Installing HotDocs Author

Before you install Author, ensure your environment meets the system requirements.

If you are a system administrator and want to customize an Author installation using custom install settings or install Author in an unattended manner, you can perform a silent install using the command line.

To install HotDocs Author

  1. Close all open programs, including any word processors or existing versions of HotDocs Author you may have open.
  2. Locate and double-click setup64.exe (for 64-bit operating systems) or setup.exe (for 32-bit operating systems).

If your computer lacks any of the required prerequisites listed in the software requirements, the installer prompts you to authorize and download any required software now. If prompted, you should reboot your computer and run the installer again. If you do not have internet access or otherwise prevented from downloading any required software, you will need to install the software manually (using an external drive, local network, etc.).

  1. In the HotDocs Author InstallShield Wizard, click Next.
  2. Review the license agreement and click I accept the terms in the license agreement, then click Next.
  3. Choose the type of license you want to use:
      • Licensed—requires a license key
      • 30 Day Trial—does not require a license key

To obtain a HotDocs license key contact your administrator or a HotDocs representative.

  1. Click Next

HotDocs will now attempt to validate the license key by accessing the license server at https://licensing.hotdocs.ws/. If you do not have internet access or otherwise unable to access the licensing server, you can contact HotDocs support for an authentication token (or install the 30-day trial and authenticate later). Alternatively, you can have your network administrator add the licensing server to your networks "white list" or by temporarily enabling access to the licensing server in another manner.If you want to install the Subversion source control plug-in and Author to the default installation location, click Next.

    1. (Optional) If you do not want to install the Subversion source control plug-in, click the Subversion Plugin icon and select This feature will not be available.
    2. (Optional) If you want to change the location where Author is installed on your hard drive, click Change... and select a different location using the Change Current Destination Folder dialog box.
    3. (Optional) If you want to verify you have enough space on your hard drive to install Author, click Space.
  1. Click Install, and if prompted, authorize the Author software to be installed on your computer.
  2. Click Finish.

The Author software is now ready to use.

If you previously set your Windows display options to a font size greater than 100% you may find that some HotDocs dialog boxes do not display properly. You can check your font size setting in your Control Panel by clicking Appearance and Personalization > Display.