Project Templates

Project templates help you quickly and consistently set up your Design Collaboration workflows. Project templates include settings for teams, team members, and folder structure.

Template files can be applied from existing projects during setup. They can also be exported from existing projects, or you can start with an example JSON-based template file and use any text editor to make changes.

Important:

Exporting and editing project templates is intended for users with a working knowledge of the JSON text format.

Apply a Project Template

When you apply a project template during project setup, teams are created, team members are added, and the folder structure in Document Management is set up.

  1. Create a project, and switch to the Project Admin module.

  2. On the Services tab, activate Design Collaboration for the project.

    Note: Document Management is activated by default when you activate Design Collaboration.
  3. Select the Apply a project template option, and search for or select the template you want to apply from the drop-down list.

  4. Click Activate.

Export a Project Template

Project templates can be exported from existing projects for use in setting up your next project.

  1. Open the relevant project, and switch to the Project Admin module.

  2. On the Services tab, click Design Collaboration from the left panel.

  3. Click the Manage tab.

  4. In the Project template section, click Export project template.

    The template file is downloaded to your computer, and can be opened and edited using any text editor if necessary. See Project Template Example for more information.

Note: You can't export a project template if your project doesn't have teams set up for Design Collaboration.

Import a Project Template

When you import a project template for Design Collaboration, teams are created, team members are added to the teams, and the folder structure in Document Management is set up.

  1. Create a project, and switch to the Project Admin module.

  2. On the Services tab, activate Design Collaboration for the project.

    Note: Document Management is activated by default when you activate Design Collaboration.
  3. Select the Don't apply a project template option, and click Activate.

  4. A warning message is displayed saying that you can't apply a template to a project after activating a service. Click Activate without a template to continue.

    Important:

    You can still apply a template for Design Collaboration after this point.

  5. On the Services tab, click Design Collaboration in the left panel.

    Tip: You may need to wait for the services to activate and then refresh the Services page to see this option.
  6. Click Set up with a template.

  7. If you've already exported a template for use, browse to it or drag it in to the import dialog box. Alternatively, click Download a blank template to download an example that can be edited using any text editor. See Project Template Example for more information.

Depending on the size of the project defined in the template, the process to set up your new project can take 10 or more minutes. You can leave the import workflow and return later while the process completes in the background. If folders defined in the template already exist in Document Management, new permissions are added to those folders as required.

View a Log

When you've imported a template to set up Design Collaboration, you can view a log of the import process. This provides information about the import process, the details included in the template, and any errors that occurred.

  1. Open the Project Admin module and click the Services tab.

  2. Click Design Collaboration in the left panel.

  3. Click the Manage tab.

  4. In the Project Template section, click View log.

  5. If necessary, click Copy to clipboard and paste the log details into a text editor.

    Important:

    We recommend that you copy the log details and save them for future reference. The log is deleted two weeks after template import and can't be retrieved.

  6. Click Close to close the log.