Interview 2 Overview

Interview 2 is the next-generation interview experience for HotDocs Advance. It provides a modern design with improved performance, while remaining compatible with your existing templates and integrations. Template authors choose which interview version each template uses by setting it in the template's properties.

Interview 2 works with the same templates, components, scripts, and interview logic you use today.

Key Benefits

Interview 2 addresses common customer needs:

Improved Performance: Large template sets with substantial scripting or many dialogs can result in slow navigation or delayed updates. Interview 2 significantly improves rendering speed and responsiveness.

Modern usability expectations: A cleaner layout and clearer navigation help users understand question hierarchy, navigate long or nested dialogs. The UI works consistently across modern browsers and devices.

Extensibility: Interview 2 lays the technical foundation for further UX improvements, accessibility enhancements, and new interaction patterns.

How Interview 2 Works

Interview 2 uses the same HotDocs interview generation logic as Interview 1. That means your variables, dialogs, scripting and template logic are all interpreted as before. Key behavior remains unchanged whilst offering:

  • responsive layouts.
  • faster rendering of dialogs.
  • smoother navigation transitions.
  • modern styling.
  • improved support for long or nested dialogs.

Switching is simple and optional; you can adopt Interview 2 at your own pace.

Workflow

When you create and test templates in Author, you can choose which version to use: Interview Version 1 or Version 2. This choice affects how the interview is displayed during testing and when the template is published.

  • In Author:
    You can switch between Version 1 and Version 2 while testing. This allows you to compare performance and behavior before deciding which version to use.
  • In Advance:
    When you publish a template, the selected interview version is stored in the template's configuration file. When a user launches an interview, the Core Assembly Service automatically displays the version you selected.

Limitations

Responsiveness and Compatibility

Interview 2 supports responsive layouts, making interviews easier to use on different screen sizes. However, responsiveness depends on the context.

  • Responsive:
    • Client interviews
    • Public interviews
    • Embedded interviews that use HotDocs APIs in your own application
  • Not Responsive:
    • Work Item interviews
    • Quick Group interviews

Even in non-responsive contexts, Interview 2 still provides performance and usability improvements.

Internationalization and Localization

Interview 2 supports templates authored in other languages (such as French, German, or Dutch). However, some aspects are not fully localized:

  • Static interface elements, such as navigation labels, interview outline and Finish button, remain in English.
  • Certain number and date formats may not display consistently during interview. However, this does not affect document assembly - values are assembled correctly in the final document regardless of display formatting.

Additional Considerations

See the full list of known considerations when using Interview 2.