Installing HotDocs Server

Table of Contents

  1. Install the HotDocs Server Service
  2. Install the HotDocs Server Management Tools

Before you can effectively use HotDocs Server, you will also need to install (or develop) a host application that will use HotDocs Server to gather answers and assemble documents.

Install the HotDocs Server Service

Before installing HotDocs, make sure you meet the minimum requirements necessary for using HotDocs Server. (See System Requirements.)

To install HotDocs Server

  1. Close all open applications.
  2. Run the installation program. The installation program begins installing HotDocs Server.
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. You will be prompted for information at the following dialogs:
    Dialog Description
    HotDocs Server License Key This dialog box prompts for your HotDocs Server license key, which enables HotDocs Server to run according to the terms of your license agreement.

    If you do not enter a license key, HotDocs Server will run as a standalone server for a limited time in evaluation mode.
    HotDocs Server Folders

    This dialog box prompts for the following information:

    • HotDocs Server Program Files Folder:

      This is the folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\HotDocs Server ) where HotDocs Server program files will be installed.

    • Temporary Files Folder:

      This is the folder (e.g., C:\Windows\Temp ) where HotDocs Server will create temporary files.

      The account that runs HotDocs Server requires read, write, and modify privileges to this temporary folder. In a completely anonymous user situation, this is the IUSR_machinename or ASPNET account.

    • Administrator Group:

      This is the name of the Windows group that will have rights to administer HotDocs Server. The install will grant appropriate DCOM permissions for the HotDocs Server object to this group.
    HotDocs Server Settings

     This dialog box prompts for the following information:

    • Printer Name (optional):

    This indicates the printer that HotDocs Server should use for calculating font metrics for HotDocs form templates. If you do not specify a printer, HotDocs Server uses the screen resolution to calculate font metrics, which is not recommended.
    Web Server Settings Select this box if you want to configure IIS to create the HDServerFiles virtual directory (recommended). If you will be using an alternative web server (such as Apache), or you do not have IIS installed, clear this box.

After installing HotDocs Server, you may need to Configure Permissions for HotDocs Server COM Objects.

If you are upgrading from a previous version of HotDocs Server, you may also need to make changes to your host application. See Upgrade an Existing HotDocs Server Host Application for details.

Command Line Installation

The information requested during the install can also be pre-populated if you run the installation from a command line.

The following command-line parameters correspond to values described above:

  • HDPRODUCTKEY: The license key for HotDocs Server.
  • SERVERFILES_ROOT: The location of the server files (use "" to specify the default path).
  • CONFIGURE_IIS: Omit to specify to configure IIS or specify "" to not configure.
  • INSTALLDIR: The HotDocs Server program files folder.
  • TEMPFILES: This is the temporary files folder.
  • PRINCIPALNAME: The Administrator group.
  • PRINTERNAME: The printer used for calculating font metrics.

Using these parameters, you can create a command line as follows, which would cause the installation to use your values instead of the defaults:

msiexec /i ServerCore.msi PRINTERNAME="Microsoft XPS Document Writer"

For more information about other general command line options available with msiexec, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988.aspx.

Install the HotDocs Server Management Tools

The HotDocs Server Management Console provides a powerful set of tools for managing one or more instances of HotDocs Server.

Using this console, you can change certain HotDocs Server options, such as how documents are assembled on the server or how interviews are displayed, view server performance, monitor HotDocs Server entries in the Event log, and more.

To install the HotDocs Server management tools

  1. Close all open applications.
  2. Run the installation program. The installation program begins installing the HotDocs Server management tools.
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

If you want to remotely manage multiple versions of HotDocs Server from the same machine, you can install both versions of the HotDocs Server management tools side-by-side. Although you can have multiple versions of the management tools installed simultaneously, you still cannot have multiple versions of HotDocs Server installed on the same machine at once.