***This feature is currently in Beta so you may not see it in your system yet.***
Overview
The simple template builder works by mapping information and images that you have in OpenAsset directly to placeholders in your InDesign documents. It’s perfect for creating employee resumes and project case study templates and you are able to create and update them yourself.
This tool is a much faster alternative to our hand coded template service however, there are some important limitations to be aware of.
It’s only possible to create InDesign templates.
It’s only possible to create templates based on Projects or Employees.
File Fields or File Keywords cannot be mapped to templates.
It’s not possible to apply conditional formatting. For example, you are not able to exclude a line or a trailing comma if a value is empty.
Data cannot be transformed in any way. It will appear in the template as it is in OpenAsset.
It’s not possible to extract data from grid fields.
It’s not possible to sort or group lists, although it is possible to choose set the order of Roles when you generate a document.
If these limitations are not relevant or you feel you can work around them, this tool is worth trying as it will bring the benefit of getting up and running quickly as well as giving you the flexibility to adjust your templates yourself.
Building a Template
You need to be an Administrator to access the simple template builder.
Access the template builder by going:
Settings > System Settings > Imports & Exports > Templates > Create a new InDesign template
1. Template Information
Give the template a name
Give it a description if you wish. This can help differentiate templates if you have a lot of them.
Set if it is a Project or Employee Template
Set if you wish to include Roles. Turning this on means users can choose which Roles are included when they generate the document.
Set the template to be Active or not. Active means the template is available to generate documents.
2. Upload base Template
In order to upload a template, first you need to create one! So open InDesign…
In this example, I’m starting with a new document but you might be modifying a design that you already have.
Start a new document in InDesign. Go File > New > Document
It’s important to note that we are creating a template, so we need to work on a parent page. To do this, under the “Pages” panel, click on a parent page.
It is possible to create multiple page templates but if you just want a single page, you can delete one of the parent pages. Right click on it to get the menu.
Placing the hero image for a Project or Employee
Project hero images and Employee primary photos can be placed by drawing a frame and giving it the script label “hero_image”
Placing other images
If you’d also like to show other images for a Project or Employee, you can place additional frames without script labels. These can be populated based on images with green access level and by an order specified by you.
Placing information
Placeholders for information can be added by encapsulating the placeholder name in double percentage signs and writing the placeholder name without spaces. For example to add a placeholder for an Employee job title you could add it like this:
%%job_title%%
Using this format you can name your placeholders however you wish. However, if you name them the same as the REST codes in OpenAsset, the placeholders will map to the fields automatically.
You can see the REST codes for your fields in the OpenAsset Field Manager. Go:
Settings > Fields Manager
You are able to map any Project or Employee Field or Project Keyword category using this placeholder method.
Here’s an example of how your template might look once you have added some information placeholders for Employee information.
Placing Roles
If you are creating an Employee resume template you may want to display roles that they have performed on Projects. If you are building a Project sheet template, you may want to display the Employees that worked on the Project.
You can add placeholders for roles in fixed positions and add role information by prefixing the placeholders with “role_1_”, “role_2_”, etc. For example:
%%role_1_project_name%%
%%role_1_project_role%%
%%role_2_project_name%%
%%role_2_project_role%%
If you would like to show a project or employee image next to the role, you can add a frame with the script label: “role__1_image”, “role_2_image”, etc.
Here’s an example of how your template might look once you have added some information placeholders for roles.
Exporting your template
Once you are done setting up your template, save the INDD file that you are working on, then export it as an IDML file. Go File > Export and set the Format to “InDesign Markup (IDML)”
Uploading your template
Once you have your IDML file, you can upload it by dragging or navigating your file system on the “Upload Base Template” screen.
3. Customize Text
This step enables mapping of your template placeholders to fields and keyword categories in OpenAsset. As mentioned above, any placeholders that are named the same as field REST codes will be mapped automatically. But you’re able to map each placeholder as you wish here.
4. Image Placement
This step enables placement of additional images other than the Primary photo. The chosen order will place images into any empty, unlabelled image frames.
Save your template
Click Save and as long as your template is set to active, it will be available for use in OpenAsset, via the Export on either the Project or Employee search pages.
Editing your template
If you would like to make changes to your template, you are able to edit it via the System Settings > Imports & Exports > Templates page.
You are able to upload a modified base template or edit any of the settings.