Exporting documents

ClauseBase provides many options when exporting documents. 

Type of export

ClauseBase currently supports the following export formats:

exports to a Microsoft Word (DOCX) file
exports to Portable Document Format (PDF)
copies the text on your computer’s clipboard, so you can paste it in other software

Depending on the browser you are using and the software you are pasting the software in, this may result in some formatting (particularly line indents) getting lost. If you require strong layout fidelity, please do not use this copy operation: instead export to MS Word and copy/paste from within MS Word.

embeds the document as an attachment (either DOCX or PDF) of an email

If you are using Windows, ClauseBase actually exports towards a .MSG email file intended for consumption by Microsoft Outlook (and some email programs as well). On other operating systems, ClauseBase exports to a .EML file, which can be read by many different email programs.

It is possible that exporting a document as an email attachment is not possible in your orgnanisation’s network due to security settings. Please contact your administrator if you are having problems exporting a document in this manner.

Export options

When you click on the options button  in the toolbar, you see a host of options that configure how your document will be exported. Note that not all options apply in all situations.

Exporting translations

ClauseBase allows you to export a multi-language document into two or more columns. 

The typical use case is a situation where one of the parties to a contract does not understand the main language of the contract — for example in an employment context with a foreign employee, or in situations where for regulatory reasons a  contract needs to have a different language than the parties’ language.

You can export multiple languages by checking one or two additional languages besides the currently active language. Optionally, you can then also configure:

  • When borders is checked, borders will be inserted in between the columns.
  • When landscape rotation is checked, the page will always be rotated towards landscape, irrespective of the current page style settings. In most cases, this will be preferred for legibility reasons.

In exceptional cases — typically the signature boxes — you may want to export a specific clause in a single language only, instead of being printed in two different columns.

If such is desired, then select the clause in question and under advanced check don’t translate in multi-language output. (If you are the clause author and would like this single-output to be the default, then check the identically named option under the clause’s custom styling).

In the example below, you can see that the signature table is only printed once (with the employee’s signature at the left side and the employer’s signature at the right side). After all, if this document would actually get signed, then it would make little sense to have a cramped, two-column table at the left side and an identically cramped table at the right side.

Export comments

If this option is selected, all legal comments will be printed in the document, through MS Word’s comments functionality.

Export with … changes

The document should be saved at least once before this option will be visible.

This setting configures whether any changes vis-à-vis the original template should be shown in the output. 

  • export with no changes is the default: no changes will be visible at all
  • export with changes will export a single file, with changes visible through MS Word’s markup feature (track changes)
  • export with changes & without changes will export two files (combined in a ZIP file): one with no changes visible (aka the “clean version”), and another with the changes visible
  • export with changes in PDF & version without changes will also export two files (combined a ZIP) file, but will force the version with changes to always be outputted as PDF. This option will be equal to the previous option when you would choose PDF as the output format, i.e. when you would press the  button.

Apply protection

This setting allows you to define whether the outputted MS Word file should receive some sort of protection.

This setting will have no effect when outputting to a PDF file.

  • Do not apply protection in .docx is the default: anyone can edit the file, without restrictions, and without any change tracking
  • Do not allow changes: will not allow any changes to be made to the MS Word file without the password
  • Allow only comments: only allows comments to be made (no other types of edits) without the password
  • Only allow completing forms: allows you to protect a document, with the exception of certain forms that can still be filled out. This functionality is enabled through the use of the textbox special functions (see e.g.: https://help.clausebase.com/kb/special-functions/#textbox)
  • Enforce tracking of changes: allows all edit operations to be made, but will always track those changes (i.e., without the password, it will not be possible for the receiver of the file to turn off track changes in MS Word)
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