Public Interview Links Overview
A public interview link is a link to a HotDocs interview that can be accessed by unknown external users without a HotDocs Advance account.
For example, you create a public interview link that links to an initial inquiry form. You can then place this link on your website, to collect information from unsolicited prospects.
Overview
Public interview links enable you to capture data via a HotDocs interview from external users who may be unknown to you, such as prospective customers. The interview is accessible to individuals outside of your organization who do not have an Advance account and are not registered as clients in Advance. Unlike client interviews, where a link is sent to a specific, known address, public interview links can be accessed from an external website. Data entered into a public interview is only accessible to Advance once the external user completes the interview and submits the data.
External Users
The external user sees a simplified version of the Advance user interface to input and submit their data. Internal users cannot see answers until the external user submits them. The external user cannot save or reopen the interview answers, or preview or download a document from their interview.
Prerequisites
Public interview links are an additional feature of Advance. Interviews accessed through public interview links are charged as part of a client interview subscription quota. Contact your account manager if you would like to add client interviews, including public interview links, to your Advance subscription.
- An active client interview subscription
- Only Site Administrators can create public interview links
Whilst client interviews must be enabled at Root, activating client interviews in Site Settings is optional
Common Tasks
Among others, the public interview links feature enables you to perform the following common tasks:
Workflow
You create a public interview link for an existing template in your Advance site. You then place this link on your website. A prospect visits your website and is invited to click on the public interview link. The link takes the prospect to a HotDocs interview, which they complete and submit. You can then access the prospect's data, generate documents, and view their details in the contact list. If the external user does not submit their data, the interview expires after 24 hours.
External User Workflow
The prospect visits your website and navigates to the public interview link. When they click the link a window opens with a page for the prospect to enter their details. The prospect can then access the interview and submit their data. If the user cancels the interview, Advance deletes their data.
Billing
Customers purchase a subscription with a monthly allowance of client interviews. Interviews accessed through a public interview link count towards this client interview allowance. Advance counts a public interview as being used once the interview has been accessed. Once you use up your allowance of client interviews Advance prevents further client interviews being created for the remainder of the monthly billing period. Unused client interview allocations cannot be rolled over.
Advance sends a usage notification to administrators when 80% of the quota is used, and another when the total quota is used.
Common Reference Topics
Among others, the following reference topics may relate to this conceptual area: