Work Item Versions
Work item versions are specific instances of the document assembly process, for a work item.
Overview
A work item is a named location in HotDocs Advance, comprising a reference to specific HotDocs template(s) and a collection of work item versions.
A version is a snapshot of the assembled documents for a work item at a particular point in time, and the data required for Advance to (if necessary) re-create those documents. A version comprises:
- A specific version of a template (to which the work item is linked)
- An answer set – the answer XML data required to create the assembled documents
- A collection of one or more assembled documents – the specific documents produced when Advance processes the specific template and answer set above
Advance saves the last 5 versions for each template within a work item. In this way, work item versions help you track how a work item has changed over time.
When you want to update a work item, for example to create a new set of documents for a work item, you first create a new work item version for the work item. While the work item version is in progress, you can optionally display interviews for your end users, to gather answer data. When you complete a work item version, Advance processes the data it has gathered and sets the version status to completed, with the assembled documents and the answer set.
Common tasks
- Create a new work item version
- Displaying an interview
- Completing a work item version
- Saving and closing a work item version
- Downloading assembled documents
Workflow
See Assembling Documents Overview for an overview of the implementation details for using work item versions.
There are two main work flows for using work item versions. The one you use will depend on whether you already have answer data or if you need to gather it from your end-users. The workflows are:
- Displaying an interview – when you want to gather answer data from an end user, via an interview
- Batch processing – when you already have answer data and want to assemble documents, without user involvement
Batch Processing
When assembling documents with existing answer data, you will use the following workflow:
- You must create a work item or have an existing work item
- Create a new work item version, including your answer set in the request
- Complete the version ; Advance produces the assembled documents for the new work item version
- (Optional) Download assembled documents