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Edit and Preview Narrative Templates

Edit the Narrative Templates

Access the Templates tab to view the boilerplate language. Here, you can edit the text, change the formatting, and insert tags. Changes to Templates affect only the current plan. However, Templates can be imported from plan to plan to carry over changes that would apply (see: Import Narrative Settings).

Select a Templates tab, either Minorities/Women, IWD, or Veterans. Then, using the drop-down, choose the Section you wish to edit. The default (or previously saved) template content will appear in a text editor.

Check one of the following options to edit the template Section:

Enter the template text— Review and edit the template, using the provided text display and text editing toolbar. Use this option when tags must be included in the Section (described below).

Upload a file—Browse for a PDF file to use for the Section.* Use this option to include exhibits that your organization has developed elsewhere (e.g., self-identification form).

Revert to the default template text editor at any time by selecting: Enter the template text.

Click [Save].

Insert a Tag into the Narrative

Some default (and created) tags will already exist in the narrative template. To insert a tag, place your cursor in a location, and click [Insert Tag]. Select the desired tag from the drop-down, and click [Insert].

Quick Tip: Filter the drop-down by selecting:

User Defined Narrative Tags (insertions you defined, using the Tags and Values tab)

Calculated/Generated Tags (insertions the system calculates from plan data)

Report Tags (insertion of full plan reports)

At any time, you can change the narrative template back to balanceAAP’s default by clicking [Revert to Default].

To exclude a particular section from the narrative completely, uncheck the box for: Include this section in the Narrative.

Review the Published Narrative

The Published Narrative tab displays a final preview of the narrative sections.

To edit the narrative locally without changing the template, select a narrative Section from the drop-down, and click the [Edit] button. Confirm by clicking [Edit] again. The Published Narrative will appear in a text editor. Make the edits, and click [Save].

Important Caution: If you edit a plan narrative and then republish it due to updated calculations, all edits made on the Published Narrative tab will be lost. It is recommended that only the Narrative Template (described above) be edited.

Republish the Narrative

If calculations or merged information has been updated, return to the Published Narrative tab. Click the [Edit] button. From the Edit pop-up window, click the [Republish this section now] button. (The Republish alert will also display on the Select Reports page, if the system detects changes to plan data.)

Important Caution: Any edits made on the published Narrative since the Section was last published will be lost.

(Optional) Manage Documents for the Select Report list

Appendices and other documents can be added at the end of a narrative, by clicking the [Manage Documents] button.

From the tab header, select the narrative to which the supporting documents should be added. Click Browse, and find the document. add [Add Another File] as necessary. Click [Upload]. Multiple documents will appear under Uploaded Documents in the order of upload.

Next, review their order of appearance, as this order will be reflected on the Select Reports > Narratives list. To edit a document’s location, use the [Move Up/Move Down] arrows at the right of the File Name. Once the order is suitable, click [Save].

Note: On the Select Reports list, the document(s) will appear directly after the associated narrative, in the order you determined.

Click the [Edit] icon to change how the document’s Display Name appears on the Select Reports list.

Click the [Delete] icon to remove one of the Uploaded Documents.