Office of Human Research Affairs

Investigator Handbook:Converting ICDs from MS-Word to PATS

If you have an electronic version of your Informed Consent Document(s), you may copy them to PATS, but it is important that you follow these directions:

  1. In MS-Word, highlight and copy the text of the ICD (but not the “FOR OFFICE USE ONLY” boxes).
  2. Open Notepad (not Wordpad), usually found under “Start | Programs | Accessories | Notepad.”
  3. Paste the text into Notepad.
  4. Click on “File | Save” and enter a filename (e.g. filename.txt). Save to a convenient location.
  5. NOTE: If you see a dialog box similar to the following, choose “OK,” then follow Steps A-B, below.  Otherwise, continue with step #6
    1. Close Notepad.
    2. Open “filename.txt”
  6. Select all of the text by clicking on “Edit | Select All.”
  7. Copy the text by clicking on “Edit | Copy.”
  8. Open an ICD “Blank” template in PATS, and paste the text there, using the “Paste” button.
  9. You may now delete the file you created when you saved the document in Notepad.
  10. This procedure will remove all of the formatting, good and bad. It will only take a few minutes to restore the bolding and underlining that is lost. 
  11. If you must use tables, follow Step #9 and include the tables as attachments. If this is not feasible, contact David Wallach (718-430-2234 or dwallach@aecom.yu.edu) to discuss alternatives.
  12. If your ICD includes images (e.g. flowcharts, pictures, etc.), include a reference to them in the document (e.g. “See attachment #1”), email the attachment(s) to the CCI, and submit the printed images to the CCI on paper.
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