KB User's Guide - Documents Tab - Creating and Using Templates
The Template feature allows authors to make one, or multiple documents, all having a uniform appearance and maintain specific settings. A well pre-formatted template can prescribe very specific content, structure, formatting and prompt for minimal requirements. They provide reproducible consistency and continuity of style and are timesaving in that users personalize a standard, ready-made document.
In this document:
Create a template
Creating a document template works just like creating a regular document, except you set the Type field to Template.
- In the KB Admin Tools click Documents tab >Templates > Document Templates screen > Create a new template button.
- This will lead you to the Creating a New Document Template page.
- At a minimum, you must enter content into the title, keywords, summary, and body fields. The content entered into the Title field will show up as the name of the template.
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Include "Template" in the document title (e.g., Template - Document Title).
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You can also configure preset options for the template, such as Page headers, specific Topics, and SiteAccess permissions, etc.
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- Click the Save change button to create the template, or submit the document as In Progress.
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Note: We recommend saving templates as In Progress, even if the template is in its final form. If it is set to Active, the published version may be found by users , which may be confusing.
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Apply a template
- Click on Create a Doc in the Documents tab.
- After creating your template, click on the Create from a Template drop down menu (found above the Title field in a new, unsaved documented) to select your option.
- Once you select the template, the fields and selections of the document will update accordingly. Make any changes that you need to for this specific document.
Best Practices: click on the Save Draft button to assign this New Document its own, unique Document ID number immediately. Once the New Document is saved, the screen will now read, Editing Document XXXXXX. (e.g. the New Document will prominently display the Document ID number).
Continue to edit the document as per your KB Site's workflow.
Additional Notes
- When a document is created from a template using this method, the Activation time and date stamp will reflect the current time and date and not the time and date that the template was created.
- The Expiration date will reflect the date your KB Site Admin has set in the Default doc expiration period, which is usually set to 1 year.
- The owner of the document cannot be preset through a template, as the owner is defined by the individual creating the document.