This guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and managing Word templates for our upcoming revamped binders. These control what your binder indexes look like, enabling your organization to maintain brand consistency and produce professionally formatted indexes.
Note: Word templates can be tricky to setup. If you're having trouble, contact us at support@legatics.com and we can help out!
Heads-up: Binder Word templates apply only to our upcoming revamped Binders. They won’t work with the current version of binders in the platform (which use the portrait template from list Word templates).
Users won’t see or use binder Word templates until the new Binders experience is released. We've made them available early so you can prepare and set them up in advance.
Before you get started
Word template overview: Please read our article that provides an overview of how Word templates work in Legatics. It'll make setting up binder Word templates faster and more straightforward!
Order of steps: This article outlines a recommended order for setting up binder Word templates. However, you can complete Step B (Add categories) and Step C (Add templates) before Step A (Prepare your Word files) if you prefer - this can be helpful for preparing your templates in advance, so you're ready to upload your files when ready.
Converting list Word templates: If you've already setup list Word templates, follow the steps set out here to convert them to binder Word templates.
Binder styles: When generating indexes, users can choose between two styles: contents or table. You don’t need to upload separate templates for each - one template can support both styles.
The contents style presents the index like a table of contents, with each section or document appearing on its own line.
The table style displays the index in a table, with each section or document appearing on its own row, with sections merged into a single cell.
Clickable demo
In the rest of this article, we’ve outlined all the steps you need to set up binder Word templates. We've also got a clickable demo that visually walks you through the process - just click the image to get started.
Step A: Prepare your Word files
In this step, you prepare your Word files so they're ready to upload to Legatics in Step D. We recommend following them as outlined to ensure a smoother setup process.
Important: Make sure you're working in a .docx file. Other Word file types - such as .doc - aren’t supported.
1 - Design your template
You can fully customise your Word templates to reflect your branding - cover pages, headers, footers, and more. This is your opportunity to create a modern, professional look that matches your house style.
While we can’t assist with the design itself, this is the ideal first step before diving into the technical setup. We recommend involving your design or marketing team to help ensure your templates are polished and on-brand.
Images: If you're adding images to your template, set them to wrap behind text and send them behind text
2 - Add text styles
You need to create 5 text styles in the Word file for the following elements:
Sections (x3)
Documents
Table title
See this article to learn about text styles and how to create them
Hint: Give your styles clear, easily recognisable name - such as SectionLevel1. This makes it easier to identify the style when the file is uploaded.
Sections
Binders support sections, which are used to group documents together. They allow for up to 3 section levels, so you’ll need to create 3 text styles (one for each level).
Below is an example of how sections appear in a generated contents style index
Below is an example of how sections appear in a generated table style index
Documents
Documents are the core of a binder. You'll need to create a text style to control how they appear in the generated index.
Below is an example of how documents appear in a generated contents style index
Below is an example of how documents appear in a generated table style index
Table title
You need to create a text style to format the titles above tables in the index.
See this article to learn about table styles and how to create them
Heads-up: Table titles aren’t used in binders yet, but setting the style now means your templates will work automatically if we add support for data tables (eg parties list, key dates, defined terms) in binders.
3 - Add table style
You need to create one table style for all tables in the export (see this article to learn about table styles and how to create them).
Good to know: Currently, only table style binders use tables.
Hint: Give your style a clear, easily recognisable name - such as LegaticsTable. This makes it easier to identify the style when the template is uploaded.
4 - Add placeholders
You can insert placeholders into your template to automatically pull in specific information from the matter. When the index is generated, these placeholders are replaced with the relevant data.
Placeholder | Populates with |
matter_name | The name of the matter |
matter_description | The description of the matter |
client_number | The number given to the client of the matter |
matter_number | The number given to the matter |
binder_name | The name of the binder |
generated_date | The date the binder was generated. Dates generate in the format |
binder_index | The sections and documents in the binder |
When adding placeholders, keep in mind the following:
Mandatory placeholders | You need to include binder_index for your templates to work. Only include this placeholder once. |
Optional placeholders | All other placeholders are optional. You can use them as many times as you want. |
Improving placeholder recognition | To make sure placeholders are recognised, when you add placeholders into your templates:
|
Step B - Add categories
Categories group templates. They act as a high-level label and make it easier for users to find the template they should use in their binder. You can organise categories by practice area or any system that suits your team.
To add a category:
From the Admin System, go to Templates > Word from the sidebar.
Select the Binders tab
In the top right corner, press + Category
In the pop-up that appears, give the category a name and press Add category
Good to know: When a category includes a published template, its name will be visible to users when selecting templates. Be sure to use clear, intuitive names that your users will easily understand. To understand how categories appear to users, see Step F (Publishing your template)
Step C - Add templates
Templates act as a container for the Word file you prepared in Step A. The settings inside it tell Legatics how to apply the text and table styles during index generation.
To add a template:
From the Admin System, go to Templates > Word from the sidebar.
Select the Binders tab
Find the category you want to add a template to, click the three-dot menu on the far right, and select Add template
In the pop-up that appears, give the category a name and description
Once done, press Add template
Good to know: Templates aren't visible to users until they're published
Step D - Upload Word file to template
Once your template is set up, you need to upload the Word file prepared in Step A.
1 - Upload your file
From the Admin System, go to Templates > Word from the sidebar.
Select the Binders tab
Find the template you want to upload the file to and click on it
In the template page, upload the file into the box at the bottom of the page
2 - Assign styles
After uploading the file, you’ll need to assign the styles you created in the Word file so Legatics knows which style to apply to each element in the export.
Table title style
Select the text style you created in Step A2 for the table title. Note: This field will display all text styles from your Word file, so be sure to select the correct one.
Table style
Select the table style you created in Step A3. Note: This field will display all table styles from your Word file, so be sure to select the correct one.
Sections inside table
Binders have sections, which group rows together. Sections can be at multiple levels. When binders indexes are generated in table style, each section appears as a merged cell spanning the width of the table. You’ll need to specify the following for sections:
Fill colour | For 3 section levels |
Text colour | For the text inside each section level |
To set the colour:
Click the colour box to open the colour picker
Enter your colour using RGB, HSL or HEX values
Click outside the picker to save your selection
Section styles
Select the text style you created in Step A2 for the 3 section levels. Note: This field will display all text styles from your Word file, so be sure to select the correct one.
Document styles
Select the text style you created in Step A2 for documents. Note: This field will display all text styles from your Word file, so be sure to select the correct one.
Once you're happy with the setup, press Save to apply the styles.
Step E - Preview template
Once you've uploaded your Word file and assigned the necessary styles, you can preview how the template will look when used in a binder export. This helps ensure everything is correctly formatted before users see it.
To preview:
Click the Preview button in the top-right corner of the template page.
Configure the preview settings, then press Preview template
A sample index will be generated using dummy data, allowing you to see how your styles appear in context.
Review the layout, styling, and structure - check that section headers, document entries, and table formatting all look as expected. If you need to make any changes, you'll need to edit your Word file and upload it again to the template.
When previewing a binder template, you can simulate how it will look using different export settings - just like users will be able to when generating an actual binder index.
Specifically you can:
Choose a style: Select between the Contents or Table index styles to see how your template renders in each format. Both are supported by a single template—there’s no need to upload separate files.
Right align numbers: Move numbers so they appear at the right of the page and after document names.
Add a separator: When right aligned, choose a separator between document names and numbers.
These settings allow you to closely preview how the template will look for different user configurations - helping you fine-tune layout and spacing before going live.
Step F - Publish template
Once you’ve uploaded your Word file, assigned all required styles, and previewed your template to confirm everything looks correct, the final step is to publish it.
Publishing makes the template available for selection when creating binders in Legatics, or changing to another template. Until a template is published, it won’t be visible or usable by users.
To publish your template:
From the Admin System, go to Templates > Word from the sidebar.
Select the Binders tab
Find the template you want to upload the file to and click on it
In the template page, press the Publish button in the top right of the page
Good to know: If you make changes to the Word file after publishing it, binders that use that template won't automatically get the updated file. They'll need to reselect the template to refresh the file attached to their binder.
Once templates are published, users can select them when creating binders - and switch to a different template at any time if needed.
Editing templates
Good to know: Binders that use a template you edit won't be impacted by the changes below
Replacing the Word file
If you want to replace your Word file, simply press Replace in Word file styles section of the template. This will let you pick a new file to upload. Once it uploads, you'll need to reassign styles from the new file.
Note: Binders that use that template won't automatically get the updated file. They'll need to reselect the template to refresh the file attached to their binder.
Updating styles
Simply follow Step 2D above.
Note: Binders that use that template won't automatically get the updated file. They'll need to reselect the template to refresh the file attached to their binder.
Downloading the Word file
To get a copy of the underlying template, simply press Download in the Word file styles section of the template. This is helpful if you want to change the template, and means you don't have to save it somewhere internally!
Renaming a template
Click on the template you want to update
In the template details section change the name
Press save to apply the changes
Changing template description
Click on the template you want to update
In the template details section change the description
Press save to apply the changes
Changing template category
Click on the template you want to update
In the template details section change the category
Press save to apply the changes
Unpublish template
Click on the template you want to update
At the top right of the page, click the Unpublish button
The template won't be visible or usable to users
Editing categories
Good to know: Binders that use a template assigned to a category you edit won't be impacted by the changes below
Renaming a category
Find the category you want to update
Click the three-dot menu on the far right, and select Rename
In the pop-up that appears, rename the category
Note: Categories are automatically sorted A>Z. You can't change this.
Deleting a category
Find the category you want to delete
Click the three-dot menu on the far right, and select Delete
In the pop-up that appears, confirm deleted
Note: You can only delete categories that don't have any templates in them. Move templates to another category to empty the category you want to delete.
Fixed index settings
The following settings in indexes are fixed by Legatics, and can't currently be set by System Admins in Word files or by users in binders.
Table style index
Numbering | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
Indentation of sections and documents | None |
Bolding of section text | Always bolded |
Names of columns | No and Document |
Contents style index
Right aligned off
Numbering | 1., 2., 3., 4. etc |
Indentation of sections and documents | None |
Distance between number and document name | 0.75cm |
Hanging indentation | 0.75cm (to align with distance between number and document name) |
Right aligned on
Numbering | 1, 2, 3, 4 etc |
Hanging indentation | 0.75cm (to align with distance between number and document name) |
Position of number | Aligned to right margin of document |
Space between document name and separator | Space added (to visually separate both) |