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Your first template

This tutorial will take you through the steps needed to make and use your first DocuMold template.

A DocuMold template is a regular Microsoft Word document which contains commands that look like <# client_name #>. DocuMold can then create new documents from the template by copying the regular content and executing the commands.

1. Start a new Microsoft Word document

DocuMold templates are regular Microsoft Word documents (.docx). Open a new one and write some simple content into it. Here is an example:

This is a simple document. We will soon add variables to make it a useful template.

Note: You can also use an existing document as a starting point.

You could use this document as a template in DocuMold right away, but nothing special would happen; DocuMold would generate a copy and give it to you.

2. Add a variable

To make the template come to life, you need to add variables to it. Add this line to your document:

My favourite word is: <# favourite_word #>

We’ll discuss this more in detail in later pages, but the <# and #> mark the start and the end of a DocuMold command and because favourite_word starts with a lowercase letter, it’s a variable that will need a value. The underscore (_) allows writing multiple words in a variable’s name.

Your template is now ready.

3. Visualize the result in DocuMold

This takes a few quick steps:

  1. Save your template on your computer, include “template” in the name to help distinguish it. Make sure it’s in the Word 2007 or higher version (365 is also okay)
  2. Login on https://documold.com
  3. Click on “Prepare a template” in the menu on the left
  4. Click on “Pick a template” and find the file you just saved
  5. DocuMold should now display “Favourite word” with a box to write beside it
  6. Enter your favourite word in the box
  7. Click on “Visualize”

You should now see a PDF displayed in the page, but the <# favourite_word #> part should have been replaced by what you wrote in the textbox in DocuMold.

You can close the box by clicking on the “X” in the upper right.

4. (Optional) View an example in Microsoft Word

Viewing the PDF in the page as we did in the previous section is normally all that’s needed to make sure the template behaves as you want.

If you really want to see a Word document, you can click on “Generate scrambled example” to download an example of the resulting document. The result will have the right structure, but most words and numbers will be scrambled (letters and digits moved) but still recognizable. This gives you a good idea of the result in a Word document without using up your generated template allowance.

“Visualize” PDF doesn’t have the scrambling, is visually equivalent to the final Word document and easier to use. You should use it most of the time.

If you really want to see the final result in a Word document without the scrambling, then the “Using the template” section below show how.

5. Changing your template

Let’s add another variable to your word document. Keep the DocuMold page open and switch to the template’s Word.

Write this on another line:

My favourite color is: <# favourite_color #>

Now save the document (in the same location).

6. Visualize the new result

Go back to the DocuMold page. You should still see the same “Favourite word” with a box to write beside it that you had when you generated the previous example. To see the new changes, press on the “Refresh current template” button at the top.

When you do, you should see a second box appear for your “Favourite colour”.

You can fill both boxes up, press “Visualize”. Close the viewer with the “X” when ready.

Note that you can change the content of the boxes again and press “Visualize” again to see another example with the different values.

7. Using the template

Alright, let’s say the template is ready to use in your activities.

Note: the following will count against your generated template allowance (unlike the examples before). So avoid repeating this part of the tutorial too many times to avoid using every allowed template.

To generate a complete Word document from your template, from the start:

  1. Login on https://documold.com
  2. Click on “Use a template” (instead of “Prepare a template” as before) in the menu on the left.
  3. Click on “Pick a template” and find the template
  4. Fill the text boxes that are displayed
  5. Press “Generate document”
  6. Open the downloaded file

And there you have it, you can use this generated Word document as you would any other:

  • manual editing to personalize for your need
  • add comments and send the document for review
  • print it
  • etc.

Conclusion

That was a very simple template, but it shows the basic process of making a template:

  • Write a template
  • Give it to DocuMold
  • Fill a form to give values to variables
  • Visualize the result
  • Change the template as needed
  • Repeat
  • When done, use the template whenever you need it

When learning DocuMold, having to switch between Microsoft Word and your browser can be tedious. This is where the sandbox comes into play. The next tutorial introduces it: Using the sandbox.