See detailed set of features below for advanced analysis

As easy as 1-2-3

1 Using Rapidocs™ Professional or Rapidocs Solo, simply take your standard document, remove existing static text such as names or addresses and add the intelligent questions that will be asked during document assembly, prompting the user to "fill in these blanks". Similarly, provide the text and related questions for the different options you require. This may involve adding additional logic-based questions to control conditional paragraphs where the associated wording needs to be changed to suit the options chosen. Lastly, you may need to add rules to undertake any complex calculations involved to make your documents truly intelligent. Rapidocs™ Professional document creation software is as easy to use as it is powerful. Just one day's training is all it takes to get up and running.

2 Publish your Rapidocs™ document on the Web or internally on your intranet or extranet. It's now ready for use by your employees or clients. Rapidocs™ is also an ideal e-commerce solution, since the Rapidocs™ files and Rapidocs™ Assembler used to generate the final documents can both be downloaded in a matter of minutes.

3 Your employee or client assembles the final document from the intelligent template you have prepared, providing the appropriate information and selecting the options required with the assistance of the embedded help information you have provided. Rapidocs™ Assembler is exceptionally intuitive and requires no training for the successful assembly of even the most complex documents.

Documents produced in a word processing package are static, and therefore do not have the ability to change or arrange themselves automatically according to pre-set criteria; Rapidocs™originated documents are 'intelligent and dynamic', effectively acting as an expert system, making it richer and deeper in content than traditional, static documents.

Features  of the Rapidocs 2.2 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 fillable templates automatically.
• Maintain Document Security

Navigation Window

 Main Window  

• See all available Rapidocs files sorted by Company Name and Category.
• Within the Main Window, the user can 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 and approval before distribution.
• Publish a template and prepare it for assembly. 

Configure

• Set up your personal user details, spell-checker, email, variable colors, data and temp folders, default details for publishing templates, categories, default text for challenge response documents and new loops. 

Origination (Authoring Templates)

  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” 
• 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
• 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 book marked
• Insert text before and after the paragraph number that will only appear if the book marked 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 license 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 e-commerce 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 expiration date, an exact expiration date or expire on a chosen number of days after download
• Choose between no authorization required, authorization required by anyone or authorization required by a chosen user

Advanced Features of Rapidocs 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.

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 customize 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 license·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 Post-It 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 grayed out as in Rapidocs 1)