I-Deal Docs Introduction

I-Deal Docs

document automation

for Microsoft Word

Introduction

I-Deal Docs is a powerful software tool to assist with automating document assembly in Microsoft Word. If you have a set of base documents into which you insert relevant information for each matter you do (e.g. names, addresses, dates, amounts), then I-Deal Docs will be of use. Law firms, accountancy firms, and insurance organisations are typical users of I-Deal Docs. Basically, anyone generating repetitive documents can use I-Deal Docs to streamline their document assembly process.

Using I-Deal Docs, you can transform any Word document or template into an automatic prompter. An overview of the process is:

	your admin staff "mark up" a base/original document using the I-Deal Docs authoring tool. They then save the document just like they would any other document or template. The authoring tool is extremely easy to use. There is no macro programming involved!
	your operators generate a document by launching one of the marked up masters - they simply use your normal method of starting a new document. The I-Deal Docs wizard will then prompt them for answers via a series of automatically generated dialogue windows. They move forward and backward through these dialogue windows, entering their answers. The responses they make can determine what subsequent questions they are asked. For example, if they don't enter details for a second borrower, then don't prompt for details for a third
	based upon the answers, I-Deal Docs will complete the assembly of the document. It will put the answers in the correct locations, and in the correct format, throughout the entire document. It can include or discard text based upon specific answers
	the assembled document is presented in Word.

The key benefits of I-Deal Docs are:

	there is no costly VBA macro programming involved
	it is extremely easy to use. The documents and templates are fully setup by your word processing staff, without involving your IT department
	it will drastically reduce the time it takes to produce a document. Documents can be assembled in literally a fraction of the time it takes if your operators are using "search and replace" or cloning one they did earlier. This leads to significant direct cost savings
	no more scrolling through a document looking for variable markers
	no more manual editing or removing of text that doesn't apply to a particular matter. Based upon the answers entered, I-Deal Docs can include or discard text
	it will reduce the chances for error because operators are not manually removing unwanted text
	it will produce more consistent and professional looking documents because operators are not cloning from one they did earlier, which may well be out of date now. Using I-Deal Docs, it is quicker and easier to start from the master and let it do the formatting and optional text inclusion or removal
	no more knowing how to enter something, for example, what format to use for a date. Set it up so that know matter how the operator enters it, it always gets inserted in a particular way
	gender references and verb tenses can change automatically based upon answers. No more "missed" manual changes
	frequently used text, graphics, Tables, etc. can be stored in a clause library and accessed very quickly - no more cut and paste. They can be inserted into any document, not just automated ones. The clause library is much more powerful than Word's AutoText facility
	the answers entered in one document can be used in other "follow-on" documents, with no re-keying. This significantly increases productivity and reduces errors
	professional staff can now do their own documents. They don't need to know how to drive Word, they just follow the wizard
	new colleagues can access the documented intellectual knowledge of experienced staff via one-click access to detailed instructional text about specific wizard questions
	automated generation of an answer sheet. This allows authors to quickly verify the data-entry without reading the whole document
	automated generation of dictation sheets for authors. They don't need to view or scroll the document to know what to dictate
	all functions are accessed from within Word, via an I-Deal Docs Toolbar.

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