Draft/Final (Draft Stamp)

Letters and many other types of documents are typically prepared as Draft documents and then Finalized. This may involve several steps, such as:

The Draft Stamp feature simplifies the process of making a document version "draft" or "final."

This makes the Draft Stamp a powerful tool in performing several steps at one time.

Click the Draft Stamp button, or press SHIFT+ALT+Z.

Note: Depending on the state of the document, it may appear in either of the two modes:


1. Switch to "Draft Mode"

 

2. Switch to "FINAL Mode"

Think: Toggle

Though one of the main functions of the Draft/Final feature is to place a Draft Stamp on a document, it truly should be thought of as a Toggle switch, that switches your document between Draft Mode and Final Mode.

Automatic Switching

In most instances, the Draft/Final feature will automatically detect the current mode of the document and default to switching to the opposite mode.

For example, if a document currently contains a Draft Stamp, you will be prompted to switch to "FINAL Mode."

Forced Switching

Though you may be prompted to switch to "FINAL Mode" you can still choose the switch to "DRAFT Mode" (Or vise versa).

This option is useful for replacing the existing Draft Stamp with an updated (or different) one, switching paper trays, or controlling the visibility of hidden text.

The Draft Stamp

One of the main functions of the Draft/Final feature is to place an"Electronic" Draft Stamp on your document. Or in the case of "Switch to FINAL Mode," to remove the Draft Stamp.

Note: The Draft Stamp is a Word "Text Box" that is placed inside one or more headers in your document.

Types of Stamps

There are many types of Stamps available. To access them, click the Personal Optionsbutton at the bottom left of the Draft/Final dialog box..

In the above image the "Draft Stamp with Firm Name, Date and Time" is chosen.

As with the other options, your selections are remembered. The next time the Draft/Final feature is used the previous selection will be loaded.

All Sections Option

By default, the Draft Stamp will be placed in the "Current Header" of the "Current Section" of your document as indicated below:

This is a sample of how the Draft Stamp can appear on your document:

For documents with section breaks, you must place your insertion point somewhere in the section where the Draft Stamp should appear.

By choosing the "All Sections / Headers" option, the Draft/Final feature will loop through every section and place a Draft Stamp in every header of the document.

Graphic Box Option

Selecting this option places a Graphic Box Border around the text of the Draft Stamp.

Date AutoUpdate Option

By default, any date or time that appears in the Draft Stamp is static text. This is so that the draft version of the document can be identified by its date or time.

Checking the AutoUpdate Option changes the Date or Time so that it is a "Date Code." Meaning that it will change each time the document is opened.

WARNING! For many legal documents, it is not advisable to use a Draft Stamp indication that does not fix the date and/or time at the time the document is stamped. Check with the responsible attorney for legal documents before using this option.

Hidden Text

Often comments, notations, bcc: lines, graphic marks, and sometimes even letterhead is marked as "Hidden Text" in your document. This is a handy way of keeping information within the document that is not necessarily viewed or printed in its final form.

Unless the options for controlling "Show Hidden Text" and "Print Hidden Text" are unchecked, the Draft/Final feature will:

In Draft Mode - Show Hidden Text and Print Hidden Text

In Final Mode - Conceal Hidden Text and Not Print Hidden Text

Note: In Word XP (2002) style separators are inherently marked as hidden text. Therefore, for documents with style separators, it is not recommended to print hidden text in draft mode for documents that should appear in proper format.

Switching Paper Trays

One of the more useful aspects of the Draft/Final feature is its ability to switch paper trays. Once the paper trays for your printer have been selected, the Draft/Final feature remembers them and switches trays automatically.

Selecting Paper Trays

To set the paper trays for your current printer, click the Personal Options button at the bottom left of the Draft/Final dialog box.

Notice that your current printer is identified on the line "Bins For: \\Your Server\Your Printer."

There are two drop-down menu tray selections For Letters and two for General Documents.

Letters may use separate bins for the 1st and 2nd pages of the final version.

For Letters, use the drop-down menus for the First Page Letterhead and Second Page Letterhead and select the appropriate trays for these as well.

For General Documents, use the drop-down menus to select the proper trays for "Final Paper" and "Draft Paper".

Once the trays are set, click the Personal Options button to hide the tray options.

Tray Selections for Multiple Printers

If you use more than one printer, you may wish to set the paper trays for each.

Simply select the alternate printer in Word and repeat the tray selection process above.

To switch printers in Word - From the Word menu select "File" then "Print." Choose the appropriate printer from the drop-down menu, then click the "Cancel" button.

Word Tray Selection Troubleshooting

The Draft/Final feature uses Word's Page Setup feature to select printer trays. But there are other methods of selecting trays, and some will interfere with Word's ability to switch trays.

NT Forms is a Windows "Print Queue" based paper selection system that uses Document Size or "Form to Tray Assignment" to route pages to the proper paper tray. However, this is not fully implemented in MS Word and will only interfere with tray selection. Check with your systems administrator if you suspect that NT Forms is being used in your system. NT Forms should be set to "Un-Assigned" in order for Word to work properly.

Printer Device Settings Problems - The Draft/Final tray selection drop-down menus get the list of trays directly from the "Print Device Driver" in Windows. If the needed tray does not exist in the drop-down menu, most likely the printer has not been set properly in Windows. See the "Device Settings" TAB for your Printer and ensure that all installed trays are selected as available.

HP Printer Quick Sets - Some HP printers have a "Form to Tray Assignment" mechanism called Quick Sets. Setting anything other than "Factory Defaults" will override Word's capability of selecting trays.

Inserting Dates as Code or Text

WordTricks has a special feature for the insertion of a date that can be placed on any document at the insertion point.

With such document, the Draft/Final feature will convert these dates to a "Date Code" (the date changes daily) when the document is in Draft mode, and to "Plain Text" (the date is fixed) when the document is in Final mode.

Uncheck this option if you do not wish for the date to be converted.

Electronic and Hidden Text Modes

The Electronic mode selects the options commonly used to prepare the document for faxing or e-mail transmission.

The Hidden Text mode toggles the Show Hidden Text and Print Hidden Text options either on or off, depending on their current state in the document.

This is useful for exposing BCC: lines and other hidden items when no Draft Stamp is needed.

 

Copyright © 2008 WordTricks Development, LLC.
www.wordtricks.com