Add an Ask

Learn how to create an Ask on a document to automate any questions you may wish to ask a user upon opening that specific document.

To add an Ask to a document:

1. Right-click on it in the Precedent Library and select Modify.

   

2. The document will open in Word. On the Smokeball Automation Toolbar located on the right-most panel of Word, select Show fields.

   

3. Click on the Ask tab and select Add.

   

4. The Add an Ask dialogue box will open. Give your Ask a Field Name - this is the name that will appear in your document when you select Show fields (as outlined in Step 2 above) in your precedent.

   

5. Create a Question for your Ask.

   

   Tips on creating a question
   You can use the following wording for ease of communication:

   1. "Enter" when entering a text or an amount.
   2. "Select" when selecting a date, true/false, choice or party selection.
6. Select the Answer type. In this example, we are selecting Text:

   

   Which Answer type should I choose?

   • Text
     Use this when the answer to be entered is a word or a line of text.

   • Number
     Use this when the answer to be entered will be a number e.g. percentage, amount.

   • Date
     This will provide a date picker to allow a date to be selected.

   • True/False
     This will provide two radio buttons to select either True or False. This answer type is handy to use in If/Then/Else statements when you have only two options and would like to return data in your document based on whether it is true or false.

   • Choice
     Use this when you would like a list of choices to select. You can either use this Ask Field to return the Choice selection directly in the document, or you can even use it to base your If/Then/Else in your document. If you select Choice, enter each choice in a separate line on the text box.

   • Party Selection
     Use this when you would like to be able to select a specific contact card of that type to apply to the fields in the document.

     • For example: You have a document where you have inserted fields for Client (singular) name, address, occupation (like a Will precedent), and you would like the option to generate this document to either Client 1 or Client 2 on your matter. In this instance, you would create a Party Selection Ask for Client.

     • Learn more about adding a Party Selection Ask in a Precedent.

7. Click Create and now you will see your Ask with its Field Name in your Ask list.

   

8. Place your cursor in the document where you would like your Ask to populate.
9. Double-click the Ask field from the Ask toolbar to add it to the document.

   

10. Select Show values.

    

11. Your Ask will now pop up so you can test it.

    

12. The Ask field in your document will now populate with the data you entered.

    

Good to Know

• If you would like to test your Ask again, or you have created an Ask based on any choices (True/False, Choices, Party Selection), select Run questions for this form located on the bottom of the Smokeball Automation Toolbar to run the questions again and test all variations of the Ask.

• You can also format an Ask Field when it is a Text, Number, Date or Choice.