Document templates
Document templates are Microsoft Excel or Word files in which you can use fields from Planfix tasks and data tags. When a document is created from a template, the corresponding values from the current task are automatically substituted in these fields. As a result, you get a completed document with the data you need, which you can easily attach to the task you're working on.
Creating document templates
- Document templates are created in external editors that support Microsoft Excel or Word files.
- Variables can contain data from tasks, data tags, or other Planfix entities. A list of variables that can be used in templates is available in Documents / Document templates:
- To start using document templates, upload a template to Planfix. You can do this in Documents / Document templates:
Using document templates
- You can use templates to create documents that contain data from a task and easily attach the documents to the task. Documents are created from templates in the interface for adding files to tasks:
or in the script interface:
When creating a document from a template, you can:
- select the format of the final file that will be attached to the task;
- change the document number (it automatically increases by 1 with each new document, but you may want to skip to a different number);
- change the document date (if necessary)
Naming documents created with templates
A variety of variables can be used in the name of a document created using a template. Click this icon to open a list of variables that can be used:
These variables can be used to give files names with any level of complexity:
When the document is created, the actual values of the specified variables will be substituted in place of the variables in the name of the file:
Specifying file type
A default file type can be set for files created from a template:
Once a default has been set, the documents created will be the specified type, as long as another type isn't manually specified:
Useful tricks when creating templates
- Let's say you're creating a document with an Excel template and you are using a data tag. The document template contains an image with a seal or signature. You assume that the document will grow vertically, and to ensure that the seal or signature also moves vertically, proportionally to the data tag rows that are added, you must:
- Create a general File field;
- Place the picture with the image of the seal or signature in this field;
- In the document template, use the variable corresponding to this field.
- To have Excel automatically adjust a cell's height depending on the length of the text in it, you must ensure the following:
- the row must have the default height for the Excel document;
- the cell must not be a merge of multiple cells;
- in Excel, you must enable "Wrap text" for the cell.
Useful tricks when creating templates