I received a question from a user today that I bet a number of mndocs users have now and then. Here it is:

My understanding is that there are codes listed [in mndocs] and one must make a choice of code which then inserts relevant language. . . . [The attorney I work for] provided me the following example:

***IF MATT FAM Hearing Final MC = “None”********IF MATT FAM Stipulation Type MC = “NONE”****** IF MATT FAM Final MC! “None”******IF MATT FAM Hearing Final MC = Contested *** Based up on all of the evidence presented the exhibits and review of the entire Court file, this Court, being fully advised makes the following:

Is there some type of cross reference so you know what the codes
language means prior to make a choice and inserting?

The quick and dirty answer is yes. But the user’s question underscores a bit of confusion about what happens behind the scenes. As a document assembly system, mndocs takes the client data you enter, runs through any necessary calculations and manipulations, and places that data into various forms, plus cleans it up so that the final document is close to a finished product.

We do the coding on our end to make it work. What that means is that, as you answer questions in the mndocs interview process, we have already created the programming code that takes those answers, does some fancy calculations if necessary, and puts the answers in the right place. If you don’t provide a necessary answer, however, you likely will see the “code” or variable name that we use to place the answer in the form. Thus, all the junk and asterisks you may occasionally see in an incomplete or blank form.

But, no worries. That’s just part of the process of collecting all your data, and there are a couple of things you can do to determine what information you need to finish a form. The first is one of my top mndocs tips: use the “Document Preview” tab to get a preview of the document before you send it to your word processor. Thus, in the user’s example above, she is missing answers to questions about the final hearing or disposition in a family law matter. If you click on the Document Preview tab in mndocs, it will look like this (click on the image to expand it):

In most cases, if you see something in red, you can simply double click on it and it will take you to the part of the interview that requests that information. Thus, if I double click on ***PARTY DOB DA*** in the above example, another window opens up and asks me to provide the information, like so:

This doesn’t always work, as sometimes we have complex things going on in background, such as determining a judicial district based on a county or determining how many children are involved in a matter. If you click on a variable name in those situations, you may get a pop up box telling you it’s a calculated field and cannot be changed. For that, you’ll need to make sure you answer the necessary questions so that the program can make those calculations (like indicating the matter is in Hennepin County to calculate that it is the Fourth Judicial District).

Finally, don’t like asterisks peppering your draft document? You can change it to brackets, underscores, or nothing at all. In the main HotDocs menu, choose “Tools” then “Options.” Then choose “Document Assembly” and change the way you want unanswered variables displayed, as in (click on image):