What's new in version 13?

Summary

Version 13 introduces a range of new features and improvements, particularly around amendments, as well as additional bug fixes since the last release (v.12.2).

This version was released on [x] December 2022.

New features and improvements

In the Editor

• Tag and update x-refs when editing a portion of the document - when you are editing a portion of a document (see Opening and editing a portion of document) if you tag references or update existing references in the portion, Lawmaker can now use the whole of the document, not just the portion, to determine whether the reference is valid and to update it as necessary.

• Copying provisions between documents - now handles correctly copying schedules between documents whether or not there is already a schedule in the target document. An issue with updating x-refs when pushing provisions into another document has also been resolved. See Copying provisions between documents - push/pull.

• “Select x-ref to copy” menu in the Structure View - the minor issue where this menu wouldn’t automatically close after you’d selected something has been fixed. See Cross-references (x-refs) .

Ping Pong

• Generating consolidated list of amendments - a new approach for generating consolidated lists of amendments has been implemented. Users will now need to copy amendments to a “ping pong” stage before they will be included but this means they can work on the consolidated list version while any prior parliamentary stage is ongoing.

• Adding stars to ping pong motions - stars can now be added to a ping pong motion or to any individual amendment within a motion. As part of this change, the automatic application of stars to motions and amendments on a Commons Marshalled list has been removed.

• Line numbering of Commons ping pong motions - the rule for where line numbering should start on Commons ping pong motions and amendments within those motions has been updated.

• Additional content on Lords amendment lists - when generating Lords Daily sheets, Marshalled list and Manuscript lists during the ping pong stage, content from a consolidated list of amendments (and any messages etc. that have accumulated) can be added to the amendment list with a greater degree of flexibility and any changes you make to that content on the list won’t be reflected back in the original version (so won’t, for example, affect the next iteration of the consolidated list of amendments).

Amendments

• Amendment manager tab - a number of different improvements have been made here: the layout of the table of amendments has been modified so the columns are better sized according to their content; the filter button, enabling you to filter the amendments, by member, location etc. has been moved above the table to make it more prominent; the message shown when you have a temporary list open has been clarified; the table of amendments will no longer automatically refresh so long as you stay on the tab so you can rely on its content remaining static; and a separate refresh button has been added so you can manually trigger a refresh of the table when it suit you.

• Preview and comment on amendments - Individual amendments can be quickly previewed from the Amendment Manager tab without opening the Editor. You can add or edit a comment on the amendment at the same time including adding a “quick comment”, a short phrase or sequence of letters, that you use repeatedly (e.g. to indicate approval).

• Bulk update of proposers and supporters - the proposer and supporters on all or some amendments in an amendment list (whether draft or official) can be updated in a single action from the Editor.

• Copy amendments between stages - Selected amendments in the Amendment Manager Tab can now be copied from one stage to another, including being copied to ping pong.

• Confirmation that amendments have been auto-applied - when you apply amendments to a Bill version, the message confirming the action is complete now specifies how many of the amendments were applied rather than just reporting successful completion.

• Sorting Commons amendments by topic - Using the Order of Consideration, you can add headings to generated marshalled lists and proceedings and select which amendments are grouped under each heading.

• Legend in Lords Daily sheet - you can now add a legend to the preface of a Lords Daily sheet.

• Title of Scottish Parliament Marshalled Lists - when a marshalled list is generated at stage 3, the title is adjusted automatically to match the standard title used.

SI/SSIs

• Procedural rubrics for made affirmative and emergency procedure - the rubrics automatically inserted when you create an SI/SSI or change its procedure have been updated to the approved forms.

• Placement of signature block in PDF - the orphan control on the signature block has been removed to allow the text of the SI/SSI to flow more naturally. (Manual page breaks can still be inserted if a different pagination is required.)

Other changes

• User manual and support portal links - the new user manual and support portal can now be accessed from the menu that appears at the top right of the screen and shows your username.

• Page titles - we’ve updated page titles across the system to use “Lawmaker” rather than “Legislative drafting, amending and publishing programme” and made some other tweaks to make the titles more consistent and accessible.

List of support issues fixed