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Using Template Management in WorkPoint it is possible to create multiple template lists and libraries for different types of content. Examples of these could be template lists for task templates, folder structures which can be imported into libraries, and custom document template libraries.

These template lists and libraries are stored in the root site collection of the solution.

With the use of templates, administrators can define templates for these various types of content, which users can then add to entities using a Wizard.

Typically, the configuration process starts with creating a new list or library to be used, then registering it as a template list or library in the Template Management settings. After that, one would create and apply whichever additional columns needed on the list/library, such as interval columns. Next, one would configure which fields to inherit to items or documents created based on templates from the list or library, as well as setting up various mappings if needed. Then one would configure the wizard which actually creates the items or documents based on the templates defined and stored in the template list or library.

This guide will explain each step in this process.

2. Requirements

Use of the Template Management feature described in this article requires a WorkPoint Enterprise license and that your license includes the Template Management (Advanced) feature. If you have an Enterprise license, you can request the Template Management (Advanced) feature for a fee. Contact WorkPoint Sales at sales@workpoint.dk for more information.

In addition, creating items from templates require the use of a standard WorkPoint wizard called "Create document set". If you would like to configure a new wizard for the purpose of creating items from templates, your WorkPoint license must include the "Wizard Configurator" feature.

3. Configuration

The following sections provides information about various aspects of the advanced Template Management features and possibilities.

3.1. Accessing Template Management settings

The Template Management pages can be accessed from the WorkPoint Administration:

On the WorkPoint solution, click the Home button.
In the Home menu, click the cog to access the WorkPoint Administration.

WorkPoint365 Administration - Google Chrome

To access the Template Management pages, click "Template Management" in the left side menu in the WorkPoint Administration.

This opens the Template Management settings.

By default, the standard Template Library for the WorkPoint solution is added to the settings:

Template Management settings - Google Chrome

3.2. Adding a new template list

In this example, we will create a new list and use it to store templates for task items in our solution.

The first thing we need to do is to create a new list on the root site of the solution:

On the root site of the solution, click the cog wheel to open the Settings menu.
In the Settings menu, click "Site contents".

In the Site contents page, click "New".
In the menu, select "List".

Note that if your custom template library should be used to store document templates, the library should be created as a document library on the root site. This can be done e.g. from the Site Contents page on the root site.

In the "Create a list" window, we select the list template which best suits our purpose. In this case, we want to create a template library for tasks ,and the "Work progress tracker" list templates comes predefined with various task related fields, such as assignee, progress status, and start- and due dates, etc. Clicking the template gives you an example of the list and the fields that come with the template:

Note that you can also create a list from scratch by using the "Blank list" option.

We accept using the template by clicking "Use template".

Provide an informative name for the list. In this case, we name it "Task Template Library".
Optionally type in a description for the list.
Select whether you want this template library list to be displayed in the navigation menu on the solution. In this case, we want the template lists to be hidden from users, so we disable this option.
Click "Create" to finish creating the list.

Once finished, we are redirected to the newly created list:

anm0012 - Task Template Library - All Items - Google Chrome

In the Template Management settings in the WorkPoint Administration, we can now add this list as a template library:

In the "Add" dropdown menu, we select the newly created Task Template Library list.
We then click the "Create" button.

Note that only document libraries and generic lists found on the root site of the solution can be selected in pt. 14.

Note that the WorkPoint system will add several columns to the list when you click to create it as a template library, as explained by the following dialogue:

Click "OK" to accept and create the template library.

Once the system has created the template library, you are redirected to the following settings page for the template library:

Edit Task Template Library - Google Chrome

The Inheritance settings page allows you to define which data should be inherited from the templates in the template list to the items created based on said templates.

These settings will be described in section 3.5. Click here to jump to section 3.5.

3.3. Showing template columns in template list

As previously mentioned, creating a template list/library from an existing list (as was done with the task list in section 3.2.) adds several template columns to the list.

These, however, do not appear in the list unless they are enabled on a view on the list.

In this section, we will go over how to enable the columns and make them show up in the list.

On the list, click the chevron next to one of the column titles.
Expand the "Column settings" menu.
Select "Show/hide columns".

Enable the shown columns (or whichever ones you feel you need). These are the ones added by the system when adding the list as a template list/library in the WorkPoint Administration.
To apply the settings and show the enabled columns, click "Apply".

The newly enabled columns are added and now shows on the list:

3.4. Adding offset columns

Usually, if templates are to be using time displacement, one would create offset columns on the template list or library. Examples could be "Offset days" (internal name of "wpOffsetDays") or "Offset months" (internal name of "wpOffsetMonths"). These fields can be used to define if items created based on a template from the list should be time displaced by days, weeks, months, or years.

The system, however, does not automatically create fields to define the amount to time displace by (e.g. a value of 1 for one year, a value of 2 for two weeks, etc).

In this section, we will demonstrate how to create a column on the template list to contain this information. We will create a universal column called "Offset Amount", but you could use this method to create fields for "Offset Days", "Offset Months" or whatever displacement column you need.

On the Template list/library, click the cog in the top right of the page to open the "Settings" menu.
Select "List settings".

In the "Columns" section, click "Create column".

Provide an informative internal name for the column. In this case, we prefix the column with "wp" to indicate that the column is used in relation to the WorkPoint system. For more information on best practices regarding column naming, visit this article.
For column type, select "Number".

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "OK".

Next, we will rename the newly created column and remove the prefix:

In the "Columns" section, click the name of the newly created column.

Remove the wp-prefix from the column name and put spaces where needed.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "OK".

The column should now show in the Template list/library:

Remember, you can re-order the columns in the view settings of the list or in the "Show/hide columns" menu!

3.5. Configuring inheritance settings

Template items usually contain pre-filled data. Inheritance settings are used for defining which data items created from templates should inherit from their templates.

Fields can use the following inherit settings:

Do not inherit: When creating items based on the template in question, data from the template will not be inherited to this field.
Inherit as read-only: Data from the template will be inherited to this field for the created item, but will be set as read-only and cannot be edited.
Inherit as editable: Data from the template will be inherited to this field for the created item, and can be edited later.

For demonstration of inheritance, we have created a couple of items in the Task Template Library created previously:

Note that the tasks have more data than shown in the image above, but the image has been cropped to conserve space.

In addition to settings inheritance settings, the Template Library settings also allow for mappings to be configured for fields. This makes it possible to map fields from entities to fields on template-based items. An example of this could be to map the Project Manager on an entity to the "Assigned To" field on tasks created based on a template.

In this example, we will set up a couple of fields to be inherited, both as read-only and as editable. We will also set up some mappings for a couple of fields:

In the Template Management settings, we click "Edit" for the Task Template Library.

First, we enable inheritance for the template library.
All inherit types are represented in the settings. Generally, if we want data to be inherited from the template, but want users to be able to change the data later, we set the field to "inherit as editable". An example of this could be the title field or the "Priority" field of Task, in this case (as task priorities can change for various reasons). On the other hand, if we want data to be inherited, and we find that that data should not be edited later, we set the field to "Inherit as read-only". An example of this could be the "Category" field, describing the category of the task, in this case.

Next, we will set up mappings for the "Assigned to" field for the tasks:

For the field we want to map, we click "App Mapping".

Note that only Person or Group fields and Date and Time fields can be mapped.

Also note that fields can have multiple mappings.

Mappings in template libraries require you to set the business module to pull fields from. This will generally be the same business module on which items from the template library will be created.

Mappings also require you to select a field from the selected business module to pull data from and assign to the field being mapped.

Lastly, mappings allow you to set activation conditions. These make it possible to have different mappings apply in different cases.

In this example, we want to assign the Project Manager of projects to be assigned to the task created, if the ID of the task template being used is "1":

We select the "Projects" business module, since that is where the Project Manager field comes from.
We select the "Project Manager" field.
We enable the use of an activation condition.
We select to use the field "ID" from the template library.
We set the condition type to "Equal".
We set the condition value to "1".

Using these settings for the mapping, the Project Manager of the project entity on which we create items from this template library will be set in the "Assigned to" field, if the template being used has an ID of "1".

We click "Save" to save the mapping.

The mapping is now shows up in the Inheritance settings:

In the same way, we create the following mappings for the "Assigned to" field:

This means we now have three mappings set for the "Assigned to" field:

Next, we will set a mapping for the "Due date" field.

Data and Time fields have two different mapping types:

Calculated Date: Allows you to set an initial date and use offset fields (number fields) to add months and days to the field. An example could be for the task item being created to set the due date to the project's start date plus 3 months and 14 days. The numerical values in this example would be set in offset fields, such as the one created in section 3.4.
Next Recurrence: Allows you to set an initial date and select a recurrence setting, which can be either monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly.

You can also set activation conditions for Date and Time field mappings.

For the "Due Date" field, we click "Add mapping".

Here, we will display the two types of options for Date and Time mappings:

3.5.1. Calculated Date

For this demonstration we have set up two number fields: "Offset Months" and "Offset Days". These can be used in the "Calculated Date" mapping type for Date and Time fields.

In this demonstration case, we want to set up a mapping which sets the due date of the task item being created to the day it is created, plus an offset amount for months and another offset amount for days, e.g from the day the task is created plus 1 month and 14 days. We want to do this only for the task that has an ID of "1" in the template library.

We can make a configuration such as the following:

We select the "Projects" business module.
We select the "Calculated Date" mapping type.
For the initial date, we select [Today]. Other Date and Time fields from the module can be used, e.g. the Start Date of the project entity itself.
In the value for how many months we want to offset the task by, we select the "Offset Months" field from the template library.
In the value for how many days we want to offset the task by, we select the "Offset days" field from the template library.
We also set an activation condition which makes this mapping activate only for the item in the template library which has an ID of "1".

If we go to the template library, we can set the values for "Offset Months" and "Offset Days":

Using this configuration, when a task is created on a project using this template, the due date for that task will be set to the day it was created plus 1 month and 14 days, given that the ID of the template is "1".

The day of writing is the 18^thof January 2021. A task created based on this template with this mapping should therefore have a due date of 1^st of March 2021:

Development of CM-215 - Task List - All Items - Google Chrome

We will create a wizard for creating these items in section 3.5.3.

3.5.2. Next Recurrence

As an alternative to the Calculated Date mapping type, we will here demonstrate the Next Recurrence type.

The Next Recurrence mapping type is designed for when you have certain items with dates that should always fall on the same time of the year.

An example could be during financial reporting where a specific task must always be done on the 1^st of November. If we set the Due Date of the task in the task template library to 1^st of November, and set the mapping type to Next Recurrence and select a Yearly interval, tasks made from this template will have their Due Date set to the next 1^st of November date.

In this case, we want a specific task to always be due on the 1st of November in relation to the date the task is created.

For this purpose we have created a choice field on the template library called "Recurrence". This is a choice field containing the following choices:

Monthly
Quarterly
HalfYear
Yearly

We then create the following configuration:

For Business Module, we select the "Projects" module.
For Mapping Type we select "Next Recurrence".
For the origin date (the first date where this task should occur), we select "[Today]". This makes it so that when an item is created based on the template, the date set for Due Date is set yearly in relation to the day the task is created.
For Recurrence, we select "Yearly". Other options are:
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- HalfYear
Lastly we set up an Activation Condition to make this mapping only activate if the template used has an value in the Recurrence field of "Yearly".

In the template library, we set the Due Date and Recurrence value of the task we want to use as template (Task 2):

anm0012 - Task Template Library - All Items 2 - Google Chrome

With this configuration, if we create a task on a project using this template today (19^th of January 2021), the next recurrence of the task should have a due date on the 1^st of November 2021:

We will create a wizard for creating these items in section 3.5.3.

As the column in the list does not show the year, we can enter the details panel to inspect what year the Due Date is set to:

In the details panel we can see that the Due Date is indeed set to the 1^st of November 2021.

3.5.3. Setting up a wizard for creating items from templates

In the WorkPoint Administration, in the left menu we click "My Tools".

In the My Tools settings, we select the Projects module in the Select instance drop down menu.
Next, we select the "Actions" My Tools group.
We then click "Add button".

Next, we create the following button:

We provide an informative name for the button.
We select the icon which best represents what the button does or creates.
For Type we select "Open wizard".
In the "Wizard name" we select "Create Template Items". This wizard was created specifically for this example. You can use the default "Create document set" wizard, but for this example, we created a new one to differentiate between the intended functionalities of the wizards. If you wish to create a wizard as shown in this step, your WorkPoint license must include the "Wizard Configurator" feature.

The "Create Template Items" wizard is a 1-to-1 copy of the Create document set" wizard.

Selecting the "Create Template Items" wizard reveals several fields in the configuration. We put in the following information:

For Business Module we select the Projects business module.
For Template List/Library we select the Task Template Library.
In Template Category, we select the Task templates term set.
For List or Library, we select the library in which we want the items created from templates to be stored. In this case, we have a Task list on each Project entity called "Task List", which we will use to store items created with this wizard.

Note that if no suitable target list is present on your entities, you can always create a new list on your master site, synchronize it to all entities, and then use that list as the target for items created from templates.

We now click "Save" to save the button.

In order for the button to appear on Project entities, we need to clear the WorkPoint 365 browser cache:

Development of CM-215 - Home - Google Chrome

On the WorkPoint solution, we click the Home button.
In the Home menu, we click "Need help?".
We then click "Clear WorkPoint 365 browser cache".

On Project entities, the My Tools button should now appear:

3.6. Creating a template library for folder structures

Just as template libraries can be used to contain templates for tasks, risks, documents, and other items, so they can be used for containing folder structures which can then be created on entities.

In this section we will demonstrate how to create and set up a template library for folder structures.

As a demonstration case we want to be able to create a folder structure for containing various document types for projects based on a template folder structure defined in a template library.

We start by creating a template library for the folder structures, that is created as an empty document library on the root site of the solution:

On the root site of the solution, click the "New" button.
In the menu, select "Document library".

We provide an informative name for the template library.
We also provide a description for the library. This step is optional.
In this case, we elect to now show the library in the Quick Navigation menu. If we need to access it at some point, we can access it from the Site Contents menu.
To finish creating the library, we click "Create".

Once the library is created, we are redirected to it:

anm0012 - Folder Structure Template Library - All Documents - Google Chrome

We can now create the library as a template library in the Template Management settings:

See section 3.1. for how to access the Template Management settings.

In the Template Management settings, in the "Add" drop down menu, we select the newly created library.
To create the selected library as a Template Library, we click "Create".

The WorkPoint system adds several fields to the selected library. Click "OK" to accept.

We are now redirected to the Inheritance settings for the new template library:

Edit Folder Structure Template Library - Google Chrome

We enable inheritance for the library.
We set the Title to "Inherit as editable" because we want the title of the library to be inherited to the items created based on the templates.
To save the settings, we click the "Save" button.

We can now start creating the folder structures we want in the template library:

In the Template Library, we click the "New" button.
In the menu, we then click "Folder" to create a new folder.

We then provide an informative name for the folder. In this case, this folder is used to contain project documents.
We then click "Create" to create the folder.

The folder now appears in the library:

We click the folder name to enter the folder.

Inside the folder, we can use the same method to create several sub-folders:

anm0012 - Project documents - All Documents - Google Chrome

In the same way, we can create folders for e.g. Planning documents, Design documents, and other folders:

Back in the uppermost level of the template library, we need to set the template folder structure to "Active" so we can use it to create folder structures on projects:

In the Command Bar, we click "Edit in grid view".

For the folder structure (Project documents), we set "Active" to "Yes".
In the "Business module support" column, we select the Projects business module.
In "Template categories", we select a term set to pair the template folder structure with. This makes it selectable in the wizard used for creating the folder structure on entities. The "Project folders" term is created in the Term Store for the solution, as follows:

Term Store Management Tool - Google Chrome

To finish editing the folder structure data, click "Exit grid view" in the Command Bar.

Next, we need to set up a button in the MyTools panel to create the folder structure on Project entities.

3.6.1. Setting up a wizard for creating folder structures from templates

In the WorkPoint Administration, in the left menu we click "My Tools".

In the My Tools settings, we select the Projects module in the Select instance drop down menu.
Next, we select the "Actions" My Tools group.
We then click "Add button".

Next, we create the following button:

We provide an informative name for the button.
We select the icon which best represents what the button does or creates.
For Type we select "Open wizard".
In the "Wizard name" we select "Create Template Items".

The "Create Template Items" wizard is a 1-to-1 copy of the Create document set" wizard.

Selecting the "Create Template Items" wizard reveals several fields in the configuration. We put in the following information:

For Business Module we select the Projects business module.
For Template List/Library we select the Folder Structure Template Library.
We enable "Folder templates only". If this setting is set, all documents in the library will be hidden in the wizard.
In Template Category, we select the Folder Structure templates term set.
For List or Library, we select the library in which we want the created folder structure to be stored. In this case, we want them to be stored in the Documents library of the entity on which we create them.

We now click "Save" to save the button.

In order for the button to appear on Project entities, we need to clear the WorkPoint 365 browser cache:

On the WorkPoint solution, we click the Home button.
In the Home menu, we click "Need help?".
We then click "Clear WorkPoint 365 browser cache".

On Project entities, the My Tools button should now appear:

4. End User Guide

For a user guide on how to create items and/or folder structures from templates, please visit this article.

5. Notes

5.1. Activation conditions

The activation condition supports multiple operators as illustrated and you can use against the following field types

Text
Choice
Boolean
Managed Metadata

The following operators are available pr. field type

	Text	Choice	Boolean	Managed Metadata
Equal	ü	ü	ü	ü
Not equal	ü	ü	ü	ü
Empty	ü	ü		ü
Not empty	ü	ü		ü
Contains	ü
Not contains	ü

5.2. Mail merging

Please note that mail merging is not supported for custom template list and libraries.

5.3. Filtering templates by entity data

Which templates are available for item creation on a entity can be filtered based on data on the entity on which the wizard is being run.

An example of this could be if our organization has a set of tasks which are relevant for projects categorized as "small projects". We can have e.g. a project type choice field on the business module which designates a project a "small project" or a "large project".

Using this configuration, only templates which matches the project type of the current project will be available in the wizard.

This configuration can be made as follows:

Note that this example builds on the configuration from section 3.1 through 3.5.3.

anm0012 - Projects - All Items - Google Chrome

We have created a site column on the root site of the solution and added it to the Projects business module.

The same site column from pt. 110 has been added to the Task Template List, where some tasks have been tagged as "Small project" and "Large project". Other examples could be if certain tasks are only applicable for specific types of construction projects.

The tasks which should be available on certain types of projects must match the choice made for the type on the project, i.e. when creating tasks on a "Small project", only tasks tagged as "Small project" will be available.

Next, we need to configure the My Tool button which opens the wizard which creates the tasks:

In the wizard configuration, we add the Project type field in the "Template filter field" selector.
We now click the "Save" button.

Next, we need to clear the WorkPoint 365 browser cache:

On the solution, we click the Home button.
In the bottom of the Home side panel, click "Need help?".
Click "Clear WorkPoint 365 browser cache".

We can now test the configuration:

In this example, we enter the site of a project designated a "small project".

Development of Machine PW-376 - Home - Google Chrome

On the Project site, we click the "Create tasks" button.

We see that only the tasks categorized as "Small project" in pt. 111 are available in the wizard:

Contents

1. Introduction