what Pathagoras means by 'plain text document assembly.'

     Multiple choice terms can be expressed easily (and still in plain text) simply by separating the choices by slashes. So, [Chocolate/French vanilla/Butter pecan] is a multiple choice variable. Pathagoras handles these during the final phase of the document assembly process (when the document is personalized to the client or customer) by presenting the choices by selection buttons or drop down lists (depending upon which method you choose to personalize the document).

Personalizing the assembled document--

      Instant Database, part1 and GotForms?

     The next sections assumes (1) created a set of base forms and added variables within them and (2) you have assembled an appropriate selection of those clauses into an ''almost complete' document using one of Pathagoras document assembly tools. You are now ready to personalize the document for the client or customer.

     In this 'last stage' of the document assembly process, Pathagoras continues to provide simple, plain-text oriented techniques. The Instant Database module can scan for each [bracketed variable] in the document and present all such terms in a list format for you to assign 'personal values' for the various variables. (See next section regarding storing the link between the variable with the personal data.)

     Or, if you simply want to complete the document one variable at a time, use Pathagoras' highly acclaimed GotForms? module. Like its sibling Instant Database, GotForms? will scan the document for [bracketed variables], but instead of displaying them all, it will highlight them one at a time.

Storing personal data for reuse--
      Instant Database, part 2

     There is no need to re-input personal data just because a new document is being created for the client or customer. Save and reuse that personal data that you associated with each variable in the above section. This is done via the Instant Database feature.

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