Managing Document Templates

Document templates allow quick creation of new documents from a configured template. When users create the new document, Vault copies the template file and uses that copy as the source file for the new document. This process bypasses the content upload process and allows for more consistent document creation. Document templates are associated with a specific document type, like documents themselves.

Accessing Template Management

Administration options are in Business Admin > Templates > Documents & Binders. All Admins can manage document templates from this page.

For information about binder templates, see Managing Binder Templates.

Template Types

There are two types of document templates available in Vault.

Basic Document Templates

Basic document templates use an Admin-uploaded document as the template’s source file. You can create multiple basic document templates from a single source file by uploading the same source file each time you create a new basic template. Basic document templates are created and managed in Business Admin > Templates > Documents & Binders.

Controlled Document Templates

Controlled document templates point to a Steady state Vault document, referred to as a template document, as the source file for the template. Documents derived from the template inherit a Based On (and Original Source, if enabled) relationship with the template document. You can create multiple controlled document templates in any location in the document type hierarchy, but you can’t use a single document version as the template document for more than one controlled document template. Both Admins and users can create controlled document templates, but these templates are mainly managed by users.

See Configuring Controlled Document Templates for details about configuring controlled document templates in your Vault. See Creating & Managing Controlled Document Templates for details about working with controlled document templates.

Template Limits

To ensure reliable loading, the following limits apply to document templates:

• 50 document templates at the Base document type
• 500 document templates per document hierarchy
• 5,000 document templates per Vault

For example, consider the following document hierarchy with document templates: Base Document (20) > VPS Adverse Event Report Document (300) > eDMR (130) > Attachment (50)

This example document hierarchy has 500 total document templates, so Vault will prevent a user from adding another document template to any of the above categories.

How to Create Templates

In Admin, you can create both basic and controlled document templates from the Document & Binder Templates page.

Creating a Basic Document Template

To create a basic document template:

1. From the Document & Binder Templates page, navigate to the appropriate level in the document type hierarchy for the new template.
2. In the templates pane, click Create > New Document Template.
3. On the Create Document Template page, select the Basic Document Template type.
4. Enter the Label. When users create documents from templates, they see this value in the list of available templates.
5. Optional: Modify the Name. This value does not appear to end users. It is used through the API.
6. Set the Status. If set to Inactive, users cannot see the template when adding content.
7. Click Choose and select a file to attach. Once attached, the file name appears next to the Choose button.
8. Click Save to create the template and upload the attached file.

Creating a Controlled Document Template

To create a controlled document template from Business Admin > Templates:

1. From the Document & Binder Templates page, navigate to the appropriate level in the document type hierarchy for the new template.
2. In the templates pane, click Create > New Document Template.
3. On the Create Document Template page, select the Controlled Document Template type.
4. Enter the Label. When users create documents from templates, they see this value in the list of available templates.
5. Optional: Modify the Name. This value does not appear to end users. It is used through the API.
6. Set the Status. If set to Inactive, users cannot see the template when adding content.
7. Click Choose to select a valid template document from the Vault library. See details below.
8. Click Save to create the template.

Once you create a controlled document template, you can’t delete it directly from Admin. See Creating & Managing Controlled Document Templates for details about deleting controlled document templates.

You must have Read permission on the Document Type Detail object to create controlled document templates from Business Admin. You can create a reference constraint using the object’s Enabled field on the Template Document Type shared field to display only active document types in the Select Document dialog.

Template Documents

In order for documents to appear in the Select Document dialog, they must first be approved to Steady state. Then, a user needs to edit the document and select a value in the Template Document Type field. When you create or convert a controlled document template in Admin, your position in the document type hierarchy must match the value in the Template Document Type field. Documents which already have controlled templates do not appear in the Select Document dialog.

How to Edit Templates

To edit a template:

1. Change the status of a template directly from the template list by selecting Set to Active or Set to Disabled in the Actions menu.
2. Click on a template name from the list.
3. Click Edit.
4. Make any necessary changes. You can update the template label, name, and status or replace the attached file. Choosing a new file deletes the old file permanently.
5. Click Save. The updated template is immediately available to users, but the changes do not affect documents created before the update.

Converting Basic Templates to Controlled Templates

You can convert a basic document template to a controlled document template. Before you convert a template, first confirm that the document you wish to use as the source file for the template is in a Steady state and has the Template Document Type field set to the same position in the document type hierarchy as the basic document template you’re converting.

To convert a basic template:

1. Navigate to Business Admin > Templates > Document & Binders.
2. Select the name of a basic document template from the list.
3. Click Edit.
4. Select the Controlled Document Template toggle.
5. Click Choose to launch the Select Document dialog and choose a template document. Vault only displays documents that are not already associated with another controlled document template.
6. Click Save.

You cannot convert a controlled document template to a basic template. Converting a basic document template to a controlled document template cannot be undone.

How to Disable and Delete Templates

Disabling a template makes it temporarily unavailable to users creating new documents. Setting the disabled template back to Active makes it available again. Deleting a template permanently removes it from the Vault and deletes the attached file or the association to the template document. Neither action affects documents created from the template.

To disable a basic or controlled template:

• From the template list panel, select Set to Disabled from the Actions menu.
• From the template detail page, click Edit, change the status and click Save.

To delete a basic document template:

• From the template list panel, select Delete from the Actions menu.
• From the template details page, click Delete.