How many times in a week do you create a document by marking up one used in a previous matter and handing it to your secretary? There is a better way. With a document assembly program you could prepare an automated template that would allow you to complete that document yourself in the same time, or at least make it much more efficient for your secretary.

In truth, any word-processing program has the ability to act as a rudimentary document assembly program. Even the earliest versions of WordStar allowed the user to insert variables (remember &LNAME&, &FNAME&?) within a document which would be replaced with information from a database. Most people leave this ability untapped, however, because they have no desire to create the necessary templates and macros.

Today's assembly programs are far more sophisticated, and at the same time easier to use. They tap into the power of word processor's macro abilities, and yet it is possible to create a finished template with no knowledge of macros. They also have better error trapping capabilities, allowing you to specify the types and range of data that is entered.

In the legal field, PowerTXT 1.0 and HotDocs 2.0. have emerged as the clear favorites. On CompuServe's legal forum, the debates over which is best is only slightly less heated than IBM versus Macintosh and Word versus WordPerfect. I decided to do a side-by-side comparison and reach my own conclusions. Both are Windows programs and will integrate with the Windows versions of WordPerfect 5.2, 6.0 and 6.1, Word 6.0, and Ami Pro 3.0 (now WordPro).

HotDocs 2.0

HotDocs installs easily in just a few minutes, and in doing so adds a button to your word processor's tool bar. This is a nice touch since it fully integrates the program, allowing you to create and use templates without ever leaving your word processor. When you click on the HotDocs button, you are presented with the HotDocs Library of templates that have been created. You just select the appropriate template and go to work.

If you want to create a new template, you select create from the menu, and choose the document that will be the basis of your template file. Next, you simply move through the document, highlighting the text that will become variables. Using a fee agreement as an example, the date, client's name, address information, nature of representation and fee structure would all be variables.

If the program did nothing beyond flagging all of the variables in the document it would be useful, but HotDocs goes much further. Each variable is replaced by a field name, such as "Name of Client." When the template is used, that information need only be entered once and it will automatically be inserted in all the appropriate places in the document. Each variable is also assigned a type, such as text, date, number, multiple choice or computation.

When it comes time to use the template, you do not go from point to point and insert text. Rather, HotDocs presents a dialog box for each variable. These dialog boxes are the heart of HotDocs. They not only bring the necessary information into the document, they manipulate and control that information.

For instance, if the variable calls for a number, you can easily set up the dialog box to only accept a number that falls within a certain range. You can also include formulas that are based on one or more variables. For example, you could set up the fee agreement so that you give an estimate of the time that will be required on the project, and HotDocs computes the retainer.

Variables can also trigger the insertion of optional paragraphs. The aforesaid time estimate could lead to the retainer amount, which, if greater than a set amount, would trigger the insertion of a paragraph stating that the client must maintain a certain balance. Optional paragraphs can also be triggered through a set of true/false questions within the template.

Sometimes when using a template it makes more sense to group certain variables together, out of order. After you have gone through the document and named all of the variables, you can use HotDocs' "Dialog Builder" to make dialog boxes that gather information on related items. HotDocs keeps track of which variables have been answered, in whatever order.

HotDocs also makes it possible to create templates for people that may have little knowledge of the document they are creating. Each dialog box can have an accompanying help file. As each dialog box appears, the user would then be presented with an explanation of the variable, any rules concerning that variable, and anything else you want to include, such as where the information can be found.

Once a document is completed, you can save it, of course, but you can also save the answers as a separate answer file. So long as you use consistent variable names, that answer file can be imported into other templates. HotDocs would then pull out all the information it can, and would present you with dialogs boxes for any unanswered variables.

HotDocs has managed to make a very powerful program extremely easy to use. Its only limitation comes from the fact that it works as a macro. Although there is no physical limit, from a pragmatic standpoint HotDocs cannot work with any more than 30 pages. Beyond that, the program just gets too slow to be useful. This is not much of a limitation, though, since it is unlikely that most documents will be that long, and in any event could be broken into smaller documents.

HotDocs could also be more intuitive with its find and replace function. When using the pronoun function, I told HotDocs to change all incidents of "he" to "she." It proceeded, however, to insert the variable into all occurrences of any word that contained "he." There was no easy way to correct this. Even though HotDocs allows a global deletion under "Component Manager" it does not delete the occurrences from the document. At that point the document was so trashed that I had to give up the changes I had made and start anew. On the second try I learned that I could avoid this problem by using the test function, and then answering yes or no to each occurrence of "he." Still, this was a tedious process. HotDocs should be able to recognize that "therefore" is not a form of "he."

PowerTXT 1.0

PowerTXT uses a very different approach than HotDocs. First of all, it is not as integrated with your word processor. Indeed, it is not integrated with itself -- the template creation program ("Architect") is separate from the program used to complete the template ("Draftsman").

PowerTXT does add a button to your wordprocessor, but only for the assembly phase. And whereas HotDocs adds the button to your general button/tool bar, PowerTXT adds it to your macro bar. I found this inconvenient since I had to call up the macro bar (or run the macro) to run PowerTXT. However, with a little work I was able to add the PowerTXT button to WordPerfect's tool bar.

With PowerTXT, you create a document within your wordprocessor, manually typing in all of the variable commands. This seriously adds to the learning curve, since you must learn PowerTXT's arcane language. For example, to insert a date variable, you type: "[!d Today's Date ex:(January 31, 1996)]." There are at least 20 such variable identifiers, and they are case sensitive. You could insert [NAME OF CLIENT], [Name of Client] and [name of client], and the text would follow the various capitalization patterns. PowerTXT uses brackets to identify variables. If you want a bracket to appear in a document, a common occurrence in legal documents, you must put the brackets in brackets, i.e., "[[or]]." PowerTXT will not let you changethe variable identifier.

Once you have created the document with all the necessary variable references, you click on PowerTXT's macro button. PowerTXT then creates what it calls a "master document." This master, however, is only an interim step. To actually create the template, you must start PowerTXT's Architect module, and import the master document you have just created. Architect reads all of the variables and creates the template you will ultimately be using, which PowerTXT refers to as the "master outline."

When it comes time to use the template, you open PowerTXT's Draftsman module, where you are presented with a directory of the outlines (templates) you have created. When you choose an outline, that is precisely what you get. You will not see the text of the document you are creating at all. You see only an outline, with buttons in front of each line. By clicking on these buttons, you select what text you want included in your document. If you want to see the specific text, you click the right mouse button and the text is displayed.

Once that has been completed, you select "assemble." At that point, PowerTXT opens your wordprocessor and loads the document. Then, just as with HotDocs, dialog boxes prompt you for any needed variable information. In terms of knowing exactly what the box is calling for, this can sometimes be a problem. First, PowerTXT does not automatically scroll through the document. To see the question in context, you must ask PowerTXT to take you there.

Secondly, the dialog boxes' prompts for information consist only of the sometimes cryptic text you inserted during the Architect phase. For example, in a fee agreement you might create the variable "[Name of Opposition]." During the assembly phase, the dialog box will say only that -- "Name of Opposition." That could leave you wondering whether all the opposing parties are to be entered at that point, or whether there will be additional dialog boxes for other parties. There is no opportunity to include text in the dialog box that goes beyond what is included in the variable, as with HotDocs. Nor is there the option to create separate help text to explain the variable as with HotDocs. So long as you insert enough descriptive information within the variable, this is not a problem. On the other hand, too much text can make the variables unwieldy.

Once you have provided all of the variable information, your word processor churns away for a few seconds, and you are presented with the completed document. Since PowerTXT works as a macro within your word processing program, all of the normal features are maintained. So, if you have calculations built into the document, PowerTXT could insert the values and your word processor would do the math. Alternatively, PowerTXT will accept formula variables.

The Programs Compared

In an odd sense, PowerTXT is more intuitive than HotDocs while at the same time being more difficult to use. The outline structure presented by PowerTXT is a very logical way to approach construction of a document. A massive document can be reduced to a short check list. You check off the items you want in the document, and are then presented with dialog boxes for only the checked items.

However, that outline approach comes with a price. It is you that must create that outline, and it can be quite an undertaking. Just where do you put that venue provision of the contract -- under general provisions, miscellaneous, or should it be its own heading? Also, when you are assembling the document, you see only the outline headings. I often found myself having to bring up the text to see just what it was I was inserting.

Since PowerTXT requires you to do what is akin to writing a program, it is also more prone to errors. For example, after inserting the codes in a contingency agreement, the final version of the document left me with a date where the client's pronoun should have been. This is because I had typed "[!d Client is (he/she/it)]" instead of "[!g Client is (he/she/it)]." HotDocs does not suffer from this because you highlight the text and then name it as a variable. You do not type the variable identifiers themselves.

In keeping with its modular approach, PowerTXT's documentation comes in two volumes; one for Architect and one for Draftsman. The documentation is adequate, if somewhat thin, but lacks any index. An inexcusable omission in my opinion. Discovering how to use a variable for pronouns was far more time-consuming that it should have been because I simply could not find the information. HotDoc's documentation could have been more extensive, but at least it included an index.

Neither publisher offers toll free technical support. Intercon (PowerTXT) offers just 90 days of free technical support; thereafter you must buy a service contract. CapSoft (HotDocs) does not put a time limit on the technical support, and also offers an on-line bulletin board.

Which Is Better?

At the risk of sounding indecisive, there was no clear winner. In fact, I now use both. At first, I thought PowerTXT would be the natural choice for long, complicated documents, since its outline format allows such documents to be collapsed into a short checklist. But in practice, I also found it was useful for any document where you want to be able to chose from a number of different paragraphs. You could, for example, set up an answer template with every conceivable affirmative defense, and then just click on the ones that are applicable to each case.

HotDocs, on the other hand is far easier to use. I can set up a template in just a little longer than it would take me to revise a document. I have now created templates from many of my standard letters -- something I have wanted to do for years. Using HotDocs is also much faster since I can create and use a template without ever leaving WordPerfect.