Within eformity, you can use building blocks in Microsoft Word and Outlook. This article explains what a building block is and how to create, edit, and delete them.

What is a SmartPart?

A building block is a predefined piece of content that can be placed independently within a document. Just like Smart Documents, building blocks can contain variables. The main advantage of building blocks is that they can be reused across different documents. Additionally, you can control whether a building block is shown or hidden based on the value of a variable.

Creating a SmartPart

Creating a smartpart works similarly to creating a Smart Document. The steps below explain how to create one.

Step 1: Open the sidebar in Microsoft Word

Just like with Documents & Smart Documents, you’ll need to open the eformity side panel before creating a smartpart. The side panel usually opens automatically when you start Microsoft Word. If it doesn’t, click on ‘Open/Hide Side Panel’.

Step 2: Enable edit mode

To add a smartpart, you must first enable edit mode. To do this, click on your profile picture in the side panel.

Once the account menu opens, activate edit mode by toggling the switch in the section titled ‘Edit mode’.

Step 3: Add a new SmartPart

After enabling edit mode, navigate to the ‘Smartparts’ tab. You can do this by clicking the text or icon. In the image below, this is highlighted.

Once you've opened the smartpart overview, click the plus icon to add a new smartpart. This icon is also highlighted in the image below.

A new element will now appear in the side panel. Fill in the required fields for your new smartpart: name (mandatory), display name, and description. Then click the blue ‘Create’ button.

Editing a SmartPart

After creating a smartpart, you can start adding content to it. To do this, you need to edit the smartpart.

Step 1: Open the smartpart

Click on the desired smartpart to select it. In the image below, you can see what a selected smartpart looks like. You can edit it by clicking the pencil icon or by selecting ‘Edit’ from the options menu.

Step 2: Add content to the smartpart

You are now in the edit screen of the selected smartpart. Here, you can add content such as text, images, shapes, charts, and more. You can also add variables, data sources, or translations. When you're satisfied, click the ‘Save’ icon.

Deleting a smartpart

Want to remove a smartpart—either because it’s no longer relevant or to clean up your library? You can permanently delete it. (We assume edit mode is still enabled.)

Step 1: Select the smartpart

Go to the ‘Smartparts’ tab in the eformity side panel. Click once on the smartpart you want to delete.

Step 2: Delete the smartpart

Once the smartpart is selected, open the options menu. From the menu, choose ‘Delete’. This option is highlighted in the image below.