Keep documents current with placeholders

Insert live values, cross-references and tables into a document so it updates itself when the information behind it changes, configure a live table, and define placeholders of your own.

Quick summary

• A placeholder pulls live information into a document, so updating its source, like your registered address, updates every document that uses it.
• Changing a live table, such as a hazard log summary, affects only that table, unless you switch on Apply to all instances.
• You can’t change a custom placeholder between Pastable (a one-off copy) and Synced (stays live) without redoing every insertion.

Why placeholders

A placeholder pulls live information from elsewhere in Assuric, or holds text you define. It’s a reference rather than a copy, so updating the source, like your registered address, updates every document that uses it.

Placeholders in a draft document, highlighted so you can see at a glance what is filled in for you: organisation, document ID and a custom effective date, all shown here without you typing any of it.

Insert a placeholder

Type @ in the editor and pick a placeholder from the list. It shows highlighted while you edit.

Typing @ in the editor opens the placeholder list. 1 is the search box that takes the place of the @ you typed; type in it to filter the list. 2 is one of its groups, Company Information, below General.

Cross-reference another document

To link another document by name, like your privacy notice, type @document and pick Document. The link survives renames and new versions.

Typing @document opens the placeholder menu filtered to that word. 1 is Document under General, the cross-reference itself. Everything below it under Document Information (Document ID, Document Type, Document Tags, and so on) is metadata about the current document, not a link to another one.

Configure a live table

For what a live table shows, see Live tables.

The live table configuration panel, shown here for a Document Version History table. 1 is Columns, for which fields show; 2 is Appearance; 3 is Filters.

Click a live table to configure it. For a Hazard Log Summary, for example, Filters sets which hazards it includes, and Filter by Risk Level keeps only those with an undesirable initial or residual risk.

The Filters tab for a Hazard Log Summary. 1 is Undesirable residual risk, switched on. 2 is the preview's filter summary: the rows below it are only hazards for the chosen product whose residual risk is undesirable or higher.

• Preview: it shows the first 5 matching rows.
• Scope: changes apply to this table only, unless you switch on Apply to all instances to change every copy.
• Case reports: the live hazard log table covers using a Hazard Log Summary in a clinical safety case report.

Create a custom placeholder

When the defaults don’t cover a value you repeat, define your own, like “Team responsible for onboarding” with the value “HR department”.

1. Open Placeholder Settings

   In the editor, open Settings → Placeholders. Click Add Placeholder to open Create Custom Placeholder.

   

   The Placeholder Settings panel. 1 is Custom Placeholders, the ones you define; 2 is Default Placeholders, the built-ins Assuric ships.

2. Fill in the details

   Give it a label, pick a colour, choose a Placeholder Type and enter its value. Add a description if you like.

   

   The Placeholder Type dropdown in the Create Custom Placeholder dialog, showing all five types.

Pastable and Synced can’t be swapped later without redoing every insertion.

• Pastable becomes ordinary text in each document. Use it for a standard clause each document adapts.
• Synced stays live and updates everywhere. Use it when every copy must stay identical.

What we recommend

Use a custom placeholder for any value that appears in more than 2 documents and might change, like a product name.

Related articles

The Assuric document editor

Where you insert placeholders, and everything else about writing a document.

Default placeholders

Every placeholder that comes with Assuric, and what an approved version keeps.