Required Plan: This feature appears on all of our available plans! Click here to read more on the plans we offer.
Please watch this video or read below:
As long as you have the proper "custom fields" set up and the necessary information stored on PracticePanther, you can generate Microsoft Word documents with pre-filled information.
To learn how to set up custom fields, we recommend reviewing this article.
Follow these steps to create, upload and apply a Document Template:
1) Click "Automation" on the top, then click "Templates".
2) Scroll down to the section called "Template Fields". All contact and matter fields are located under their respective labels here. Click on the label to reveal their fields.
Every field on PracticePanther has a corresponding merge code. This includes every custom field you've created as well.
3) Highlight, right click and copy the merge code including the first and last "#".
Note: Merge codes are case sensitive and need to match our codes perfectly to work.
4) Paste this code in your letter or document as needed.
Note: Special paste the source code into Microsoft Word to "Keep the text only" (this way the larger font size and the gray color will adapt to your current color and font size).
Note: Do not add comments, track changes, or hyperlinks into your document. These can cause errors later on when applying your document templates to clients.
5) After you finish filling out your document, save it as a .docx in a new location so you do not overwrite your original document. A good idea is to name it the same name yet include the words "Template" so you know that this is the template version of your document.
6) Click "New Document Template" on the templates page back on PracticePanther.
7) Name your template, select the file to upload, and click "Save".
8) Open any contact or matter.
9) Click the green "New" button found on the top right of the contact or matter page.
10) Click "Apply Template".
11) Choose which template you'd like to use, then click "Download".
What happens now?
PracticePanther will download a brand new document to your computer, replacing our place holder merge codes with the actual information stored in those fields on PracticePanther.
Pro Tip:
Check out this helpful article on how to include information about related third party contacts within the software onto a document template.
How do I edit existing document templates?
1) Click "Automation", and then click "Templates".
2) Hover your mouse over the template you wish to edit, and then click "Download".
3) Open the document in Word and make any changes as needed and then save the document.
4) Back in PracticePanther, hover your mouse over the template you edited, and click "Delete".
5) Click "New Document Template" and upload the file. Then, click "Save".
What happens now?
You now have your saved and updated template in the software!