A keyword is a word that has a particular meaning in the HotDocs scripting language, one that causes HotDocs to calculate a value or perform a task; the most notable keywords include instructions, system functions, system local variables, and operators. For example, the keyword ASK is an instruction that causes HotDocs to take the action of presenting whichever dialog or variable you place directly after the ASK keyword.
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Among others, keywords enables you to perform the following common tasks:
Learning and understanding the uses of the keywords in the HotDocs scripting language helps you to more easily write a script. The majority of the keywords in the HotDocs scripting language appear in the full list of instructions, functions and operators. The rest appear in the table below:
| Keyword Type | What it Does |
| Supplementary instructions | In addition, to regular instruction keywords, there are other keywords that act like supplementary instructions, since they do nothing on their own. These include: |
| Date literals | English language month name abbreviations form part of a date literal. Month abbreviations
remove ambiguity between U.S. and international date differences
and tell HotDocs to set the value of the data to a date in the
pertinent month:
|
| True/false literals | Similar to date literals, a true/false
literal also uses keywords that tell HotDocs to set the value
of the data in your literal to true or false:
|
| Marker | Marker fields contain a dot that also acts as a keyword, though it is not properly a "word". The dot or period tells HotDocs to apply formatting or punctuation to the text you surround with the field containing the marker. The marker appears as a dot: . |