Concept Topic

Interview Overview

An interview in HotDocs Advance is an interactive, step-by-step experience used to collect the information required to assemble one or more customized documents. Each interview is generated from the template you select and presents the specific dialogs, questions and answer fields designed by the template author.

Whether you are creating a work item, generating a quick document or re-opening an existing work item to update information, the interview is the central place where you provide or modify the data uses to build final documents.

Overview

When you launch an interview, Advance presents a structured sequence of dialogs. Each dialog contains question fields where you provide information such as names, dates, selections, text or other data requested by the template. 

How an interview is generated:

• Interviews are created automatically from the template associated with a work item or a quick document.
• Template authors determine the order of dialogs, the types of questions you see, any conditional logic and whether certain questions appear only in specific circumstances.
• The interview adapts dynamically as you answer questions. For example, your response may reveal additional questions, hide unnecessary ones or change the path you follow through the dialogs.

Once you complete the interview, Advance processes:

• your answers
• the template's rules and logic
• any calculations, conditions or formatting instructions

to assemble one or more customized documents. You can then download the documents directly from the work item.

Common Tasks

You encounter interviews when you perform tasks such as:

• Creating a Work Item
• Creating a Quick Document
• Opening an Interview

Starting, Continuing and Updating Interviews

Creating a work item

When you create a work item, you can choose to launch the interview immediately. You can work through each dialog in sequence, providing as much information as you have available.

Opening interviews for existing work items

You can return to an interview after the initial document assembly to correct or update answers, supply additional information and produce updated documents. Advance regenerates the output documents using your new answers.

Creating a quick document

Quick documents also use interviews. In this case, the interview opens as soon as you choose your template and begin the quick document. A quick document does not create a persistent work item and cannot be re-opened.

Navigating and Completing Interviews

Navigating dialogs

Interviews typically present dialogs in sequence, but the interface may allow you to:

• move backward to earlier dialogs
• skip ahead to later dialogs
• revisit and revise previous answers at any time.

Navigation options depend on the template's structure and any required or conditional questions.

Saving answers

Advance automatically saves your progress as you move through dialogs. If you leave a work item interview before completing it you can resume it later.

Reviewing your answers

Before finishing the interview you can view a summary of your responses and resolve incomplete or required fields.

Template authors may include error messages, warnings or instructions to help guide accurate data entry.

Document Generation

After completing the interview, Advance assembles one or more customized documents. If the template includes multiple document variants, your interview responses may determine which documents are produced.