Template Guide

How TrueClause detects placeholders

TrueClause automatically detects fields in your Word document using three formats:

• Double curly braces: {{company_name}}
• Square brackets: [Company Name]
• Single curly braces: {date}

Any text in one of these formats will be detected as a placeholder and turned into a field for you to fill in.

Setting up your template

For best results, replace every blank or fill-in-the-blank field in your document with a named placeholder before uploading.

Instead of leaving a blank line or underscores, use a descriptive name:

• Instead of [______] use [client name]
• Instead of [DATE] use [date of agreement] — although the platform can pick up [DATE], adding a better description helps you know exactly what is meant to be inserted
• Instead of [insert name] use [insert first signatory name] or [insert_first_signatory_name]

Also, do not use the same exact placeholder name for different fields. The platform populates the placeholders with the same description to reduce repetitive work. For example, do not use [DATE] for both date of agreement and date of payment. It should be [date of agreement] and [date of payment].

The more descriptive the name, the easier the form will be to complete.

Optional clauses

If a section of your document is optional — include it or remove it entirely — use this format:

[NONE]/[your optional text]

On the form this appears as a dropdown: (exclude this text) or the optional text. Selecting exclude removes the clause cleanly from the generated document.

Alternative language

If your document has two or more options for a clause, use the slash format:

[Option A]/[Option B]/[Option C]

This creates a dropdown with all options. Only the selected option appears in the generated document.

Unnamed blanks

Blanks like [______] or [•] cannot be automated because they have no label. TrueClause will flag these on upload. Replace them with named placeholders before uploading.

Need help?

We can standardise your templates for you. Send your templates to support@trueclause.com and we will prepare them for use on TrueClause.