Distribute the Templates

The final task in the template development process is to distribute your template sets so they can be used for assembly. Before doing this, you must first identify who will use your templates.

If you’ve automated your templates for your own practice, there may not be a distribution plan—you can assemble documents from the same templates you are editing. Or, if you’d like to separate template development from document assembly, you can create a new library and copy your completed templates to a different folder. As you make corrections to the templates, you can update those files saved in the assembly-only location.

If you plan to share your templates with others in the firm, you should place copies of the files on a network location for your co-workers. You should restrict access to the templates as much as possible to keep users from inadvertently changing the files. Some ways you can do this include:

• Making the network folder where the templates are saved read-only. (You should also make the template files themselves read-only.)
• Placing a copy of the files on a network and then having users import the library to their local drives for assembly-only. (See Copy Templates to New Locations and Import One Library Into Another.)
• Publishing the template set as a HotDocs auto-install file, which users can then install on their computers. (See Publish Templates as Auto-Install Files (HDI).)

If you plan to share your templates with those outside the firm, you should publish the templates and distribute them using the Internet or even a CD.

If you plan to sell your automated templates and distribute copies of HotDocs Player with the templates, you must acquire a publishing license from HotDocs Corporation, which allows you to redistribute HotDocs Player to your customers. (HotDocs Player is a free, assembly-only version of HotDocs.) (See Publish and Register Templates for Use With HotDocs Player.)