Work with Multiple Choice Options

By default, when you first create a Multiple Choice variable, you have limited space for entering prompts and merge text. If you need more space, click the Options tab and enter the information there. You can also have HotDocs suggest one of the options as a possible answer for the user.

To provide additional information for option prompts and merge texts

1. Create a Multiple Choice variable.
2. After specifying the variable properties at the Properties tab of the Multiple Choice Variable Editor, click the Options tab.
3. Click the Option drop-down button and select the option you want to modify.
4. Change any of the following settings:
   • Type a new prompt in the Prompt field or edit the existing prompt. (500-character limit)
   • Type a new merge text option in the Default merge text field or edit the existing merge text. (1,000-character limit)
   • Select Automatically select this option if variable is unanswered when displayed to have HotDocs pre-select one or more options for the user. During the interview, the user can either accept this selection, or make a different selection.

Do not use the Automatically select this option if variable is unanswered when displayed option if you are using the Multiple Choice variable in a repeated dialog. Because of the way HotDocs processes dialogs, whenever you set a default value for a variable, there will always be one extra repetition in the dialog. To set a default option for a repeated Multiple Choice variable, use a computation script that conditions the default value.

You can assign resources to each specific option of a Multiple Choice variable. See the note at the end of Add Resource Information to a Variable or Dialog.

If you are using a SET instruction, you can set two or more options for a Multiple Choice variable. To do this, separate each option with a vertical bar (for example, SET MC Variable TO "Option1|Option2|Option3"). The Multiple Choice variable must have the Select All That Apply property set.