Clio Draft: Manage Cards and Fields in the Template Builder

In the Template Builder add-in, cards are categories that contain specific merge fields. Managing these elements helps you populate your Microsoft Word documents efficiently and maintain consistent document generation.

Create and manage cards

In the Clio Draft Template Builder add-in, cards are categories designed to organize your specific merge fields. You can create different card types, such as Role cards for people (like plaintiffs or defendants) and Other cards for general information, allowing you to easily manage and populate client and matter data into your Word document templates.

1. Open the add-in.
2. If necessary, sign in with your Clio Draft credentials and create a name for your template.
3. Click New card.
4. Select either Role or Other as the card type. 
   • Role cards are people, companies, and organizations, such as plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, courts, and more.
   • Other cards are for general case information, dates, orders, and document-specific fields.

5. Select a label for the selected card type. You can scroll through the list or type in a custom name.

   Note: Your naming conventions should match those used in Clio Manage. Special characters are not permitted.
6. Click Add Card. The card will be added to your list of cards. 

Edit and duplicate cards

1. Find the card you want to modify.

2. Click the pencil icon to edit the card (to change its type or label) or click the paper icon to duplicate the card.

   Tip: Duplicate a card to create a new card with all the same fields as the original, saving time on setting up new cards.
3. Make your changes and click Update Card or Duplicate Card.

Delete templates cards

1. Find the card you want to delete.
2. Click the trash can icon next to the card.
3. Click Delete card to confirm

Create merge fields

1. Go to and open a card of your choice. 
2. Click Add field to card.
3. Select a pre-available merge field name or enter a custom name, and then choose the field type: 
   • Short text
   • Long text
   • Single-select
   • Multi-select Date
4. If you select a multi-choice field (Single-select or Multi-select), complete the additional options.
   • Select the format (e.g., list, dropdown, separated by commas). 
   • Enter the Option label and the Text to merge. 
5. Optional: Enter a hint for the merge field. 
6. Click Add field to finish. 

Insert merge fields

Once fields are created, you can insert them into your document individually or in bulk to then convert them into a smart template.

Insert individually

1. Select the text in your Word document that you want to replace.
2. In the add-in, find the merge field and click the plus (+) icon.

Insert in bulk

1. In the add-in, click the three dots next to a merge field’s name and select Bulk insert.
2. Enter the text to replace and click Find.
3. Click Replace text for individual instances or Replace All.

Edit and delete merge fields

1. Go to and open a card of your choice.
2. Click the three dots next to a field’s name.
3. Select Edit to modify the field, or select Delete to remove it.