Creating a REPEAT Instruction to Gather a List of Answers

Sometimes you may need to collect and merge a list of answers (instead of just a single answer) into a document. You can create such a list by inserting a REPEAT instruction around one or more variables.

Often, you must repeat information within a word processor table This is best done by repeating a single cell or an entire row.

To create a REPEAT instruction to gather a list of answers:

  1. Select the template text (including any pertinent variables) you want to repeat, and click REPEAT Field.  
  2. Either select an existing dialog from the Dialog drop-down list, or type the name of a new dialog in the box.
  3. Click the Edit Component button.
  4. Click the Style drop-down button and select the format for the repeated dialog.
  5. Optionally, in the Add button text box, type the custom label text you want to use on the Add Another button. (This button appears on a repeated series dialog. Users click it to add a new repetition to the series of answers.)
  6. If you are creating a new dialog, add to the dialog the variables you want repeated.
  7. Click OK at the Dialog Editor.
  8. In  the REPEAT Field dialog box, complete either of the following optional tasks:
  9. Click OK. HotDocs inserts the REPEAT instruction in the template.

You can always change punctuation, sorting, or other options by editing the instruction or the contents of the repeated dialog  

You can use repeats to find the total sum of a series of repeated Number variables, such as a list of dollar amounts.

In Microsoft Word, you can also insert a REPEAT instruction either by clicking the HotDocs drop-down list in the HotDocs toolbar and choosing REPEAT Field, or by right-clicking in the template and choosing REPEAT Field from the shortcut menu.

If you are using both DOCX and RTF template you need to be aware that the format of repeated paragraphs may appear differently in RTF documents than in DOCX documents. When converting RTF templates to DOCX, you should inspect paragraph formatting of repeated paragraphs in assembled documents to ensure that they appear as you intend.