You can use the Template option in the Field Editor to create and edit placeholder fields for auxiliary templates.
To view the properties for a placeholder field referencing an auxiliary template, in the Field Editor select Add a placeholder > Template.
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Among others, referencing an auxiliary template from a placeholder field enables you to perform the following common tasks:
The Field Type element of the HotDocs Field Editor declares whether the currently selected HotDocs Field is a placeholder field or an instruction field.
| Property Name | What it Does |
| Template file name | Enables you to type or select the name of an existing template to use as an auxiliary to your current template. If the name you type does not correspond to an existing template, HotDocs creates a new template by that name.
You can move content from your current template into a new template, by selecting content before typing a name that does not correspond to an existing template, |
| Edit template | Enables you to open the template for editing. |
| Template Properties | (Appears once you provide a value in the Template File Name property.) Enables you to view and edit template details as well as set options affecting interviews and document assembly. |
Select the Advanced Properties expander to see further properties for the placeholder field:
| Property Name | Explanation |
| Keep auxiliary template's Header/Footer |
Enables you to tell HotDocs whether to keep the auxiliary template's header or footer (or both) when assembling and embedding a "child" document within the context of a particular section of the "parent" document it assembles from your current template. |
| Preserve empty paragraph | Enables you to force HotDocs to keep an empty paragraph left behind when HotDocs removes a HotDocs field when assembling a document. |
| Comment |
You can use this to add notes about the field. A field with a comment attached displays a grey C next to the field name on the template. |
At the bottom of the field editor you have access to the following actions:
| Buttons | What it Does |
| Add Field | Adds the placeholder field to the template in the selected location. |
| Clear Choices button | Clears all the settings in the Field Editor for the currently selected placeholder field. |
| Delete Field Button [X] | Selecting anywhere in a HotDocs field causes the Delete field button to appear. If you select outside a HotDocs field, or include anything besides a single HotDocs field, the button disappears (if it was previously visible), or else does not appear. Clicking the Delete field button removes the selected field completely. Clicking Microsoft Word's Undo button restores the field completely.
The Delete field button exists to solve a particular problem: In Microsoft Word, you can delete a HotDocs field by clicking in the field, then clicking the field's handle, and then pressing the DELETE key on the keyboard. However, if you select the content control using only the keyboard, Word does not easily enable you to delete the field. HotDocs provides the Delete field button to solve this issue. |