Custom Fields (UDFs) in Law App: A Guide for Document Writers

Custom fields (UDFs) let your firm capture information Law App doesn’t have a built-in field for, and merge it straight into your templates. There are two kinds, they’re numbered separately, and every number is permanent once it’s saved — which is the part that trips people up most.

The two kinds of custom field

Firm-wide fields and one-off fields never interfere with each other. Someone adding a one-off field to their own matter can never change what [UDF_3] means in your template.

How custom field numbers work

The number in [UDF_3] belongs to that field for life. It’s assigned the moment the field is first saved, it never changes, and it’s never handed to another field afterwards — even if fields are reordered, added or archived.

A number always means the same field, on every matter type it’s assigned to. On a matter where that field doesn’t apply, it simply merges blank — so one template can safely serve several areas of law at once.

Adding a firm-wide custom field

1. Go to Settings, then File Setup, then Custom Fields.
2. Click Add and fill in the row — see the field-by-field breakdown below.
3. Click Save. The Merge field column fills in — that’s the number to use in your templates, and the only place you need to look it up.

Adding a field to one matter only

1. Open the matter, go to Details, and scroll to the UDF section.
2. Click Add field in that section header.
3. Give it a name, a type, and an optional label.

It appears straight away as an input in the UDF section, ready for a value.

The same Add field dialog lists every one-off field already on the matter, with its number — for example [FILEUDF_2]. A field you’ve just added shows “number assigned on save” until you save the matter.

Removing a custom field

Removing a field — whether in Settings or in the Add field dialog on a matter — archives it rather than deleting it. You’re asked to confirm, and the confirmation names the merge field so you can check no template still relies on it.

Archived fields disappear from the matter, but their number is retired with them and the values already entered are kept. A template that still uses the number simply merges blank instead of picking up a different field.

Working out a field’s number

1. Firm-wide: Settings, File Setup, Custom Fields — read the Merge field column. Don’t count fields on the matter screen: that order is display order and can differ, and fields from other file types aren’t shown there at all.
2. One-off: open the matter, click Add field, and read the number next to the field in the list.

Merge field syntax

Inserting a value

• Insert a value{{[UDF_1]}}

Dates

• Long form{{[UDF_3@d MMMM yyyy]}}
• Short form{{[UDF_3@dd/MM/yy]}}

Money

• With a dollar sign{{[UDF_4-$amount]}}
• Without a dollar sign{{[UDF_4-amount]}}

Showing a sentence only when a tick box is ticked

{{IF (([UDF_2])) EQUALS ((Yes)) DO ((This matter has been marked urgent.))}}

Choosing between two wordings

{{IF (([UDF_2])) EQUALS ((Yes)) DO ((We will prioritise this matter.)) ELSE DO ((We will attend to this matter in the usual course.))}}

Keeping or dropping a whole block of formatted text

This is the right tool for a clause or a signature block, where the wording itself needs its own formatting:

{{FORMATTED IF (([UDF_2])) EQUALS ((Yes)) DO ((FORMATTED Result 1)) ELSE DO ((FORMATTED Result 2))}}

Then mark the two blocks with ((Result 1)) and ((End Result 1)), and ((Result 2)) and ((End Result 2)). The losing block and all four markers are removed when the document merges.

Things that catch people out

This article covers custom fields (UDFs) for template writers. For general custom field setup, contact support@lawsupport.com.au or call 07 3040 3036.