Working with Ment as a New User

M-Files Ment presents a solution for document automation that streamlines the process of collecting accurate and pertinent information to complete crucial documents. Many of the documents that I have automated have been legal contracts such as services or non-disclosure agreements. However, M-Files Ment is useful for any situation in which you would have to gather information, even from another party, to build a document.

Starting with M-Files Ment is straightforward. Upon accessing the platform, you'll be greeted by a range of features, including "Automate templates," "Generate documents," and "Document styles." The system provides comprehensive video tutorials for each feature but allow me to illustrate the simplicity I experienced when initiating the automation of our contracts.

Automate Templates

My initial focal point when delving into the solution was "Automate Templates." Here, you can either import an existing Word document or initiate the process using the Ment text editor. When starting with an existing contract template, a considerable portion of the formatting remained intact, but some adjustments were necessary to precisely replicate the original appearance. Once the contract mirrored the original, automating it was a breeze. It was a simple process of highlighting some text in the contract, selecting the desired automation type, and formulating the user question. End users can complete free-text fields, and you can even incorporate questions to dynamically tailor the content. For instance, if the document pertains to a location with distinct legal requirements, optional text can be presented accordingly. After familiarizing myself with a few creations, devising automations became effortless.

Generate Documents

Having crafted my automated document template, the subsequent step involved delivering it to the intended recipients. Within the "Generate Documents" section, Ment gave me the flexibility to copy a document link for distribution through messages, emails, or embeddable website widgets. Alternatively, I gave our users the ability to generate the document directly by responding to the posed questions on the same page.

Styles

The "Styles" option empowered me to customize the document's visual aesthetics. Choices encompass the entire document's style, including elements such as fonts, and the ability to create distinct styles for paragraphs, headings, and lists. This adaptability permits seamless customization to suit my preferences, with real-time previews aiding my adjustments. When incorporating existing Word documents, the option to mirror style settings from Word to Ment further streamlines the process. Additionally, styles are reusable across documents, alleviating the need for repetitive recreations.

Conclusion

As I started using M-Files Ment, I discovered that automation creation was remarkably straightforward. templates and generating documents proved intuitive and uncomplicated. The steepest learning curve, perhaps, revolved around styling preexisting Word documents, but even that was quite simple. Once I did establish a template, subsequent creations became nearly effortless.