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   A variable can be any length.

   That said, the best variables are short. Short variables are easier for the user to see and process when encountered in a document.

   When a variable exceeds a certain length, it becomes unwieldy. There is no definitive size when this occurs, but Pathagoras suggests 40 characters as the 'max.'  ('60' is set as the default maximum variable length when you install Pathagoras.)

   Can a variable be 'too short'? Yes. When the replacement value is not clearly suggested by the variable, it is too short. The variable '[NOC]' (standing for, perhaps, Name of Client) is probably too short. Why? Few people (especially new staff just learning your systems) would know what that abbreviation means. ("[DOB]" may work because it somewhat has a universal acceptance as the abbreviation for Date of Birth.)

   Similarly, "[Name]" is probably too short for most situations. Who's name is being called for? On the other hand, "[Name of Client]" is perfect. So would be "[Name of Our Client]", "[Client Name]", "[ClientName]", and a myriad of other choice. "[Name of our client as indicated on the first line of the Client Intake Sheet]" is 'legal', but too long for 'best practice.'  (What about [Client's Name]? See the UNREGISTERED EVALUATION VERSION as to why quotation marks and apostrophes are a 'bad idea' within variable names.)

Q. I know that my clauses are all short, yet Pathagoras tells me otherwise. What's happening?

       Two probabilities:

•Most likely: You are missing the bracket to close the variable. Since Pathagoras cannot tell where the variable ends, it assumes that the 'rest of the document' is the variable. Pathagoras reports this back to you via the screen shown below.

•Also likely: You have some explanatory text (perhaps from a legacy source) that was enclosed within the same bracketing set you use for your variables. Pathagoras cannot distinguish between such explanatory text and a variable that you have created.

Q. So what options are available to me?

•If you encounter a 'variable is too long' error during a document assembly session, Pathagoras will pop up this screen as it is scanning the document for variables:

idblength1

  Study the available options. Make a selection. The selections will hold for the remainder of the Scanning session. (Exception: if you set a new max length, that will permanently reset the value.)

  Click Next>>.

•Regardless of the choices you make while in 'live' operation, you should rethink the underlying form and make changes as appropriate. If the source text is missing a closing bracket, go into the source document to add it.

•If the problem is 'explanatory text' from legacy sources, decide if you need to retain that text. If you do, then open the source text and change the enclosing characters to something other than the one used to identify variables.

•If the variable is 'correct' but just longer than the default maximum, either reduce the size of the variable in the source text to the 'max length' or increase the default maximum length for variables. You would accomplish the latter in the UNREGISTERED EVALUATION VERSION screen.

•You can tell Pathagoras to completely ignore variables that exceed the maximum length. This is also done in the Instant Database Tools screen.

 

This seems the proper place to discuss the differences between 'variables' and 'conditional text'.

What typically distinguishes one from the other is a combination of length and purpose.

A variable is typically a short placeholder for personal data unique to the person or company or entity for whom the particular letter, contract, etc., is being composed The values that are assigned (names, addresses, quantities, etc.) are typically 'universal' across all documents that will be created for that client or customer. Your intention is to save this information as a reusable data record so you don't have to type the information more than once. In addition to saving time, that assures consistency in spelling from document to document.

Conditional text is typically longer 'substantive' text that contributes to the body of a document. Even though long text may be of a personal or unique nature, its purpose is not universal replacements across many documents. Last Will and Testament language is for testamentary dispositions, not to fill in blanks for a Power of Attorney. 'Deed' language is for real estate transactions. But the proper spelling of [Name] is universal, at least for the particular client who has asked for a Will, a Deed, a contract of sale, and a Power of Attorney. While both kinds of information are saved, conditional text, along with the surrounding text, is saved in, and as, the document being created, and not reused across a range of document in the way that 'names', 'addresses and other data elements are.

Sometimes you can create a variable that is used to select conditional text. The lines of when to use one vs. the other can definitely become blurred (and that is the reason for this article).

For example "[No children/One child/___ children]" is a legal multiple choice variable." But consider the remainder of the document. Are you really just saving the choice of the number of children as a simple data element, or will you use the selection as a jumping off point for other text blocks further down? .

In that same vein, a block of text hundreds of words long that describe testamentary gifts made when there are no children vs. one child vs. two or more children is not 'variable' material. It is classically 'conditional text,' mainly because of its length and specific function in a document. Now consider that the selection of 'number of children' at the top should properly and automatically lead to the proper 'long' text at the bottom. With that in mind, you should be seeing both pieces of text as classic 'conditional text' material. You should rewrite the 'variable' suggested two paragraphs up as conditional text thusly:

    <<*Options*!number of cdn!No children/One child/___ children.>>

(The words within the exclamation marks represent a 'group name' used to tie one selection of the document with another section for the automatic processing described.) When you select the conditional (options) text at the top, the proper options text at the 'bottom' will automatically be selected.

So keep your variables short, sweet and personal. And when the selection of one set of words at the top naturally lead to the selection of another set of 'substantive' words, keep them of the same type (variable or conditional text) and you will be well satisfied with the result.