Make a Duplicate Copy of a Variable

You can copy an existing variable to create a new variable. This may be useful, for example, if you want to create a variable that uses most (if not all) of the same properties of an existing variable, but you want the variable to have a different name.

You must use Component Manager to duplicate variables. You can duplicate one component or many, depending on your needs. You cannot duplicate dialogs, clauses, or database components.

To duplicate a single variable

  1. Open Component Manager. (See Open and Close Component Manager.) The Component Manager window appears.
  2. Select the variable you want to copy and click the Duplicate Variables button. HotDocs opens the Variable Editor and displays a copy of the variable (as shown in the Variable name field).
  3. Change the name and any other properties of the variable and click OK. The new variable is added to the component file.

To duplicate multiple variables at once

  1. Open Component Manager. (See Open and Close Component Manager.) The Component Manager window appears.
  2. Select the variables you want to create copies of and click the Duplicate Variables button. The Duplicate Variables dialog box appears.
  3. In the Existing Variables column, select the variable(s) you want to duplicate.
  4. Type the name of the new variable in the New Variables column.
  5. Optionally, to create multiple like-named components at once (for example, to copy Defendant-related components to create Plaintiff-related components), type the existing word or phrase (i.e. Defendant) in the Replace field, and then type the new word or phase (i.e. Plaintiff) in the with field, and click Apply. Where applicable, HotDocs changes all of the names in the New Variables column.
  6. Click Duplicate to create the new variables.

HotDocs lists all the variables that were duplicated in the Duplicated Components list of Component Manager. To view the full list of components again, click the Components drop-down button and choose All Components.