Setting up Dynamic Tables Using DraftMate
Dynamic Tables on DraftMate
With Dynamic Tables, you can ask the same question multiple times to collect data about an undefined number of people/items/things. For example, this is helpful in collecting information about new employees joining in the upcoming month.
How is a Dynamic Table different from a regular Table on MS Word?
Dynamic Tables on SpotDraft have a fixed number of columns which you can define. The number of rows can keep varying for every new contract.
To understand this better, let's take the example of collecting Employee Details. The HR team knows the information that needs to be collected for every new employee who is joining (Eg. Employee Name, Designation etc). However, the number of employees that join every month varies. This means the number of rows on the table with new employee details will change every month. With Dynamic Tables, you don't have to worry about defining the number of rows. SpotDraft will automatically take care of it by dynamically inserting new rows based on the need.
When should you use a regular MS Word Table?
When you clearly know the number of rows and columns that need to be in a contract, use the regular table option on your MS Word app. The values that need to be part of each cell in the table can be collected as separate questions on the questionnaire, and the linked variables can be inserted into the table. You can do this by inserting a regular Table on your MS Word document, and then use DraftMate to insert Simple Variable in the respective cells.
How to create a Dynamic Table on SpotDraft?
Step 1: When you are creating a new question using SpotDraft's questionnaire builder, pick the Question Type as "Dynamic Table"
Step 2: You will be asked to define the columns of the Dynamic Table and the input type you expect for each of the column (Eg. Short Answer, Currency, Duration). This means users will be able to enter only these type values into the Dynamic Table.
You can use the "+Add Another" option to add as many columns as you like. We recommend a maximum of 6 columns.
How will a Team member or Counterparty enter values into the Dynamic Table?
Along with the other questions you set up, the Dynamic Table question will also appear in the questionnaire. However, a Dynamic Table question will appear as a Table. The respondent just has to click anywhere on the table to add the desired values.
How a Dynamic Table appears to the questionnaire respondent
How to add rows to your table on the go
How to add a Dynamic Table into the template document using DraftMate?
Using DraftMate word plug-in, it's really easy for you to insert a Dynamic Table variable into your .docx template file.
Instead of inserting a Simple Variable, click on the Insert Type dropdown options to find the Dynamic Table option. Next, pick the columns you want to insert into the document, and then click on Insert Variable.
Inserting Dynamic Variable into your template document
A small snippet will get inserted into your .docx template which will have just a single row. This will automatically scale into the number of rows added by the respondent when the contract gets generated.
Dynamic Tables have been used extensively on SpotDraft to create Order Forms, Term Sheets and Consultant Agreements. Questions of type Dynamic Tables are easier to answer, consume less space in the questionnaire, and result in a much crisper document.
If you need any help in setting up a Dynamic Table, please get in touch with your Customer Success Manager today.