The interview asks questions. You can use the interview to generate a document from scratch, or to fill in a Docx or PDF template
file.
Fields (variables) store information. Fields can have multiple datatypes, such as numbers, dates, Booleans, or regular text.
Functions can transform fields. You can do basic operations on fields as well, such as x = a+b or capitalize(variable_name)
If: else: statements are the building block of logic.
Each block in your interview (i.e., each dialog screen shown the user) needs to separated with --- on its own line.
Spacing and indentation is important.
Two types of questions: basic question blocks, and the fields statement.
Basic questions only allow a few types of question structures. You can always use the fields statement instead of a basic question block.
A page that doesn't do anything (but you want to display to the user) uses a field statement. Clicking continue sets it to True.
In the documentation, look at both Setting Variables and Question Blocks to learn how to set a field with a question.
Docassemble asks a question if and only if it is marked mandatory: True or it is needed to fill-in any fields used in the
mandatory block (for example, any fields used in a document you generate or a final summary screen).
Docassemble will use the last question that fills-in the field in your interview file. You can override this on a question-by-question basis using if
Good practice is to have only one mandatory block in your file. For longer interviews, use a code block to control question order.
It is only necessary to mention the variable in the code block for Docassemble to seek out its definition.
Code blocks use Python.
- Assignments:
= - Comparison:
== - Logic:
if variable_name:
Questions use Mako tags to insert fields.
Adding a variable: ${ variable_name}
Logic: %if variable: on its own line and followed by %endif on its own line.
Control structures: %for x in my_list: followed by ${x} followed by %endfor on its own line.
Documents from scratch work the same way as questions.
Uses Jinja2 syntax
Adding a variable: {{ variable_name }}
Logic: {% if variable_name %} {% endif %}
Special version that doesn't leave empty lines:{%p if variable_name %} on its own line followed by {%p endif %}
Lists have an order. This is the default kind of group you should use.
Each item in a dictionary has a label, which is helpful if you know the labels ahead of time and want to retrieve information later. They are unordered.
Sets are for storing items when you can't control when they are added but you don't want to repeat any items. You can also perform set operations (union, intersection, etc)