Using the Office 365 Add-in to Insert Actionstep Merge Fields in a Document

In this article:

• Installing the Add-In
• Adding Merge Fields to a Document
• Additional Tasks You Can Perform Using the Tool

Actionstep provides an Office 365 add-in that allows you to quickly insert Actionstep merge fields into your document templates. You can also apply basic formatting to these fields. 

Installing the Add-In

You can install the Office 365 add-in by accessing the Microsoft Add-Ins platform.

To do this:

1. Open a Word document. 
2. On the Home ribbon, click the Add-ins icon. The Add-ins pop-up window appears.
3. In the Search Add-ins box, type Actionstep. 
4. Click Add next to Actionstep for Word.
   An Actionstep tab and associated icon are added to your ribbon and a panel is opened on the right side of your Word window.
5. Click Log in and provide your Actionstep sign-in credentials to sign in. 

Adding Merge Fields to a Document

Once the template builder add-in is installed, you can begin creating your template. 

To do this:

1. View the Actionstep panel. (To do this, click the Actionstep tab and then click the Actionstep icon on the ribbon.) Then sign in, if needed.
   
2. Click the Select matter type drop-down list and choose the matter type you want to associate this template with.
3. Click in the Select Matter field and enter the matter ID or name for the matter associated with the document.
   
4. Click Start building. The panel is updated to show a few different options.
5. Click either the Add icon or the Insert Merge Fields button.
   
6. Click the first drop-down list in the panel and choose the type of data you want to insert. Your options include:
   • Data collections: Choose this option to merge custom data associated with the selected matter type. (See Creating a Data Collection for a Matter (Admin) to learn more.)
   • Matter details: Choose this option to merge data related to the matter itself, including the date the matter was created, matter ID or name, status, etc. 
   • Matter parties: Choose this option to merge participant data, like participant name, mailing address, etc. (See Creating Participant Types to learn more.)
   • General: Choose this option to merge non-matter-specific data like the current date or your company logo. 
7. Click the second drop-down list to choose the specific data type you want to merge. For example, if you select Matter parties as the first option, you can then choose the participant type (e.g., Client), followed by the specific participant type field (e.g., Client FirstName).
8. Once you identify the field you want to merge, click Insert to add the field to the cursor position in the document.
   NOTE:  Before inserting the field, you can click the edit icon to view additional options that control how the merge field text will be displayed. 
   For example, if you're inserting a date field, you can choose how the date will be formatted. You can also choose how the merge field should be treated if the field is left blank. 
   Which merge field options are available changes based on the type of merge field you're using. 

Additional Tasks You Can Perform Using the Tool

The Office 365 add-in includes a few other useful tools to help you create your document templates:

A. Click the Doc icon / drop-down list and choose to either Publish template or Download template. Then complete the fields that appear. If you publish the template, it will be added to the matter's Documents page.

B. Click the Add icon to create a new Contact, File Note, Task, or Time Entry. Then complete any fields that appear to associate it with the matter. 

C. Click the User icon to review your user name or Logout of the panel.

D. Click the Edit icon to review the matter type and matter associated with the template you are editing. You can use the options to change to a different matter/matter type as well. 

E. Click the Upload icon to publish the template. Then complete any fields that appear. When you publish the template, it will be added to the matter's Documents page.