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Certum Draft

Creating Templates

This guide walks you through creating a new template type from scratch.

Before You Start

Section titled “Before You Start”

You’ll need:

  • Access to the Templates folder
  • Microsoft Word (or compatible app) for editing documents
  • A text editor for matter.json (or use any JSON editor)

Step 1: Create the Folder Structure

Section titled “Step 1: Create the Folder Structure”
  1. Open your Templates folder in Finder
  2. Create a new folder with your template name (e.g., “Family Law”)
  3. Inside it, create a Precedents folder for documents
  • DirectoryTemplates/
    • DirectoryFamily Law/
      • DirectoryPrecedents/
        • …

Step 2: Create matter.json

Section titled “Step 2: Create matter.json”

Create a file called matter.json in your template folder. This file defines what information to collect.

Here’s a minimal example:

{
  "version": "2.0",
  "name": "Family Law",
  "description": "Family law matters",
  "blocks": {
    "client": {
      "label": "Client Details",
      "fields": {
        "full_name": {
          "type": "text",
          "label": "Full Name",
          "required": true
        },
        "address": {
          "type": "text",
          "label": "Address",
          "required": true
        },
        "phone": {
          "type": "phone",
          "label": "Phone Number",
          "required": false
        }
      }
    },
    "matter": {
      "label": "Matter Details",
      "fields": {
        "file_reference": {
          "type": "text",
          "label": "File Reference",
          "required": false
        },
        "re_line": {
          "type": "text",
          "label": "Re: Line",
          "required": true,
          "help": "Brief description for folder naming"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Define Default Folders

Section titled “Step 3: Define Default Folders”

Add a defaultFolders section to create subfolders when a matter is created:

{
  "version": "2.0",
  "name": "Family Law",
  "defaultFolders": [
    "Correspondence/Incoming",
    "Correspondence/Outgoing",
    "Documents",
    "Court Documents",
    "Financial"
  ],
  "blocks": {
    ...
  }
}

Step 4: Create Document Templates

Section titled “Step 4: Create Document Templates”

Now create Word documents with placeholders.

Placeholder Syntax

Section titled “Placeholder Syntax”

Use double curly braces with the block and field name:

{{ client.full_name }}
{{ client.address }}
{{ matter.file_reference }}

Example Letter Template

Section titled “Example Letter Template”
[Your Firm Letterhead]


{{ client.full_name }}
{{ client.address }}


Dear {{ client.full_name }},


Re: {{ matter.re_line }}


...


Yours faithfully,

Save Documents

Section titled “Save Documents”

Save your Word documents in the Precedents folder:

  • DirectoryFamily Law/
    • matter.json
    • DirectoryPrecedents/
      • DirectoryLetters/
        • Initial Client Letter.docx
        • Costs Agreement.docx
      • DirectoryCourt/
        • Application.docx

Step 5: Test Your Template

Section titled “Step 5: Test Your Template”
  1. Open Certum Draft
  2. Go to Preferences → Templates
  3. Click Test Templates to validate
  4. Create a test matter to verify fields appear correctly
  5. Generate a test document to check placeholders work

Common Patterns

Section titled “Common Patterns”

Standard Client Block

Section titled “Standard Client Block”

Most templates use similar client fields:

"client": {
  "label": "Client Details",
  "fields": {
    "title": {
      "type": "select",
      "label": "Title",
      "options": ["Mr", "Mrs", "Ms", "Dr"],
      "required": false
    },
    "given_names": {
      "type": "text",
      "label": "Given Names",
      "required": true
    },
    "surname": {
      "type": "text",
      "label": "Surname",
      "required": true
    },
    "full_name": {
      "type": "computed",
      "label": "Full Name"
    },
    "street_address": {
      "type": "text",
      "label": "Street Address",
      "required": true
    },
    "suburb": {
      "type": "text",
      "label": "Suburb",
      "required": true
    },
    "state": {
      "type": "select",
      "label": "State",
      "options": ["NSW", "VIC", "QLD", "SA", "WA", "TAS", "NT", "ACT"],
      "required": true
    },
    "postcode": {
      "type": "text",
      "label": "Postcode",
      "required": true
    }
  }
}

Date Fields

Section titled “Date Fields”

For dates, use the date type:

"settlement_date": {
  "type": "date",
  "label": "Settlement Date",
  "required": true
}

In templates, you can format dates:

Settlement is scheduled for {{ matter.settlement_date | date("%-d %B %Y") }}

Currency Fields

Section titled “Currency Fields”

For money amounts:

"purchase_price": {
  "type": "currency",
  "label": "Purchase Price",
  "required": true
}

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Template doesn’t appear in the list

Section titled “Template doesn’t appear in the list”
  • Check that matter.json exists and is valid JSON
  • Ensure the file is named exactly matter.json
  • Try Preferences → Templates → Reload Templates

Placeholder shows [MISSING: field_name]

Section titled “Placeholder shows [MISSING: field_name]”
  • The field name in the document doesn’t match matter.json
  • Check for typos and case sensitivity
  • Ensure the field is defined in the correct block

Fields don’t show in the form

Section titled “Fields don’t show in the form”
  • Verify the field is in a blocks section
  • Check that the JSON syntax is correct (no missing commas or brackets)
  • Use a JSON validator to check for errors

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”