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Template Automation offers a range of services based on the Microsoft Office suite of applications: Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Access, and on Adobe Acrobat.
Word Templates:
We build and automate Word templates based on designs from design agencies. In general, the agencies do not go beyond defining the appearance of your templates; that is the point at which we take over, converting their layouts and specifications into template files which you can install on your PC or server.
We also advise on the practicability of template designs. While Word has become increasingly flexible with each new version, it still has shortcomings which can result in unstable or hard-to-use templates. We will check designs and report any likely problems to the designer.
Where appropriate, we recommend automation options which would make the template easier to use or which would extend its functionality.
Where a template has an unusual or complex layout, we will often provide a brief user guide to explain its features. We always provide a guide if we have used automation to extend the template's functionality.
Word Forms:
We build MS Word forms for data collection. They can either be printed out for manual completion or filled in on-screen. Data can be extracted from electronic forms by a database or a spreadsheet;and processed automatically to give you summaries, totals, lists, etc.
We can also use the data in a database to pre-populate forms with information. This means that the form's user can see the currently held information, and only needs to add to it or update it.
Powerpoint:
We build Powerpoint templates and presentations. Like the Word templates, they are usually based on layouts from design agencies.
We will also create new presentations based on your templates, using hard copy or files in other formats.
Powerpoint can be automated to perform many non-standard functions. We have built an automated NZ quiz for a training company, brochure compilers for an estate agency, and an interactive brainstorming presentation for a communications company. Powerpoint offers many graphics options which are either unavailable or difficult to achieve in Word.
Access:
We build and automate Access databases. Access offers a surprisingly powerful and flexible platform for developing databases. It also has the great advantage that a reasonably experienced user can add tables, queries and reports quite easily to reflect your changing or developing database needs.
Adobe Acrobat:
We can convert Word documents into PDF documents; we can then add Acrobat form fields to convert them into forms which can either be completed on-screen or printed out and completed by hand.
We are also often asked to convert Adobe Acrobat PDF files back into Word format or just to recover the text from a PDF file.