Here are a few examples of <<*Ask*>> prompts. (The first line is the Ask. The other lines are the <<*Options*>> or <<*Optional*>> text blocks against which the !group! value is applied.) You can copy any (or all) of the examples to your editing screen and see how the elements work together.

<<*AskOptions*!Customer!male/female/more than one*>>

Memo to JRT:

Send this package to <<*Options*!Customer!him/her/them>>.

<<*Options*!Customer!He is/She is/They are>> going to sign it and send it on to <<*Options*!Customer!his/her/their>> attorney.

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<<*AskOptional*!Children!Will there be young children attending?*>>

We are having a party. Date: [Date of Party]

Location: [Location of Party]

<<*Optional*!Children!*Your children are invited.>>

Please bring a covered dish and your favorite beverages.

<<*Optional*!Children!*Make sure that your children bring their favorite toys.>>

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   Here is an example that illustrates the point about a 'less than obvious answer' *Options* block. If the *Ask* prompt were not present, an end user who is unfamiliar with the periodic table likely would not be able to process the document with confidence:

<<*AskOptions*!Metal!Gold/Iron/Carbon/Mercury*>>

Here is a great experiment, boys and girls, that you can try at home:

Pour 10 ounces of finely ground <<*Options*!Metal!*Au/Fe/C/Hg>> into a bowl.

Add a 16 ounces of H20 and 3 jelly beans. Mix well. Heat in oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Let cool 22 minutes.

Out will come a shiny new <<*Options*!Metal!*Ring/Car/Diamond/Thermometer>>!

(My lawyer made me do this: Please for goodness sake, do not try this at home (or anywhere else)!! It won't work. Besides, 400 degrees is really hot!)

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  This example illustrates cascading logic in an Estate Planning setting. It captures

•whether there are children in the mix and if so,

❖  how many children there are

❖  If just 1, whether the child is a 'son' or 'daughter' ("To my child" in a Will sounds so 'stiff,' whereas 'to my children' always sounds 'good'), and

❖  whether any child is still a minor (so that perhaps a Guardian can be appointed).

(Note: This is not the only approach, so don't hesitate to be creative and design an even more efficient cascade.":

<<*AskOptions(radio)*!HasChildren!Client has children/Client has no children*>>

<<*If*!HasChildren!="1",<<*AskRepeat*!NumChildren!Number of Children*>>,!NumChildren!="0(#)">>

<<*If*!NumChildren!="1",<<*AskOptions(radio)*!ChildGender!Son/Daughter>>,>>

<<*If*!NumChildren!>"0",<<*AskOptions(radio)*!AllAdults!All children adults/Minor child(ren)*>>,!AllAdults!="1(2)">>

<<*If*!NumChildren!>"0" and !AllAdults!="2",!Guardian!="True",!Guardian!="False">>

 

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  This example addresses what a manufacturing company might face in processing special orders. There are extra manufacturing charges and extra shipping charges associated with custom orders. Here the ~ (not equal) is illustrated.

<<*AskOptions(radio)*!Size!Small/Medium/Large/Custom*>>

<<*AskOptions(radio)*!Color!Red/Blue/Green/Custom*>>

<<*If*!Size!="Custom"AND !Color! = "Custom",<<*AskOptions*!ExtraCharge!$50/$60/$70*>>,>>

<<*If*!Size!="Custom"AND !Color! ~ "Custom",<<*AskOptions*!ExtraCharge!$100/$150/$200*>>,>>

<<*If*!Size!="Custom OR !Color! = "Custom",<<*AskOptions(radio)*!Shipping!$20/$30/$40>>,>>