Rapids™ Originator - the Easy Document Assembly Authoring System:

Features  of Authoring System

• Unique intuitive interface
• Author complex documents for use with Rapids Assembler
• Only 1 day training required
• Easy maintenance of existing documents
• Web enabled for commerce
• Multi-platform - Publish to:
  • Web
  • Intranet
  • Email
  • Disk
  • CD-ROM
• Convert .pd. Adobe forms to fallible templates on the fly
• Maintain Document Security

Click here to see features summary of Rapidocs Assembler 

Navigation Window

 Main

• See all available Rapidocs files sorted by Company Name and Category, with further details
• Start originating a new template, open an existing file for editing or assembly, delete an existing file
• Email an existing file to another user
• Unlock a file by entering a “Challenge Response” code
• Return a completed document to a preset email address for checking
• Publish a template, to prepare it for assembly

Configure

• Set up your personal user details, spell-checker, email, variable colours, data and temp folders, default details for publishing templates, categories, default text for challenge response documents and new loops
• Configure the Rapidocs “Watch” facility, to alert you of new Rapidocs files

Origination

Questions (General)

• Set some text to appear in the document during assembly, instead of the question name, before the question has been answered
• Set the question to require an answer at some time during assembly
• Set the question to require an answer immediately during assembly
• Type and format the question prompt independently of the question name
• Type and format an explanation to help the user answer the question correctly
• Cut, copy and paste to and from the prompt and explanation
• Set the default answer for a question

Questions (Text)

• Set the maximum length for an answer
• Set the number of lines available to type an answer
• Force the answer to be in upper case

Questions (Numeric)

• Set the minimum and maximum for an answer
• Set the format of an answer, including converting it to words

Questions (Date)

• Choose between a “Drop down calendar” or “Up down date picker” for an answer
• Allow users to leave an answer blank
• Set the format of an answer

Questions (Multiple Choice)

• Set the format of a multiple choice question, including “Allow user input”
• Set the text by the question and the text to insert into document independently of the question name
• Delete a question and any rules that rely on it
• Copy a question to create another question with the same settings

Groups

• Create a group to contain questions that should be displayed together
• Change the order of questions within the group
• Type and format the text to appear above the questions in a group
• Delete a group and all its questions
• Delete a group but move its questions to “Ungrouped Questions”
• Copy a group to create another group with the same group text

Loops

• Create a loop to contain questions that should be asked more than once
• Change the order of questions within the loop
• Set some text to appear in the document during assembly
• Set a minimum and maximum number of items for the loop
• Choose whether or not to have some text appear before the loop during assembly
• Type and format text to appear before the loop during assembly
• Type and format an explanation to help the user use the loop correctly
• Type and format text to appear above the questions in the loop
• Insert the total number of items in the loop
• Insert the number of each item in the loop

• Delete a loop and all its questions
• Delete a loop but move its questions to “Ungrouped Questions”
• Copy a loop to create another loop with the same settings

Rules

• Insert an existing question in a different format
• Perform mathematical functions on number or date questions
• Perform functions on text questions
• Insert conditional text and questions
• Create complex conditionals with flag rules
• Force a question to be asked earlier than usual
• Force a paragraph to be repeated with a loop
• Delete a rule
• Copy a rule to create another rule with the same settings

Bookmarks

• Mark a numbered paragraph for cross-reference elsewhere in the document
• Delete a bookmark
• Copy a bookmark

Cross References

• Insert the paragraph number of a paragraph that has been bookmarked
• Insert text before and after the paragraph number that will only appear if the bookmarked paragraph is shown

• Delete a cross reference

• Copy a cross reference

System Variables

• Insert any of the personal user details entered in “Configure”
• Insert details of the current template or document

 Styles

• Format a paragraph with an existing style
• Modify the font and size of the style
• Modify the character attributes of the style
• Modify the default style for the next paragraph
• Modify the indents, alignment and spacing of the style
• Modify the separator and style of the numbering style
• Set the number of previous numbers to hide in the numbering style
• Create a new style sheet
• Copy a style sheet
• Rename a style sheet
• Delete a style sheet
• Set the default style sheet
• Embed a style sheet in the document
• Set the style sheet to be embedded in the document when it is published
• Set the document to allow embedded styles to be changed, with an optional warning
• See the style applied to the current paragraph

Conditionals

• Make a paragraph appear only if a particular multiple choice answer is chosen
• Make a paragraph appear only if a text question is not left blank
• Make a paragraph appear only if a system variable is not left blank
• Make a paragraph appear only if a loop is processed
• Make a paragraph appear only if a flag rule is true
• Make a paragraph appear only if a whole set of the above conditions are met
• See the condition(s) applied to the current paragraph

Saving Templates

• Set the name of the current template
• Set the category of the of the current template
• Set the company name of the current template
• Set the copyright of the current template
• Set the version of the current template
• Set the description of the current template
• Set the comment for the current template
• Set the licence for the current template

Miscellaneous

• Print the template
• Test assembly of the template
• Show or hide the Variables Manager
• Show or hide the User Notes
• Spell check the main text of the template
• Cut, copy and paste to and from the template
• Format text in bold, italic, underline, double underline, word underline or strikethrough
• Export the template to Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, HTML or Plain Text
• Change the paper size and margin size
• Search for particular text in the main text of the template, optionally case sensitive, optionally searching through names of inserted variables as well
• Replace chosen or all instances of particular text in the main text of the template with other text, optionally case sensitive, optionally replacing text with a question
• Switch between “Normal” and “Page Layout” views
• Switch between the Navigator and open templates
• Access the help file

Publishing Templates

• Publish as a template or as a document
• Publish as unrestricted, password protected, challenge response locked or ecommerce locked
• Deliver the published file by email, by placing a copy in a chosen folder or by placing it in the data folder
• Update any of the file properties, and set the home page link for the published file
• Choose between no expiry date, exact expiry date or expiry a chosen number of days after download
• Choose between no authorisation required, authorisation required by anyone or authorisation required by a chosen user

Assembling Documents

• Exceptional ease of use
• No training required
• Question and Answer dialogue
• Expert help throughout assembly
• Alternate versions designed for consumer and corporate use
• Compressed files
• Edit/export files to RTF format or Word format
• Auto returns documents
• Web-enabled
  
• The document is hidden until the licence has been accepted
• Choose preset layouts for the assembly window
• Manually change the width of the questions pane
• Manually change the height of the explanation pane
• See which required questions have not been answered
• Go back to any previously assembled grouped
• Show or hide the User Notes
• Edit the document after assembly
• Save the document with the answers, optionally with a comment, optionally with a password
• Export the document to Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format, HTML or Plain Text

Summary Feature Set Improvements Rapidocs Version 2.0

Undo

• Unlimited undo and redo for text changes

Pictures

• Insert pictures into the template

Answers Manager

• Remembers test assembly answers and delete answers after a chosen group – in Rapidocs 1 you always have to start a test assembly from the first group

o        e.g. In a template with 9 groups, you want to test groups 7, 8 and 9, first time you must start from group 1, but when you finish test assembly you can delete the answers to groups 7, 8 and 9, make the necessary changes to the template, then start test assembly again at group 7.

Validators

• Display a message during assembly in response to a particular condition

o        e.g. In a will, where a loop is used to assign percentages of the estate to beneficiaries, you can check that exactly 100% of the estate is assigned (no more and no less)

• Optionally prevent continued assembly until a condition is met

o        e.g. Prevent continued assembly if the assembler tries to assign more than 100% to a beneficiary

Flag Questions

• Create a question that is either true or false, in the form of a checkbox

o        e.g. Put a few flag questions together and ask “Where did you hear about us? Please tick all that apply: Radio? TV? Magazine? Poster?”

Multiple Choice Answers

• Create multiple choice answers that are only unique within that question, instead of unique within the whole template as in Rapidocs 1

o        e.g. Yes/No answers can actually be called “Yes” and “No” throughout the document, instead of “OwnHouseYes” and “OwnHouseNo”

• Inserted multiple choice answers are preceded by the name of the multiple choice question and a dot

o        e.g. With a question “Own a house” that has answers “Yes” and “No”, inserting “Yes” into a rule or a condition will show “Own a house·Yes”

Alternative Document Texts

• Create multiple sets of “text to insert into document” for a multiple choice question, so there is no need to use rules to duplicate this functionality

o        e.g. With a question “Male/Female” you can create one document text for “He/She”, one for “His/Her”, one for “Him/Her” – in Rapidocs 1 you would have to duplicate this functionality with the rules “if(Male, ‘His’, ‘Her’)” and “if(Male, ‘Him’, ‘Her’)”

Conditions Manager

• Make a paragraph conditional on any of several conditions (an OR condition)

o        e.g. Make a paragraph conditional on “Age group·Under 18” OR “Age group·Over 75” – in Rapidocs 1 this would have to use a flag rule “Under 18 OR Over 75”

• Questions that are only required by AND conditions that are already false are not asked

o        e.g. Make a paragraph conditional on “Own house·Yes” AND “Have mortgage·Yes”: “Have mortgage” will only be asked if “Own house” is answered “Yes” – in Rapidocs 1 this would have to be a flag rule “if(OwnHouseYes, HaveMortgageYes, FALSE)”

• Change the order of questions in AND conditions

o        e.g. Make a paragraph conditional on “Have email·Yes” AND “Have computer·Yes”, then use Conditions Manager to change it to “Have computer·Yes” AND “Have email·Yes”

• Give a name to a condition

o        e.g. Make a paragraph conditional on “Have car·Yes” AND “Over 25·Yes” AND “Clean licence·Yes”, then call the condition “Suitable for job”

• Optionally hide single conditions (those using neither AND nor OR)

Variables In All Text Areas

• Insert variables into prompts, explanations, group/loop text, text to insert into document for multiple choice questions or flag questions

o        e.g. An explanation might read “What is John Smith’s job description?” where “John Smith” was an answer to a previous question

Loops

• Create a loop with a minimum, but also allow the loop to be optional to the assembler

o        e.g. A loop with a minimum would always be required in Rapidocs 1, but can be made optional to the assembler in Rapidocs 2

• Ability to customise loop menu

Extra Rule Functions

• Rules are automatically set to the appropriate type – this had to be done manually in Rapidocs 1

o        e.g. “if(Over 25·Yes AND Clean licence·Yes, ‘Suitable’, ‘Not suitable’)” would automatically be set to “Text”; “Over 25·Yes AND Clean licence·Yes” would automatically be set to “Flag”

• New function “Asked”, e.g. “Asked(Question)” returns true if the question has been asked
• New function “Red”, e.g. “Red(Question)” returns true if the question has not been asked, or if the question is required but has been left blank
• New function “LoopSum”, e.g. “LoopSum(LoopControlledNumericQuestion)” returns the sum of all the answers to this question

o        e.g. “LoopSum(Salary)” would return the total of all the employees’ salaries entered in a loop

• New function “LoopAverage”, e.g. “LoopAverage(LoopControlledNumericQuestion)” returns the average of all the answers to this question

o        e.g. “LoopAverage(Salary)” would return the average of all the employees’ salaries entered in a loop

• New function “LoopFlagCount”, e.g. “LoopFlagCount(LoopControlledFlagRule)” returns the number of instances of the loop for which the flag rule returned true

o        e.g. “LoopFlagCount(BigSalary)” where “BigSalary” is a flag rule “Salary>100000” would return the number of employees entered in a loop whose salary is more than 100000

Miscellaneous

• Highlight all instances of the question currently being answered during assembly – Rapidocs 1 only shows the first instance
• Highly visible PostIt style explanations for Assembler Classic – Rapidocs 1 showed explanations at the bottom left of the screen and usability tests showed that assemblers did not notice them at all
• Ability to use System Variables and Rules as default answers
• Ability to edit prompts and explanations during test assembly
• Assembler hides questions that are never asked (not just greyed out as in Rapidocs 1)