HotDocs Overview

What is HotDocs document assembly software?

HotDocs is a suite of award-winning software applications that significantly reduce the time you need to spend generating client or customer specific documents (such as contracts, sales proposals, government and court forms, loan applications, and medical forms).

HotDocs' document generation software solutions form an array of products, environments, and platforms that enables users across a wide variety of work situations to take advantage of HotDocs' automated customization capabilities.

Using HotDocs, you can transform any word processor file or form into an interactive template by replacing the changeable text with HotDocs variables. Then, the next time you want to generate a completed document, just assemble the interactive template you've created. As you do this, you will be prompted for the information needed in the document and that information will be merged into the document.

When using HotDocs, you can perfect a template, minimizing the “human error” factor that repetitive typing introduces. Additionally, you can automate your templates so that verb tenses, gender references, dates, numbers, calculations, and more are updated automatically as users enter information. Custom interview questions and help resources guide you or your users through the interview.

Virtually any document in your workflow can be converted to a HotDocs template. HotDocs templates then become your gold standard—experienced colleagues can share their knowledge, and new colleagues come up to speed faster. Using HotDocs, you can compile an invaluable repository of special language, unique clauses or terms, correspondence, and more.

HotDocs Document Generation Workflow

HotDocs document generation follows the following workflow:

  1. You (or another template developer) use HotDocs software products and systems to produce a generic exemplar document known as a template. (You can do this most easily by replacing an existing document's changeable text—text that varies from one client to another, such as names, dates, and institutions—with HotDocs variables).
  2. You tell HotDocs to use the template you create to generate an interactive interview that asks your end user (a client or customer) for the data HotDocs needs to create a customized document.

  3. HotDocs presents the interview to your end user either in a desktop product, or in a browser.

  4. Your end user steps through the interview, providing the information you request at the prompts you set up in the template's dialogs.

  5. HotDocs stores this information in an answer file.

  6. When your user finishes the interview, HotDocs assembles a final document by merging the information in the answer file with the non-changing text in the template.

HotDocs can also use existing answer files to supply an interview with commonly reused information (for example, a company's address and contact information).

The workflow diagram below shows HotDocs' capability to use both answer files (saved answers) and end user input to provide information in an interview. The diagram also shows that HotDocs can generate an answer file or an assembled document by merging the template text with the answers from the completed interview.

HotDocs Document Generation Workflow

Using HotDocs, you can perfect a template, minimizing the "human error" factor that repetitive typing introduces. Additionally, you can automate templates so that verb tenses, gender references, dates, numbers, calculations, and more, update automatically as users enter information. Custom interview questions and help resources guide you or your users through the interview.

You can convert virtually any transactional document in your business to a HotDocs template. HotDocs templates then become your standard for document generation—experienced colleagues can share their knowledge, and new colleagues come up to speed faster. Using HotDocs, you can compile an invaluable repository of special language, unique clauses or terms, correspondence, and more.

HotDocs Product Matrix

HotDocs provides the products described in the product matrix below to enable you to accomplish the steps of the HotDocs document generation workflow described above. Which product or products you use to accomplish the steps depends on your particular computing circumstances and needs. You can gain a better understanding of a particular product or feature by locating it within the conceptual areas which define the matrix:

HotDocs Product Matrix

Tools Layer

The tools layer of the HotDocs product suite is the area you use to create a HotDocs template. The tools layer consists of the following:

  • HotDocs Developer—a desktop application that enables a template developer to transform a word processor file into a HotDocs template by replacing the document's changeable text with HotDocs variables
  • HotDocs Automator —an aspect of HotDocs Developer that enables a template developer to transform a graphical form into an interactive template by replacing the form's changeable text with HotDocs variables

Content Layer

HotDocs templates form the content layer of HotDocs. A completed template acts as a generic or exemplar document you can use as the basis for drafting documents of the same type for various specific clients. To change the template to a client specific document, HotDocs needs to gather user information and then merge that information with the non-changeable text in your template.

Environment

To accomplish the task of gathering the user information needed to assemble a final document, HotDocs' product suite includes data-gathering solutions for three separate computing environments:

These environments serve as metaphors for specific software platforms that enable HotDocs to deliver data-gathering and document assembly functionality to end-users, regardless of their local computing configurations.

Platform Layer

HotDocs provides software solutions in the desktop, client/server, and cloud environments to collect client data and assemble client specific documents. These solutions form three independent but interrelated computing platforms for gathering and processing your clients' data to produce custom documents.

HotDocs provides three platform choices in the platform layer:

 You can use products from each of these platforms in any combination that enables you to meet both your and your clients' needs.

Desktop HotDocs Platform

The Desktop HotDocs Platform is not a product; rather, as the name implies, the desktop platform consists of products and communication protocols that you and your clients install on regular desktop computers or laptops.

The base product for the desktop platform is HotDocs Developer. HotDocs Developer enables you to create text-based templates using either Microsoft® Word or Corel® WordPerfect®. You can also use HotDocs Developer to create a graphic-based form template.

In addition to creating templates, you can also generate interviews using HotDocs Developer (and answer interview questions yourself). However, your end-users in the desktop platform area usually use one of the products in the User Layer of the product matrix to answer interview questions.

HotDocs Server Platform

HotDocs Server is the name, both of the platform, and of the base software product upon which the platform depends. In contrast to the desktop HotDocs platform, the HotDocs Server platform requires a client/server configuration with a dedicated server to run HotDocs Server and a separate client interface (in the User Layer of the platform) for displaying interviews to your end users. HotDocs Server is the server-based version of HotDocs that enables you to use a standard web browser to generate and display interviews and, using the answers from the interview, assemble your end-user's final customized documents.

Cloud Services Platform

HotDocs Cloud Services is the name, both of the platform, and of the base software product upon which the platform depends. In contrast to the HotDocs Server platform, the Cloud Services platform does not require you to install any HotDocs software. The advantage of the cloud environment is that it frees firms from needing to install and maintain server software (or for that matter, any client software in the User Layer). Instead, Cloud Services exists as a HotDocs-provided service to which any third-party can make web service calls to provide their end-users access to HotDocs generated interviews, and to deliver to those same end-users their final documents.

Communication Layer

The communication layer of the product matrix consists of the communications protocols which enable interactions between the User layer and the parts of the HotDocs system that make up the platform layer of the HotDocs product matrix. These communications are necessary to present interviews to end users to gather the information needed to assemble final client-specific documents. The communication protocols used vary with the platform.

Desktop Environment

In the desktop paradigm, the Desktop API is the communication model you use if you want to integrate HotDocs functionality into your own, or third-party, applications. A typical use includes passing data from a third party database into HotDocs. You can also use the plug-in API to, for example, add new menu items to the HotDocs Developer library window.

HotDocs Server Environment

The HotDocs Server Platform enables you to choose several modes for communicating between HotDocs Server and your client application (a HotDocs Server host application):

  • HotDocs Server .NET API—a set of native .NET classes that wrap COM functionality; these enable communication between HotDocs Server and HotDocs Server host applications on the ASP.NET framework
  • HotDocs Server COM API—Provides a set of COM objects that enable communications between HotDocs Server and HotDocs Server host applications
  • HotDocs Server JavaScript API—Enables you to directly integrate a browser interview in your HotDocs Server host application web page by providing direct and synchronous communication with the interview runtime (which must either be loaded in the same frame, or have the same domain name loaded by the interview frame)
  • HotDocs Server Web Service API—Enables communication between HotDocs Server and a HotDocs Server host application (using web services)
  • HotDocs Open SDK —An open source communication protocol for HotDocs Server or HotDocs Cloud Services; many Open SDK API calls receive quicker responses than those in the alternative communication protocols above

Cloud Services Environment

  • HotDocs Cloud Services .NET API—a set of native .NET classes that enable communication between HotDocs Cloud Services and HotDocs Cloud Services host applications using the ASP.NET framework
  • HotDocs Cloud Services Direct JavaScript API—Enables you to directly integrate a browser interview in your HotDocs Cloud Services host application web page by providing direct and synchronous communication with the interview runtime (which must either be loaded in the same frame, or have the same domain name loaded by the interview frame)
  • HotDocs Cloud Services Embedded JavaScript API—Enables you to place HotDocs interview functionality within an IFRAME in your HotDocs Cloud Services host application web page and use the EasyXDM library for asynchronous communication between Cloud Services and the interview  in a cross-domain-safe manner
  • HotDocs Open SDK—An open source communication protocol for HotDocs Server or HotDocs Cloud Services; many Open SDK API calls receive quicker responses than those in the alternative communication protocols above

User Layer

The user layer of the HotDocs product matrix is where the work of presenting an interview to a user, then collecting user information in an answer file occurs. Once collected, HotDocs can use the answers (or access answers previously stored in third-party data sources) and the non-changing text in the template to assemble the final client-specific document. The products and solutions for accomplishing these tasks vary with the platform.

Desktop Environment

The desktop platform provides the following products in the user layer:

  • HotDocs User—enables you or your end users to complete interviews and assemble text documents from existing HotDocs templates
  • HotDocs Player—a more basic version of HotDocs user that enables you or your end users to complete interviews and assemble text documents from existing HotDocs templates
  • HotDocs Filler—enables you or your end users  to complete interviews and assemble documents from existing HotDocs form templates
  • Third party integrations—enable you or your end users to complete interviews and assemble text and form documents with HotDocs functionality provided through the Desktop HotDocs API.

HotDocs Server Environment

The HotDocs Server platform provides several HotDocs-created examples of the host application you need to give your end-users access to HotDocs interviews. Many customers prefer to build their own host applications to customize their users' experience. The following solutions have been available:

  • HotDocs Workspace—a host application available from HotDocs that enables you or your end users to complete interviews and assemble documents within a web browser; available for use with HotDocs Server and HotDocs Cloud Services; uses a SQL backend to store metadata about uploaded templates
  • HotDocs Template Portal—a host application available from HotDocs that enables you or your end users  to complete interviews and assemble documents within a web browser; available for use with HotDocs Server and HotDocs Cloud Services; uses a SQL backend to store metadata about uploaded templates
  • Third party host applications —enable you or your end users to complete interviews and assemble text and form documents with HotDocs functionality provided through the various APIs delineated in the Communication layer

Cloud Services Environment

The HotDocs Cloud Services platform provides several HotDocs-created examples of the host application you need to give your end-users access to HotDocs interviews. Many customers prefer to build their own host applications to customize their users' experience. The following solutions have been available:

  • Document Services—a HotDocs Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) host application
  • HotDocs Workspace—a host application available from HotDocs that enables you or your end users  to complete interviews and assemble documents within a web browser; available for use with HotDocs Server and HotDocs Cloud Services
  • HotDocs Template Portal—a host application available from HotDocs that enables you or your end users  to complete interviews and assemble documents within a web browser; available for use with HotDocs Server and HotDocs Cloud Services; uses a SQL backend to store metadata about uploaded templates
  • HotDocs Sample Portal—a sample host application designed to show how to build a custom host application for working with HotDocs Server or HotDocs Cloud Services
  • Third party host applications—enable you or your end users to complete interviews and assemble text and form documents with HotDocs functionality provided through the various APIs delineated in the Communication layer