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.

(blue star) Introduction

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

(blue star) Exercises

(blue star) 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:
The following steps will allow you to create the data required for this exercise.

  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

(blue star) Exercise 1: Insert basic provisions

This exercise takes you through the process of inserting provisions.

Insert basic provisions.mp4

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.

  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:

image-20250224-125739.png

Step 1: Insert a section and definitions

Insert a new section after section 6 containing some 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 it.

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

  6. Insert the second definition by clicking Enter again

  7. 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

  8. 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).

Step 2: Convert the subsection into section content

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

  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 )

  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

(blue star) 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’.

Split (divide) provisions.mp4

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

image-20250224-142117.png

Step 1: Split Subsection (3)

Split the introducing words in Subsection (3) into separate 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

  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)

(blue star) 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.

Merging provisions.mp4

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

image-20250224-143815.png

Step 1: Merge the paragraphs

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

  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.

  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’.

(blue star) 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.

Wrap and unwrap.mp4

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

image-20250303-152218.png

Step 1: Remove the existing grouping elements using unwrap

Remove the 2 x cross headings and 2 x parts

  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

  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

(blue star) 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.

Convert section to schedule.mp4

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

image-20250224-150403.png

Convert section 4 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

(blue star) When complete…

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