Working with Record Templates

Aptify's Record Template functionality simplifies the process of creating new records. When opening a new record, a user can select from a list of pre-defined templates that already have one or more fields filled in. For example, if you need to create a set of Topic Codes and link them to the same set of services, you can create a Record Template that already has the list of services configured and populates them automatically when you open a new Topic Codes record.

Using Record Templates reduces the amount of repetitive information that a user needs to complete on a form. Users may enter as many or as few fields as necessary, and there is no need to complete required fields, which makes Record Templates more flexible than record cloning.

This topic provides an overview of how to perform the following tasks using record templates:

• Creating Record Templates
• Using a Record Template to Create a New Record
• Configuring Record Template Options

In addition, see Administering Record Templates for more information on Record Templates

Creating Record Templates

Follow these steps to create a new Record Template for a particular service:

1. Right-click a service in the Navigation Bar (or the Folder List) and select New Record from the pop-up menu to open a blank record.
   • These steps assume that you or your administrator have not previously configured the Record Templates preferences for your Aptify user.
   • If you or your administrator have previously configured the Record Templates preferences for your user, the Record Template selection dialog may appear, or an existing Record Template may load automatically.
     
2. Complete the fields that you want to define in the template.
   • For example, if you are creating a template for a Topic Codes sub-category that is should be linked to certain entities, enter the parent topic code in the Parent field and enter the related entities on the Topic Code Entities tab.
     
3. Select the Save as Template icon from the Data Control Bar.
   
4. On the Save Template dialog, enter the name of the template in the Name field. In addition, you can enter a Description (optional).
5. Create or select a template category from the Category drop-down list.
   
   • This field displays the records stored in the Entity Record Template Categories service.
   • Each category for a specific service appears as a tab heading in the Select A Record Template... dialog.
   • Follow these steps to create a new category for your template:
     1. • Click the New button next to the Category field to open the New Template Category dialog.
        • Enter a name for the new category in the field provided and click OK.
          
          

   The system automatically creates a new Entity Record Template Categories record.

   
   

6. Click OK to save the template.
   • The new template will now appear in the Select A Record Template dialog so you can use it as the basis for creating new records.
     
     

Using a Record Template to Create a New Record

Follow these steps to create a new record using a Record Template:

1. Open a new record and select the New From Template... button from the toolbar.
   • Note that the dialog may appear automatically depending on the configurations set by the administrator.
2. From the Select A Record Template dialog, click the template you want. Then click OK.
   • Alternatively, you can double-click the template to select it.
   • Note that the Select A Record Template dialog may contain multiple tabs. Except for the default General tab, each tab corresponds to a Record Template Category for that service.
     
3. The template loads in the new record. Complete the remaining fields for the record, and then click Save and Close.

Configuring Record Template Options

A user can control the behavior of the Record Template selection dialog, such as the conditions under which the dialog will appear automatically.

Follow these steps to modify the Record Template dialog's behavior:

1. Open the Select A Record Template dialog.
2. Click the Options... button to open the Aptify Record Template User Options dialog.
3. Set the configuration options as described below to control the behavior of the Select A Record Template dialog:
   
   • If you want the Select A Record Template dialog to appear each time you open a new record from any service, configure the following options:
     • Select the Show Template Dialog when creating new records option.
     • Select the For All Services option, if not already selected.
       
   • If you want to configure the Select A Record Template dialog to appear only when opening new records for specific services (for example, a Persons record, Companies record, etc.), configure the following options:
     • Select the Show Template Dialog when creating new records option.
     • Select the Set For Each Service Individually option.
     • If you want the dialog to appear for the current service, select the Show for new [Service name] records option.
       
     • If you do not want the dialog to appear for this particular service, leave this option cleared.
   • For each service, you can specify one of the available Record Templates as the default template. The system loads this template automatically each time you open a new record in this service. Note that the Select A Record Template dialog is not displayed when you select a default template. Follow these steps to specify a default template for this service:
     • Configure the service's Record Template options to disable the dialog for all users or disable the dialog for this particular service.
     • Click the ellipsis (...) button in the Default Record Template for [Service name] field to open the Select A Record Template dialog.
     • Select one of the available templates to use as the default for this service. The selected template then appears in the Default Record Template for [Service name] field.
       
4. Click OK to save your changes and return to the Select A Record Template dialog.