The Path to Document Assembly |
You can create
your own clause libraries by storing the various clauses as discrete
Word
files in a folder dedicated to the document you want to assemble.
Service and Support Roy Lasris, the author of Pathagoras,
is a one-person tech support department
reachable via e-mail, phone or through a discussion group at
Pathagoras’
Web site. He is responsive and approachable. The online Users’ Manual
and
QuickStart Guide are helpful and straightforward. There are also
interactive
screen shots that are useful in learning to navigate Pathagoras.
The Dark Side At this time, use with third-party
personal information managers and
case management software as a data source is limited. There is no way
to
use Time Matters as a data source for Pathagoras. However, a data link
with
Time Matters is purportedly in the works. Check with Pathagoras if a
data
link with specific software is critical.
Like all software,
Pathagoras continues to evolve. In addition to the
data links, some attention to the user interface is in order. I thought
access
to some functions were not as intuitive as I would have liked. Also,
some
of the out-of-the-box default settings on the file management side of
things
made it too easy to save over a sample document. These are minor gripes
easily
addressed by the user.°
Updated 01/17/03 Feb/Mar '03 Issue © Law Office Computing Magazine www.lawofficecomputing.com (800) 394-2626 |
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I am not one of those people who love to hate Microsoft Word — I simply hate it. But, if you are a Word user, love it or not, you need to take a close look at Pathagoras. You can manage files, create clause libraries and assemble documents without leaving your word processor, using existing documents. Document Management Document management in Pathagoras is
comprised of PathSmart and SaveSmart.
Set-up requires knowledge on where and how to store data. Where do you
store
files you want to retrieve? Where do you want to save files and under
what
file structure? After you decide that, you need to look at the Demo
Profile,
follow the tutorial and get a feel of using Pathagoras as a file
manager.
PathSmart provides
links to directories or folders and organizes them
by “Profile.” Think of Profiles as groupings of file folders. You can
have
up to 12 designated paths for each Profile, and an unlimited number of
Profiles.
You simply tell PathSmart where on your hard drive, network or other
location
your files are located.
SaveSmart is the companion to PathSmart. When you create a document in
Word, you can save it using SaveSmart. To do so, click the SaveSmart
icon
on the toolbar, use the drop-down Profile list to select the proper
profile
in which to save the file, click the file path, enter a descriptive
file
name and click the “Save/Copy” button. This isn’t as cumbersome as it
sounds.
Document Assembly Pathagoras provides a fast, elegant
way to automate document assembly,
and throws in a number of bells and
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whistles. You can
build elaborate documents
without programming or wrestling with Boolean logic, all within Word.
The easiest method of document
assembly is to take a typical document, a
real estate lease, for example, and replace the tenant’s name with a
unique
variable name like “TENANTNAME,” the landlord’s name with “LANDLORD
NAME,”
and so forth. Then you need a data source. Pathagoras has what it calls
an
“Instant Database” that will satisfy most of your needs. You can call
up
the Instant Database from the “Pathagoras” drop-down box located on the
toolbar
(or by pressing “Alt + D”). In the Instant Database screen, fill out
the
blank form with the variable names you just created. Save that screen
as
a “Mask.”
To assemble
a rental agreement, open the sample document, then the Instant
Database, fill in the form and press the “Go” button. That is it. If
you
think you might want to reuse the data form you just completed, before
hitting
the “Go” button, click the “Personal Data” box in the upper right-hand
corner
of the Instant Database screen, hit “Save,” and name the
data set.
You also can
use an external database such as Microsoft Access as a data
source. This is useful if you are managing complex documents that have
more
than 30 variables or if the data field is longer than a single line.
You also can use clause libraries to create documents. To
evaluate this
feature I used the demo data included with Pathagoras to assemble a
will.
I assembled a sample will by clicking the “Doc Assembly” icon on the
toolbar
and selected a “Book” of clauses for wills from the drop-down list on
the
left side of the screen. Then I clicked the “Show Descriptions” circle
to
view clause descriptions and hit the “Go” button. After hitting the
“Go”
button, you are presented a file list with a circle beside each file
name.
Click the circles for the clauses you need, hit the “Go” button
and the will
is assembled. Go to the “Instant Database,” select the “Will Mask,”
fill
in the information, hit the “Go” button again and you are done.
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