Step 2 of the HotDocs Author workflow: Add placeholders

Field Editor: Single Select Variable

You can use the Single Select Variable options in the HotDocs Field Editor to create and edit placeholder fields for Single Select variables.

To view the Field properties for a Single Select variable's placeholder field, in the Field Editor select Add a placeholder > Single Select Variable.

Common Tasks

Field Type

The Field Type section of the HotDocs Field Editor displays whether the currently selected HotDocs Field is a placeholder field or an instruction field. This section appears when you select an existing field in the template.

Single Select Variable Editor

When you select Add a placeholder > Single Select Variable or click on an existing Single Select variable's placeholder field in the template, you can view and edit the following options:

Property Name	What it Does
Variable	Enables you to select an existing variable using a drop-down list or type the name of a new selection variable you want to create. Click the edit button to open the pop-up variable editor and access the same component properties you see in the variable editors in Component Studio. If you select an existing field that is missing a component, HotDocs notifies you that there is no component, and you can then add a component using the drop-down list or the edit button.
Key column (of Built in table)	(Only appears when the option source is a Built in Table) Enables you to type the values you want as possible answers for your selection variable. Unless you use the Option Labels property in Component Studio and choose another column to display in the interview, the values you type in the Key column also become the list of options that appear in the interview. The table contains the following: Key – enables you to type a list of values that you want as possible answers for your selection variable Insert above button – enables you to insert a new row just above your current selection Delete button – deletes the row containing your current selection If you want to add additional columns to your Built-in table, click the component editor button to open the pop-up Single Select Variable Editor.
Option source	Enables you to use a drop-down list to select an existing option source (such as a Fixed Table component), or type to create a new one. The option source provides the text for the list of options you present to your template user in an interview (and can contain other related data).
Linked dialog	Enables you to link this component to a dialog using a drop-down list and an edit button.
Assembly value	Enables you to select the column of the option source that contains the values you want HotDocs to replace the (currently selected) placeholder field with during document assembly.
Format	Enables you to set the format HotDocs uses when an answer replaces the (currently selected) placeholder field during document assembly. You can select a format using the drop-down list or type in a custom format. The type of format available in the drop-down list correlates to the type of variable selected in the assembly value property. If you have previously set a default format for the variable, you will see the format grayed and italicized in the format text box. If you set a new format, this overrides the default format, but only for this specific instance of the placeholder field. In addition, when you override a default format, any other property defaults (Unanswered text, Font, Padded width, Answer alignment, Pad character) you have set in component studio are copied into the respective text box and set for that property at the field level. You can use the Revert button in Advanced Properties to set any default properties you override back to the defaults you set in Component Studio.