Introduction
The editor Editor uses a the Content Completion Assistant (CCA) to help you insert provisions and other elements into your document. It ensures that what you insert is valid XML content. It in terms of document structure and the underlying XML.
The CCA offers a list of provisions and their other elements that are valid at your cursor’s location and will insert your selected provision in the next correct place in the document.
How to insert a provision using the Content Completion Assistant (CCA)
To insert a provision:
Press Enter to activate the CCA
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Select the provision
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you wish to insert
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. You can use the up and down arrow keys or your mouse or you can start typing the name of the provision you want.
Press Enter again.
The selected provision/element will be inserted in the next correct place, e.g.
How to insert a provision using the keyboard shortcut for default next element
Place cursor in either the heading or text element for a provision and press Ctrl + Enter
The system will insert the next default element
How to insert a provision using right-click menu in the Editor
The system will present a context menu
Select “Insert element…”
The system will present the CCA
How to insert a provision using the upper toolbar
Place cursor in the provision that you want to insert your new provision after
Select Insert > Insert Element… from the drop-down menu in the upper toolbar
The system will present the CCA
Hints and tips
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if your cursor is within a paragraph of a Regulation and you select “Regulation” from the CCA then a new Regulation will be inserted after the current Regulation.
When you insert a provision, default child elements within the provision like the number and heading are also inserted.
Your cursor will move into the provision that is inserted.
(You can also bring up the CCA by using the Insert element… option in the right-click context menu or in the toolbar, Insert menu>Insert element….)
How to insert next default provision
You can quickly insert the next default provision for the context your cursor is in by pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The provision that will be inserted in the provision that would appear at the top of the CCA had you pressed Enter. This will generally be the same provision as the one your cursor is in with the exception of when your cursor is a heading, opening words or closing words.
When your cursor is in | This provision will be inserted |
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Heading of grouping element (e.g. Part, Chapter, cross-heading) | Section if in a Bill; regulation/article etc. if in an SI/SSI |
Heading of a section in a Bill | Subsection |
Schedule heading | Cross-heading |
Any other provision (e.g. subsection, paragraph etc.) | The same provision |
How to insert an additional text paragraph within a provision
You can insert an additional paragraph of text within a provision e.g. a step which contains two <p> paragraphs of text by using the keyboard short cut shortcut Shift+Enter.
You can use the search input field at the top of the CCA to quickly find the desired provision/element. It will dynamically display matching provisions/elements that begin with the characters entered in the search field.
You can navigate through the list of valid provisions/elements using the up and down arrow keys or select them using the mouse.
Provisions are being auto-numbered using the auto-assign number rule (see Annex 6 - ‘Auto-assign numbering rule’ in Annexes)
Whenever a provision is inserted, the cursor will appear by default in the heading or if provision doesn’t have a heading, into the text element
Each provision has a default next element configured which will appear at the top of the CCA which means you can insert them by double-clicking Enter or by using the keyboard shortcut – Ctrl + Enter (see Annex 2 - ‘Next default provision’ in Annexes)
Schedule paragraphs will convert to schedule sub-paragraphs when you insert another schedule subparagraph after the schedule paragraph’s content
(Bills only) Sections will default to having a subsection in them when first inserted. You can use ‘promote’ (ALT + [) to promote it into section/content.
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Note on the ordering and contents of the CCA
The CCA will show all the valid sibling elements and valid child elements that you can insert.
A sibling element is an element that will be inserted after the current element your cursor is in. For example, if your cursor is in a subsection then a sibling would be another subsection. Or if your cursor was in the opening words of a paragraph then a sibling would be a sub-paragraph.
A child element is an element that will be inserted within the current element your cursor is in. For example, if your cursor is in a subsection then a child would be a paragraph, definition or step.
The CCA shows options in the following order:
First, the valid siblings of the immediate provision your cursor is in.
Then the valid children of the provision your cursor is in.
Last, the valid siblings of each ancestor above the provision your cursor is in.
So, for example, if your cursor is in a subsection within a Bill, the CCA might look like:
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In this case:
The valid sibling of the provision your cursor is in is Subsection (1).
The valid children are: Paragraph (a), Definition, Step, Heading, Unnumbered Paragraph.
The valid siblings of ancestors of the provision are: Section, Cross heading, Part.
Numbering of inserted provisions
See Numbering for more on how provisions are numbered when they are inserted.
Inserting elements in the preface
If you need to insert an element in the preface (e.g. to insert a ‘note’ at the top of a Bill e.g. for Money bill rubrics), the simplest way is as follows:
Open the Preferences by selecting Document>Preferences… in the upper toolbar menu.
Turn on block tags mode by selecting Block tags in the Tags display mode dropdown menu. This will present XML tags in the Editor.
Place your cursor within the Preface tags but not within any child elements inside the preface.
Press Enter and select the element you want to insert (e.g. Note).
Return the display mode to normal by selecting No Tags in the Preferences… dialogue box.
Automatic conversions and insertions
In some cases, when you insert a particular element, Lawmaker will automatically convert an existing element or insert an extra element to ensure the document remains correctly structured and formatted.
In particular:
When you insert a subsection into a section in a Bill (that isn’t currently divided), the existing content of the section will be converted into the first subsection of the section.
When you insert a paragraph into a Regulation or Article etc. into an SI/SSI (that isn’t currently divided), the existing content of the regulation etc. will be converted into the first paragraph.
When you insert a schedule subparagraph into a schedule paragraph (that isn’t currently divided), the existing content of the schedule paragraph will be converted into the first schedule subparagraph.
When you insert a second schedule into a UK Bill or an SI/SSI, a ‘SCHEDULES’ heading will be inserted before the first schedule.
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Hints and tips
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(SI/SSIs only) When inserting a second schedule, the system will automatically insert the ‘SCHEDULES’ heading before the first Schedules.
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(UK Bills only) to insert a ‘note’ at the top of the bill e.g. for Money bill rubrics, place your cursor in the ‘preface’ element. To do this either
Place cursor at the beginning of the Stage version rubric in blue writing at the top of the bill and use left arrow to move cursor through XML tags until it is in ‘Preface’ element (see the breadcrumbs to check)
Go to “Document > Preferences” in the upper toolbar menu and select “Block tags” in the dialogue box that appears. This will present XML tags in the Editor View so that you can place your cursor directly after the “Preface” element
When you have your cursor in the Preface element, click ‘Enter’ and select ‘Note’ (don’t forget to return to ‘No tag’ view from ‘Document > Preferences’ when you have finished).
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Screencasts
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