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.
There are two uses of DEBUG – in templates and in scripts (both Dialog scripts and computations). Both uses have a very similar effect.
By placing a DEBUG instruction in your template or script, you tell HotDocs to display the Debugger screen. With the debugger, you can manually step through a script or template while viewing extremely detailed information regarding each variable’s value. You can add variables to watch lists, “step” the script (ie: manually tell HotDocs to progress the script line by line) and watch the variable values change with each step. Using DEBUG, you can quickly identify what data is coming in/going out and what data is changing. This will allow you to track down any errors quickly, as you can not only assess each computation or variable, but also the variable values that went into creating the problematic data.
Additionally, the Debugger contains a processing stack tab. This is a sequential list of templates and components to be processed, in order. It will also give you the reason as to WHY HotDocs has a particular item in the queue.
In the most general sense, the Debugger gives you a real look under the hood as to exacty how HotDocs is handling/treating your code. This is invaluable if you simply cannot make your code produce the correct content.