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📘 Introduction

Inline amendments

📚 Exercises

🛠️ Getting Started

Before you can create inline amendments, you will need a published version of the bill (download the XML file here . For these exercises, create a project containing a published version of the following Bill:

View file
nameInline_amending_bill.xml
)

The following steps will allow you to create the data required for this exercise.

Expand
titleHow to create a project with published version of a Bill

  1. Download the XML document for the exercise

...

Create a new project selecting Northern Ireland Bill and Executive Bill and providing the title [Your Initials] Inline Amending Bill

...

  1. by clicking on the link you’ve been provided with. By default, the downloaded file is usually placed in the “downloads” folder on your computer.

  2. Log in to Lawmaker.

  3. From the Dashboard, create a new project of the type you need for the exercise. Give it a title such as “[Your Initials] [Name of exercise]”. (See Creating a new project.)

  4. From the Project tab for that project, select Document Actions > Upload document

...

  1. Specify a folder As Introduced

  2. Specify a version description As Introduced

  3. Select the downloaded Inline_amending_bill.xml file

  4. Click on Upload button

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  1. , and select the XML file for the exercise which you have downloaded. It can be uploaded into the default folder that has been created in the project. (See Create a new document by uploading an XML file.)

  2. On the newly uploaded document version

...

  1. , select Actions > Update Document Information

...

  1. and update the Title to

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Click on Update button

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  1. match the title you originally gave the project.

  2. On the uploaded document version, select Actions > Generate PDF

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  1. to generate a PDF. (See: Generating and viewing a PDF.)

  2. Select Actions > Publish version

...

  1. on the

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You now have a published version of a bill reading to start creating amendments inline.

...

  1. PDF snapshot version. (See Publishing a Bill document version.)

✏️ Exercise 1: Creating textual amendments (leave out, insert and substitute)

This exercise takes you through the process of creating different kinds of amendments inline.

Step 1: Create an inline LoDA

Inline amendments are made within an inline List of Draft Amendments (or “inline LoDA”).

Start by creating a new inline LoDA called Textual amendments for the As Introduced version of the Bill at Consideration Stage. See Creating a List of Draft Amendments (LoDA)

...

.

Expand
titleDetailed steps to create inline LoDA

  1. Open the test project containing the published Bill and go to the Amendment Workspace tab

...

  1. .

  2. Click +New

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In the Create new list of draft amendments dialog box—

  1. Type of amendment - select Inline

  2. Bill version can be left as As Introduced

  3. Select Consideration Stage for Stage

  4. Add a unique list name e.g. Textual amendments

  5. Click on the Create button

  6. The inline document will open in the Editor in a new browser tab

Insert text amendments

Create a simple ‘insert' amendment by—

...

  1. .

  2. Select “Inline” as the Type of Amendment.

  3. Select “As Introduced” from the Bill version dropdown menu.

  4. Select “Consideration Stage” from the Stage dropdown menu.

  5. Enter Textual amendments in the List name box.

  6. Click Create.

Step 2: Create some ‘insert' text amendments

In Section 2, within Article 44A, create the following insert text amendments.

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the first inline amendment

  1. Place your cursor in the location of the amendment (after “hotel,” in section 44A(1)) and click Enter to view the insert menu

  2. Select Insert text

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Within the text element which is surrounded by blue square brackets, type ‘a country mansion,’

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Save your changes and watch a unique ID (Dnumber) assigned to it like this

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Open the Inline Amendment Tools in the right-hand panel

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Click on the View Traditional Amendments button

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A list of draft traditionally formatted amendments will open in the Editor in a new browser tab with your first amendment displayed

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Now recreate the following 3 new insert text amendments in your inline document

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Save your changes and click on the View Traditional Amendments button on the Inline Amendment Tools panel

...

  1. and type a country mansion, into the empty text element

  2. Carry on creating the remaining insert amendments

  3. Click the Save icon or press CTRL+S to save your changes.

Step 3: View traditional amendments corresponding to the inline amendments

Every time you save an inline LoDA, Lawmaker updates an associated list containing the traditional form of the amendments in the inline LoDA.

View the traditional amendments and check they match what you were expecting. See Viewing traditional amendments.

Expand
titleHow to view traditional amendments from an inline LoDA

  1. From the inline LoDA, open the Inline Amendment Tools panel on the right hand side of the Editor.

  2. Click View Traditional Amendments.

A new tab will open containing the traditional amendments corresponding to the amendments in the inline LoDA.

Expected outcome of steps 1-3

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Example of an amendment with ordinality

image-20250218-163403.pngImage Removedimage-20250218-163403.pngImage Added

Example of inserting text at the start of a provision

image-20250218-163413.pngImage Removedimage-20250218-163413.pngImage Added

Example of inserting text immediately before punctuation (before the ending full-stop)

image-20250218-163422.pngImage Removedimage-20250218-163422.pngImage Added

Step 4: Create some Leave Out text amendments

In Section 3 create the following leave out text amendments

...

Create a simple ‘leave out' amendment by—

...

:

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the first inline amendment

  1. Highlight the text 'in relation' in article 44C(1).

  2. In the toolbar that appears next to the highlighted text, click Leave Out.

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected output of step 4

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Example of an amendment with ordinality

image-20250218-165134.pngImage Added

Example of leaving out text that spans over a line

image-20250218-165151.pngImage Added

Step 5: Create some Substitute text amendments

In Section 4, create the following substitute text amendments.

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the first amendment

  1. Highlight the text 'first' and in the hovering tool bar, click

...

Save your changes

...

  1. on Substitute

  2. Type second within the empty text element

  3. Carry on creating the remaining substitute amendments

Save your changes and view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click on View traditional amendments button to see the new substitute amendments).

Expected output of step 5

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Substitute a word

image-20250220-150406.pngImage Added

Substitute a phrase

image-20250219-122427.pngImage Added

Substitute a single word

image-20250219-122519.pngImage Added

Leaving out words that span over a line to the end of a line

image-20250219-122527.pngImage Added

✏️ Exercise 2: Creating structural amendments (leave out, insert and substitute)

This exercise takes you through the process of creating different kinds of amendments inline.

Step1: Create an inline LoDA

Start by creating a new inline LoDA called Structural amendments for the As Introduced version of the Bill at Consideration Stage. See Creating a List of Draft Amendments (LoDA) .

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If you want your inserted provisions numbered using the auto-assign rule (e.g (1A) after (1) or (A1) before (1), ensure your renumbering mode is set to “Off” (Tools > Turn on/off renumbering)

Step 2: Create some ‘insert' structure amendments

In and around Section 8, create the following insert amendments.

Inserting a subsection after the first subsection

...

Inserting a new section before section 8

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Inserting a new section after section 8
  1. image-20250219-125204.pngImage Added
Inserting a new section after section 9 that is contained within a cross heading

  1. image-20250219-125934.pngImage Added

    image-20250219-125849.pngImage Added
Inserting a new subsection with child paragraphs in section 7

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the first amendment

  1. In Section 8, place your cursor anywhere in subsection (1) and click Enter to view the insert menu

  2. Select Subsection and typeIn Article 42 of that Order (general permitted hours), in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), after "Article 5(1)(b)" insert "or (m)". within the empty text element

  3. Carry on creating the remaining insert amendments

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected output from steps 1-2

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Insert a new subsection

image-20250220-151534.pngImage Added

Insert new clause before

image-20250219-130124.pngImage Added

Insert new clause after

image-20250219-130137.pngImage Added

Insert new clause with grouping level (cross heading in this instance)

image-20250220-151641.pngImage Added

Insert new subsection with child paragraphs

image-20250219-130156.pngImage Added

Step 3: Create some ‘leave out' structure amendments

In Sections 10 to 12, create the following leave out amendments.

Leave out subsection (3)(b) which will include the child quoted structure
  1. image-20250219-132104.pngImage Added
Leave out Subsection (5) which will include the children paragraphs
  1. image-20250219-132115.pngImage Added
Leave out section 11
  1. image-20250219-132130.pngImage Added
Leave out paragraph (c) inside a quoted structure

image-20250220-152206.pngImage Added

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the

  1. In Section 10, place your cursor subsection (3)(b) and select ‘Paragraph’ from the breadcrumb to highlight the whole paragraph

  2. There isn’t a hovering tool bar when you select whole provisions, so instead view Inline Amendment Tools in the right-hand panel

...

Click on the View Traditional Amendments button

...

A list of draft traditionally formatted amendments will open in the Editor in a new browser tab with your first amendment displayed

...

Now recreate the following 2 new leave out text amendments in your inline document

...

  1. and click on Leave Out

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected output for step 3

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Leave out subsection (3)(b) which will include the child quoted structure

image-20250219-132226.pngImage Added

Leave out Subsection (5) which will include the children paragraphs

image-20250219-132235.pngImage Added

Leave out section 11 which, as you’ve selected Consideration Stage when creating the inline document, will auto-convert the wording to the ‘stand part’ motion wording which you will need to manually updating in the traditional list as appropriate

image-20250219-132251.pngImage Added

Leaving out a provision within a quoted structure

image-20250220-152249.pngImage Added

Step 4: Create some ‘Substitute' structure amendments

In Section 13, create the following leave out amendments.

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the first inline amendment

  1. In Section 13, place your cursor in subsection (1) and select ‘Subsection’ from the breadcrumb to highlight the whole provision

  2. There isn’t a hovering tool bar when you select whole provisions, so instead view Inline Amendment Tools in the right-hand panel and click on Substitute

  3. Type into the empty ‘text’ element In Article 60 of the Licensing Order (sale, etc., of intoxicating liquor to young persons), after paragraph (4) insert "The"

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected output with brief explanation of the type of amendment created

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Example of an amendment with ordinality

image-20250218-165134.pngImage Removed

Example of leaving out text from start of a line

image-20250218-165151.pngImage Removed

  1. FINISH HERE!

Substitute text amendments

  1. Create a simple ‘leave out’ amendment—

Substituting text in and around marked up cross references

Substituting from the start of a provision

Substituting text in the long title

✏️ Creating structural amendments (leave out, insert and substitute)

✏️ Creating hybrid amendments (part textual and part structural in composition)

✏️ Creating amendments to table cells

✏️ Adding proposer

✏️ Making tweaks to the traditional amendment

...

Substitute subsection (3) including the child paragraphs and their child quoted structures

image-20250219-133553.pngImage Added

Substitute subsection (1)

image-20250220-152735.pngImage Added

✏️ Exercise 3: Creating hybrid amendments (part textual and part structural in composition)

This exercise takes you through the process of creating different kinds of amendments inline.

Step 1: Create an inline LoDA

Start by creating a new inline LoDA called Hybrid amendments for the As Introduced version of the Bill at Consideration Stage. See Creating a List of Draft Amendments (LoDA) .

Step 2: Create some ‘insert' hybrid amendments

In Section 23, create the following insert amendments.

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the third inline amendment

  1. In Section 23, place your cursor immediately after the text ‘paragraph (3)’ and click Enter to view the insert menu

  2. Select Insert text and type— into the empty text placeholder element

  3. Insert a paragraph and type in sub-paragraph (a), omit "Good Friday or", and

  4. Insert another paragraph and leave the text placeholder empty.

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected output for steps 1-2

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Breaking subsection (2)(a) into 2 paragraphs

image-20250219-135959.pngImage Added

Adding 2 paragraphs to the end of subsection (3)

Note that the text is added after the full-stop so that Lawmaker knows it should use the ‘at end’ form of words.

image-20250219-140007.pngImage Added

Breaking subsection (4) into paragraphs

image-20250220-154925.pngImage Added

Step 2: Create some ‘leave out' hybrid amendments

In Section 25, create the following insert amendments.

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the first amendment

  1. In section 25, within Article 26A(1) (in the inserted text), highlight from the word ‘which’ to the end of paragraph (b)

  2. In the hovering tool bar select Leave Out

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected output for step 3

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Hybrid leave out removing some text and child paragraphs

image-20250219-140549.pngImage Added

Hybrid leave out which will merge 2 separate subsections into a single subsection

image-20250219-140933.pngImage Added

Step 3: Create some substitute hybrid amendments

In section 26, create the following inline amendments

image-20250220-171027.pngImage Added

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create the second inline amendment

  1. In Section 26(5) highlight from ‘paragraph' until ‘in’ in section 26(5)(c)

  2. In the hovering tool bar click on Substitute

  3. Type sub-paragraph (a) and into the empty ‘text’ element

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected output of step 4

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Substitute hybrid that will remove a paragraph

image-20250220-171122.pngImage Added

Substitute hybrid that will result in the removal of 3 paragraphs

image-20250220-171154.pngImage Added

✏️ Exercise 4: Creating amendments involving cross references

This exercise takes you through the process of creating amendments that involve cross references, either including them in your amendment or amending an existing cross reference as part of your amendment.

Step 1: Create an inline LoDA

Start by creating a new inline LoDA called Cross reference amendments for the As Introduced version of the Bill at Consideration Stage. See Creating a List of Draft Amendments (LoDA) .

Step 2: Create an amendment that edits a cross reference

In section 36, create the following amendments which are amending existing cross references and involve inserting new marked up cross references

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions to create both amendments

  1. In both cases, you need to delete the whole cross reference by highlighting it and selecting Substitute from the Inline Amendment Tools

  2. To insert the marked up cross reference, find the target provision in the structure view

  3. Right-click and select Select reference to copy and select your preferred notation

  4. Back in the Editor, paste the copied cross reference into the ‘Insert text’ element using keyboard shortcut CTRL+V

  5. Click the Save icon or press CTRL+S to save your changes.

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to check they match what you were expecting (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Expected outcome of step 2

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Substitute a single cross reference

image-20250224-094536.pngImage Added

Substituting text within a cross reference range

image-20250224-094525.pngImage Added
Info

As your inline document is a copy of the bill that is being amended, you can create cross references to the provisions within it and these will be inserted as valid cross references into the ‘as amended’ bill version if this amendment is applied.

✏️ Exercise 5: Adding proposers and supporters

This exercise takes you through the process of adding or updating proposers and supporters against your amendments.

Step1: Open an inline LoDA

Start by opening the inline LoDA you created most recently called Cross reference amendmenents from the Amendment Workspace tab

Step 2: Manage proposer and supporters in the inline LoDA

Assign a proposer to all the amendments in your inline LoDA

Expand
titleDetailed instructions on how to assign members to all amendments in your inline LoDA

  1. View the Inline Amendment Tools right-hand panel and click on the Manage Members button

  2. In the Manage proposers and supporters dialog box add a proposer name (select between a Member’s chair title, ministerial title or just their name depending on the capacity in which they are laying the amendment) and add two supporters.

  3. Click on the Update button and save your changes

Save your changes and then view the traditional amendments to see the proposers and supporters assigned to each amendment (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

Step 3: Manage proposer and supporters in the traditional LoDA

Assign a different proposer to one amendment and remove the supporters from all amendments

Expand
titleDetailed instructions how to update Members on an individual amendment

  1. Click on the proposer for any amendment in your traditional list of draft amendments and in the Manage proposers and supporters change the proposer name and delete all the supporters

  2. Click on Update button when complete

Expand
titleDetailed instructions how to update Members in bulk

  1. Select Tools > Update Members… from the upper toolbar

  2. In the Update Members dialog box, select which amendments you want to update and select Replace proposer with the selected member

  3. Type a proposer’s name into the Member(s) input field and click on the Update button

  4. Repeat the steps but this time leave all amendments selected and select Remove the selected member(s) as supporters which will remove all supporters from your amendments.

  5. Click on the Update button when complete

Save your changes when complete.

Expected outcome of steps 1 to 3

Type of amendment

Traditional amendment

Different proposers for each amendment and no supporters

image-20250224-100323.pngImage Added
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Tips

  • Create a new inline document per proposer as this will make it easier to manage proposers on all the amendments in your document

  • If you need to manage different supporters or proposers within the same document, make these changes in the traditional document by updating the individual amendment in the Editor, or making updates in bulk using Tools > Update Members… in the upper toolbar. Save these sorts of changes to the end so as to avoid any out-of-sync markers in your inline LoDA whilst drafting amendments.

✏️ Exercise 6: Handling out-of-sync amendments

This exercise explains how Lawmaker handles changes made to the traditional amendment which do not backwards sync with the inline LoDA. Warning markers are used to signify when the traditional amendment (which gets submitted) is out of sync with the inline equivalent. It’s possible to remove a warning marker if you are sure you want to overwrite the changes made to the traditional amendment.

Step 1: Open an inline LoDA

Start by opening the recently created inline LoDA called Structural amendmenents from the Amendment Workspace tab

Step 2: Make changes to a traditional amendment

Make the following changes to a new clause amendment in the traditional list and save your changes (Click on View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel)

...

Step 3: Attempt to edit the inline amendment

Attempt to edit the same amendment in the inline LoDA. A warner marker will prevent you from editing an amendment in the inline LoDA if its equivalent traditional amendment has been amended.

...

Expand
titleDetailed instructions how to create an out-of-sync amendment

  1. View the traditional amendments by clicking on View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel

  2. Add or remove some text in one of your amendments and save the changes, making a note of the DNumber

  3. Back in the inline LoDA, attempt to type into the amendment you just updated.

  4. Yellow warning messages will advise you that the corresponding amendment in the traditional list has been changed and a black triangle will appear on that amendment card in the Inline Amendments right-hand panel indicating that the inline LoDA is out-of-sync with changes made in the traditional LoDA.

Step 4: Remove the warning marker and overwrite the changes you made to the traditional amendment

In the inline LoDA, remove the black warning marker against the updated amendment before you make further changes to the inline amendment. Save your changes when you’ve finished updating the amendment.

...

Expand
titleHow to remove the out-of-sync warning marker to over-ride changes made to the traditional amendment

  1. In the inline LoDA, view the Inline Amendment right-hand panel and click on the black warning triangle

  2. In the Remove out-of-sync warning marker dialog box click on the Remove button

  3. Add or remove some text from the amendment (this time you will be able to).

  4. Save your changes and go back to the traditional list to view the new changes that have overwritten your original changes to the traditional amendment (you might need to refresh your list if you already had the tab open in the browser)

  5. In the Inline Amendment Tools right-hand panel, click on the View Traditional Amendments button

Expected outcome of steps 1 to 4

The most recent changes you made to the amendment in the inline LoDA will overwrite any changes you made to the traditional amendment if the warning marker is removed.

...

✏️ Exercise 7: Removing amendments from the inline document

Step 1: open an inline LoDA

Start by opening the recently created inline LoDA called Textual amendmenents from the Amendment Workspace tab

Step 2: Remove an amendment from the inline LoDA

In the inline LoDA, delete one of the amendment, making a note of its DNumber and saving your changes. View the traditional amendments to check that the amendment you removed is no longer in the list (click View Traditional Amendments in the Inline Amendments Tool panel).

...

Info

The amendment that was deleted from the inline document has not been deleted from Lawmaker. You can still view it on the Amendment Manager tab.

If you filter the Amendment Manager using the filter option List of Draft Amendment’s name you will see the list of amendments minus the amendment that you had deleted from the list.