Generating Documents

Once you have a matter set up with client details, you can generate documents. Certum Draft fills in the placeholders automatically — no more copy-paste.

Two Ways to Generate

From Matter Workspace

The recommended workflow when you have a matter open:

1. Open the matter in the Matter Workspace
2. Click New Document in the toolbar (or press ⌘ + N)
3. Select templates and generate

From Finder

Quick access without opening the app:

1. Right-click a matter folder in Finder
2. Select Services → New Certum Document
3. Select templates and generate

The Document Wizard

Step 1: Choose Templates

The template selection screen shows all available document templates for your matter type.

Template Organisation:

• Templates are organised in numbered folders (e.g., “010 Getting Started”, “020 Searches”)
• Click a folder to expand it and see the documents inside
• Use the search field to filter templates by name

Selecting Templates:

• Click a template to select it
• Click again to deselect
• Use ⌘ + click to select multiple templates
• Selected templates show a checkmark

Tip

Precedent Presets: Save your commonly-used template selections as presets. Select your templates, click Save Preset, and give it a name. Next time, load the preset to select all those templates at once.

Step 2: Review Missing Fields

Before generating, Certum Draft scans the selected templates for any placeholders that don’t have a value in the matter. This reflects Certum Draft’s “empty is better than bogus” policy — required fields are not enforced at matter creation, so the missing-fields step is where the gaps surface.

Field labels in the wizard:

Label	Meaning
(no label)	A registered field from the template — fill in or leave blank
Optional	Marked optional in the template — can be left blank without prompting
Unregistered	The template references a field the matter configuration doesn’t know about — contact your administrator

Any field you leave blank renders as [MISSING: field_name] in the generated document (in orange), so it’s obvious what still needs attention when you review the file.

Note

The wizard never blocks generation on a missing field — even fields you’d consider mandatory render as [MISSING:] markers, which is exactly how you spot the gap on review. If you want a placeholder instead of an empty marker, type “TBC” or “To be confirmed” before generating.

Step 3: Preview & Inline Editing

The preview step shows each selected document with its placeholders and the values Certum Draft will substitute in. Missing fields are highlighted.

Editing in the preview: Click any empty field to fill it in directly. Text fields show a text input, boolean fields show a toggle. Values save back to the matter automatically.

Field context: Each field shows its block name and label (e.g., “Executor 1 > Full Name (CAPS)”) so you know what the data relates to.

Skip preview option: Enable “Skip preview and generate immediately” on the precedents step to bypass the preview and go straight to generation.

Step 4: Generate

Click Generate Documents to render the files.

What Happens:

1. Each selected template is opened
2. All placeholders are replaced with your matter data
3. Documents are saved to the matter’s Working Documents folder

Step 5: Completion

The completion screen shows:

• Number of documents generated
• Any warnings or errors
• Location of generated files

Actions:

• Open Document — Open the first generated document
• Show in Finder — Reveal the documents in Finder
• Generate More — Generate additional documents for the same matter

Institution Letters

For estate matters with institutions, generate notification letters from the Institutions section:

• Click “Generate Notice of Death” for individual institutions
• Or use “Generate All Grant Letters” when the grant has been recorded
• Letters are named with the institution (e.g., “Notice of Death - Commonwealth Bank.docx”)
• Templates are resolved per institution type (bank, super fund, aged care, etc.)

Tip

See Institution Notifications for the full institution workflow.

Cross-Pack Templates

You can use templates from a different matter type:

1. In the template selection, expand Templates from other packs
2. Browse templates from other matter types
3. Select the templates you need
4. Fill in any ad-hoc fields specific to that pack
5. Generate as normal

Tip

Templates using universal fields (like client.full_name) work seamlessly across packs. Only pack-specific fields (like deceased.name in Estates) require ad-hoc entry.

Generated Document Location

Documents are saved to the matter’s Working Documents folder (or another location based on template settings):

000108 - SCHRUTE Dwight - Estate of Mose Schrute/
└── Working Documents/
    └── 010 Getting Started/
        └── Letter to Client - 2026-02-05.docx

The subfolder structure mirrors the template organisation.

Managing Generated Documents

In the Matter Workspace

The Documents section of the Matter Workspace shows all generated documents:

• Search — Filter documents by name
• Sort — By name, date created, or file type
• QuickLook Preview — Click the eye icon to preview without opening
• Open — Click the document row to open in the default application
• Drag and Drop — Drag documents to other apps or Finder locations

Batch Operations

To work with multiple documents:

1. Click the selection toggle in the Documents toolbar
2. Check the documents you want
3. Use batch actions:
   • Open All — Open selected documents
   • Email All — Attach to an email
   • Show in Finder — Reveal in Finder

QuickLook Preview

Preview documents without leaving Certum Draft:

1. Find the document in the Documents section
2. Click the eye icon on the row
3. A preview sheet appears
4. Close to continue working

Works with Word documents, PDFs, images, and most common file types.

Regenerating Documents

If you need to regenerate a document (e.g., after correcting information):

1. Update the matter details in the Details section
2. Click New Document in the toolbar
3. Select the same template
4. Generate

Note

Regenerating creates a new document file — it won’t overwrite existing documents. This preserves your document history.

Field Types

Fields are formatted based on their type:

Type	Format	Example
Text	Plain text	John Smith
Date	DD/MM/YYYY	15/01/2026
Currency	$X,XXX.XX	$150,000.00
Phone	Phone number	0412 345 678
Email	Email address	[email protected]
Bool	Yes/No	Yes

PDF Documents

PDF files in precedent folders are copied as-is to the output directory. They’re not processed for placeholders — useful for including standard forms or reference documents.

Troubleshooting

”No templates found”

This means the template folder is empty or not configured. Check:

• The Templates folder location in Preferences
• That templates are properly set up for your matter type
• That the template folder contains a matter.json file

”Missing required field”

You must fill in required fields before generating. If you don’t have the information:

• Enter a placeholder like “TBC” or “To be confirmed”
• Update the matter details later and regenerate

Document shows [MISSING: field_name]

This means a placeholder in the template didn’t have a matching value. Either:

• The field wasn’t entered when creating the matter
• The template uses a field that isn’t configured

Check the matter details or contact your administrator.

”Unsupported template format”

Certum Draft supports:

• Word documents (.docx)
• Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx)
• PDF files (copied as-is)

Other formats are not supported for template processing.

Generated document in wrong location

Check the template’s folder configuration in matter.json. The precedents_path setting determines where generated documents are saved.