How To Topic

Creating a Component on a Dialog

After you create a dialog, in addition to adding an existing component to the dialog, you can create new components on the dialog from:

• Component Studio
• HotDocs Field Editor

Using Component Studio to Create a New Component on a Dialog

If you want to create a new component on a dialog, you can use the Dialog Editor in Component Studio.

To create a new component on a dialog from Component Studio

1. Open Component Studio.
2. In the Components list, double-click on a dialog to open it for editing.
3. From the tool bar at the bottom of the Contents tab, select a component type.
4. Type a Name for the new component and click OK.

In the Components tab, you can click the new component button to create a new component without adding it the dialog.

Using the HotDocs Field Editor to Create a New Component on a Dialog

When you are adding a variable to your template using the HotDocs Field Editor, you can add the variable to a particular dialog at the same time you create the variable.

To create a new component on a dialog from the HotDocs Field Editor

1. Open a template.
2. Select the text you want to replace, or position the cursor where you want to add a placeholder field.
3. In the HotDocs Field Editor, from the Action box, select Add a Placeholder.
4. In the Placeholder type box, select the variable type you want the placeholder to reference.
5. In the Field properties box, under Variable, type the name for your new variable.
6. In the Linked Dialog drop-down, select the name of the dialog to which you want to add the variable.
7. (Optional) Just below the Field Properties pane, select Replace Multiple; then click the appropriate button to ensure you are replacing only those pieces of text you want to replace with your variable.

If you choose this option, the Add Field button disappears as the Replace functionality adds the field for you.

8. Click Add Field.