Templates

The Templates page is used to manage Templates uploaded to the HotDocs Hub from HotDocs Developer. Using the page, you can:

• Edit Template Details
• Perform an Interview
• Switch between different Template Versions

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Upload Templates to the HotDocs Hub

See Using the Upload Plugin for HotDocs Developer for information on uploading Templates to the HotDocs Hub.

View the Templates List

To view the Templates available to you:

1. Open the HotDocs Hub
2. Click Templates

View Template Details

To view the details of a Template:

1. Open HotDocs Hub
2. Navigate to the Templates section
3. Click a Template in the Templates List

The details for the Template appear.

Template Details

On the Template Details page, the following details appear:

• Template Name – name of the template, as it appears to users
• Description – a description of the template
• Date Created – the date the template was first added to the Repository
• Live from – the date you uploaded the current version of the template to the Repository
• Version – the current Version number of the Template
• Deleted – True (template has been deleted) or False (template has not been deleted)

Edit Template Name and Description

To edit the name and description of a Template:

1. Open HotDocs Hub
2. Navigate to the Templates section
3. Click a Template in the Templates List
4. Edit the text in the Template Name and Description fields
5. Click Save
6. To return to the Templates List, click Templates in the navigation bar

Perform an Interview

HotDocs Interviews allow users to enter answer data and produce an assembled document. To launch an Interview from the Templates section:

1. Open the HotDocs Hub
2. Navigate to a Templates section
3. Click the Perform Interview button next to the required Template

The Interview for the Template loads in the browser window.

Generate an Interview Link

An Interview Link is a direct URL to a HotDocs Interview. To generate an Interview Link:

1. Open the HotDocs Hub
2. Navigate to the Templates section
3. Click the Copy Interview Link button next to the required Template
4. Click Copy to copy the Interview URL to the clipboard

Using the Interview URL

The Interview URL is used like any other URL. You can add the URL to a web page as a hyperlink, send the URL in an e-mail, or add it to a page in an internal document management site, like Sharepoint. When a user clicks on the link, an Interview loads in a new page.

Display an Interview Without the Navigation Header

The HotDocs Hub navigation header appears at the top of the page when an Interview is loaded from an Interview URL. To display the Interview without the header, add the following text to the end of the URL:

?header=false

For example:

https://exampleserver:443/HotDocsTemplateHubUi/interviews/sessions/20fedc4c-830a-45qz-84a3-7330a9ce6855/live?header=false

Version Control

After you first upload a Template to the HotDocs Hub, subsequent uploads of the same Template create a new Version of that Template. Versions allow you to revert back to an older version of a Template, if necessary. You can see a list of all the versions of a template on the Template Details page.

Rollback a Template to a previous Version

The Rollback function allows you to revert to an earlier version of an uploaded Template.

When you revert a template to a previous version, HotDocs produces a new version. This new version is a copy of the selected previous version and does not discard template versions between the current and selected previous version.

To rollback to a previous version of a template:

If there is more than one version of the Template, all versions are listed in the Versions section. To rollback to a specific version of a Template:

1. Navigate to the Templates section
2. Click a Template in the Templates List
3. Click the Rollback button next to the version you want to revert to
4. Click OK. HotDocs creates a new version of the selected Template version. This becomes the Live version of the Template

To Permanently Delete a Version of a Template

1. Navigate to the Templates section.
2. Click a Template in the Templates List.
3. Click the Delete button next to the required version.
4. Click OK. The version is permanently deleted from the Template Hub.

Delete Template Version

Deleting a Template Version from the HotDocs Hub permanently removes that Version of the Template. A deleted Template Version is still listed in the Versions history for that Template. However, you cannot rollback to this Version or otherwise access it.

To delete a Template Version:

1. Open a web browser and navigate to the Template Hub.
2. Navigate to the Templates section.
3. Click a Template in the list.
4. Click the Delete button next to the Version you want to delete.
5. Click Yes. HotDocs deletes the selected Version from the HotDocs Hub.

Forward Publishing

Forward Publishing is a set date and time at which a Template becomes accessible to users. Using Forward Publishing, you can upload a template before it goes live and automatically make it available after a set date.

Time Zone used for Forward Publishing Date

Forward Publishing uses the time zone of the user that sets the Forward Publishing date.

For example, if a user's computer is set to the UTC-05:00 time zone and they set a Forward Publishing date of 09:00 01/27/2025, the template is published on 09:00 01/27/2025 UTC-05:00.

Set a Forward Publishing Date for a Template

The Forward Publishing Date is initially set when a Template is uploaded to the HotDocs Hub. For more information, see Set a Forward Publishing Date during Template Upload.

Edit a Forward Publishing Date for a Template

To edit a Forward Publishing Date:

1. Navigate to the Templates section
2. Click a Template in the Templates List
3. Click the Edit button at the bottom of the table
4. Click the ellipsis button next to the Live From field
5. Set a date and time
6. Click Update; the Live From date and time is updated for the Template

Override Forward Publishing

Overriding a Forward Publishing Date ignores a Template's Live From setting and make a Template available immediately: To override a Forward Publishing Date:

1. Navigate to the Templates section
2. Click a Template in the Templates List
3. Click the Edit button at the bottom of the table
4. Click the Activate Now button next to the Live From field. The Live From date and time is updated for the Template to make it available immediately