Introduction: Use HotDocs Libraries

HotDocs files—such as templates, clause libraries, and answer files—reside in folders on your local disk or on a network. To make it easier to organize templates and clause libraries, you can use a HotDocs template library or, for answer files, the Answer File Manager. Using a library lets you assign titles and descriptions to files, and, in the case of answer files, track the history of when a file is used.

Template libraries help you organize template files and provide quick access to many HotDocs tools, such as the Assembly Queue and HotDocs Options:

The Answer File Manager is a library of answer files. You can group answer files as well as sort them. You can also view a history of when a specific answer file was used:

Both the template library and Answer File Manager are divided into two panes. The left pane shows a list of the items referenced in the library. Depending on what kind of library it is, these items can include folders, templates, clause libraries, or answer files. The right pane displays information about the selected item. A different view shows the contents of the file.

The items you see in the left pane are not the actual HotDocs files on your local disk or network. Instead, they are references to the files, operating similar to Windows-type shortcuts. When you select an item for assembly, HotDocs follows the assigned file path and locates the actual template or answer file.

Additionally, folders in a library help you organize the list of files in the library—not the actual folders on the local disk or network.

Because the items in the library work like shortcuts to the actual files, you must be cautious when working with the actual files. Moving an actual file without updating the reference in the library will make the file inaccessible from the library. If you need to move the files in the library, use either the Move command or the Copy command (see Move Items Within a Library and Copy Templates to New Locations). If you need to update references, choose Properties or Multiple from the Edit menu. (See Change the Properties of a Single Library Item or Change the Properties for Multiple Items in a Library.)

The library window is the starting point for many HotDocs tasks. Such tasks include organizing templates, moving templates and component files, editing templates, assembling documents, and accessing other HotDocs tools, such as Answer File Manager, HotDocs Options, and Component Manager.