MacPac was originally created as a document automation solution for law firms, but has become widely applicable to other professions and businesses. The MacPac for Business suites are designed for any organization that produces quantities of documents with standardized formatting and large amounts of boilerplate text. Typically, those documents must be:
- adapted to specific situations and clients
- consistent in format and voice
- accurate to the smallest detail
- generated in very short timeframes
MacPac for Business provides the engineering strength and the range of features and functions needed to meet these requirements. Moreover, the broad experience of The Sackett Group, Inc. (TSG) in office administration and document creation is reflected in how MacPac for Business works. In document creation and assembly functions, MacPac operates within the MS Word environment, offering the organization’s customized templates and macros as menu, ribbon, or task pane options. The options change in relation to the type of document open on the screen, and all the functions relevant to it are available.
Starter Pack
Both the MacPac 9 and MacPac 10 suites come with a MacPac “Starter Pack” of content. The Numbering Tool is also included, as well as MacPac's Contact Integration (CI) module, which provides seamless integration with the organization's email and/or CRM (contact relationship manager). In addition, MacPac provides integration with the firm's DMS (document management system).
Before installing the software in your office, we work with you to configure all components in the Starter Pack to your organization’s specifications.
MacPac 9 is a fully integrated set of document automation functions, with all the features described in MacPac for Business – Suites and in the Comparison Chart: MacPac 9 and MacPac 10. MacPac 9 is compatible with Office 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002/XP, 2000, and 97.
MacPac 9 for Business has been in constant use at our client sites since 2000. The latest version of the product reflects the change requests and helpful feedback we have received over the years from our clients. For firms that don’t need sophisticated document assembly functions, automated deployment, or codeless customization capability, MacPac 9 for Business is an excellent solution.
MacPac 9 Starter Pack
The MacPac 9 Starter Pack includes the following content and macro functions:
Correspondence
Letter, Memo, Fax, and a collection of macro functions, such as Envelopes, Labels, Letterhead, Letter Signature Blocks.
Business/Transactional
Business Agreement, Notary forms, and a collection of macro functions, such as Page Numbering, Title Page, Exhibits/Schedules, and Business Signature Blocks.
Contact Integration (CI)
Includes automated functions for integrating address book, organization/department information, and author lists. MacPac integrates with Outlook, GroupWise, Lotus Notes, InterAction, ContactEase, CRM4Legal, ACT! 2010, ProLaw, as well as any proprietary internal or third party database.
Automatic Paragraph Numbering and Table of Contents (TOC)
MacPac Numbering includes a set of public numbering schemes (styles). Users can insert and edit public schemes in a document, save private schemes, and share schemes with other users. MacPac administrators can create, edit, delete, and manage public schemes in-house.
Numbering schemes are accessible via shortcuts, toolbar, or ribbon. Schemes can be inserted, promoted, demoted, marked or unmarked for a table of contents (TOC); a TOC can be generated or updated; and different or multiple numbering schemes can be applied in the same document.
Please contact us for more information and pricing for MacPac 9 for Business. Evaluation copies are available upon request.
MacPac 10 is The Sackett Group, Inc.’s (TSG) cutting-edge document automation and desktop integration program. Released in 2008, MacPac 10 was engineered to benefit from the advances in MS Office 2007 and 2010. It provides our clients with the most powerful system we have created, yet remains easy to use. This new product draws on the knowledge and effort we have invested in former products, and takes us a giant step toward fulfilling our mission to transform document production in document-intensive workplaces. Designed for user document workflow practices, MacPac 10 greatly reduces “grunt work” and errors, and greatly increases productivity of users and administrators alike. MacPac works smarter and harder; you enjoy new levels of control and efficiency in your work.
Basic facts about MacPac 10 are summarized in the Comparison Chart: MacPac 9 and MacPac 10.
MacPac 10 Starter Pack
The MacPac 10 Starter Pack includes the following content and macro functionality:
Correspondence
Letter, Memo, Fax, and a collection of macro functions, such as Envelopes, Labels, Letterhead, Letter Signature Blocks.
Business/Transactional
Business/Transactional, Notary forms, and a collection of macro functions, such as Page Numbering, Title Page, Exhibits/Schedules, and Business Signature Blocks.
Contact Integration (CI)
Includes automated functions for integrating address book, organization/department information, and author lists. MacPac integrates with Outlook, GroupWise, Lotus Notes, InterAction, ContactEase, CRM4Legal, ACT! 2010, ProLaw, as well as any proprietary internal or third party database.
Automatic Paragraph Numbering and Table of Contents (TOC)
MacPac Numbering includes a set of public numbering schemes (styles). Users can insert and edit public schemes in a document, save private schemes, and share schemes with other users. MacPac administrators can create, edit, delete, and manage public schemes in-house.
Numbering schemes are accessible via shortcuts, toolbar, or ribbon. Schemes can be inserted, promoted, demoted, marked or unmarked for a table of contents (TOC); a TOC can be generated or updated; and different or multiple numbering schemes can be applied in the same document.
MacPac 10 Highlights
100% Codeless Customization. The administration and automation of MacPac 10 require no programming experience. All content design, automation, and management can be accomplished using three MacPac 10 components: the Content Manager and Document Designer interfaces within MS Word, and an administrative application that provides a GUI front-end for non-content related development and maintenance.
Centralized Deployment. With MacPac 10, firm content (formatting, styles, letterhead, boilerplate text, etc.) is stored on a SQL server database. As a result, customizations to firm content are automatically distributed to user workstations via a scheduled synchronization process.
Consistent User Interface (UI). Once you learn to create one document (e.g., a letter) in MacPac 10, you've learned how to create other types of documents. Both the Create/Insert tab and the Edit tab in the MacPac task pane use familiar navigation interfaces. The Create/Insert tab is based on the MS Explorer look and feel, while the Edit tab works like a traditional dialog box, for mouse and keyboard users.
The task pane approach enables the creation of "dynamic documents" – edits made in the document reflect in the UI and vise versa. Unlike a traditional dialog box interface, which doesn’t allow for dynamic editing, the task pane and document remain open simultaneously, and you see the document being updated in real time.
Global and content-specific ribbons are available for all MacPac documents, and include functions such as Letterhead, Labels, Trailer/Document ID.
Context-Sensitive, Web-Based Help. The new interface in MacPac 10 also opens the door to a targeted, comprehensive help system. Clients can customize existing HTML files to display business-specific functionality, as well as create additional help files for customized content created in-house. The help files can include links to your intranet or to any website with e-learning modules, videos, and court information on court rules or filing procedures.
Document Designer Library for Administrators. With MacPac 10’s Document Designer Library, administrators can easily import variables, blocks of text, and content properties which have already been defined for other content, into new or existing content. Variables retain the same name and formatting when imported (unless they already exist in the target content). This facilitates creation of document assembly content, such as Document Interviews (multi-document packages) and Saved Data (variable information or "answer files"). The Document Designer Library streamlines editing of existing content, ensures consistency in development, and improves efficiency in new content creation.
Document Workflow Tools. Users can create and automate their own content and create clause libraries. Saved Data ("answer files") enables users to save the variable information in one document for use in creating another document that shares the same values. The documents may be of the same or different type. Saved Data also works with multi-document packages.
Styling tools enable users to copy styles from one document to another, to create style sheets and use them later to refresh any document, or to standardize formatting on their saved content. The same styling tools can be used by administrators to apply standards to and streamline development of automated content.
User content, Saved Data, and style sheets can be shared with other users or groups of users.
Global Author Preferences. In MacPac 10, author preferences are globally available via an automated synchronization process with the MacPac SQL server database. Nearly all fields in MacPac 10 content can be configured as author preferences. Authors and their designated proxy/proxies can set author preferences for any type of content. Once synchronization occurs, author preferences will be automatically applied to the document upon choosing any author from the author list.
Integrated Document Automation and Assembly. In addition to traditional template content such as letters, memos, faxes, MacPac 10 provides automation capabilities previously reserved for document assembly programs, such as contracts, leases, fill-in forms, clause libraries, and complex multi-document packages with question and answer storage. A shared interface among template functions and document assembly functions ensures a consistent look and feel and reduces the amount of training that would be needed to learn two separate products.
Off-Line Functionality. MacPac 10 functions normally when disconnected from the network. A few functions are not accessible until a network connection is re-established, such as proxying for another user or performing an on-demand synchronization.
Please contact us for more information and pricing for MacPac 10 for Business. Evaluation copies are available upon request.