ControlPro v3.4
In the latest release of ControlPro, we added the ability to create your own custom template tags for bill of lading’s, reports, and other documents. Tags can be setup individually for each instance of ControlPro, or globally for all instances connected to each other. To get started, open the settings screen.
Local Template Tags vs Global Template Tags
When you setup a local template tag, it will remain on the one instance of ControlPro where you set it up and not sync anywhere else. When you use a global template tag, it will be synced to any other ControlPro interfaced with your current instance. For example, if you want to add something that will be the same for all instances of ControlPro, then use the global tags. If you want to add something that is different for each location, then use the local tags.
To set up a local template tag, go to the Local section, then click the lists tab. To set up a global template tag, go to the Global section, click the lists tab, then click on the tab that says global print template tags.
Both tags are set up the same way. In this example, I’ll be using local template tags. You need to specify the name and value you want to be on the document. In this case, I’m using a bill of lading, and want to add the auditor’s name, a certificate number, and a website. I’m just using these as examples. You can add anything you want and name it whatever you want, as long as it’s not already a built-in template tag. Refer to our template tag documentation to see which ones are built-in so you don’t accidentally create a duplicate tag. If you create a duplicate tag name, ControlPro will ignore your custom tag and use the built-in tag instead. If you create duplicate custom tags names with different values, whichever one appears first in the list will be the one used by ControlPro.
Once you create the tag name and value, the next step is to open your document in Microsoft Word and add the tags where you want them. Make sure the name of the tag is contained within brackets { }. Normal parentheses ( ) or square brackets [ ] will not work. Both tag names and values are allowed to contain letters, numbers, symbols and spaces.
After you update and save the document, you’ll need to load the updated document into ControlPro. Since I’m using a bill of lading, I’ll import it from the originator screen, then save. If you need assistance with uploading the bill of lading, mix list, or report, please refer to our other articles on those document types.
After the updates were imported and saved, I pulled up a load already in the system and viewed the bill of lading as a PDF file. As you see below, the tags are replaced with the data in the value field.
If it displays the name of the tag instead of the value, make sure the name of the tag is correct and that you're using the correct brackets { }. If the value is different from what you're expecting, the name of the custom tag could be a duplicate of a built-in tag.
Make sure you edit the documents in Microsoft Word. WordPad does not handle the DOCX format correctly and will corrupt the file. Please reach out to us if you need more assistance setting up template tags.