Integrating HotDocs Advance with TAP Workflow Automation

A HotDocs integration with TAP Workflow Automation (TAP) enables Advance to provide seamless document workflow capabilities.

Overview

Using HotDocs Advance and TAP Workflow Automation (TAP) together enables you to do more with your documents and data. For example, you could assemble an employment agreement in HotDocs and automatically initiate an approval request in TAP.

This integration uses API calls and a specific naming convention in the HotDocs answer set. Once you create a work item, you can gather data and assemble documents as usual. If your template is TAP-enabled, the completion of your work item will initiate and populate a workflow in TAP.

TAP is an additional product of Mitratech. Contact your account manager if you would like to discuss enabling access to TAP.

Common Tasks

Among others, the TAP integration enables you to perform the following common tasks:

Workflow

An administrator configures the integration between HotDocs and TAP. A template author creates or edits a HotDocs template to connect the workflow and data fields in TAP.

Once the template is published to Advance, users create a work item for the TAP-enabled template and enter data. On completion, Advance sends the TAP-enabled data to TAP, initiating the workflow and passing data to populate fields in TAP.

The user can then access the workflow in TAP, which could be populated with data entered in HotDocs and accompanied by assembled documents if set up to do so. When documents are sent to TAP, they are hidden in Advance to ensure data consistency.

Creating TAP-enabled templates

To create a template that works with the TAP integration, you can either create a template or edit an existing one in HotDocs Author.

Required information

The integration uses a naming convention to map fields between HotDocs and TAP. When creating a HotDocs variable, it is important to use a name that aligns with this format. When Advance processes the work item, it scans the answer set for variables matching the naming convention and sends the relevant information to TAP.

It is recommended to create the workflow in TAP before creating a HotDocs template, as the HotDocs template requires information derived from TAP.

You need the following from your TAP workflow:

workflowID - The unique identifying reference for the TAP workflow you wish to initiate. This takes the form of a guid, e.g. bc9b9d0x-e18a-4481-9e08-019fef510125, and can be found in the URL for the workflow.
elementID - In the designer Form tab, TAP displays a unique identifying number to the bottom right of the form field. This number remains constant even if you change the field's name. You must also understand any validation requirements the field may have.

Specifying the TAP workflow(s) to initiate

You must include the workflowID in the answer set, using the variable format TAP_WorkflowTemplateId. If the integration is configured, HotDocs calls TAP on completion of the work item and initiates the workflow.

If the integration is configured and you do not set or answer the workflow id in the answer set, no workflow is initiated in TAP.

You could use scripting to automate this for your end users:

SET TAP_WorkflowTemplateId TO "bc9b9d0x-e18a-4481-9e08-019fef510125"

Mapping variables to TAP form fields

If you want to populate your TAP workflow with data gathered in HotDocs, you can map variables to TAP elementIDs.

The format required is TAP_XX, where XX should be replaced by the corresponding TAP elementID.

You can optionally append a friendly name, _friendly name, this can be useful in tracking which variable corresponds to which TAP element.

For example:

Dear [TAP_31_FirstName] [TAP_32_LastName],

Email: [TAP_30_Email]

Company: [TAP_9_Company]

You can also map fields using scripting, in the following example User Context Data is mapped to avoid the user entering data directly:

SET TAP_30_Email TO HD_UserContext_UserEmailAddress

You can only map one variable to one element; do not use repeated variables with the TAP integration naming convention.

Only the variables in your template asking data which you wish to be sent to TAP need to follow the naming convention. Any variables not following the naming convention will be ignored by the integration, though may still be assembled into a document.

Sending assembled documents to TAP

You can send assembled documents to form fields in your TAP workflow.

The format is TAP_document_XX{_optional friendly name}, where XX should be replaced by the corresponding TAP elementID. You can send multiple documents to the same TAP_document_XX field.

For example:

ASSEMBLE "document1.docx"

ASSEMBLE "document2.docx"

SET TAP_document_1_NeedsApproval TO "document1.docx, document2.pdf"

Important considerations

All information passed through to TAP takes the form of a string of data. A string is a type of data that represents a sequence of characters. It presents text-based information in a structured format that can be processed by computers. It can include letters, numbers, symbols and spaces.

Data gathered in Text, Number and Date variables is sent to TAP in the form of strings. True False variables are discouraged as their tri-state logic can create discrepancies when mapped to a TAP Boolean field.

TAP has format requirements which users can set, e.g. email format. Data sent from HotDocs which does not pass TAP validation will cause the integration to error. You must ensure that users enter the data as required, for example by using input masks and prompts.

Workflow in TAP

When your end user accesses TAP, they will be presented with the workflow initiated in HotDocs, already populated with data in any mapped fields and with any documents that have been sent. They can then continue the workflow, for example by requesting approval signatures, within TAP.