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Excel to Auto Suggestions

Overview​

The Excel to Auto Suggestions feature allows you to quickly create a Flare Auto Suggestions file (.fltbx) from an Excel spreadsheet. Auto Suggestions in Flare help speed up content authoring by providing commonly used phrases and sentences that authors can insert with a few keystrokes.

How to Use​

  1. Navigate to the Import tab in Flare
  2. In the Auto Suggestions group, click Excel to Auto Suggestions
  3. Select an Excel file (.xlsx) containing your phrases or sentences
  4. Choose where to save the Auto Suggestions file (.fltbx)
  5. The file will be created and opened in Flare

Excel File Format​

Your Excel file should contain the phrases or sentences you want to use as auto suggestions:

  • First column: Contains the text for each auto suggestion
  • All rows are imported: Including the first row (no header row is required)
  • Empty rows are skipped: Blank cells in the first column are ignored

Example Excel Structure​

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Click Save to save your changes.
For more information, see the User Guide.
Contact support if you need assistance.

Output​

The feature creates a standard Flare Auto Suggestions file (.fltbx) in TBX-Basic format. This file can be:

  • Placed in your project's Project/Advanced folder
  • Shared across multiple projects
  • Edited directly in Flare's Auto Suggestion editor

Tips​

  • Consistent phrasing: Use auto suggestions for phrases that should be written consistently across your documentation
  • Common sentences: Include frequently-used sentences like instructions, warnings, or contact information
  • Review before import: Clean up your Excel file to remove duplicates or unwanted entries before importing
  • Combine with existing: You can create multiple .fltbx files or add entries to an existing file using Flare's editor

Use Cases​

  • Style guide enforcement: Import approved phrases and terminology
  • Boilerplate content: Create auto suggestions for standard instructions or disclaimers
  • Migration: Convert existing phrase lists from other systems to Flare auto suggestions
  • Team standardization: Share consistent phrasing across a writing team