Document 'dis-assembly is the process by which an existing document is deconstructed into its component parts. The individual pieces are saved as separate clauses ('building blocks') in a designated folder or glossary. These pieces form the clauses from which a wide variety of new documents can be assembled.

   Building documents from 'building blocks' (clauses) is one of the two basic approaches to 'document assembly.' The alternative method is 'template based' assembly. There, you start with a complete (actually, overbuilt) document and, by answering questions strategically placed within the document, you remove those portions of the template that are not needed for the project.

   Which approach you use is one of the more important choices you will make in setting up your system. Each has its advantages. Click here for a full discussion and comparison of clause-based ('building blocks') versus template based document assembly.    

   You probably already have many documents that are ideal for dis-assembly. The ones found in your 'office forms' folder certainly qualify. So do the ones found in treatises and form books to which you subscribe, or those that you received at Continuing Professional Education courses.

   Pathagoras provides several document dis-assembly methods ranging from 'manual' (simple highlight a section of text, copy and paste it into a new document and save that document into your book to highly automated (place simple markers such as "(*)" at the document 'break-up' points and press a button to disassemble to document into the predetermined sections.

   The 'easiest' and most basic (but still powerful) dis-assembly techniques are discussed in the following pages. All techniques for disassembling documents into building blocks are discussed and fully illustrated in the separate pamphlet called Document Disassembly (Creating Building Blocks from Whole Documents).