Spacer Dialog Element Editor

You can use a Spacer Dialog Element to add empty space to a dialog to make the layout clearer. You can place the dialog element anywhere you want on the dialog like you would place any other component.

You can create and edit a spacer dialog element in Component Studio.

Common Tasks

Component Toolbar

Basic component actions appear in the component toolbar, above the other component options.

Button	What it Does
Rename	Displays the Rename Components dialog that enables you to rename your component.
Tools	Shows or hides the Tools pane on the right.
Duplicate	Displays the Duplicate Components dialog that enables you to create a copy of this component in the component file.
Delete	Displays the Delete Components dialog that enables you delete the component. You can also to view a list of templates or components who currently reference the selected component and you may have to fix after deletion.

Component Identity Property

At the top of the editor you can see the name that HotDocs uses to identify this dialog element.

Property Name

What it Does

Name

Enables you to view and edit the name of your variable. You can easily this property if your no other components or templates reference the variable; otherwise, this property becomes read-only.

It is not advisable to rename variables once another component or template references them, since this can cause major answer mismatches during document assembly.

If read-only, you can rename your variable using the Rename button on the toolbar.

Component names must be unique within the template and component file.

Answer Type

Settable only for Single Select or Multi Select variables; indicates the value type of the answer the variable can gather in the interview. The answer type for each of the four primitive variables corresponds to their variable names (Text, Number, Date, True/False). The answer type for a Table variable is Record. Choices for selection variables include all of the foregoing, as well as a list of values of each of the foregoing types, e.g. Text List, Date List, etc.

Display Tab

The Display tab provides you with options that enable you to change how a dialog element appears during the interview:

Element	What it Does
Height	Enables you to choose the size of the vertical spacing by selecting a percentage of the dialog font. For convenience, as you change the height of the blank vertical space, the Spacer dialog element name automatically updates.

Notes Tab

To provide you a quick way to know if this tab contains any content, you can see a + symbol on the tab if there is a note.

As you create components, you may want to include notes to remind yourself of decisions you made when creating the component. For example, maybe you need to remember information about restrictions you applied to a Number variable, or remind yourself of the purpose of the component in the template.

The notes tab enables you to type any notes you want about the component and its role in the template.

This information is not visible in the interview; it is for the author’s reference only.

Tools Pane

On the right side of the component editor you can view a tools pane containing various (Components, Models, Referenced, or Field Editor) tabs for this component.

You can use the Tools button on the Component toolbar to show or hide the tools pane.

Info Tab

When you select a component in the Components column of Component Studio, you can look at the Info tab on the far right of the component editor to see the type of the currently selected component, as well as a list of other components or templates (if there are any) that use the component you select.

Element	What it Does
Type	Displays the type of the component you selected in the Components column.
Used in	Displays a list of other components or templates (if there are any) that use the component you select. Double-clicking an item in the Used In section opens that item for editing, and places focus on the first reference to the component you selected in the Components column.