Contents

updated December 2008
What is SDA
How is SDA simple ?
Target Audience
File format used by SDA
How do I control formatting ?
What does Insert/Overwrite do ?
Size Limit of variable information ?
Tips and tricks
About Pagebreaks
Where to get Precedents/Template files
Calculations in documents/ Use of embedded spreadsheets
What SDA won't do for you.
Credits
Bugs
Contacting the author
Disclaimer
History


<So what is SDA>

 (S)imple (D)ocument (A)ssembly is a moderately successful attempt to provide
the legal profession and others having the need to fill in forms with a simple strategy
 to automate the insertion of iinformation into precedents (templates) . It is like a mailmerge
but differs from it in that there is one set of information containing typically many times morer items than would appear in a mail merge

For the technically minded it is like a reporting tool but it reports on only one set of data.
For the even more technically minded it inserts all information into the template in one pass through the template file. This makes it rather fast even on a slower machine.
.
Altthough most operations including margins, text and font enhancements , print preview are available within this programme its great strength lies in its use of a file format interchangeable with practically any Windows word processing programme. Files can be exchanged either by saving and loading as Rich Text Format (RTF) or - in most cases- simply by cutting and pasting through the Windows Clipboard.

It must be stressed that, whilst the program(me) has many of the attributes of a word processor it is not intended as such but as a specific tool for easy creation o documents.


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<How is SDA simple>

 If you look at any of the few sample precedents/templates provided with the program(me)
you will see them liberally scattered with the symbol "@" followed by one two or more
digits.

These are the only form of place markers used by the program(me) and have been chosen
for the very good reason that they don't take up much room. Thus the general layout of
your precedent/template is not cluttered with hard to understand symbols and you retain
the ability to see how your document will look .

the following image shows an example of this and of the ability- if an information file has been loaded- to reference the type of information required by the placemarker.<


Likewise if you look at the sample information files - those with an "INF" extension - you will see pairs of lines with the top line of a pair describing the information which needs to go on the following line (e.g. PURCHASER'S SURNAME IN CAPITALS ). That line always commences with a number and the numbers are sequential.

Two example follows:- Firstly as an INF file needs to be for merging and secondly showing carriage returns invoked by pressing the button with "¶" on the top menu. This is handy for troubleshooting a merge which is not working.






And here is the result of merging those two files show above:-



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Target Audience

Lawyers, wherever you are and particularly those with an interest in working
smarter rather than harder.

Anybody whose job involves preparation of bespoke documents.
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<File formats used by SDA>

 The precedent/template files use Rich Text Format or RTF files. RTF is a file format
recognised by just about every Windows Word Processing programme and is a sort
of lowest common denominator whereby they can exchange formatted files with one
another.

These templates can contain not only text and pictures but also embedded objects
such as spreadsheet tables which can be viewed and printed as part of your document.
This is of use to lawyers occasionally and to other people for a lot of the time.

The information files , on the other hand , are but don't have to be RTF because all they
are allowed to contain is plain text .


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<How Do I control formatting ?>

 In the template file you use the program(me) or your word processor - remembering always to save in rich text format - you select the marker and give it whatever font size,
style, colour you wish. Those font attributes will be applied to the finished product
as if you had gone through it and altered them laboriously by hand.

 TIP.Be careful if you are highlighting a marker to give it bold, underline , or text size,
font or colour attributes to extend the text selection across the whole of the marker.
e.g. you wish to make marker "@233" bold, underlined, italic, size 23 and red. If your
selection does not cover the whole of the marker - let us say it covered only the "@23"
then your document after the merge would contain the information for item 23 and not 233.
This is because the RTF (Rich Text format ) file stores the formatting information before
and after the text to be formatted. In this case the programme would find the "@23" but
not the following "3" as its place would have been taken by invisible formatting codes.

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<What does "Insert/Overwrite" do ?>

 It controls the way information is inserted into the final document.

On many occasions it is necessary to have three or four items inserted just where
you want them on a single line. This process used be the bane of many a Word Perfect
operator and led to the development of speedmerge, the author's DOS predecessor of
this programme.

If Insert/Overwrite is toggled on then inserted information will appear pretty well
exactly where you have placed the markers in the template file. In such cases
you would not want to play around too much with different font sizes on one line for
example or the result . Obviously the toggle needs be applied before you do the
merge but the merge can be repeated without too much loss of time <g>.

 TIP. On template forms where you have a place marker at the end of a line and you
expect it to work in overwrite mode make sure that your actual template file contains
sufficient spaces after the marker to contain any information likely to be inserted
at that point.


TIP 2. A user has kindly brought to the author's attention that variables can be placed inside tables. This programme cannot create tables but your word processor can and , in appropriate cases, this provides an easy alternative to the laborious creation of a form template.

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Variable length limits

 There is no effective real world limit to the length of a variable (a line of text in the INF file ) .but
I suspect that 4096 would really be a maximum line length. It goes without saying though that the variable cannot contain a carriage return character.

There may be a limit to the number of lines but this has yet to be demonstrated.

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<Tips and Tricks>

 You can extend the length of a line in the variables (INF ) file such that it would span
many lines if there were no carriage return> Although this looks messy it is very
effective and there is in effect no limit on the length of a variable unless you are working
with a form where exact placement of variables (See Insert?Overwrite) is required.

It is easy to forget that the mouse may be used with the ruler appearing at the top of the windows page for the purpose of setting margins etc for a text selection.

In no circumstances should a placemark "@" folowed by number(s) appear in the
INF file.. You would then face the prospect of the machine hanging and losing
your precious work


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< What about page breaks>

 Here you had - and perhaps still have - theAchilles Heel of the programme.

Until version 1 It was beyond the scope of the programme to insert a proper page break. What that really
means is that the author didn't know how to achieve it.and that what has now been achieved is not all that flash.What is inserted is an invisible pagebreak which works (in the Print Preview at least) . It is not recognized by Wordpad and I don'e know about its effect in other word processors. Therefore please use it with caution The earlier workaround of placing ten blank lines into your output is retained.

This invisible pagebreak is a poor substitute for a WYSIWYG pagebreak , particularly when you can adapt just about anything else- margins etc - to your requirements. but he has it on the best of authority that the shortcoming is in the Windows Application Programming Interface and likely to remain there . After all the people who own Windows (all versions) also own a fairly large and expensive word processor known as Microsoft Word and they need you to buy it. We should all give thanks, though, that there is so much functionality built into Windows itself and it is that functionality that largely makes programmes such as this possible.

In their wisdom the same people delivered with windows 98 and up (and indeed with Internet Explorers 5, so I undestand, an "improved" (it really is ) version of the richedit Dynamic Link Library which rendered earlier versions of this programme unusable on those systems. This version addresses that problem and I hope it will be around for a couple of months before it is changed again. One of the nice things included in this version is a multi-level undo capability.

.

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Where do I get Precedents ?

Not from the author if you please


The best way is to start with copies of some expensive precedents which you may have
already purchased or with those which have been developed within your own office.

Step 1
 Convert the precedent document to rich text format. Just about all Windows word processing
programmes can do that - certainly Word Perfect, Open Office and Microsoft Word.

Step 2.
 (a) Load the RTF file either into your word processor or into the SDA programme.
(b) Open another window for the information file.
(c) Go through your precedent, noting where the variable information is going to go.
(d) In your precedent document type a marker (say "@1"
(e) switch windows and type the following:-
"1. Customer's SURNAME in capitals (It may well be something entirely different )
"
Note that the second line has nothing in it. But it does. It has a carriage return
 (f) switch back to your precedent and do a global search and replace for the characters
which were there before you entered the "@1". Replace all of them with "@1"
If you want them to appear in bold then make that a "@1"
 (g) repeat steps (c) to (f) this time using "@2"

Step 3
 Save your precedent as a RTF (Rich Text Format ) file but with the extension ".TEM"
instead of RTF.
Save your information file in the same way but with the extension ",INF"

TIP. Because both of these files are in effect precedents it is a wise move to
 change the attributes of each file to read only so that they cannot be
inadvertently overwritten. Being a bit of a Luddite I would do this by opening
a DOS window in the particular directory and entering the command :-
"Attrib *.tem +r " followed by the return key but there may be a more complex
way of doing that in Windows .

 ANOTHER TIP. When doing a global search and replace in your precedent
set your programme to prompt for replace or you may see some unintended
replacements. The intelligence to not do that sort of thing is what makes this
programme so special.
 YET ANOTHER TIP. If you are editing your precedent and information files in the
SDA programme you can switch from one view to the other with ctrl W
Also, as of version .92 Beta clicking on the mouse over a place&enspmarker ("@") symbol
in the Template File will show the appropriate heading from the Information file.. In Version .93 Beta , and thanks to the author of the Xbaloon component this information appears as hints which is at least more pleasing to the eye

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<Calculations in Document>

 If these are complex then the best way to approach them is place the relevant text
and figures in a spreadsheet, Lotus or Excel spring to mind.

This can be accomplished by placing the insertion point where required and clicking
the "OLE" button on the top tool&enspbar. A window will open inviting you to open anything from a
spreadsheet to a real&enspaudio application. Select the appropriate application, enter or edit your
figures, inserting totals and formulae where appropriate , save it and close the application.
You will be invited to insert (update) your document . Answer "YES".

If it is Lotus, it will appear in your document without grid lines. If you prefer them then
do the calculations in Excel.

 Another way in ver 1.4 of the programme is to enter your formula on a line of the .INF file. Thanks to Antonie Baar's z-Parser unit it will be automatically calculated and the result inserted into the merged template file.
 Yet Another way to achieve the same result is to utilise the calculation facility in your Windows word processor. Not all windows word processors consume hectares of disk space and take hours to load. One such , which I unhesitatingly recomend is Polyedit from www.polyedit.com. It is outstanding value shareware with a huge proportion of the facilities found in the larger offerings.

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<What SDA won't do>

 So far as the author is aware its most glaring shortcomings are the failure to SHOW page breaks inserted by the user and its inability to format text in columns. Both of these can be addressed by your using a mainstream word processor such as Wordperfect, MsWord or Lotus Wordpro. This programme is not intended to replace them but rather to SIMPLIFY the creation of complex documentation in a straightforward no nonsense manner.




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<Credits>

 This topic really deserves a book to itself but here I must mention especially the authors of Richprint, Richedit98 and Htmllite and Xbaloon components, all of which either made this programme possible or enhanced its useability . Please see the credits item under "Help" for a more complete list.

Also deepest thanks to The learned people (particularly Peter Below from Borland/Inprise ) who demonstrated how to manipulate a richedit control. Without their help this project would never have escaped from its DOS roots.

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<Bugs>

 Please report any to the author.

There are no limitations known to the author on the size of either information or
template files.

The programme will not operate under versions of Windows prior to 95. It has not
been tested with any version later than XP Professional..

As noted elsewhere users should take care when creating templates where exact placement is required that a place marker at the end of a line is followed by sufficient spaces before the carriage return to contain the length of the information to be inserted. Failure to heed this may cause the output to be other than what was expected.

Also please note that execution speed is much slower when Insert/overwite is true. This is because the program must check for possible unintended overwrites before each replacement.



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<Contacting the author>

 John Dent's Home Page The author can be contacted at here or if you prefer to type it in then at
mjohndent@netspace.net.au

A home page is at www.netspace.net.au/~senssoft


 Please don't ask for precedents as I gave up law for good in 1995 but
 Please do report any bugs or strange behaviour other than that already
documented in this help file.


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Disclaimer

This software is not warranted to do anything. Its use is entirely at your own risk


Or, in the words of one much wittier than I
"This works for me; if it doesn't work for you, Stiff!"

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History
10 Dec 2000 Initial release . ver .8 Beta
15 Dec 2000 Added search/replace and saveas
19 Dec 2000 Template window displays headings from information file when mouse is clicked over "@xx" symbol. Also please note that the help window has a File/menu item to view any HTML file
26 Apr 2001 Changed the above to hints and spell checked this help file.
31 Jul 2001 Ver .99 Major Upgrade to take account of Version 3 of the Windows Richedit2 Dynamic Link Library. Most Fuctionality is retained except the search and replave fropm the Edit Menu.
12 Aug 2001 Ver .99.1. Fixed embarrasing oversight of Edit Menu search
and replace not working as expected.
Nov 2001 and ongoing. Ver .99.3 (.99.2 not released. )
A Redo function has been added to the Edit Menu and also a Window /Switch to the Main Menu for easier navigation. We are now into the age of Windows XP and I will not be surprised to hear of difficulties .
Ver .99.4 Thanks to Brad Stowers there is now a most recently used files list for both Template and Information files .
Also fixed up links and mailto's not working within the help file.
Posible future plans include making such things as plurals and gender be implemented automatically and somehow tying the information file to the template : I feel, however that such steps would defeat the aim of this software which is to make a system of document assembly available to lawyers everywhere at no cost in the hope that its use might lead not only to more secure document preparation but, hopefully, to lower costs to the users of legal services.
Ver 1.0 Built 20/02/2002 Added 1. Tip of the day , courtesy of alaz@mailcity.com
2. An INVISIBLE page break with appropraie warnings.
3. The begiinings of a Credits page
4. Tidied up search/replace . Now works in both windows as intended.
Ver 11 Built 24/02/2002 Mainly to overcome the embarrasing gaffe of compiling a version of the programme which required the Delphi VCL40 (ver 4) runtime library.
Added a few more tips and credits
Ver 1.3 Built 22/07/2002 Thanks to Pieter Lieber of Austria for rich text to html conversion that seems to work without fuss.
Ver 1.35 Built 22/087/2002 not released Thanks due to Eric Grobler (and through him Peter Morris) for the blindingly fast repalceall code. I have also cleaned up the normal WP type search/replace routines as best I can.
Ver 1.4 Built 04/09/2002 Thanks due to Antonie Baars for the z_parser unit which enables calculation ofd mathematical formulae appearing in the INF. file
Ver 1.5 Built 22 Dec 2004 Thanks due to Poul Bak of Bak-o-Soft for the component allowing preview of files before opening. ( So ver handy when there are lots of files from which to choose ) in the INF. file
Ver 2007 Built 2nd Sept, 2007 Spent two years off and on trying to display a carriage return/ line end characte. This version displays it but its removal is not so simple. Go to replace in the edit menu and tell it to replace the "¶" character with nothing. You do this by holding down the alt key as you enter the digits 0182 . Sorry but that is it for the moment. Also added some images to the help file to make it a tiny bit easier to follow.
Ver 2007(1.61) Built 15th Sept, 2007 Fixed bug/feature of previous release. Carriage retuens now fidplay and hide correctly acuated by the appropriate button which is a toggle. Only two years and thirteen days !
Ver 2008(1.62) Built 22nd December, 2008 Minor release, but major work. Now displays a templete variable number which is in error.
Also substitued an icon speed button for print preview.

Also updated this help file.
And provided facility to check for updates from within the programme


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