Project template

A project template is a pattern for new projects: a schedule, budget, risks, products and files. Instead of dates, a template stores day numbers, so the same template works for a project starting at any time (see Adding a project from a template).

Templates are in the Projects module, on the Templates tab. The list has the Name, Workspaces and Description columns, and the Filter by name or description box narrows it down by a word. Click a name to open the template schedule. The tab is visible to users with the templates permission in a workspace (see Workspaces and template permissions).

Creating a project template

1. On the Templates tab, click New project template.
2. In the Add project template window, enter the Name, choose the Workspaces and optionally add a Description.
3. Click Add. The empty template schedule opens.

The name and at least one workspace are required. If you have the templates permission in one workspace only, the Workspaces field is not shown and the template goes to that workspace. To change the name, workspaces or description later, use Edit in the template menu (the gear icon next to the name).

Workspaces and template permissions

Every template is assigned to one or more workspaces. The assignment decides:

• who can use the template — when you create a project, the Project template list shows only templates from the workspaces the project is created in. A template assigned to workspace A does not appear for a project created in workspace B,
• who can manage the template — users with the Templates permission in a workspace can add, edit, clone and delete that workspace’s templates.

The permission is granted in the workspace permissions of a user or a user group: the Configuration group, Templates column. It has a single level that gives full management of the workspace’s templates. It also unlocks the Templates tab and the Create project template option in a project. You can assign a new template only to workspaces where you have this permission.

To grant workspace permissions, see Users and permissions. For what workspaces are, see Workspaces.

Creating a template from an existing project

1. Open the project, click the gear icon next to the project name and choose Create project template.
2. In the Create template from the project window, check the name (the project name by default), choose the workspaces and add a description.
3. Click Create project template. The schedule of the new template opens.

The option is visible to a project administrator who has the templates permission in at least one workspace. The template gets:

• tasks and milestones with their structure, descriptions, owners, departments, effort, colours, attributes and dependencies. Dates become working-day numbers counted from the project start,
• budget items with forecasts, schedule links and actuals mapping rules,
• risks and products,
• project files and links, and the schedule list columns.

The template does not take budget actuals, task progress, risk and product statuses, project plans or tasks synchronized with Jira.

Schedule in a template

A template schedule works like a project schedule, with the list view and the Gantt chart, but it has day numbers instead of dates. The Start and End columns are the start and end day counted from the beginning of the project, and Duration is the number of days. A milestone has an end day only. Dates are set in the project, from the start or end date chosen when it is created.

Add tasks and milestones with New task (with New milestone in its list). In the item panel, set the days, owners, departments, effort, dependencies, linked budget items, risks and products, description and attachments. The Schedule attributes button chooses the attribute columns that go into the project.

The start day, end day and duration cannot be negative — otherwise you see Start day, end day and duration cannot be lower than 0. The days of a task with subtasks come from its subtasks.

Budget in a template

The template Budget tab takes costs and revenues — the New cost and New revenue buttons. A group has no forecasts of its own; its amount is the sum of the items below it.

In the item panel, in the Forecast schedule section, use Add forecast entry to add entries with an amount. An entry falls on a day number or on a day determined by a schedule item — then choose the item in the Determined by column and the number of days before or after it in the Offset column. The Schedule field links the whole item to a task.

The tab’s Settings menu has Actuals import mapping — rules that go into the project (see Actuals mapping). The tab is shown when your organization uses the Budget module.

Risks in a template

On the template Risks tab, add the risks typical of this kind of project. A new risk starts with a name only; in the panel, set the owner, impact, probability, category, linked schedule item, schedule impact in days, budget impact and the final project product. The risk menu has Clone and Delete; deleting needs confirmation and cannot be undone.

A project created from the template gets the risks with all these settings. The tab is shown when your organization uses the Risks module.

Products in a template

On the template Products tab, add the project products. In the panel, set the owner, schedule item, description, patterns and best practices. The product’s Execution day is the end day of the linked schedule item. The product menu has Clone and Delete. The tab is shown when your organization uses the Products module.

Files in a template

The template Files tab holds the files and links that go into every project created from the template. When a project is created, the files are copied and attached to the same tasks, risks, budget items and products as in the template. An attachment of a template item can be a new file or one already added to the template.

The add button lets you choose:

• File — upload a file from your computer,
• Link — enter a name and a web address,
• Folder — name up to 256 characters; folders can be nested.

A file or link whose name already exists in the template is not added — you will see This file already exists. Drag files and folders to move them between folders. Renaming a file does not change its extension.

Deleting a file or link is irreversible and removes it from every template item it was attached to. Deleting a folder removes all its content, including subfolders.

Note: changes to the template’s files do not affect projects created from it earlier.

Cloning a project template

Cloning creates a new template with a copy of all schedule, budget, risk and product items, their details and the links between them, as well as the template files.

1. Open the template and click the gear icon next to its name.
2. Choose Clone.
3. In the Clone project template window, enter the name, choose the workspaces and optionally a description, then confirm. The schedule of the new template opens.

Deleting a template

You delete a template from its view, not from the template list. Open the template, click the gear icon next to its name and choose Delete. After you confirm Do you want to delete the project template?, the template is deleted and you return to the template list.

Deleting cannot be undone. The whole template schedule with its dependencies and effort, its budget items, risks, products and files are removed. Projects created from the template earlier stay unchanged — once created, a project does not depend on its template.