HotDocs and XpressDox Terminology Cheat Sheet
This reference is for users who are familiar with HotDocs and are transitioning to XpressDox. The table below maps common HotDocs commands, variable types, and dialog elements to their XpressDox equivalents. Where there is no direct equivalent, a recommended alternative approach is noted.
Variables & Data Elements
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| Variable (constant value) |
Data Element |
| Computation Variable |
Script |
| Values which can change — result of a computation variable, SET, INCREMENT Variable |
Set, SetV, SetVr, GetV, GetVr, IncrementVr
Note: the r variant removes the line from the document. |
| Set variable properties |
Define |
| DEFAULT VAR TO VALUE |
SetInitialValue (static) / OnExitSet (dynamic) / OnEnterSet (dynamic) |
| Don’t save in answer file |
ExcludeFromDataset |
| UNANSWERED |
= '' |
| UNANSWERED VARIABLE PLACEHOLDER |
SetEmptyMarker |
| MY |
Use standard data elements |
| IF ANSWERED |
ShowIfHasValue |
Multiple Choice Variables
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| MC Variable — select one only (buttons) |
ChooseFromRDBList / ChooseFromHzRDBList |
| MC Variable — select one only (drop-down list) |
ChooseFromList |
| MC Variable — select one only (button grid) |
ChooseFromHzRDBList |
| MC Variable — with “other” option |
ChooseFromSamples |
| MC Variable — select all that apply |
Several ChooseUsingCheckBox + DefineSetAllGroup |
| Populate a MC variable |
ChooseFromRepeatingData |
| Change prompt on MC variable option |
Ind~~Individual (using ~~ separator in the option list) |
| Move prompt on checkbox variable to left side (default in HD) |
«Caption(Box, ' ')»
«ChooseUsingCheckBox(Box,true~~prompt,false)» |
Conditions & Logic
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| IF, ELSE IF, ELSE |
if / elif / else |
| IF, ELSE (two options only) |
When |
| NOT |
not |
| Pattern and other variable attributes |
Rule |
| REQUIRE |
Required (as a parameter in Define) |
| GRAY VAR |
ReadOnly |
| HIDE VAR |
ExcludeFromIV (static) / InterviewRelevance (dynamic) |
Repeat & Loop
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| REPEAT |
ForEach |
| Filter a repeat |
«ForEach(Plaintiff[Plaintiff_Married = 'Yes'])» |
| WHILE | END WHILE |
RepeatWhile |
| REPEAT as spreadsheet on parent |
CaptureInGrid, then Tab(Parent,Child) |
| COUNTER |
PositionOfRepeater (within the interview) / Position (in the template) |
| COUNT(Dialog) |
Count |
| LIMIT |
MaximumRepeats |
| List items in a repeated dialog (sentence style) |
List |
.p "a, b and c" / .p / .pe |
CommasAndList or PhraseEnding |
Date & Number Formatting
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| Date variable with any format |
FormatDate |
| TODAY |
Now / Today |
| DATE + NUM DAYS, MONTHS, YEARS |
IncrementDate |
| YEARS FROM |
YearsBetween |
| Number variable with any format |
FormatNumber |
| NU format as nine or NINE |
NumberPhrase |
| NU format “Nine Dollars and Twelve Cents” |
Dollars |
| REMAINDER |
Mod |
Text Formatting
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| LIKE THIS (all caps) |
ToUpper |
| like this (all lowercase) |
ToLower |
| Like this (sentence case) |
ToSentence |
| Like This (title case) |
ToTitle |
| FIRST |
SubstringBefore / SubstringAfter |
| LAST |
SubstringBeforeLast / SubstringAfterLast |
| STARTS WITH |
StartsWith / StartsWithVowel |
| RESULT + “text” |
Concat |
| SPAN |
InsertFormattedText |
Interview & Dialog
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| ASK |
CaptureDataElement |
| Dialog |
Tab |
| Prompt |
Caption |
| Additional Text/Data Element above variable |
Heading |
| Additional Text/Data Element below variable |
Footing |
| Text Dialog Element |
Heading / Footing |
| Vertical Spacing Dialog Element |
«Heading(DataElement,' ')» / «Footing(DataElement,' ')» |
| Script link Dialog Element |
Button |
| Web link Dialog Element |
Hyperlink |
.w "hyperlink" / .we |
InsertHyperlink |
Template Assembly
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
| ASSEMBLE |
MergeTemplate |
| INSERT |
IncludeTemplate / InsertTemplate |
| Update fields setting in .cmp file |
UpdateFields |
| CLEAR | ADD |
Not directly available. Use ChooseFromRepeatingData where applicable. |
Other
| HotDocs |
XpressDox Equivalent |
// or <IF 1 = 2> (comments) |
«Comment(Any comments)» |
