Creating Templates
A Template Helper template is an ordinary Word document (.docx) with placeholder fields written directly into the text. When you open the document and click Find Fields, Template Helper detects the placeholders and displays them as a fillable form in the task pane.
How fields work
Fields are written as square-bracket placeholders inside your document text:
[Client Name]
[Hearing Date: 01/01/2026]
[Jurisdiction: England OR Wales OR Scotland]When you scan the document, each placeholder becomes an input in the task pane. When you click Apply Changes, the filled values replace the placeholders in the document.
Field types
Text field
[Client Name]
[Client Name: Jane Smith]Creates a text input. The value after : is the default — leave it out for an empty field.
Dropdown field
[Title: Mr OR Mrs OR Ms OR Dr]
[Hearing Type: Video OR In Person OR Telephone]Creates a dropdown selector. The first option is selected by default. Separate options with OR (or | if you prefer).
Date field
[Hearing Date: <<TODAY>>]
[Deadline: <<TODAY+7>>]Auto-fills with today's date, or a date offset by days.
Section header
[{Client Details}]
[{{Optional Clauses}}]Groups fields under a bold heading. Wrapping the label in double braces ({{Label}}) creates a collapsible section.
Structuring a template
A well-structured template uses section headers to group related fields:
[{Client Details}]
Client Name: [Client Name: Jane Smith]
Matter Reference: [Matter Reference: MATTER-001]
Client Email: [Client Email: client@example.com]
[{Hearing Details}]
Hearing Type: [Hearing Type: Video OR In Person OR Telephone]
Hearing Date: [Hearing Date: <<TODAY>>]
Tribunal: [Tribunal: Employment Tribunal]
[{Case Notes}]
[Additional Notes: Enter any additional notes here]Reusing fields
If the same placeholder label appears more than once in the document, Template Helper shows it as a single row. Enable Combine identical fields in the Pro Features section to link them — changing one value updates all occurrences simultaneously.
Profile Fields
If you have fields you fill in the same way every time (your name, firm, or email), save them in the Profile Fields section on the Profile tab. Template Helper will automatically pre-fill any document field whose label matches a saved profile field.
Tips
- Field placeholders can be formatted (bold, italic, coloured) — the formatting is preserved when values are applied.
- Fields work in the document body. Headers, footers, and text boxes are not scanned.
- Use Export Fields after scanning to save the field list as JSON — useful for sharing with a colleague or sending to an LLM.
- Not sure your fields will be detected? Use 🚀 Insert demo & scan on the Scan tab to try the built-in example template.
Next steps
- Field Reference — complete syntax reference for all field types
- Scanning Fields — how to detect fields in your document
- Filling Fields — entering values and using the task pane
- Sessions — how field values are saved and restored