Starting a scan
- Open a Word document that contains bracketed placeholders.
- Switch to the Scan tab in the Template Helper task pane.
- Click Find Fields.
Template Helper searches the document body for any text enclosed in square brackets and displays the results in the task pane.
Understanding the results
After scanning, each detected field appears as an interactive row in the task pane. The type of control depends on the field syntax:
| Field syntax | Displayed as |
|---|---|
[Client Name: John Smith] | Text input pre-filled with "John Smith" |
[Jurisdiction: England | Wales | Scotland] | Dropdown with three options |
[{Personal Details}] | Section header grouping the fields below it |
[{{Optional Clauses}}] | Collapsible section (click to expand or collapse) |
[Date: <<TODAY>>] | Auto-filled with today's date |
Rescanning
If you edit the document after scanning, you can scan again to pick up new or changed fields.
- Click Find Fields a second time.
- A confirmation prompt appears: Rescanning will replace the current field list. Continue?
- Click Continue to rescan or Cancel to keep the current field list.
WARNING
Rescanning replaces all current field values in the task pane. If you have filled in values but not yet applied them, they will be lost.
Sections and grouping
Fields can be grouped under section headers. Template authors create sections by placing [{Section Name}] markers in the document. In the task pane, sections appear as bold headings with their fields indented below.
Collapsible sections ([{{Section Name}}]) start collapsed. Click the section header to expand and reveal the fields inside.
Empty scans
If no fields are found, check that:
- The document contains text enclosed in square brackets
[ ]. - Placeholders are in the document body (not in headers, footers, or text boxes).
- The brackets are standard ASCII characters, not "smart" or curly brackets.
Next steps
- Filling Fields — enter values for each detected field
- Applying Changes — write values into the document
- Sessions — save and restore your work