Refreshing Microsoft Word Documents

This topic describes how the system refreshes bind variables and related content in a document. You refresh documents after you make changes to a contract transaction or document creation wizard binds. To refresh documents:

• You select to refresh an existing document.

  You use the Refresh Document button on the Document Management page to initiate the refresh. The system invokes the document creation wizard to enable refresh of wizard binds and uses the previous values as default values.

  Note: The system uses the wizard that is defined for the configurator and that was used to generate the document the last time. So if you change the document creation wizard on the contract after initial generation, and the new wizard does not access all the binds that are used by the old wizard, then you may not be able to modify a wizard bind that is used by the contract.

• The system evaluates the bind values in the document and compares them to current values in the transaction or document creation wizard.

  If the system finds any differences, it replaces the old values in the document with their new values. In this case, the system does not alter other text elements that originate from the document generation or from manual changes to the document. However, exceptions occur.

  If the system detects any value changes within a document structure, described in the Processing Terms Used When Generating Microsoft Word Documents topic, then it completely rebuilds the related content in the document using the current definition of the elements it includes. In this situation, you might refresh the document and lose manual changes that were made to the document.

  For example, assume that you generated a document that includes a repeating document structure that lists transactional contract line items. Later, you make manual changes to the document text that is related to those line items, and then add a new item to the transactional contract. Refreshing the document replaces the entire repeating document structure of the document. This is the parent repeating element and all its descendents. The new transactional line now appears, but the system removes the manual changes

  Note: The system does not use the document configurator to rebuild document structures. Instead, it rebuilds the document starting with the parent element for the document structure and its descendent elements.

  When rebuilding document structures in the document, the system uses the current effective-date definition for the content based on the begin date of the source transaction. So if an element in the hierarchy changes, the system might include element changes when it rebuilds the structure.

Before you use the Refresh Document button on the Document Management page, remember that the Refresh process starts with the bind values that are already on the document and compares those to the current values on the transaction or document creation wizard to determine where it needs to update the document. If a rule is true, then the document binds include those that are used on the rule, and those used on any elements included by the rule. If a rule is false, the system saves the rule in the document, hidden from view. In this case, the document binds include only those that are used on the rule, but not those that are used on objects that are attached to the false rule.

You should consider these points about how the system processes content when it refreshes a document:

• Refresh of a rule document structure when a bind changes within the rule structure:

  • Whether the rule was originally true or false, when the system detects a bind value in the rule document structure, it reevaluates the rule.

  • If the rule was true and is still true, during the refresh, the system replaces the content that is related to the rule. The system adds the new content from the library as specified by the rule using the source transaction begin date. This situation occurs even if the rule binds did not change, but binds within the rule structure did change.

  • If the rule was true and is now false, the system removes the content that is related to the rule from the document. However, the system keeps the rule as part of the document, but hidden from view, for consideration with future document refreshes.

  • If the rule was false and is now true, the system inserts the content that is related to the rule into the document at the location where it originally placed the rule.

  • If the rule was false, and is still false, and even if binds have changed on descendent elements, the system does not change the document.

• Refresh of repeating document structure when a bind changes within the repeating structure.

  The system rebuilds the entire document structure using the current version of the parent element and all descendents. Any manual changes that you make are lost.

• Refresh of alternate document structure when a bind changes within the alternate structure.

  The system checks alternate clauses with attached rules in their priority sequence order similar to the Generate process. Because of the change in bind values, the system can select an alternate clause that is different from the original clause used in the document. If a different clause is used, then the system includes corresponding descendents of that clause instead of the descendents on the original clause. The system bases alternate rules and clauses that it uses on the current version. Any manual changes that were made within the alternate document structure are lost

• Refresh of elements not residing within a document structure.

  The system does not modify any content. It replaces only old bind values with the new bind value and retains any manual changes.

• Manual insertion of nonrepeating clauses in Microsoft Word:

  • If you manually include a nonrepeating clause in the Microsoft Word document using the Research task pane in Microsoft Word, and the clause contains a nonrepeating bind variable, the system resolves the variable after you check in the document and click the Refresh Document button.

  • If you insert a repeating bind variable in a Microsoft Word document, the system cannot automatically resolve the bind. It expands and resolves the repeating binds during the initial generation of the document.