About Actionstep Builder

In this article:

• How Does This Work? 
• A Few Things to Note About Builder 
• Assembling Individual Templates vs. Template Sets 
• What Are the Different Builder Work Areas? 
• Generating Builder Documents 
• What Does It All Mean? 

Every firm has documents they regularly generate for their different clients. For example, if your firm specializes in estate planning, you most likely have a library of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, etc. that you customize for your clients.  

Using Actionstep Builder, you can create templates from these documents. This means that rather than manually drafting a new document or searching an already-completed document for the last client's information and then replacing it with the new client's details, you can use Builder to replace custom information with variable fields (or placeholders). When you need to create a document for a client, these variable fields can be replaced with data from Actionstep, and document text is updated accordingly. Builder also makes it easy to identify optional text that should (or should not) be included in the final document, based on your specific client.

How Does This Work? 

Builder works hand-in-hand with Actionstep. Merge fields, custom data, and data collections you've set up in Actionstep are made available in Builder so that you can use them to create your Builder template. Once automation is complete, you can use the template to generate a document for a client or matter. When you do this, the information Actionstep has stored for these variables is automatically shown in the interview and merged into the completed document.  

To learn more, see:

• Creating a New Builder Template
• Editing a Builder Template File
• Automating a Builder Template
• Getting to Know Builder Variable Types
• Creating Builder Variables
• Using If and List Instructions

A Few Things to Note About Builder 

Builder uses a catalog model, which is a specific group of templates and variables (or merge fields) that correlate with your matter types in Actionstep. For example, an Estate Planning catalog would include documents like a will, trust, living will, and power of attorney document. It also includes all the variables and formulas that are used to create these documents.  

When these different data elements from Actionstep are made available to Builder, their names are changed slightly to make it easier to identify the elements you want to work with. For example, the Personal Injury matter type is created as as:mt_Personal_Injury, while a data collection called FranchiseAgreements is called as:dc_FranchiseAgreements in Builder.  To learn more, see Understanding How Actionstep Data is Used in Builder. 

There is some additional terminology you'll need to learn as you're using Builder. The Builder Glossary can help.  

Assembling Individual Templates vs. Template Sets 

One of the benefits of Builder is the ability to associate multiple templates with each other in what's called an app. When building your templates for a specific matter type (in Builder, these are called catalogs), you can add each template either to its own app or to a shared app. Then, when you're ready to create documents for your client or matter, you choose which app you want to use and any questions required by the templates in the app are asked and individual documents are generated.

To learn more, see:

• Creating Builder 'Apps' to Use When Generating Documents
• Associating Builder Templates with a Matter Type (Admin)
• Generating a Completed Actionstep Builder Document

What Are the Different Builder Work Areas? 

There are two key work areas in Builder: the Online Workspace and the Word Designer.  

Online Workspace 

The Online Workspace provides a central location for managing the different "parts" of your template automation. Using the Online Workspace, you can review/edit the Actionstep elements associated with your matter types (which are called catalogs in Builder) as well as create any additional variables you might need. You can also use the Online Workspace to test your automated DOCX templates before associating the final versions with your matter types in Actionstep.  

See Getting to Know Builder's Online Workspace for a high-level view of the Online Workspace. 

Word Designer  

The Word Designer is a Microsoft Word add-in that gives you access to your Builder variables so you can insert them directly into your template file.  

See Setting Up Actionstep's Builder (Admin) for help installing this add-in and Getting to Know the Word Designer for Builder for help learning about its different options.  

Generating Builder Documents 

Once you've automated your template, you can upload it to its associated matter type in Actionstep. Then, when you or your staff need to create a document for a client, it can be generated from the matter itself. Newly created documents are then saved to the Documents page of the matter and are accessible from the Matter View page.   

What Does It All Mean? 

Actionstep Builder helps you significantly reduce time spent manually updating documents using search and replace or manual drafting. It also reduces errors and helps your firm produce more documents with less staff effort. Automating your templates reduces the potential for errors and makes sure your completed documents are correct every time you create a new one for your clients.