As explained in the previous section, a classic Pathagoras template is not a complete (i.e., "overbuilt") document from which you pare away clauses not needed for the customer or client. A template is essentially a blank document that provides the shape for the clauses that will be poured into it. The templates screen gives you quick access to the various 'shape' providing devices. (We are talking not just about memo forms and letter formats that Word makes available to when you click "New | Document." Rather, they would include your unique templates designed for your major document production projects.

Activate the 'Templates’ screen by clicking Pathagoras Features | Authoring Editing Tools | Templates & Style Sheets This is what you will see:

Click to enlarge.

The Templates Screen ('Apply' is pre-selected by default)

From the list at the top of the window, choose the template you wish to apply to the currently visible document. The templates screen allows you quick access to

•        up to 5 pre-assigned Style Sheets, and

•        any of 4 folders of templates.

The location of a 'Style Sheet' (the upper choice) can be anywhere, and is the most flexible of the template 'sources'. Style Sheets are assigned by you in the 'Style Sheets' section of the Document Assembly settings pages. (Pathagoras Features | All Settings | Document Assembly. (So you can assign a 'Wills' style sheet in the 'Wills Forms' folder, a 'Pleadings' style sheet in the Litigation Forms' folder, etc. (You can also add a Style Sheet by clicking the 'Add to List' button on the Templates & Style Sheets screen (shown above).

You remaining templates are those contained in defined folders in your system. Microsoft designates some of these locations; others are set via other Pathagoras tools. Pathagoras relates to these settings simply by pointer.

Pathagoras can point to up to 4 locations (1) Your system's User templates (standard); (2) a 'Custom Templates' (a folder one level below your User Templates folder and called 'Custom Office Templates; (3) templates located in your Pathagoras Mirror (shared) folder; and (4) the network 'Workgroup' folder, if established.

The User Templates and Workgroup locations is preset by Word. You can reset them from Word via File | Options | Advanced | File Locations. (Sometimes you will find these locations under File | Options | Save. There is just no 'rule' regarding this.) The Custom Templates will always be a sub-folder beneath that called "Custom Office Templates." Mirror will always be a sub-folder beneath the assigned 'Mirror Path' called 'Templates'

You can always see the full folder name to which a particular option points by hovering over the selection.

Select the action you want performed with the selected template. (The default is 'Apply Template to Document' which means that the definitions of all the styles in the selected template or style sheet will be transferred into the current document.)

Useful Information about templates and the template screen:

•If you don't know the location to which a particular template folder is located, simply hover over the name in the middle 'Template Sources' column.

•If the document name of the template is not descriptive enough for you, you can add a description that provides more information as to its use. Just click the ‘Add/Modify Description’ button and then type/modify the description of the template in the ‘Description' block. Press <Save> when done.

•Templates, as used here, provide the shape and style definitions, but not content. The exception is that a template can contain headers and footers (including even and odd page definitions, and 'different first page' setups.) That said, you can have any content you want in a template and Pathagoras can ready work with it.

•Pathagoras allows you to go 'round-robin' with the templates that display in Pathagoras’ Template’s screen. That is, it will apply each template against the current document to see how your text looks inside of the template’s settings.  

➢The template ‘round-robin’ is particularly helpful in the following situation: Let us say you draft a letter that you anticipate printing onto your quality letterhead. Later, you decide that you wish to e-mail or fax it. Not a problem. Just apply the email or fax style sheet.

•Style-sheets has proven to be the 'preferred method' chosen from this screen. Click the following link to read more about Style Sheets.