HotDocs Advance Workflow Overview

HotDocs Advance is a web application that enables users to assemble documents from HotDocs templates and allows administrators to control user access to templates and data.

Overview

Once you create a HotDocs template in HotDocs Author, you upload your template to HotDocs Advance, where your template user can create any number of custom documents from it. Advance presents an interview that asks your template user for the information your template requires. Once your template user completes the interview, HotDocs Advance replaces the placeholders in your template with that information to assemble a final, customized document for your end user or client.

The basic workflow encompasses all the steps in the image below. This image typically appears at the top of each help topic that helps you through the workflow. So you can tell where that topic fits in the workflow, the blue text and circle provide a sort of "you are here" indicator on the map. By comparing that image with the location in the Table of Contents, we hope you are able to more easily navigate your way through the documentation and its explanation of the workflow.

 

HotDocs Advance WorkflowUpload a template Manage user access to templates Work items Download assembled documents

 

Common Tasks

The Advance workflow includes a wide variety of tasks. Some of the most common include:

Template Assembly Workflow

In HotDocs Advance, there is a clear workflow to enable you to successfully turn your existing working documents into templates. HotDocs uses these templates to generate documents customized to the needs of your individual clients and template users. The recommended workflow is:

  1. Upload a template
  2. Make a template accessible to users
  3. Create a work item
  4. Download an assembled document

Upload a Template

Using HotDocs Author, you can create a template based on an existing document, or you can create a new template "from scratch." When you are happy with your template, and you are ready for your template users to use your template to create their customized documents, you need to add an upload destination to your workspace; then upload your template to HotDocs Advance.

Make a Template Accessible to Users

Make a Template Live

Once your template is uploaded to Advance, a user with the Content Administrator role can make the template live.

Assign a Template to a Work Group

Once your template is uploaded to Advance, a user with the Content Administrator role can assign the template to a work group.

Assign a User Group to a Work Group

In Advance, template users are allocated to user groups to control access permissions to templates. For a template user to access your template, you must assign their user group to the template's work group.

Create Work Item

Before you launch an interview for a template you first create a work item. This groups the template, answer data and the assembled documents together, enabling you to access the work as a whole if you need to revisit it.

Assemble a Document

You can launch an interview for your template, gather the data required to assemble the template and then download the customized document.