'The Component File Cannot Be Used With This Version of HotDocs' Message Appearing

Problem

When attempting to edit a template, I get the error message, The component file cannot be used with this version of HotDocs. What does this message mean?

Solution

This message appears because you are trying to edit a newer version of a template with an older version of HotDocs. For example, you may be trying to edit a HotDocs 2009-11 version template with HotDocs 2005. Generally speaking, templates edited in the latest version of HotDocs are not backwards compatible with older versions.

If you must retain backwards compatibility with your templates, you can select a component file property that makes the template compatible with a specific version of HotDocs. If doing this, you must be careful not to use any features available in newer versions of the software, or else the template will not work with the older version. For example, dot codes are a new feature of HotDocs 2006. If you make a template containing dot codes available to HotDocs 2005 users, the template will generate errors because HotDocs 2005 has no support for dot codes.

See Compatibility of HotDocs 11 Files with Earlier Versions of HotDocs for details.