| Title |
Excerpt |
Author |
Date |
Total Comments |
Recent Comment |
| HotDocs Instruction - QUIT |
The HotDocs QUIT instruction specifies that any code in a computation after the QUIT instruction is to be ignored as code. There are two major uses for this instruction. |
Ian Burrows |
09/23/09 |
0 |
|
| PLAY MACRO |
Sometimes, there are things you want done to your assembled document that HotDocs simply cannot do. Perhaps you want to check margins for a specific section, re-style an inserted template on the fly or automatically run a custom in-house print macro upon completion. For these sorts of tasks, the PLAY… |
Ian Burrows |
09/04/09 |
0 |
|
| HotDocs Instructions - LIMIT |
When it comes to REPEATS in HotDocs, LIMIT is one very handy instruction to know how to use. As its name suggests, it will LIMIT the number of iterations a repeat can hold, by placing the instruction in the dialog script of the dialog you wish to limit. Please note… |
Ian Burrows |
09/02/09 |
0 |
|
| HotDocs Instruction - LANGUAGE |
The Language instruction allows you to design, code and assemble templates in HotDocs in a language other than English. To be able to use this feature, you must first contact a Lexis Nexis sales representative to obtain a DLL for the language you wish to program with. HotDocs has DLLs… |
Ian Burrows |
08/26/09 |
0 |
|
| INSERT template |
Not to be confused with the ASSEMBLE command (which queues a template for assembly after your current template has finished), the INSERT command does exactly that - inserts the content of one template into a different template (known as the “parent” template). This instruction is extremely handy and very under… |
Ian Burrows |
08/19/09 |
0 |
|
| IF, ELSE IF and ELSE |
The humble IF statement is the core of all logic in any programming language, HotDocs included. IF statements don’t actually do anything but rather, they provide a structure within which other commands are executed. To bring any intelligence to your document-producing systems, you must understand the IF, ELSE IF and… |
Ian Burrows |
08/05/09 |
0 |
|
| GRAY, UNGRAY, SHOW and HIDE |
These four commands are essential in presenting user friendly and user-proof dialogs in HotDocs. When designing systems, it is generally best practice to show only those variables that require (or may require) an answer and HIDE or GRAY those that are irrelevant. HotDocs provides a rudimentary manner to handle this… |
Ian Burrows |
07/15/09 |
0 |
|
| FORMAT “LIST FORMAT” |
Another HotDocs instruction model that does exactly what it sounds like, FORMAT allows you to specify the formattin of a “list style” RESULT. Rather than explain, I’ll simply provide 2 examples which demonstrates everything you’ll ever need to know about FORMAT. |
Ian Burrows |
07/07/09 |
0 |
|
| FILTER Var |
The HotDocs instruction “FILTER” is one that I use in almost every system that I’ve designed. Its purpose is exactly what it sounds like - to filter (a repeat), based upon a certain criteria, so that the data output from the repeat is reduced - only the repeats that match… |
Ian Burrows |
06/24/09 |
0 |
|
| ERASE Var and ERASE Dialog |
The ERASE instruction is one of the handier instructions in HotDocs if you are populating data dynamically more than once, or are using ‘temporary dialogs’ during your interviews. Use of this instruction will completely erase the contents of a variable or dialog, but be warned: it will erase all iterations… |
Ian Burrows |
06/22/09 |
0 |
|
| DEFAULT var TO value (and) SET var TO value |
Today’s tip is about the DEFAULT and SET instruction models. Both of these models will allow you to specify that a variable has a certain value, but in different circumstances and with different results. This article provides the basics on when and how. |
Ian Burrows |
06/02/09 |
0 |
|
| DECREMENT and INCREMENT |
The DECREMENT and INCREMENT instructions are relatively new to HotDocs and they serve identical, but reversed purposes. DECREMENT will reduce a given number variable by one, whereas INCREMENT will increase by one. |
Ian Burrows |
03/08/09 |
0 |
|
| DEBUG |
The HotDocs DEBUG instruction model is very simple, very powerful and very clear about its use. DEBUG is used to...well, debug! If you have templates or computations that are producing unexpected or incorrect output, using the DEBUG instruction may get you back on track just a little quicker. |
Ian Burrows |
02/24/09 |
0 |
|
| CONCEAL VAR and OMIT VAR |
A very brief HotDocs tip today - the CONCEAL and OMIT instruction models. These two commands make working with HotDocs dialogs as answer sources a little cleaner and easier for users to work with. |
Ian Burrows |
02/03/09 |
0 |
|
| CLEAR MULT_CHOICE |
Unfortunately, the CLEAR instruction model doesn’t really have any use on its own. Its job is simple: to remove all the options and option prompts from the specified multiple choice ("MC") variable. That’s it. When used in conjunction with the ADD instruction (which adds options & option prompts to a… |
Ian Burrows |
01/28/09 |
0 |
|
| ASSEMBLE |
One of the cooler instructions is the ASSEMBLE command, which allows you to queue up a template for assembly in HotDocs. When it comes to assembling individual documents in packages/batches (as opposed to a template package in a single document output), assemble is the only way to fly. |
Ian Burrows |
01/21/09 |
0 |
|
| ASK DIALOG and ASK VAR |
The ASK instruction does exactly what it appears it will do - forces HotDocs to ASK (present to user) a specific variable or dialog. ASK is quite often under utilized, as many developers permit HotDocs to generate a template interview. For those developers in the know, there is a lot… |
Ian Burrows |
01/13/09 |
0 |
|
| HotDocs Instruction - ASCEND [VAR] |
The ascend instruction is used with the REPEAT instruction to sort the resulting output. Here’s what the official HotDocs help file states: The ASCEND instruction sorts lists of answers (gathered using a REPEAT instruction) in alphanumeric order, from 1 to 9, and from A to Z. The DESCEND instruction sorts… |
Ian Burrows |
12/23/08 |
0 |
|
| ADD TEXT TO MULT_CHOICE - dynamic |
Recently, we looked at how to use the ADD and CLEAR instructions in HotDocs to dynamically create an option for widows and widowers, so that regardless of gender of our client, the user was always presented with a gender appropriate reference, that still had an identical option under the hood. … |
Ian Burrows |
12/16/08 |
0 |
|
| ADD TEXT TO MULT_CHOICE - static |
Two of the more useful instruction models in HotDocs for dynamic interviews and variables are ADD and CLEAR, which go hand in hand to dynamically construct multiple choice variables. This is the first of two HotDocs tips, which will deal with the basic CLEAR/ADD instructions with “static” content. The next… |
Ian Burrows |
12/16/08 |
0 |
|
| Filtered ADDing to MC Variables |
Quite often, you’ll want to dynamically create the options of a multiple choice variable from a repeating dialog (or other source). This HotDocs snippet will detail how you can do that. The concept is simple - if you ADD an option to the MC variable, you also accumulate the ADDed… |
Ian Burrows |
08/14/06 |
0 |
|