Create branch office specific letterheads and document containers

Learn how to create letterheads or document containers for each branch office in your firm.

Before you begin

1. Ensure you have added your branch office/s in Smokeball Settings.
2. Have a letterhead/document container ready to customise for your branch offices, or create one if it doesn't exist.

Creating a branch-specific document container

1. Navigate to Document Containers under Smokeball Settings.
2. Right-click on an existing document container from the list and select Customise for branch offices.
   
3. A new window will appear. Click on the Branch Offices drop-down menu and select one or more branches.

   • If a branch doesn't appear on this list, there may already be an existing document container customisation that has been created for that branch.

     

4. Choose to use a blank document, duplicate an original smart letterhead, or Browse your computer's hard drive to select a document for upload.
   • Select Blank if you wish to create the letterhead/document container from scratch (i.e. it will be completely different from the existing letterhead/document container)
   • Select Duplicate existing if you wish to keep most elements of the existing letterhead/document container.

   • Select Browse your computer to select a letterhead/document container you prepared earlier that you wish to use for this branch office.

     

5. Select Create. The letterhead/document container will open in Word Modify mode.
6. Make your changes and select Save & Close from the Smokeball Word ribbon once done.
   • Learn more about editing document containers.

7. Upon saving, the letterhead/document container you worked on will now appear in the Document Containers list in Smokeball Settings, with the relevant branch office listed alongside it.

   

    

Editing the branch on an existing document container

To make changes to an existing letterhead/document container:

1. Navigate to the Document Containers section of Smokeball Settings.

2. Right click on the letterhead and select Properties.

   

3. Click on the Branch drop down and select or deselect the relevant branches.

   

4. Select Save.

Note: Name, Type and Default Container Type fields are greyed out. These are inherited from the original letterhead and need to be changed there.

Generating branch-specific document containers

When generating a document, Smokeball checks if the matter has a branch listed in the Matter Info section.

• If a branch is assigned:

  • The system uses the firm-specific letterhead for that branch (if one exists).

  • If not, it uses the original firm default letterhead.

• If no branch is assigned:

  • The system uses the original firm default letterhead.

When you select Blank Letter or you right click on a Precedent and choose Open with container in the Precedent Library, you will see a list of all your letterheads. If there is a branch-specific letterhead, this will appear in place of the original letterhead. Branch letterheads are labelled with the branch name.

Choose the relevant letterhead and select Create.

Deleting a branch-specific document container

To delete a branch-specific letterhead/document container, right-click it from the Document Containers list in Smokeball Settings and select Delete.

To restore a deleted letterhead/document container, right-click anywhere on the Document Containers list and select Show Deleted Items.

Then, right-click on the deleted container and select Restore.