Unicode is a computer specification that makes it possible for computers to represent and manipulate characters used in most of the world’s written languages.
According to the technical description given by the Unicode Consortium , “Unicode provides a consistent way of encoding multilingual plain text and brings order to a chaotic state of affairs that has made it difficult to exchange text files internationally. Computer users who deal with multilingual text—business people, linguists, researchers, scientists, and others—will find that the Unicode Standard greatly simplifies their work. Mathematicians and technicians, who regularly use mathematical symbols and other technical characters, will also find the Unicode Standard valuable.”1
Unicode support in HotDocs makes it possible to automate and assemble documents in non-native, left-to-right-reading languages. This includes automating and assembling Microsoft Word templates as well as PDF-based form templates.
WordPerfect does not support Unicode. As such, Unicode characters that are assembled into WordPerfect documents will not appear correctly.
For example, say you need to automate a template using the German language. You can draft the underlying template text in German, and then create all of the components in the template using German. This includes assigning component names, titles, prompts, resources, and so forth in that language. Users can then complete the interview by entering their answers in German. The resulting assembled document can be entirely in German.
Even though HotDocs supports Unicode characters, these characters may not appear correctly if you do not have fonts installed that can display them.
For example, say you automate your template using the Tahoma font on Windows Vista. If the template is used on an earlier operating system, some of the characters you have used may not appear correctly because those characters may not be supported in the version of Tahoma available on that operating system.
Or, perhaps you use a very specialized font for displaying symbolic characters. If your users do not have the same font installed on their computers, your text will appear as unrecognized characters—usually boxes or question marks.
Additionally, you must also be careful when assigning font styles (such as bold or italic) to international characters, as characters may not display correctly when these styles are applied.
HotDocs 2008 and earlier does not support Unicode. (The exception to this is HotDocs 2008 answer files where you could use Unicode characters in answers.) If you attempt to use a HotDocs 2009 (or later) template with an earlier version of HotDocs, any foreign characters you have used will appear as boxes or question marks. In some cases, HotDocs will warn you when you attempt to use one of these types of files.
Detailed, technical information on Unicode can be found by visiting any of the following Web sites:
While the template, interview, and assembled document may appear in most languages supported by Unicode, the HotDocs application itself continues to be supported in English only.
This help file defines Unicode characters that are not part of your typical language set as foreign or international characters.