Have a letter, form, or other document in a matter that you'd like to reuse as a template? You can add it straight to your TemplateLab library without recreating it from scratch. Smokeball will even automatically match the matter details already in the document (like the client's name, address, and case details) to merge fields, so your new template is ready to reuse right away.
Before You Start
- You'll need the document open in Word from within a Smokeball matter.
- You'll need permission to add forms/letters to TemplateLab (check with your Firm Administrator if you don't see the option described below).
Steps
1. Open the document from your matter
In the matter, go to the Documents tab and find the document you want to turn into a template. Double-click it to open it in Word.
Figure 1: Locate the document in the matter's Documents tab.
The document opens in Word with the Smokeball add-in loaded.
Figure 2: The document opens in Word with the Smokeball add-in loaded.
2. Open TemplateLab
On the Home tab in Word, click TemplateLab in the Smokeball group.
The TemplateLab window opens, showing your firm's library of forms and letters organized into folders.
Figure 3: The TemplateLab window, showing your firm's folder structure.
3. Choose where the template will live
Using the folder tree on the left, navigate to the folder where you want to save the new template (for example, Personal Injury > Correspondence). If the right folder doesn't exist yet, click Add a folder to create it first.
4. Click "Add a form/letter"
Click Add a form/letter at the top of the TemplateLab window. The Add a Form/Letter dialog opens.
Figure 4: The Add a Form/Letter dialog.
5. Select "Use the currently open document"
Under Starting content, choose Use the currently open document. This tells Smokeball to base the new template on the document you already have open in Word, instead of starting from a blank page.
Once selected:
- The Name field automatically fills in with the document's file name — you can edit this if you'd like to give it a clearer template name.
- Set a Container if you want to group it with other related templates (optional).
Confirm the Location — this is the folder you chose in step 3. Click change... here if you need to pick a different folder.
Figure 5: The Add a Form/Letter dialog with "Use the currently open document" selected.
6. Click Create
Click CREATE. Smokeball will process the document and automatically match any text that corresponds to matter data — such as the client's name, address, and case details — and convert it into merge fields.
7. Review the merge fields
Once the template is created, it opens in Word's Automate panel. Here you can begin the process of automating your document using the tools to the right.
Figure 6: The Automate panel showing the auto-matched merge fields.
Take a moment to review the document:
- Toggle between Show values and Show fields to preview how the template will look with real data versus the underlying merge codes.
- Use Field, Ask, and If / Then / Else to adjust how individual fields behave, if needed.
- Click any placeholder text and use the field list on the right to insert additional merge fields.
8. Save the template
When you're happy with the template, click Save to Smokeball (or Save & Close) in the top-left corner. Your new template is now saved in your TemplateLab library, in the folder you selected, ready to use on future matters.
Tip
Because the template was built from a real document, it already reflects your firm's actual formatting and wording — you're just replacing the matter-specific details with merge fields so it can be reused across other matters.