Arguably the most important element of contract house styles are the Word templates, or dotx-files. These determine the general look of your documents by defining which font(s) to use, their sizes, their formatting (e.g. bold, italics, underlined), line spacing, automatic numbering, indentation, and so on. Your Weagree Wizard will always include at least one default dotx-file, but you may customise it to suit your organisation’s needs and you may add additional dotx-files to cater for different types of documents. As these files are created and modified in Microsoft Word, not in Weagree, this tutorial will be limited to explaining the basics required to customise them for your contract automation. For exhaustive information on their use we recommend consulting Microsoft’s support page or other dedicated online resources.
Note: because customising Word templates can be tricky and may affect any number of contract automation templates in the Weagree Wizard, this tutorial – and in particular section B – is for advanced, senior users only. Before making any changes, be sure you are authorised to do so and the intended changes are approved by your organisation. Always make a backup of the original dotx-file. Also, please be aware that you may always reach out to Weagree; we will be happy to edit any dotx-file for you instead.
A. ORGANISING WORD TEMPLATES
On the Administrator page, open the Contract automation item and navigate to Contract house styles / Dotx-files and WYSIWYG view.
1. The following information is displayed:
a. File date. The date on which the Word template (dotx-file) was uploaded. Whenever you replace one with another version, its file date will be updated. This will not only help you keep track of changes, but also serve as an indication that some files might be out of date and should be replaced.
b. File name.
c. The default template. The dotx-file with a checkmark is the default for every new contract automation template. If multiple dotx-files have been uploaded, administrators can choose which of the alternatives to use for each contract automation template.
d. Count of templates this file is used in. This number shows in how many contract automation templates the dotx-file has been selected.
2. To add a new Word template (dotx-file):
a. Click Insert.
b. Select the file from your hard drive or network, or drag-and-drop it.
c. If you want to make this the default dotx-file, switch the Default template to the ON position (it will turn green).
d. Click Save.
3. To delete one or more dotx-files, tick their checkboxes and then click Delete.
Note: be very careful with this, as this may interfere with document generation. If you are certain that a particular dotx-file must be deleted, it is strongly recommended that you do so once no contract automation templates use it anymore (i.e. when the number in the column detailed under 1d above is 0).
4. To edit style names, mappings or WYSIWYG view settings:
a. Click the dotx-file’s pen icon.
b. Click on a Weagree Wizard style name to edit it. Click Save when you are done.
Note: Weagree Wizard styles are applied to building blocks and contract clauses. They are linked to styles in the dotx-file, and therefore determine the look of a building block or contract clause. This setting will change a style’s name as displayed in the Template Creation Tool’s styling dropdown menu, regardless of dotx-file. Any new name should therefore always be applicable, not just for any particular dotx-file.
c. Select a dotx style name to map it to a Weagree Wizard style name.
Note: this setting determines which style from the dotx-file will be used for a particular Weagree Wizard style. Generally, it is not necessary or advisable to change the default settings.
d. Configure how a style is rendered in the WYSIWYG view (underwater screen) of the questionnaire.
e. Click Save.
B. CUSTOMISING WORD TEMPLATES
Although of course you can create and upload entirely new dotx-files if you wish, it is recommended that you always use (one based on) the original default dotx-file for your customisation purposes instead. To do so, first go to the Administrator page, open the Contract automation item and navigate to Contract house styles / Dotx-files and WYSIWYG view.
1. (Right-)click on the dotx-file’s document icon to download it.
2. Find the dotx-file on your hard drive or network and open it in Microsoft Word.
Note: other word processing software might work as well, but is generally not advisable for compatibility reasons and will likely make it difficult if not impossible to follow the instructions below.
3. Open the View tab. Click on the Draft button on the Ribbon.
Note: if you do not see the View tab or Draft button, right-click anywhere on the Ribbon (i.e. the bar at the top with the tabs and buttons) and select Customize the Ribbon from the mouse menu. You can enable/add the tab/button from the subsequent pop-up menu. They are located under Main tab.
4. Double-click on WW_Body_text (or whichever other style is displayed in the left-hand panel).
The Style window will pop up. From here, you can edit both individual styles, lists (which affects how the various styles are numbered and indented) and tables. All the ones specific to Weagree start with the prefix WW_ (e.g. WW_Body_text, WW_List and WW_Table_AllBorders). This is discussed in the next three subsections.
CUSTOMISING INDIVIDUAL STYLES
The various individual styles can each be configured independently from each other, but differences should be minimised and functional in order to create a coherent house style. To help with this, all styles ultimately derive from WW_Default. For example, WW_Body_text is based on WW_Default, while in turn WW_1 is based on WW_Body_text. Any change in WW_Default (such as its font size) would then also be automatically applied to WW_Body_text and consequently also to WW_1. However, if WW_Body_text were to be adjusted, this would also affect WW_1, but not WW_Default. Modifications to WW_1 would affect neither of the other two. In this way you can easily make sweeping changes throughout a range of dependent styles, but still be able to tweak each according to your needs.
Note: for automatic numbering and indentations, please see the subsection on customising lists below.
1. Select a style to edit.
2. Click Modify.
3. Insofar as relevant, the Modify Style pop-up can be used to configure:
a. The style from which the selected style derives. Changes to the former style will automatically be applied to the latter.
b. Basic text formatting.
c. Advanced text formatting. This is generally not needed for numbering styles such as WW_1, but for non-numbering styles like WW_1_nn you may have to use the Paragraph subitem of Format to match the indentation of its numbering counterpart (see also the subsection on customising lists below).
4. Click OK once you are satisfied with your changes.
5. Click Close.
6. Save the document as a Word Template (not as a Word Document, which is the default setting).
Note: when selecting Word Template, Word may automatically change the target folder to Documents/Custom Office Templates.
CUSTOMISING LISTS
Lists are hierarchies of styles, which can be used to determine how they relate to each other in terms of numbering and indentation. Many important aspects of the dotx-file can be configured by editing a list. The lists in use by the Weagree Wizard start with the prefix WW_List.
1. Select a list to edit.
2. Click Modify.
3. Click Format and then select Numbering.
4. Click More to expand the Modify Multilevel list pop-up.
5. The pop-up will now display the following relevant elements and variables:
a. Level. The levels form a hierarchy of styles, where level 1 is followed by level 2, level 3, level 4, and so on. Schedules, annexes and parts form an overarching hierarchy, as they divide a document into different major sections. The levels displayed may vary per list. Select any level to modify it.
b. Link level to style. Word’s own hierarchy of levels is linked to specific styles. For example, Word level 5 will be linked by default to the Weagree style WW_2 (as a result of levels 1 through 3 being assigned to Weagree’s header styles for schedules, annexes and parts). Ordinarily this will never require changing.
c. Number format. This determines how numbers will be presented. Characters such as periods and parentheses may be used for formatting. If you want to change the overall style (e.g. “I, II, III” instead of “1, 2, 3”) but the Number style for this level dropdown menu is greyed out, deselect Legal style numbering. When using a format such as X.X, the first number should refer to the previous level’s number. So in case of WW_2 (linked to Word level 5), the appropriate selection for Include level number from would be level 4 (linked to Weagree style WW_1).
Note 1: each time you select a level from Include level number from, that level’s number will be inserted. You can do so repeatedly with different levels and use varying separators to create such formats as X.X-X(X).
Note 2: in some cases, you may want to change the Restart list after setting. This will determine at what level a list definitively ends. For example, let’s say the list for Word level 6 (WW_3) starts as (a) and is set to restart after level 5 (WW_2). If a level 6 paragraph ending at (e) is followed by a level 5 paragraph, the next level 6 paragraph in the document will start at (a) again. However, if level 6 is set to restart after level 4 (WW_1), then the next level 6 paragraph will continue numbering from the previous one, and will therefore seem to start at (f) instead.
d. Position. These settings determine alignment and indentations. Aligned at sets the distance from the page margin where the number will appear, while Text indent at sets the distance from the page margin where the text will start. For example, if the number is aligned left and at 0 cm, it will appear at the very start of a line just like basic text; while if the text is indented at 1 cm, it will start 1 cm to the right of the margin.
6. Click OK once you are satisfied with your changes.
7. Click OK in the Modify Style pop-up.
8. Click Close.
9. Save the document as a Word Template (not as a Word Document, which is the default setting).
Note: when selecting Word Template, Word may automatically change the target folder to Documents/Custom Office Templates.
CUSTOMISING TABLES
The Weagree Wizard’s Template Creation Tool supports four different table styles:
- with a header and borders on the outside and inside (so each cell in the table has a border, creating a grid pattern);
- with a header and borders on the outside;
- with a single outside border (forming a square or rectangle encompassing the table’s contents);
- without any borders.
Table customisation will (or should) be limited to font type, size and formatting, and borders. For obvious reasons, the exact size and shape of any given table must be specified via the Template Creation Tool.
1. Select a table to edit.
2. Click Modify.
3. Insofar as relevant, the Modify Style pop-up can be used to configure:
a. Basic text formatting. You may switch between different parts of the table with the Apply formatting to dropdown menu to apply settings to just those parts.
b. Border formatting. Again, using the Apply formatting to dropdown menu, it is possible to use different settings for different parts of the table. Note that the two dropdown menus for colour selection relate to border colour and background colour, respectively.
c. Advanced formatting. It is not necessary to access or change any of these additional settings, but you might find it convenient to modify your table design via Format/Border and Shading because of its different presentation and slightly greater versatility.
4. Click OK once you are satisfied with your changes.
5. Click Close.
6. Save the document as a Word Template (not as a Word Document, which is the default setting).
Note: when selecting Word Template, Word may automatically change the target folder to Documents/Custom Office Templates.
CUSTOMISING HEADERS AND FOOTERS
Usually, the contents of headers and footers will be determined via the contract house style settings in the Weagree Wizard (for further information, click here). After all, they may vary per template and might include variables. Modifying them by editing those settings is also generally more convenient than having to alter a Word template. Nevertheless, if all documents generated with a particular dotx-file should include certain static elements, you may consider adding those to the dotx-file instead. Company logos are commonly inserted this way.
Headers and footers in the dotx-file can be customised simply by typing in text or adding other elements the way you normally would in a Word document. Obviously, the Weagree styles can be used there as well. You may even choose to define different headers and footers for certain pages:
Again, after making any changes, save the document as a Word Template (not as a Word Document, which is the default setting).
