Specify Whether Component File Properties are Shared

When several related templates use many of the same components, you can create all of those components just once and store them in a shared component file. The way you share the same components in multiple templates is by pointing each template's own component file to the shared component file. Then, as you create and edit components within the template, the template bypasses its own component file (which is now known as the pointed component file or actual component file) and stores the information in the shared component file instead.

When specifying component file properties (see Change Component File Properties), you can choose which component file will provide the options for the template. By default, templates use the shared component file's properties (except for those properties specified at the General tab of the Component File Properties dialog box). However, if a certain number of templates in your set require their properties be different from the others, you can choose to use the pointed component file's properties, instead.

For example, perhaps only a few of your pointed templates will be published for use with HotDocs Server. For those specific templates, you can enable them for use with HotDocs Server and set specific properties so they can be used on the Web.

Properties (such as the Template title and Template description) specified at the General tab of the Component File Properties dialog box are always stored in the pointed component file.

To choose which component file properties should be used for a pointed template

  1. Point the template's component file. See Use One Component File for Multiple Templates.
  2. With Component Manager open and the Component File Properties dialog box displayed, click the tab for the properties you want to use from the pointed component file. (For example, to use the pointed file's interview options, click the Interview tab.) The view changes to show those specific options.
  3. Clear Use properties stored in the shared component file.
  4. Optionally, to copy the properties of the shared component file into the pointed component file, click Copy Shared. Any properties specified for this group at the shared component file are copied into the current (or pointed) component file.

The ability to use pointed component file properties for templates also lets you specify custom interviews for each template in your set. Specifically, if you are pointing several templates to a shared component file, but you want each template to use its own custom interview, at the Interview tab, clear Use Interview properties stored in the shared component file, select Use custom interview, and then specify the name of the interview computation in the Interview component field.

Any properties you change after choosing to use the pointed component file will not be updated in the shared file.