Text Dialog Element Editor

You can use a Text Dialog Element to add text to a dialog that is unrelated to a specific variable. 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 text 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 to delete the component. You can also view a list of templates or components that 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
Text	Enables you to type additional information and instructions that appear on the dialog to help your users correctly provide the information you want to gather from them. For convenience, as you enter text into the Text field, the Text dialog element name automatically updates.
For spreadsheet dialogs, display text in:	Enables you to select one of the three following options for displaying this dialog element on a spreadsheet dialog: All views of the dialog – Text displays on both spreadsheet view and in edit row view Spreadsheet view only – Text only displays when viewing the dialog as a spreadsheet Edit Row view only – Text only displays when viewing the pop-up interview for a specific row of the spreadsheet

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 the Components and Used in 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.

Field Editor Tab

When you select a text-based component property that can contain fields, such as a prompt for a variable or a cell in a Fixed Table, the Field Editor tab appears in the Tools panel. Any HotDocs fields you add to the text that appear in an interview. When a template user provides an answer for that placeholder field in the interview, the answer appears in the component's interview display text.

The Field Editor works in this context just as it does in a DOCX template or in HotDocs Composer.

If you use a placeholder field in a component's interview display text, you must ensure the template user provides an answer for that placeholder before the interview displays the component containing the placeholder field.