Term of the Moment
drill down
Definition: boilerplate
Text that is used over and over with very little or no change. For example, boilerplate is essential in the legal profession as pre-written paragraphs are often combined to create agreements. It is also essential for canned responses in tech support and is a feature of many email programs. Also called "stationery" and "templates," email boilerplate enables a message with the same subject and body text to reply to different recipients. Unfortunately, the boilerplate feature is not always available, especially in Web-based email, requiring several extra steps to accomplish the task. See boilerplate code and email signature.
AUTO-TYPIST (1940s to 1970s)
Create the Boilerplate
"The Ultimate in Automatic Typing"
Like a player piano, it read canned text as hole patterns on pre-punched rolls. As the roll unwound, the holes directed negative pressure through hoses connected to a tiny bellows on each key, snapping it down. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)
Typing on this AUTO-TYPIST perforator recorded the text by punching holes in the rolls. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)
From the 1940s up until the mid-1970s, AUTO-TYPIST machines from the American Automatic Typewriter Company provided reliable document processing. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)