Creating the Perfect Fax Coversheet

Creating the Perfect Fax Coversheet
Amicus Assembly works with Amicus Attorney to offer an easy solution.

I am always searching for an easier way to create a fax coversheet and to avoid typing extraneous information. My previous efforts include a Microsoft Word template that automatically inserts an Amicus Attorney contact name and fax number. However, I still had to type in the courtesy copy (cc) names and fax numbers by hand (although my Word template prompts me for this information using Word merge commands).

What I really want is a fax coversheet that will insert a selected Amicus contact in the “To:” line and then display a list of all contacts from an Amicus file so I can pick one or more contacts to use as cc’s. The template should then prompt me for other information needed on the coversheet (e.g., whether originals will follow and the number of pages). The only thing left for me to do after the template finishes would be to type in the fax coversheet message.

After an exhaustive search, I discovered the perfect solution, but I have to admit the solution just fell into my lap fortuitously. The latest version of Amicus Attorney comes with Amicus Assembly, a sophisticated document assembly program that has complete access to all data stored in Amicus Attorney (see Cross Examination, August/September 2002 Law Office Computing). Using Amicus Assembly, I was finally able to create my perfect fax coversheet template.

Fax Coversheet Form

Figure 1. Fax coversheet.

I am sure you have your own ideas about what a fax coversheet should look like. Therefore, I will not tell you how to create one or how it should look. Instead, I will describe the steps necessary to configure Amicus Assembly so you can create a fax coversheet using your Amicus Attorney data. For reference, though, the salient portions of my fax coversheet are displayed in Figure 1.

You will need the Developer Edition of Amicus Assembly to create the Fax Coversheet Template. Also, you can create Assembly templates in Corel WordPerfect, but Assembly works better with Word (for now). Since I have to use Word at work, I created my template in Word. Nevertheless, the template is a Rich Text Format (RTF) file, so it should work in WordPerfect as well. It also can create .doc, PDF, HTML or TXT files.

The process to create the Fax Coversheet Template is as follows: (1) set up the formatting structure of the coversheet in an RTF file; (2) create a script, a list and a dialog in Assembly; and (3) insert Assembly FillPoints into the RTF file. The process might seem complicated, but it really isn’t.

A script is just a list of Assembly code contained within Assembly itself instead of within a template; a list is a mini-database of information, also stored in Assembly; a dialog is self-explanatory; and FillPoints are the blue bracketed text you see in Figure 1 that are replaced with Amicus Attorney or Amicus Assembly data when the template runs.

Creating a New Template

To create the Fax Coversheet Template, start Amicus Assembly and switch to the “Developer” view (click the “Views” button). The title bar should indicate “Developer View.” In the “Application” drop-down list, select an application in which to store your new template (an “Application” is Assembly’s name for locations to store templates and related scripts, lists and dialogs). I used the “AA General” application, which already has several fax templates, but you can use a different application if you choose. However, if you do, remember to change “AA General” in the code described below to the appropriate name of the application you used.

Next, in the left pane of Assembly, click the “Template” tab and then click “Faxes.” Afterward, right-click in the right pane and select “New RTF template” from the floating menu. While the Template name is still selected, change it to something more descriptive, such as “Fax Coversheet.rtf” (make sure you retain the RTF portion at the end). You might have to press “Enter” when you are done to finish changing the name. Then, right-click the “Fax Coversheet.rtf” filename and select “Open.” The new, blank template should open in Word.

Format your template as you desire (you can skip the FillPoints for now; just set up the basic Template structure). I set up mine in a table. Regardless, to take full advantage of the techniques described in this article, you should include places for “To,” “Copy,” “Subject” and “Pages.” The “Original” line is optional, and will not be discussed in this article due to space constraints, but if you want information on it, e-mail me and I will send you instructions. Regardless of how you format your template, the following Assembly code must be inserted at the top of the template (before any other FillPoints) so the template can run properly:

%[~Scripts.Select(‘\AA General’, ‘Initialize Memo CC List’)]
%[Contact=aa.SelectedContacts[1]]%[matter=aa.selectedmatters[1]]
%[^Memo = Dialogs.Capture(‘\AA General\Memo’, ‘‘, False)]

The above code runs the Assembly script you will create next, advises Assembly that you are working with only one Amicus file and contact, and then runs the Assembly dialog you will create later. You can enter the code all on one line if you desire to save space in your dialog (see Figure 1 for an example). If you enter the code on separate lines in your template, there will be corresponding blank lines in your assembled template, so plan accordingly.

The Assembly Script

Switch back to Assembly. You first need to create a script that will generate a list of contacts from an Amicus File. To create the script:

Click the “Data” tab and then “Scripts” in the left pane
Right-click in the right pane and select “New script”
Right-click on the “New script” and change the name to “Initialize FaxNum List”
Right-click on “Initialize FaxNum List” and select “Open” to display the Script Editor.

In the Script Editor, enter the following Assembly code (see “Primary Fax Number” for information about using Contact.PrimaryFax):

%[matter=aa.selectedmatters[1]]
%[MyList=Lists.New()]
%[ForEachBlock(“Contact”,Matter.Parties.Contacts)]
%[FullFaxName=LTrim(Contact.FirstName & ‘ ‘ & Contact.Surname)]
%[FullFaxNum=LTrim(Contact.FirstName & ‘ ‘ & Contact.Surname) & ‘ @ ‘ & (Contact.PrimaryFax)]
%[MyList.Add(FullFaxName, FullFaxNum)]
%[EndBlock()]
%[MyList.SaveAs(“\AA General”, “FaxNumList”)]

Each new line begins with the percent symbol, so don’t press “Enter” until after you type in the final square bracket (the code might word-wrap differently in Assembly).

The script creates an Assembly list using each Amicus contact’s first and last names as well as their fax number for later use in both the dialog and in FillPoints. After you create the script, press “Ctrl+T” and it will generate the list (don’t worry about where the list is stored for now). Click “Close” when the “Variables and Output” dialog appears. Then, close the Script Editor by selecting “File” and then “Exit” (save the script if prompted).

Figure 2. FaxMemo Dialog

The Assembly Dialog

The next step is to create a dialog in Assembly that will prompt you for information for the fax template when it runs (see Figure 2). In the left pane of Assembly, right-click “Dialogs” and select “New Dialog.” There should be a new entry at the bottom of the list of dialogs. With the new dialog name selected, rename it to “FaxMemo” and press “Enter.” Right-click the new “FaxMemo” dialog in the list and select “Edit” to display the Assembly Dialog Editor.

You first need to add a prompt for “Subject:”

Click the “Add Field” button to display the Field Property Editor
For the “Field type,” select “Standard”
For the “Data type,” select “Single line text”
On the “General” tab, insert “Subject” in both “Prompt” and “Field name”
On the “Formatting” tab, change the “Width” to 100 percent
Skip the “Dependencies” and “Validations” tabs
Select “OK” to save the “Subject” field.

Then add a prompt for the number of pages:

Click the “Add Field” button to display the Field Property Editor again
For the “Field type,” select “Standard”
For the “Data type,” select “Integer”
On the “General” tab, insert “Number of Pages?” for “Prompt” and “NumPages” for “Field name”
On the “Formatting” tab, change the “Width” to 20 percent
Skip the “Dependencies” tab
On the “Validations” tab, select “mandatory” for “Validation” and “exit from field and form” for “Warn on.” In the “Min” box, insert “1.” In the “Max” box, insert “1000.”
Select “OK” to save the “Number of Pages” field
When the “Number of Pages?” prompt appears on the Dialog, change the “0” to a “1.”

The third step is to add a prompt for ccs:

Click the “Add Field” button to display the Field Property Editor again
For the “Field type,” select “Standard”
For the “Data type,” select “True/False”
On the “General” tab, insert “Fax Copies?” for “Prompt” and “Fax Copies” for “Field name”
On the “Formatting” tab, change the “Width” to 100 percent
Skip the “Dependencies” tab
Select “OK” to save the “Fax Copies?” field.

Next, add a field for the cc names from the selected Amicus file:

Click the “Add Field” button to display the Field Property Editor again
For the “Field type,” select “List”
For the “Data type,” select “Multiselect check boxes”
On the “General” tab, insert “Contacts for Fax Copy?” for “Prompt” and “FaxCCNames” for “Field name”
On the “Source” tab, click the selection button and select the “FaxNumList” from “AA General” (there should already be a list there if you used the “Ctrl+T” procedure discussed above when creating the script to generate the list)
On the “Formatting” tab, change the “Width” to 100 percent
On the “Dependencies” tab, select “enabled” for the “This field is” option. Select “FaxCopies” for “when.” Click the box next to “has the value” so that a check appears
Select “OK” to save the “Fax Copies?” field.

My dialog actually has two more fields, one for originals (discussed above) and another for my multiple titles, which might not be necessary for your purposes. If you want information on the “Title” field, e-mail me and I will send you details.

Inserting Assembly FillPoints

After completing the script and the dialog, switch back to the Fax Coversheet Template in Word. You now need to insert Assembly FillPoints into the template. You can either type in the FillPoints or use the Assembly FillPoint Editor. Since some of the FillPoints will have to be typed manually anyway, I will only discuss the manual typing method.

For the “To:” line in your template, insert the following Assembly FillPoints (but substituting “Contact.PrimaryFax” with the Assembly FillPoints discussed under “Contact.PrimaryFax” if you still have the initial release of Assembly):

%[Contact.FirstName] %[Contact.Surname] @ %[Contact.PrimaryFax]

For the cc line in your template, insert the following Assembly FillPoints (the only hard return is after the %[FaxCC] FillPoint, and there are no spaces between any FillPoint):

%[DeleteBlockIf(FaxMemo.FaxCopies)]None%[EndBlock()]%[KeepBlockIf(Fax
Memo.FaxCopies)]%[FaxCCList=Lists.CSVToCol(FaxMemo.FaxCCNames)]%[For
EachBlock("FaxCC", FaxCCList)]%[FaxCC]

%[EndBlock]%[EndBlock]

For the “Subject” line in your template, insert the following Assembly FillPoints (there is an em dash between the FillPoints):

%[Matter.FullMatterName] — %[FaxMemo.Subject]

For the “Date” line, insert the following FillPoints, although you are welcome to experiment with your own date and time formats in Assembly (there is a hard return before the @ symbol):

%[FormatDate(Date(), 'dddd, mmmm dd, yyyy')]

@ %[FormatTime(Time(), 'h:nn AM/PM')]

For the “Pages” line, turn on underlining. Then insert a nonbreaking space (go to “Insert,” “Symbol,” “Special Characters” and then select “Nonbreaking Space”). Type the FillPoint %[FaxMemo.NumPages] (including this cover sheet), and then insert another nonbreaking space. Turn off underlining and complete typing.

Save and close the template in Word (it will be saved to the proper location in Assembly).

Running Your New Template

Switch to Amicus Attorney and display files. Open a file. Select a contact from the list of contacts on the left brad. From the menu bar, select “Files” and then “Generate a Document” to display the “Generate Document” dialog. Under “Party Information,” make sure “Those selected” is selected. Under “Master Document,” click the drop-down list and select Amicus Assembly. Click “OK.” Amicus Assembly will then start. Switch to Amicus Assembly, and select the “AA General Application.” Click the “Fax Coversheet” selection in the list of faxes. Assembly will then display the dialog you created. After you enter your information and make your selections, the assembled template will appear in Word.

On the dialog, if you leave “Fax Copies?” unchecked, the list of cc names doesn’t display and the word “None” is inserted into your assembled template next to “Copies.” If you check “Fax Copies?,” the “Contacts for Fax Copy?” names appear and you can select cc names to be inserted into your assembled template, complete with fax numbers.

Conclusion

Amicus Assembly combined with Amicus Attorney is a powerful program, allowing you to use all kinds of data from Amicus Attorney in your assembled templates.

Contact.PrimaryFax Anomaly

In the initial release of Amicus Assembly, the Contact.PrimaryFax FillPoint will not insert the area code for a fax number unless you include the area code in the Fax field in the contact’s card in Amicus (something most people don’t do). The following Assembly code, used in a template in lieu of the %[Contact.PrimaryFax] FillPoint, will remedy the problem until it’s fixed:

%[IfTrue((Len(Contact.PrimaryFax) = 8), (IfTrue((Len(Contact.PrimaryPhone) > 14), Mid(Contact.PrimaryPhone, 4, 6), Mid(Contact.PrimaryPhone, 1, 6)) & Contact.PrimaryFax),Contact.PrimaryFax)]

If you still have the initial release of Assembly, when you are creating the fax template insert the above code (except for the % symbol and the brackets) in lieu of the words “Contact.PrimaryFax” in the Assembly script.

Editorial Note: The company said new logic has been built into the next release that will automatically pull the area code for the contact even if it was not entered with the fax number.

Contact.PhoneNumber Tip

The FillPoint in Assembly for entering a contact’s primary phone number in a Template is %[Contact.PrimaryPhone]. However, if you have a Country Code in your Contact’s phone number, the phone number will be entered in your template with a preceding “1+.” If you don’t want to include the “1+” when you insert the phone number into a filled template, use the following FillPoint code in your template:

%[(IfTrue((Len(Contact.PrimaryPhone) > 14), Mid(Contact.PrimaryPhone, 4, 14),
Contact.PrimaryPhone))]

The above code first checks to see if your contact’s phone number is greater than 14 characters using the Len function (which it will be if it includes “1+”). If it is, the code then uses the Mid function to grab 14 characters of the phone number beginning with the fourth character from the left (i.e., the left parenthesis) and inserts these characters into your Template (so you get a phone number in the format “(012) 345-6789,” the Amicus default). If the number is 14 characters or less the above code just inserts the phone number using the Contact.PrimaryPhone FillPoint.