System Roles

All

Assignments

Document Owners

Team Members

Updating Metrics in Accolade From Documents (Long String Metrics)

You can add a metric field code to Microsoft Word documents that allows both the display of a metric's current value and updates to the value. This feature is available only for metrics whose data type is Long String without Rich Text enabled. Word changes these updating codes into form fields when the document is refreshed.

Important! This feature does not apply to related documents.

The pattern for this special metric code is {*Metric:(system name) #Updateable*}. "#Updateable" is an option to the basic metric pattern that allows this code to update the metric value in Accolade. If the code contains all three of its options, its pattern would be {*Metric:(system name) (option) (option) (option)*}. The pattern does not include the parentheses.

See Metric Field Codes with Options for a list of all the available options.

Example Icon

For a Long String type metric named BusiCase:

  • The code {*Metric:BusiCase #Updateable*} allows the metric to be updated.
  • The code {*Metric:BusiCase #Updateable #MaxLen=500 #DefaultValue=Enter the business case*}:
  • Would allow the metric to be updated.
  • Would allow the user to enter up to 500 characters in the field.
  • Would display the text "Enter the business case" if the metric was empty when the document was opened.

To allow users to enter data in the fields without deleting the codes, enter the codes in protected sections. Other text, which authors can edit normally, and other field codes, which are not editable, can be left in unprotected sections.

To add a long string metric to a Microsoft Word document:

  1. Open the document to modify.
  2. Enter all of the codes and other text in the document, using section breaks to separate the updating long string metric codes from other content.
  3. To protect the document, on the Review tab, in the Protect group, select Restrict Editing.
  4. In the Restrict Formatting and Editing options pane, under the Editing Restrictions section, select the Allow only this type of editing check box and select Filling in forms from the list.
  5. Click the Select sections link and clear the check boxes for all sections that do not contain updating metric codes, and click OK.
  6. In the Restrict Formatting and Editing options pane, click Yes, Start Enforcing Protection to enable the protection features for the document.

Do not enter a password unless you want the document to be password protected.

  1. Save your changes and save the document to Accolade.

Notes:   

  • Any user with access to a document can add Accolade field codes; however, only Process Designers and Administrators with the Template Access role can upload templates to the Accolade template library.

  • If you type in an unprotected form field, the field and underlying code is deleted.
  • Long string metrics can contain formatting to make text bold, italic, and so on. You can enter the formatting notations from within Word and have it render correctly if the metric is contained within a layout.
  • Administrators and Process Designers can remove protection from the document and change content, if needed. The sections become locked again if the document is refreshed.