User Reference

Documents containing XpressDox syntax are called templates, and are constructed in Microsoft® Office Word with the fixed text typed as in any normal document, but the pieces of variable data are entered as Fillpoints. A Fillpoint is the name of the data element, enclosed inside the fillpoint delimiters, which are « and ».

When including part (or all) of one document into another, which is the basis of the BaseTemplate, IncludeTemplate and InsertDocument commands, there is always an issue about what formatting (styles, fonts, etc.) should be applied in the resulting document. XpressDox provides three options for this.

The command can be used to force appearance of a control on an interview, or to change the default position of the control.

XpressDox document assembly syntax is fairly straightforward, and by paying attention to these few rules you can ensure your templates work first time, every time. This articles describes the syntax rules for data element names, command names, and functions, and describes when to use quote marks.

Every folder where templates can be stored, and from which they are selected with the Run Template function, can have a configuration saved in it. When a folder is selected as the Configuration for folder, it means that the configuration settings entered on the screen will be saved in that folder.

Although other systems have concepts like ‘Private Folders’ and ‘Shared Folders’, these concepts are not necessary as such in XpressDox, as they can be provided for, and more flexibly, by the combination of the features of Merged Configuration and Helper Folders.

XpressDox Docussembly™ document assembly software allows you to configure your installation to centralize letterheads, clause libraries, data sources, and XpressDox Explorer. This is a powerful yet simple way to scale the benefits of XpressDox Docussembly™ across your organization.

This tab is only available for the Home folder. It enables the user to specify a number of templates that they use frequently, and these templates are then presented in the Microsoft® Office Word UI in a menu, so that the user can have quick access to them.

These are data elements that appear as data elements on standard templates. A typical example is the user’s email address and telephone extension on a letterhead. In order to save a user typing their own details into the data capture UI every time they run a template, the Standard Data Elements feature allows them to enter these details into the configuration of a folder.

This command enables you to apply section headings to different parts of the data capture interview.

It is possible for fillpoint delimiters to be re-defined on any given installation of XpressDox. The decision to do this needs to be taken seriously because as soon as any significant number of templates have been authored using a particular choice of Fillpoint markers, a change to the markers will require a change to all the templates authored up to that point.

The Data Sources facility provides a way for data captured into some other system to be merged into templates. For example, users may wish to be able to have address and other contact information from Microsoft® Outlook inserted into letters. This would be achieved by defining the Outlook Contacts as a Data Source.

As well as configuring the folders where documents and data are to be stored, the filename which will be given to the saved documents and data can be defined, using the ‘Pattern for saved file name’ described in configuring standard folders.

In XpressDox document assembly software any number of Helper Folders can be configured. A typical example of a folder for which this type of shortcut is defined would be one in which letterheads or other standard templates like fax headers, etc. are kept. In this way these standard templates can be kept separately to the templates that use them.

The Document Save Folder will be the default folder to which documents produced by running a template will be saved. When a template has been run, the user will be asked to provide a name for the document via a Save File dialog, and at that stage will be able to change the place where the document is saved.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept which enables the results of calculations to be stored for further use in the template, and even for future templates.

XpressDox document assembly software makes it easy to include data from a data sources, and using the ‘Refresh’ and ‘Save’ options with templates using data sources.

XpressDox has been designed to fill marked-up templates in two general situations: The first is when data is captured and stored as part of an application; and, the second is to assist users who use the system within Microsoft® Office Word to produce standard documents.

The ForEach and If commands are called ‘block commands’ because they are terminated with a separate End command. Between the start and end of the block there are other Fillpoints. There is a special behaviour related to block commands to help with eliminating unwanted empty paragraphs when the start and end appear on different paragraphs.

Formatting functions can be applied to any data element name where the value of the data element is to be included in the resulting text, that is when the data element name would otherwise exist in a Fillpoint all on its own, or inside a List command.

Use the Caption command to change the name of the data element in the interview to make it something a little more readable

List the repeated items which appear in a «ForEach>:> command

Calculate the minimum of two values

Force documents to be saved with a specified file name

Insert the current date and/or time

Insert the current date

The Required command indicates that a data element must be given a value in the interview.

Places the cursor at the position of the ComeHereAfterRun command when the template has been run and the document is merged.

Define the file path of auto saved documents

Automatically Include or exclude text from a merged document based on the answer set provided by the user

Test for a string anywhere in another string

Force data sets to be saved with a specified file name

This command can be used to provide help text for the XpressDox interview.

The user of the template is given a drop down list which is populated from a text file.

Hide fields from the interview with the ExcludeFromIV command.

Define the file path of auto saved data sets

The Count Command returns the number of repeated items inside a ForEach

Troubleshoot missing or floating End() commands

Test whether a string starts with a given string

In some situations, the name of a file to be included in the document is contained in the Data Set. In these cases, instead of IncludeTemplate, the command InsertDocument is used.

This command presents the user with a true or false checkbox

Test the end of a string

Sometimes it would be useful to be able to customize a source template for more than just the letter body. For example, it may be that the Data Set contains data for more than one set of addressees and the source document needs to be able to indicate which of these addressees is to be included on the base template.

Letterheads are of special interest because they are used as the basis for many documents. With XpressDox it is possible to create one letterhead template, and by referring to it with the BaseTemplate command, use that template as the basis for many other documents without having to specify the letterhead formatting in those documents.

Insert text below a data element on the interview

Place text above a data element on the interview

The ChooseFromSamples command is used to present the user with a list. The user may either select one of the existing samples or type in their own value.

Choose the value of a data element from a data source

Present the user with a list of choices in the form of ‘Radio Buttons’

Instead of capturing a value for a data element, the ChooseFromList command can be used to present the user with a list of options for the value of a data element

Capture a data element, without it appearing at that point in the document, or to rearrange the order of the questions in the interview

Use the CaptureAsLongText Command to place a multi-line control on the interview into which data can be captured

Although XpressDox does a lot to make sure it leaves no unwanted empty paragraphs behind, it is sometimes necessary to manually remove the unwanted paragraphs. The RemoveParagraph() command will empower the template author to do this.

The central issue with repeating data is that the number of repeated data elements is not known at the time the template is authored, and so XpressDox offers the ForEach, List and Ordinal commands as a way of processing a variable number of repeated data elements.

XpressDox merges XML data into templates to produce a final merged document. This article discusses the concept of a Data Set and how XpressDox handles and even constructs Data Sets.

XpressDox uses XSLT technology to insert data elements into Fillpoints. This means that a vast amount of functionality is available to the experienced user, especially the XSLT functions, which are used to format data. XpressDox functions and XSLT functions can be mixed in one Fillpoint

With the Tab command the template author can split long or complex data capture interviews by use of Tabs in XpressDox Docussembly™ document assembly software.

Calculate the maximum of two values

This article provides guidance on possible solutions when XpressDox does not load, either immediately after installation, or at a later stage.

The GetValidFileName function will examine a value for characters which are illegal in a file name, and either remove those illegal characters, or replace them with a string supplied to the function.

The CreateDataElement function adds a new data element to the data set for the template.

The Conditional Capture feature of XpressDox will automatically hide fillpoints on the data capture interview. This happens when the document assembly logic in the template renders a data element to be irrelevant in a particular situation.

The calculation features of XpressDox require that values conform to a specific format. This format permits numeric digits, an optional leading sign (+ or -) and an optional decimal point. Thousands separators, spaces and other such characters are not permitted. The RenderAsNumeric function assists with this.

Text can be included in or excluded from the merged document depending on the value of one or more data elements in the data set.

Using the SetCustomDocumentProperty command in an XpressDox template, a Word Custom Document Property can be defined in the merged document.

An amount of money can be stored as a numeric value, and rendered as a natural language phrase when needed. The Currency function does this.

Commands and functions appear the same, but their functionality is different and in some cases this difference is important.

Sometimes a template author will want to record the reasons for using specific commands or document logic, and record this inside the template itself. The Comment command is available for this.

The SetInitialValue command enables a template author to provide an initial value for a data element to be captured in the interview screen.

The SetMultipleDocumentFilter empowers the template author to designate a filter which will apply when the Document per Repeated Item is used.

It is unkind to a user to expect them to fill in the full names of a person and then to type in the initials of that person. The ExtractInitials function relieves the user of this burden.

A numeric value can be formatted in many different ways under control of a pattern string.

The CountOf function returns the number of occurrences of one string within another.

The «Script()» command enables the template author to give a name to a chunk of text, and to use that chunk repeatedly in a template by using the «UseScript()» command where the chunk is required.

Using the «Rule()» command the template author can make sure that data values entered by the user in the interview for a template are syntactically correct and to some extent that they are consistent with each other.

The CurrencySymbol command aids in the internationalisation of a template in that the currency symbol is not hard coded in the template.

Running a template on an old version of XpressDox might give rise to confusing error messages if new features are used.

Installing XpressDox for Word 2010 can fail if the version of XpressDox which was downloaded was for the Word 2010 version of the other “bitness”

The InterviewTitle command can be used to set the title to something more meaningful to the user than the default title

XpressDox supports the user-facing interface in the language of the user. Bi-lingual interviews are also supported.

A reseller who invests a lot of time into a set of templates may want to protect those templates from being used by unauthorised users. The RestrictToLicenses command helps with this.

Leading and trailing white space (and other characters) can be removed from a value using the Trim function

The default system behaviour resulting in multiple versions of merged files being saved into a folder can be switched off by the SetSavedDocumentNameVersioning command.

A template author can specify, by template, which templates should be merged and saved in PDF format using the SaveAsPDF command.

The user can be presented with a series of interview forms that are navigated via Next and Back buttons.

There are a number of processing phases performed when a template is run. Understanding these phases is useful when using the advanced file handling and other features of XpressDox.

Insert an entire template in the document

Related templates can be run with one command using «RunTemplates»

The RunWordMacro command will cause the named macros to be run after the template and data have been merged.

While a template is being run, the MergeTemplate function can be used to cause further templates to be run after that template has been completed.

There are various ways that XpressDox functions can be used to test the contents of strings and manipulate strings. Some examples are given.

Using the «Define()» command, the template author can define the interview layout properties of a data element.

The WindowsLogonUserFunction enables the template author to gain access to the Windows® user name with which the person running the template logged on to Windows®.

Various functions are available which change the case of values

This function provides a table lookup mechanism for retrieving values from a table of values.

This function aids in selection of the correct definite article in a sentence.

Replace all occurrences of one string in a source string with another string.

This function converts number to words in various languages

The Now function inserts the current date and/or time into the document.

Max and Min calculate the maximum and minimum, respectively, of two numbers.

Dates can be formatted in many different ways and languages.

This function converts spaces to “hard” or non-breaking spaces.

Extract an item from a list given the number of the item.

Use the «Ordinal» to return the ordinal value (first, second, third) of an item in a list

This function will add a value to the value of an XpressDox variable.

The “th” in “25th December 2011” can be produced using the OrdinalSuffix function.

The Gender function enables the template author to insert the correct gender-related pronouns in the finished document.

XpressDox can fill PDF forms with data from an XpressDox interview, or any other data.

Any control on an XpressDox interview can be linked to a data source so that data in that control, or any other control, governs which data is to be retrieved.

Attach a hyperlink to a heading or footing in the interview.

Optimized parsing can be switched off using this command, for particular situations which warrant it.

This command will create a control in the interview that allows the user (when the template is being run) to choose the data from a data source.

Upon the completion of a document generated in the cloud, an automated email can be sent using the «SendWebEmail» command

Specify a result page after the document has been assembled

This command allows the template author to change the text of the ‘Assemble’ button at the end of the interview

A PlaceHolder can be used to include conditional headings and/or footings on an interview.

Sometimes, if a data element has an empty value, then the paragraph containing that data element should be removed from the merged document. The ShowIfHasValue function achieves this.

Control the emailing of documents and data sets, setting the button text for the Assemble Document button, and setting the return URL are possible with this set of commands.

A typical usage of this would be in conjunction with the MergeTemplate function, where the template is a master template and based on the values of data input by the user, different templates are merged.

Calculations using numbers which are not in XSLT-compliant format need the intervention of the RegionToX function.

Construction of the XpressDox interview involves algorithms which determine whether or not data elements should appear on the interview, in other words the relevance of each data element.

In the context of “relevance”, sometimes the template author would like all data elements mentioned in the template or assembly to be captured, regardless of whether their values are used in the construction of the merged document or not.

Specify that when a data element appears on the interview it should have the date picker control.

Get the number of days between two dates.

Define a coded string which will be placed in the merged document when the data element in a fillpoint is empty.

Exclude data elements from the saved data set.

When the code template is included using this command, then any of the paragraphs in the included template which contain no XpressDox fillpoints are removed from the document.

When the user enters a value in a control in the interview, the equivalent of pressing the User Other Data button is performed.

The value of a data element, caption, footing or heading can be set in the interview, depending on the value of data entered by the user.

The value of the data element will be shown in the interview, but the user will not be allowed to modify it.

Allows iteration through repeated values in a single data element.

Round a value to the nearest integer, or fraction.

XpressDox can create files which are not necessarily Word documents, such as XML, HTML, CSV, or any text format.

Build up a meaningful signature for repeating elements in the interview.

Empty interviews can be suppressed using the HideEmptyInterview command.

XpressDox can be used to transform an XML document to another format. The two functions covered here will make the task possible.

A drop down list of values sourced from the current data set can be presented in the interview.

This function can be used to return a character based on its numeric value.

This command presents an interview which contains only those data elements which are empty.

The age of a person can be calculated using YearsBetween

This command will present a horizontally arranged set of radio buttons from which the user can choose a value.

This will enable the template author to control the format of a a time of day in the merged document.

A time of day can be captured in the interview via a special control which assists the user in this task.

Produces a natural language list of values which occur in a delimited list.

Provide a cloud user with the ability to save a partially captured data set.

Set the width of a control in the interview to a fixed number of characters

Arrange controls horizontally on the interview form.

Change the font for the interview with the InterviewFont command.

This function provides a new GUID whenever it is called.

In general, where XML is sourced from other than the XpressDox interview, data elements destined for the merged document can sometimes not exist in the data set. In this case a comparison with an empty string will render a false result.

Multiple nested If commands can be avoided by use of the Select/Case/Default construct.

The CentsToCurrency and CurrencyToCents functions assist in calculations involving monetary values which then are less prone to rounding errors.

This will enable the template author to set the size of the web interview.

The RunAsHugeTemplate brings into paly a workaround an Office feature that prevents large documents being processed by Office Add-ins

This command is a shorthand for creating a group of check boxes or radio buttons which are all set by the selection of a trigger data element’s control

Conditional assembly in a template can render the pre-assembly Table of Contents no longer valid.

The AppendVr and PrependVrfunctions provide minimally cumbersome syntax for appending or prefixing values to variables.

Insert delimiters like comma, or semi colon, with the last being “and”.

These commands are used with a BaseTemplate command to achieve customizations of a Base template.

Round up or round down with the ceiling and floor functions.

Arrays are similar to variables, and have a very similar set of functions to manipulate them. XpressDox arrays can be indexed using data of (almost) any type for the index – i.e. you can index with strings or numerics, or both in the same array.

Controls can be grouped and hidden behind a drop-down, to be displayed at the user’s request.

Text files can be marked up with XpressDox fillpoints and then run – enabling code generation and related functions.

Repeating data can be captured in a grid, rather than in a separate form for each repeater.

This will emit a sound when the fillpoint is reached, and can then be used to help with debugging complicated templates, or giving feedback to the user during merging of the template.

A template can issue instructions to external programs, such as Excel or Powerpoint or other COM or .NET objects.

With this command the template author can provide a caption on the interview for a repeater.

In the Web interview, tabs can be shown either in horizontal or vertical orientation.

This function will insert a string into the given position in another string.

Some of the Advanced Properties can be set in the document which is merged from a template.

XpressDox has a powerful relevance engine which controls the appearance of data elements on the interview depending on the values of other data elements which have been captured.

The Lookup function can be used to resolve minor but significant changes in spelling, and similar situations.

The substring function provides all the functionality to extract pieces of a string, but Left and Right make some operations easier.

An image can be provided which becomes a logo for the interview.

This command works in exactly the same way as LinkToDataSource but when focus enters a control rather than when it exits.

The Eq function is used to compare long strings where the “*” wild card character helps the author to minimize typing.

Get values from the Windows registry.

Get values like folder and file name from a full file path, and manipulate other multi-delimiter strings.

A short-hand for writing otherwise very wordy If-then-else type clauses.

XpressDox will update the Word fields and Table of Contents

Embed a spreadsheet into a document in a way that the spreadsheet can be edited from within the document.

It is not always easy to determine beforehand what the format of some data elements will be. IsTrue helps handle boolean values.

The Button enables the person running the template to decide when the action(s) attached to it should be executed, if at all.

Insert the name of the template file into the assembled document.

HTML snippets can be captured and inserted into a document.

Concatenate strings with an easily visualizable format.

XpressDox can be instructed not to save the XML data set after running a template.

The document assembled as a result of running a template can be saved as HTML.

Write code conditional on the position of a repeater when the interview is active.

The template author can force the “Show Hidden Fields” functionality on some or all controls in the interview.

XpressDox can be configured to log the usage of each template.

Showing where text is inserted into a document is a useful trouble shooting tool.

Dividing an elapsed time period into hours, minutes and seconds can present challenges, which this function solves.

Conditionally removing rows and/or columns from a Word table is simplified using the RemoveRowIf command and the RemoveColumnIf command.

Test for the existence of a file before performing a file-related operation

Easily represent a list of different data elements in a single line.

Merge a data sheet showing data elements and values.

Hide a data element in the interview so that the data element can participate in conditions in interview-construction commands.

These commands enable the insertion of graphics from a file into the merged document.

Get the last day of a month without having to work out whether it is in a leap year or not.

Write performance measurement information to the dataset.

Calculate numbers raised to a power.

Ensuring the integrity of numeric data is assisted by this command.

Special Rule handling is sometimes required in the context of arithmetic features in XpressDox.

This command can be used by the template author to make sure that template runners may not use the thousands separator when capturing numeric data in the interview.

Inserts a hyperlink with a title and URL into the assembled document

Debugging a template is made easier by including one or more Log functions in the template.

Tells XpressDox where to position error messages in the Web interview.

Determine processing depending on language,

Instruct XpressDox to save the assembled document in RTF format.

Calculate the elapsed number of seconds between two times.

Create a custom button on the Web interview.

Sometime the PDF renderer does not render table formatting correctly.

A direct mechanism for extracting data from a data source.

The template author can cause changes to the values of data in a data source during assembly of the document.

Append one or more PDF documents to the assembled document.

XpressDox Rules can be applied to the data set even in cases where there is no interview.

Enable the “Save Local” feature in the browser interview.

Write the XML data set into a BLOB field in a data base.

Comparison of dates needs them to be rendered as numbers.

There are many ways to find help with XpressDox, but here is a convenient list of some of the more common troubleshooting questions we get asked.

Learning XpressDox is a bit like learning a new language. The great news is that in this language, you only need about 40 commands to become fluent!

xpressdox shortcuts

Compare two strings for other than equality.

Convert a date-and-time to a number for comparison purposes.

Enable or disable the Preview functionality during the interview process on Integration Server applications.

Restrict the preview functionality to specific templates.

Get the remainder when dividing one number by another.

Split a pragraph into two paragraphs.

Execute a sequence of functions.

Used within a Script which is to be used as a function.