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This module will explain how to insert, modify and delete provisions in your document, with some exercises to allow you to practice this and find out about some useful shortcuts built into the Editor to help make drafting easier.

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📘 Introduction

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https://lawmaker.atlassian.net/wiki/x/gIIK

📚 Exercises

✏️ Insert basic provisions

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Key learning points

  • Placeholders are the grey highlighted elements e.g. “Heading” or “Text” that you type into.

  • Em-dashes can be inserted by the keyboard shortcut of typing dash twice “--” which will auto-convert them into an em-dash “—”

Starting point

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Instructions

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Place your cursor in the empty body placeholder element

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Click Enter on your keyboard to view the insert menu

Click Enter again to insert the default element at the top of the insert menu—

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For Bills, this will be a Section.

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🛠️ Getting Started

Before you complete this module, you will need your own training project containing a half finished bill to continue drafting.
If you haven’t got one already, create a project containing this half finished bill:

View file
nameDrafting a bill.xml

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

Expand
titleHow to create a new project

  1. Download the XML document for the exercise 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] Drafting a bill. (See Creating a new project.)

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

  5. On the newly uploaded document version, select Actions > Update Document Information and update the Title to match the title you originally gave the project.

  6. Duplicate this document version using Actions > Duplicate version and call the new version the name of this module. We will create a new document version per module.

  7. Open the duplicated version in the Editor

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✏️ Exercise 1: Insert basic provisions

This exercise takes you through the process of inserting provisions.

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If you haven’t already done so, duplicate the imported bill version and name it the description of this module so you can easily track work related to these exercises.

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titleHow to duplicate a document version

  1. Find the document version you wish to duplicate

  2. Select Actions > Duplicate Version for the selected document

  3. Specify or select a folder name (for the purposes of this module, select Pre-Introduction) and unique version description (e.g. for this module, call it Inserting provisions), leaving ‘Strip out page/line numbers’ ticked

  4. Click on Create and a duplicate version of the document is created and visible on the Project tab

Open the document in the Editor, and when it has finished loading, recreate the following section after section 6:

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Step 1: Insert a section and definitions

Insert a new section after section 6 containing some definitions.

Expand
titleDetailed steps on creating the section and definitions

  1. Place your cursor in section 6 and click Enter on your keyboard to view the insert menu and select Section (After)

  2. Type Interpretation into the Heading placeholder

  3. Use tab on your keyboard or click using the mouse to move the cursor into the ‘Text’ placeholder for the subsection and type In this Act—

  4. To insert the definitions, click Enter and use the arrow keys on your keyboard or click using the mouse to select Definition from the insert menu, clicking Enter to insert

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A definition will be inserted, made up of 2 placeholders—

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  1. it

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  1. .

  2. Type “the Department” means the Department for Communities; into the first definition

  3. Insert the second definition by clicking Enter again

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  2. To type the before the defined term, you will need to click on the left arrow on your keyboard once to move your cursor into the ‘Text’ element so that the breadcrumb reads Bill > body > Part > Section > Subsection > Definition > Content > Text

  3. Move your cursor back into the defined term and type “emergency period” and move your cursor into the empty ‘text’ placeholder element and type has the meaning given by section 1(2).

Expected outcome

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Video recording

[Insert link to video recording completing this exercise]

✏️ Insert a provision at the start

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Key learning points

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Where provisions are inserted: Lawmaker will insert your chosen provision in the next valid position after your cursor location. This is useful to know when you want to add a provision at the start of a series of provisions.

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Starting point

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Instructions

  1. Place your cursor in the section num “1.”

  2. The breadcrumb will read Bill > body > Section > Num

  3. Use your right arrow key to move your cursor until the breadcrumb changes to Bill > body > Section

  4. Click Enter to view the insert menu

  5. Select Subsection (1) and click Enter again to insert

  6. The subsection will be inserted before your existing subsection

Expected outcome

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Video recording

[Insert link to video recording completing this exercise]

✏️ Delete a provision using the breadcrumb

Starting point

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Instructions

  1. Remove the newly inserted subsection by placing your cursor in the empty Text placeholder

  2. The breadcrumb should say Bill > body > Section > Subsection > Content > Text

  3. Use your mouse to select Subsection from the breadcrumb

    1. The whole subsection (num and text) will be highlighted

  4. Delete it using backspace or Delete on your keyboard or right-click with your cursor on the Subsection breadcrumb and select Delete Element

    1. The subsection will be safely deleted

  5. To undo this deletion, select the Undo buttonimage-20250210-161547.pngImage Removedin the upper tool bar or use the keyboard short cut CTRL + Z

  6. To redo the deletion, select the Redo button image-20250210-161627.pngImage Removed in the upper tool bar or use the keyboard short cut CTRL + Y

Expected outcome

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Video recording

[Insert link to video recording completing this exercise]

✏️ Converting a subsection to section content and vice versa

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Key learning points

Converting subsection into section content using the promote feature.

Auto-converting section content into a subsection when a second subsection is inserted.

Starting point

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Instructions

  1. Place your cursor in the remaining subsection

  2. Promote it to become section content using any of the following options—

    1. Right-click and select Promote element,

    2. Select Tools > Promote element,

    3. Keyboard shortcut ALT+[

  3. The subsection will turn into an unnumbered section content element.

  4. Place your cursor anywhere in the last definition and click Enter to view the insert menu

  5. Use the down arrow key on your keyboard or click using the mouse to select Subsection from the insert menu, clicking Enter to insert it—

    1. A subsection is inserted after your cursor location (after the last definition)

    2. The section content will auto-convert to subsection (1)

  6. Type in the content of the second subsection.

Expected outcome

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Video recording

[Insert link to video recording completing this exercise]

✏️ Promoting/demoting provisions

Starting point

Instructions

Expected outcome

Video recording

[Insert link to video recording completing this exercise]

✏️ Converting section content to a subsection

Starting point

Instructions

Expected outcome

Video recording

[Insert link to video recording completing this exercise]

✏️ Grouping levels and wrapping/unwrapping provisions

Starting point

Instructions

Expected outcome

Video recording

[Insert link to video recording completing this exercise]

✏️ Converting a section to a schedule and vice versa

Starting point

Instructions

Expected outcome

Video recording

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Step 2: Convert the subsection into section content

Promote the subsection into section content when a section is not divided into subsections.

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titleDetailed steps to promote a provision

  1. Place your cursor in subsection (1)

  2. Promote it to become section content using any of the following options—

    1. Right-click and select Promote element,

    2. Select Tools > Promote element,

    3. Keyboard shortcut ALT+[

Step 3: Renumber the section and those around it

Renumber the whole document (See Renumbering provisions )

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titleDetailed steps to renumber your document

  1. Renumber your document using any of the following options—

    1. Click on the renumber button in the upper tool bar

    2. Right-click and select Renumber provisions,

    3. Select Tools > Renumbering Provisions,

    4. Keyboard shortcut ALT+N

  2. Select the whole document

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✏️ Exercise 2: Divide/split a provision into 2

Continue from exercise 1. This exercise shows you how to divide a provision into 2 sibling provisions using ‘split’.

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In section 2, split subsection (3) so that it is divided into 2 child paragraphs⁠—

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Step 1: Split Subsection (3)

Split the introducing words in Subsection (3) into separate provisions

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titleDetailed steps to split a provision into multiple provisions

  1. In section 2(3), place your cursor after the word ‘may’

  2. Type ‘--’ to insert an em-dash

  3. Split the provision by—

    1. right-clicking and selecting Split Element or

    2. use keyboard short-cut ALT+S.

  4. Delete the space before your second subsection text

  5. Repeat by placing your cursor after the word ’and' in the newly created subsection, splitting the element and tidying any spaces again

Step 2: Demote the subsections

Demote the sibling subsections created from the split into paragraphs

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titleDetailed steps to demote a provision

  1. Place your cursor in subsection (4) (the first of the sibling subsections created from splitting the element)

  2. Demote the subsection so that it becomes a paragraph by using any of the following options—

    1. right-clicking and selecting Demote Element,

    2. using Tools > Demote Element in the upper toolbar or

    3. using keyboard short ALT+]

  3. Repeat for subsection (5) (the second subsection created from splitting in the step above) so that you end up with 2 child paragraphs of subsection (3)

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✏️ Exercise 3: Merge provisions

Continue from exercise 2. This exercise shows you how to use merge to bring together 2 or more provisions into a single provision.

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In section 2(3), recreate the following provision by merging the paragraphs in subsection (3) so that they are a single subsection again—

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Step 1: Merge the paragraphs

Merge paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) into a single paragraph

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titleDetailed steps to merge provisions

  1. Highlight both paragraph (a) and (b) in the Editor, or use multi-select in the Structure view to select both paragraphs (see Using the structure view

  2. Merge the 2 paragraphs by right-clicking and selecting Merge Elements

Step 2: Promote the newly created single paragraph

Promote paragraph (a) into a subsection.

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titleDetailed steps to promote a provision

  1. Place your cursor in paragraph (a) (containing the merged paragraphs)

  2. Promote the paragraph so that it becomes a subsection by using any of the following options—

    1. right-clicking and selecting Promote Element,

    2. using Tools > Promote Element in the upper toolbar or

    3. using keyboard short ALT+[

Step 3: Merge the newly created subsection with the subsection before it

Merge the 2 subsections into a single subsection (see Splitting and merging provisions )

Step 4: Tidy the content of subsection (3)

Delete the em-dash after the word ‘may’.

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✏️ Exercise 4: Insert and remove grouping levels (wrapping/unwrapping)

Continue from exercise 3. This exercise will teach you how to use wrap and unwrap to insert and remove grouping elements.

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In this exercise we will restructure the whole document by dividing it into 3 parts and removing all cross headings.

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Step 1: Remove the existing grouping elements using unwrap

Remove the 2 x cross headings and 2 x parts

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titleDetailed steps to unwrap grouping levels

  1. Place your cursor in the first cross heading and remove the cross heading by using any of the following options—

    1. right-click and select Unwrap Element or

    2. select Tools > Unwrap Element.

  2. Repeat step 1 with the second cross heading and the 2 x parts

Step 2: Wrap the remaining sections into 3 different parts

Wrap the remaining sections into 3 different parts

Expand
titleDetailed steps to wrap provisions within a grouping element

  1. Use the structure view to multi-select sections 1 to 2

  2. With your cursor in the structure view on the highlighted blue provisions, right-click and select Wrap Provisions selecting Part

  3. Type into the Part heading Meetings

  4. Use the structure view to multi-select sections 3 to 5 and wrap them in another part called Performance

  5. Use the structure view to multi-select the remaining sections and wrap them in a third part called Final provisions

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✏️ Exercise 5: Convert a section to a schedule

Continue from exercise 4. This exercise shows you how you can convert a section into a schedule. This can be done in both directions using the same feature.

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Convert section 4 into a schedule and then undo the changes—

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Convert section 4 into a schedule.

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titleDetailed steps to convert a section into a schedule

  1. Place your cursor in section 4

  2. Right-click and select Convert to/from Schedule…

  3. Update the schedule heading with Performance

  4. Rename the schedule cross heading by deleting 'Performance' from the start and capitalising the first word

  5. Type into the reference note ‘Text’ element the section/provision that calls the schedule e.g. Section 2

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☑️ When complete…

Save your changes and close the Editor using the Close Editor button