boilerplate

A phrase or body of text used verbatim in different documents such as a signature at the end of a letter. Boilerplate is widely used in the legal profession as many paragraphs are used over and over in agreements with little modification or no modification. Boilerplate is stored by the word processor on disk and copied into the document as needed. The function that inserts boilerplate in Microsoft Word is called "AutoText," and Word can be the default editor for writing Outlook e-mail. In the Eudora e-mail program, boilerplate is called "stationery."

The AUTO-TYPIST Typewriter

In the 1940s, the AUTO-TYPIST system was great for boilerplate. Using a perforator, text was prepunched into player piano-like rolls. When needed, the documents were typed on a typewriter that read the rolls. As the roll passed over slots in a bar, a valve opened and negative pressure in a hose collapsed a small bellows that pulled down the typewriter key. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)

The AUTO-TYPIST Perforator

Typing on this machine recorded the text by punching holes in the rolls. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)

"Automatic Typing"

This ad explains the fabulous AUTO-TYPIST procedure for the prospective customer. Throughout the 1940s and up until the mid-1970s, AUTO-TYPIST machines like this one from the American Automatic Typewriter Company provided reliable document processing. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)