HotDocs Advance API Reference Documentation

You can view the latest reference documentation for the Advance API at https://yourorganization.com/HdaApi/rest/documentation/index.html, where yourorganization.com is the domain under which your Advance deployment is located.

The reference documentation contains details of all public API methods. For selected examples of using the API, see Using the API Overview.

Answer Set Schemas

Some HotDocs Advance API methods may require you to send a HotDocs Answer Set with the request. The answer set must be validated against the HotDocs Answer Set schema before the request is sent.

API Resources

When making an HTTP request, the following resources are available in the Advance API.

Resource	Description	Related Tasks
Branding	The logo which displays on your Advance site and for client and public interviews.	customize the branding of your HotDocs Advance site
ClientAccounts	The data of external clients held by Advance for the purposes of client interviews.	create and delete clients query clients by name or email address
ClientInterviews	A client interview is an interview you send via email to an external user to gather their data.	revoke a client interview
PublicInterviewLinks	A public interview link is a link to an interview which you can place on your website to gather data from an unknown external user, such as a prospect.	create and delete public interview links
Subscriptions	Details of your Advance subscription.	view your current usage
TemplatePackages	A template package is a zipped package of files sent to Advance when a template is uploaded from HotDocs Author. The template package contains the template files and associated metadata files.	select whether the template is active
TemplatePackageVersions	When you upload a zipped template package from Author, Advance creates a new version of the template. Before users can assemble a document, a template must have a live version.	forward publish by setting the date and time from which a template version is accessible to users get a template's variable data
UserGroups	A user group is a collection of user accounts, used to control access to work groups. Users can only access a work group if they are included in a user group that is allocated to that work group.	make user groups active add users to a group
Users	A user account within Advance. Users may have additional administrative roles, which provide them with authorization to perform specific actions in Advance.	create a user make users active assign administrative roles
WorkGroups	A work group is a named location in which users can create work items. Users can only create work items in a work group if they are included in a user group that is allocated to that work group. Work groups are used to control access to template packages; users can only access template packages which have been allocated to their work group.	make a work group active allocate user groups to a work group assign templates to a work group get a list of the work items in a group
WorkItems	A work item is a named entity in HotDocs Advance with which you can enter and edit answer data, and assemble documents from that data, for a specific template package. Users create work items through their allocated work groups. By default, work items are accessible to any user that has access to the work group. You can make work items private, so that only the user that created the work item can access it.	create a work item assemble documents set the privacy status of a work item get the answer data for a work item download a work item's assembled documents search for work items with a specific work item status set a workflow status for a work item

Additional Terms

This table provides details of some of the additional terms used by the resources and endpoints above.

Resource	Description	Related Tasks
AnswerFile	An answer file is XML that comprises an answer set. When creating a work item using the API, you can optionally supply an XML string in the request. Advance can then assemble documents for the work item using the supplied answer file.	download a work item's answer file
AssemblySessions CompleteSession SaveSession	An assembly session is a specific instance of the document assembly process in the Core Assembly Service. Using assembly sessions, you can manage the creation of new versions of a work item and assemble documents. In-progress assembly sessions can be saved or completed.	begin an assembly session save an in-progress assembly session resume an assembly session complete an assembly session
DefaultAnswers	The work group default answer set is a basic set of answers used across work items in a work group.	set the default answers for a work group
Documents	The assembled documents created by processing an answer file and template package in an assembly session.	download assembled documents
Images	Images associated with a work item as part of the answer file.	add an image to a document
LiveDate	The date and time from which a template package version is made accessible to users.	forward publish a template package
PostProcessingComplete	The status of a work item using the Post-assembly Processing Event webhook.	set the work item's post-processing status
Roles	A set of administrative roles allocated to users to control permissions.	set a user's administrative role
VariableData	The variables used in a template package.	see a list of the variables used in a template package
Versions	When a user completes an assembly session, Advance creates a new version of the work item, with a new set of assembled documents.	see the edit history of a work item