Templates

TIP: You do not have to configure templates in order to use Nova Forms, but you must do this if you want to use templates.

A template is a blank report with certain routine information already filled in. You can use a template as the starting point for a new report. It saves you from having to enter the same information over and over again, for example: your state. Sometimes templates are referred to as "boilerplate." You can have multiple templates for each type of form.

Example: You could define a URAR template for each neighborhood in which you appraise and save each template with the name of its neighborhood to make it easy to find the template when you needed it. Then, when you create a new report you can just select that conveniently named template in the Create a New Report box. You can switch to any template as the default at any time by Assigning a particular template (discussed later in this Section) before you create a new appraisal.

Configure Templates:

1. Choose Configuration | Directory Options.

2. Select "Templates" and fill in a template directory. We suggest leaving the default configuration: C:\NOVA\DATA.

3. Click OK and Forms creates the directory for you.

4. Enable (or Disable) Template Use - If you would like your template to appear every time you create a particular type of form such as URAR, make sure there is a check next to the Configuration | Templates | Use Templates command. If there is no check next to this menu item, select it to place a check there.

Create Templates

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The Templates submenu available from the Configuration menu

Create a New Template

You can either:

• Create a new template using an existing form or

• Create a template from scratch

Create a template from an existing form:

1. Make sure the form you want to use is on the screen.

2. Edit the form’s data so that only the information that you want on the template appears on the form.

TIP: If you like, you can attach addenda to your template. For more information on attaching addenda, see Adding an Addendum.

3. Choose File | Save Template to save your new template. The Save Template box appears, as shown in Figure 2-11.

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Figure 2-11 The Save Template Dialog Box

4. Enter a relevant name for the template for easy identification.

5. Click OK and the template is saved.

6. Close the form.

TIP: If you have edited the data on an actual form to create a template, close it without saving so you don’t lose any data.

Create a template from scratch:

1. Choose Configuration | Template | Define Template. The New Template dialog box appears.

2. Choose the type of Template you want to create and give the template an appropriate name to help you remember it.

WARNING: Do NOT click on an existing template as the name, a corrupted Package may result. If you want to edit a template, use the Modify Template command, as described below. Use the Define Template command only to create new templates.

3. Choose the form for which you want to create a template.

4. Type in the information you want to appear on the template.

5. Add any addenda that you want to open with the template. You can do this by selecting File | Add Addendum (or click the paperclip button $image\ebd_ebd46.gif$ on the Toolbar), as described in Adding an Addendum.

5. Choose File | Save to save your template.

6. Choose File | Close to close the template.

Edit a Report Template

To edit an existing report template:

1. Select Configuration | Template | Modify Template.

2. Select a Form type and template name.

3. Enter whatever information you want to change.

4. Choose File | Save to save your edits.

5. Choose File | Close when you are done editing.

NOTE: Editing a template does not change previous appraisals that used the template. Previous appraisals will continue to contain previous template information.

Delete a Report Template

To delete an existing report template:

1. Select Configuration | Template | Delete Template.

2. Select a Form type and template name.

3. Select OK.

NOTE: Deleting a template does not change previous appraisals that used the template. Previous appraisals will continue to contain the previous template information.

Use Templates Automatically

TIP: In order to use templates, you must first create and save templates to use as described earlier in this Chapter.

To save the time of having to enter a template name when you start a new appraisal, you can assign a template to be automatically used with each type of form.

Then, when you create a new form, Forms will fill in the template data (unless you specify otherwise in the Create New Report box).

To configure Forms to automatically use a certain template with a form:

1. Make sure the Use Templates option (Configuration | Template | Use Templates) is selected (has a check mark in front of it). If it is not selected, select it.

2. Select Configuration | Template | Assign Default Template. The Assign Default Template dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2-12.

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Figure 2-12 The Assign Default Template Dialog Box

3. Select a Form and the Template to be automatically used with it.

4. Continue to select forms and specify templates to be used for the forms until you have specified as many templates as you like.

5. Click Close, to save your selections.

Turn Off Template Usage

If you like, you can turn off all templates by deselecting the Configuration | Templates | Use Templates. (Note: if there is no check mark in front of it, it is deselected).

If you want to turn off automatic (default) templates for just certain forms, you can remove the default template from the form using the Remove button in the Assign Default Template dialog box, described in the previous Section.

If you use Nova Office or 32-bit Appraisal Manager, to generate new forms, you can choose how you would like these new forms to be created: using your default templates, using a template that you choose individually when you open the automatically-generated form for the first time, or using no template.

To select how you would like to apply template usage to automatically-generated forms:

Open Configuration | Template | <Advanced Option>

The Advanced Options are:

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Show Template Dialog on Open - when you open an automatically-generated form for the first time, you are offered the option of choosing a template to apply to the form. (NOTE: No data is overwritten.)

Use Default Template on Open - when an automatically-generated form is created the default template is automatically used.

Do Not Use Template on Open - when an automatically-generated form is created, no template is used.