'HotDocs Cannot Play the Macro HD6EditTemplate.Main' Message Appearing

Problem

When attempting to edit a template, I get the error message, HotDocs cannot play the macro HDEditTemplate.Main because the macro does not exist in the original template or in a template currently loaded into Word. What does this message mean?

Several file names and locations were changed for HotDocs 10. For a list of these changes, please see New and Enhanced Features for HotDocs 10

Solution

The first thing to check is to make sure that HotDocs is putting its global macro templates in the right location, and also to make sure that Word is finding them. To do this, complete the following steps:

  1. In Windows Explorer, browse to C:\Program Files\HotDocs\Source\Word\Macros, and make a note of the file dates on the files in that folder.
  2. In HotDocs, go to Tools > Options > Word Processors > Word 2000. Make a note of the Startup Folder location and browse to that folder in Windows Explorer. (You can click the Browse button next to the Startup folder field and it will open that folder in Windows Explorer.)
  3. Compare the files in the folder opened through HotDocs with the files you found in step #1 above and make sure that hd6edit.dot and hd6icon.dot match exactly. (If they don't, you need to copy the files from the "source" folder to the "startup" folder.)
  4. In Word, go to Tools > Templates and Add-ins and make sure that hd6edit.dot and hd6icon.dot are both listed and checked, which indicates that they are loaded.

Assuming these steps check out OK, another place to look is in Word's macro security settings. Although the HotDocs macros are digitally signed and should not be blocked even if you have your security set to the highest level, you could try temporarily lowering the security level to see if it makes a difference:

  • In Word, go to Tools > Macro > Security. At the Security Level tab, lower the security level to Medium or Low and then see if the macros work under one of those settings. If it doesn't make a difference, be sure to switch it back to the previous setting.

Finally, you should check to make sure that the version of hd_api.dll in your Windows system folder is the correct version:

  1. In HotDocs, go to Help > About HotDocs > Version Info. Make a note of the file version for hotdocs.exe.
  2. In Windows Explorer, browse to C:\Windows\System32 and find the file named hd_api.dll.
  3. Right-click on hd_api.dll and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
  4. At the Version tab, check to see if the file version is the same as that of hotdocs.exe.
  5. If the versions do not match, delete the DLL file from the Windows folder and repair the HotDocs installation.