> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.libratech.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Drafting

> Create and edit real Word documents in Libra: start from a blank page, a firm template or any .docx, and work on it with Libra beside the page.

<video autoPlay muted loop playsInline src="https://mintcdn.com/libra-4206ec93/WY-7u0iYQQLiZM0V/assets/videos/features/drafting-basics.webm?fit=max&auto=format&n=WY-7u0iYQQLiZM0V&q=85&s=538b20a35f3fc5957dfd1aba2eb1431f" className="rounded-xl border w-full" data-path="assets/videos/features/drafting-basics.webm" />

Drafting lets you create and edit real Word documents directly in Libra. The Editor works like a streamlined Word, and the Editor chat sits beside the page, working on the document you have open.

<div className="libra-buddy-callout">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/libra-4206ec93/wgVZXcGnHS4aJk9T/assets/images/libra-buddy/presenting.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=wgVZXcGnHS4aJk9T&q=85&s=db41075b4a259a172f68465ae5c3421e" alt="Libra mascot presenting" width="827" height="615" data-path="assets/images/libra-buddy/presenting.png" />

  <div className="libra-buddy-callout-content">
    You rarely need a blank page. Open last month's lease from Project files, or turn your firm's model lease into a drafting template and start every new one from it.
  </div>
</div>

## How Drafting fits together

Drafting has three parts, and each has its own page.

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Editor" icon="file-pen-line" href="/en/features/drafting/editor">
    Write and format the document, let Libra work on it in the Editor chat, and save, publish and restore versions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Templates & Themes" icon="layout-template" href="/en/features/drafting/templates">
    Turn your firm's Word documents into drafting templates and themes, so every draft starts in your house style.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Collaboration" icon="users" href="/en/features/drafting/collaboration">
    Share templates and drafts, and work through redlines and comments with colleagues, the counterparty and Libra.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## The Drafting page

**Drafting** sits in the sidebar between **Discovery** and **Project files**. Its page shows the drafting templates you can start from and every draft in the current project.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/libra-4206ec93/zzU4s1Zg8Nf2VS9Y/assets/images/app/drafting-page.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=zzU4s1Zg8Nf2VS9Y&q=85&s=ab9697691601cf03616d927fd96ff5f5" alt="The Drafting page of a project, numbered: 1 Drafting in the sidebar, 2 New draft, 3 the templates strip with My templates, Shared, Libra and Browse templates, 4 the drafts with their status tags and filters" width="3800" height="2160" data-path="assets/images/app/drafting-page.png" />

1. **Drafting** in the sidebar opens this page for the project you're in.
2. **New draft** opens a blank draft in the Editor.
3. The templates strip shows your drafting templates under **My templates**, the ones colleagues shared under **Shared**, and the ones Libra provides under **Libra**. Hover one and click **Use** to start a draft, or click **Browse templates** for the whole library.
4. The drafts: every draft in the project, as a grid or a list, with **Status**, **Template** and **Author** filters. A tag marks anything you haven't [published](/en/features/drafting/editor#publish) yet. Drafts live in the project's **Drafts** folder in Project files, which takes only `.docx` files.

Hover a draft and click **Edit** to open it, or use its **⋯** menu to favourite, rename, publish, duplicate, download, share or delete it.

## Open the Editor

You can open the Editor wherever a Word document appears in Libra. Only `.docx` files open in the Editor.

| From | Do this | What opens |
| - | - | - |
| The Drafting page | Click **New draft** | A blank draft, stored in the Drafts folder when you first save |
| A drafting template | Hover it and click **Use** | A new draft with the template's content and theme. See [Start a draft from a template](/en/features/drafting/templates#start-a-draft-from-a-template). |
| Project files | Hover a `.docx` and click **Edit**, or preview it and click **Edit** there | The document itself: your edits are saved to it, with a version history |
| Search | Click **Open** on a `.docx` result | The document itself |
| A chat | Click **Edit** on a Draft document card | An unsaved draft of the file Libra wrote, with the conversation carried into the Editor chat. Save it to keep it. |
| A chat answer | Click **Open in editor** in the toolbar under the answer | The document the chat belongs to, or a new draft if it has none, with the conversation carried into the Editor chat |
| The Editor | Click **New draft** in the title bar, or **Duplicate draft** in the document menu | A blank draft, or a copy of the one you're in |

<video autoPlay muted loop playsInline src="https://mintcdn.com/libra-4206ec93/WY-7u0iYQQLiZM0V/assets/videos/features/drafting-chat-to-editor.webm?fit=max&auto=format&n=WY-7u0iYQQLiZM0V&q=85&s=1830a3627603609bf42159975cd67844" className="rounded-xl border w-full" data-path="assets/videos/features/drafting-chat-to-editor.webm" />

Starting from a chat keeps the conversation going. The Editor chat knows what Libra drafted, so *"make the termination clause stricter"* works straight away. For the chat side, see [Word documents from chat](/en/features/chat/tools#word-documents-from-chat).

## The Editor, Draft document or the Word add-in?

All three give you a Word document. Pick by where you want to work and how much you'll change the draft.

| Use | When |
| - | - |
| **The Editor** | You want to shape a document step by step: edit by hand, have Libra rework single clauses, check each change and keep versions. |
| **Draft document** in chat | You want a complete first draft in one go. Open it in the Editor with **Edit** when you want to keep working on it. See [Chat tools](/en/features/chat/tools#word-documents-from-chat). |
| **The Word add-in** | The document is open in Word and should stay there. See [Word Add-in](/en/integrations/word/setup). |

## Common questions

These are the questions lawyers ask first, each with a pointer to the details.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Does the Editor replace Word?">
    No. It's a streamlined Word inside Libra with the everyday tools: styles, legal numbering, tables, footnotes, headers and footers, tracked changes and comments. **Download** gives you a `.docx` whenever you need Word.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can we use our own templates and house style?">
    Yes. Upload your firm's Word document as a drafting template, and Libra extracts its styles, colours and page setup into a theme. See [Templates & Themes](/en/features/drafting/templates).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Libra overwrite my document?">
    Only where you let it. Select a passage and Libra changes only that passage. In **Suggesting** mode, every change arrives as a redline you accept or reject. See [Work with Libra in the Editor chat](/en/features/drafting/editor#work-with-libra-in-the-editor-chat).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can several people work on the same draft?">
    Yes, one at a time. Colleagues comment and suggest changes, and version history keeps every saved state, but two people can't edit at once: the last save wins. See [Collaboration](/en/features/drafting/collaboration).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why doesn't Libra see my latest edits?">
    That depends on where you ask. The Editor chat always reads what's on your screen. Search, project chat and other chats read the last published version, so click **Publish** after saving. See [Publish](/en/features/drafting/editor#publish).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I export to PDF?">
    Not from the Editor. **Download** in the document menu gives you a `.docx`, which you can save as a PDF in Word, and **Print** prints the draft.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Open your first draft" icon="file-pen-line" href="/en/features/drafting/editor">
    A tour of the Editor, its formatting tools and working with Libra on the page.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set up your firm's templates" icon="layout-template" href="/en/features/drafting/templates#create-a-drafting-template">
    Turn a model contract into a drafting template in your house style.
  </Card>
</Columns>


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