Draft documents

Draft documents

Once you have created your client(s), created their project(s), and added forms to their project(s), you can start drafting and filling their forms with relevant information. The Clio Draft workflow helps you go from the set of (blank or partially blank) forms in a project to fully completed forms. There are two stages in this process.

1. Populate: During this part of the process, you provide information about the case and the client into field on the Populate page. You provide the information here once, and then these fields can be used over and over again in your forms.
   • For example, the client's name and address may need to be added to several locations in several forms in your set of forms. Rather than manually adding that several times, you can ensure this information is correctly added to the relevant fields in the populate page so that it can be automatically added to each form where relevant.
2. Draft: During this stage you preview the forms. Information available from the populate page should already appear where relevant, but you can also make manual adjustments here as needed.

To create or draft forms, create a client and/or project, or select an existing project with the complete set of forms you need.

Step 1: Populate

1. From the project's page, click Go to populate.
2. On the populate page, start adding information in the fillable fields. You do not need to complete every field.
   • The cards with their various fields displayed in this page depend on the forms you chose. For example, to register a marriage, a set of forms or document may have been selected with fillable form fields for the client details, details of the spouse, their address, and details about the location and date of the marriage. The cards that appear in the populate page may therefore include
     • a card with a set of fields for the client's details
     • a card with a set of fields for the spouse's details
     • a card with information about the marriage,
     • a card for the details of the court where the marriage will be registered, and
     • a card for the attorney responsible for filing the documents.

Step 2: Drafting

1. Once you have finished populating the fields, click Go to drafting.
2. For each document in your set, click the document to view and edit the document as needed.
   • Data you entered in the populate page will automatically be populated in the appropriate fields in blue text. These fields and other fields for which you did not enter information in the populate page will be shaded blue.
   • You can manually edit any field on your form. 

     • Manually editing a field in your document unlinks it from the field in the populate page. Unlinked fields are shaded grey.

       If your return to the populate page (by clicking Back to populate) and edit a field's data after you've unlinked it, the information from the populate page will not replace your manual edits. 

     • To relink any manually edited fields in your drafting page to those in your populate page, hover over the field in your draft and click the reset icon.
   • You can also add custom fields to your forms while in the drafting page, as well as return to the forms database to by clicking Add/remove where you can then add and manage your forms, change the projects status (bottom right), or download forms.

Once you have finished drafting and reviewing all of the documents, you can prepare the document set for signing or download it to your computer.

Add custom fields

During the drafting stage, you can add custom text boxes to any of your documents.

1. In draft mode, click Add custom field.
2. Click in your document where you want to place the custom field.
   • You can move, resize, or delete your custom field.
3. Click the field to type information in the custom field.