Fields, merge tags and formulas

A template is more than placeholders. Fields ask for the parts that change, merge tags fill in the parts that are known, and formulas work out everything in between, so the finished document is right the first time, whoever filled it in.

A formula and the fields it uses, in the template editor

Documents that do the thinking for you

  • Fields come in five kinds: text, number, date, select and toggle. Each has a hint, a default, an allowed range or a list of options, and a format for how the value appears, such as a long date, two decimals or capitals. A required field can't be skipped; a named field repeats wherever it is referenced.
  • Merge tags fill themselves in: the document's date and number, the author, the organization, shared workspace values such as the company address or bank account. Change a shared value once and every template has it.
  • Formulas use familiar, Excel-like functions to calculate from the fields: a due date thirty days after the document's date, a probation that ends three months after the start, a total with a discount applied, a sentence that reads one way when a toggle is on and another when it is off. Each formula is checked as you write it, with the fix offered when something is missing.

Next up: An AI assistant that drafts, finds the fields and fills in the form