With Paligo's templates feature, you can create a "model" of a publication, and use this as the basis for other "real" publications that you will publish as PDF, HTML5, or any of Paligo's other outputs. This is a great way to:
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Save time when setting up the structure of publications (that need to use the same structure)
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Apply consistent structure to your publications and topics across a range of different projects.
The idea is that when you use templates when you want multiple publications to have the same (or similar) structure. Instead of recreating that structure for each publication, you create it once as a template and then create new publications based on the template. The new publications will automatically inherit the structure and content from the template they are based on.
Note
We strongly recommend that you only use templates when there is a clear need to use the same structure repeatedly in your content.
If it is the actual content that needs to be repeated, rather than the structure, you can use Paligo's Content Reuse features instead. These will give you more control over how and where the content is reused.
But templates are not only for publications. It's also possible to create a template for a topic so that you can create individual topics that contain the same structure. For example, you might want to have a "Specifications" topic that contains a table that is designed in a particular way. By adding that table to a topic template, you can create it once in one place, and then you can create new topics based on the template. The new topics will automatically contain the table.
Publication templates let you create a "model" publication that can be used as a starting point for other publications. This is especially useful if you need to create many similar publications, as it reduces the amount of repeat work and helps to make your content more consistent.
1 = Template, 2, 3, 4 = Publications that reuse the template.
To create a publication template, you make the template and then add topics to it. These can be:
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Regular topics that you create in the Documents section of the Content Manager.
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Topics based on a template. These are topics that you create in the Templates section and add to the publication template.
When you have created a publication template, you can create new "real" publications that are based on the template. The "real" publications automatically contain:
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The same structure as the publication template.
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New topics for the topics based on a template. These contain the same elements and content as the topic templates, but have unique ids so that you can edit them without affecting other topics.
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The regular topics, which are are reused. If you make changes to these, those changes will affect the content wherever it is used, just like content reuse elsewhere in Paligo.
The following example shows how publication templates work.
Let's say you have a range of products called "Acme 100", "Acme 200", and "Acme 300". You want all of these products to have user guides with this structure:
Let's say you have a range of products called "Acme 100", "Acme 200", and "Acme 300". You want all of these products to have user guides with this structure:
To ensure consistency, you create a publication template. You already have regular topics for "Warranty" and "Customer Support", so you drag-and-drop those into the publication template structure. You then add new template topics for "Introduction", "Quick Start", "Monitoring", "Controls", and "Troubleshooting". This provides the template structure that you want all of the "Acme" user guides to follow.
Then, for each user guide, you create a new publication that is based on the template.
Paligo creates your new publications and each one automatically contains the same structure as the template.
There are new topics for "Introduction", "Quick Start", "Monitoring", "Controls", and "Troubleshooting" in each publication, each with unique ids so that you can edit them independently.
The "Warranty" and "Customer Support" topics were added as regular topics in the template, so they are reused. Any changes you make to those will affect those topics wherever they are used.
The template (1) is used as the basis for regular publications that you can add content to and publish as PDF, HTML5 help centers and other outputs. The regular publications (2, 3, and 4) inherit the structure from the publication template. Paligo creates new publications, new topics, and reused topics inside the publications so that their content matches the template.
Before you create a publication template, we recommend that you read the Publication Templates article, so that you are familiar with the concept and expected result.
To create a publication template:
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Find the Templates section in the Content Manager. You need to create new templates in the Templates section.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the Templates section and select Create Content.
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Enter the settings for the publication template:
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Enter a name
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Select the Publication option
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Add the Languages you want the template to support.
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Select OK to confirm.
Paligo creates your publication template. It goes in the Templates section of the Content Manager.
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Select the publication template in the Templates section of the Content Manager. Paligo opens the structure view.
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Select New topic to create a new topic inside the publication template. Give the topic a suitable name. Repeat this step until you have added all of the new topics that you want to be included in the template. These new topics are "topic templates".
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If you want to reuse "regular" topics in your publication template, drag-and-drop them from the Content Manager into the publication template structure. The topic is added, and when you base a new publication on this template, it will reuse the topic.
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Select Save.
Your template is now ready to be used as the basis for new "real" publications. To find out how to do that, see Create a New Publication Based on a Template.
If your Paligo instance contains publication templates, you can create a new publication that is based on one of those templates. When you create the publication, Paligo will:
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Create a new publication with the same structure as the template.
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Create new topics to match the topic templates that are in the publication template structure.
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Reuse any regular topics that are in the publication template structure.
You can then work on the new topics and publications, adding and reusing content where needed, until it is ready to publish.
Note
When you create a publication based on a template, the new publication only matches the template structure at the time of creation. If the template is changed at a later date, those changes will not apply to publications that have already been created.
To create a publication that is based on a publication template:
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In the Content Manager, select the options menu ( ... ) for the folder that is going to contain your new publication. Then select Create content.
If your content is not in a folder, select the Documents section at the top of the Content Manager instead. Documents is the top-level "parent" folder for any content that is not inside another folder.
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On the Create Content dialog:
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Enter a name for your new publication
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Select the Languages it should support
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Select From template as the document type. When you select From template, a browse dialog appears. Use it to select the publication template that your new publication will be based on.
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Select OK to confirm your choices.
Paligo creates a new publication and topics in the selected folder. The publication's structure matches that of the publication template, and its forks link to the new topics and any reused "regular" topics.
Topic templates provide a quicker and easier way to create new topics that have a consistent structure. With a topic template, you create the template and add the structure and content that you want. Then, when you create a new topic, you can base the topic on the template. The new topic will automatically inherit the content from the template, and you can add to it or change it as needed.
Example 39. Topic template for "Troubleshooting" topic
Let's say you need to produce "Troubleshooting" topics for many different user guides, and you want them to have a consistent structure that includes a paragraph and a table. Instead of creating these topics individually, you can use a template.
You create a new template and then edit it. In the template, you add a table and a paragraph.
Next, you create new topics based on the template. The new topics automatically contain the table and paragraph from the template, so there's no need to add them to each topic individually. In the new topics, the table and paragraph are given new ids, so that you can edit them without affecting the template or other topics.
If your Paligo instance contains topic templates, you can create new topics that are based on those templates. This is useful if you have particular topic structures that should be used in many places, but with different content in place.
When you create a new topic from a topic template, the new topic automatically includes the same structure and content that exists in the topic template. But the content is given new ids, so that you can edit it without affecting the template or other topics that are based on the template.
To create a topic template:
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Find the Templates section in the Content Manager. You need to create new templates in the Templates section.
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Select the options menu ( ... ) for the Templates section and select Create Content.
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Give the template a name and choose the Topic document type. Then set the language for the topic template and select OK.
Paligo adds your new template to the Templates section.
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Select a template to open it in the editor. Add the elements and content that you want to be included in all topics that are based on your template. For example, you could add a paragraph and a table.
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Check the box Use gateway to enable IP Allowlisting. Optional
You can now create new topics based on the topic template.
If you have topic templates available, you can create new topics that are based on them. These topics will contain:
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The same elements (structure) as the topic template they are based on
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The same content that exists in the topic template, but with new ids so that you can edit them.
To create a new topic based on a template:
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In the Content Manager, select the options menu ( ... ) for the folder that you want to contain your new publication. If a suitable folder does not already exist, you can create a new one (Create Folder).
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Select Create content.
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Use the settings on the Create Content dialog to create the new topic:
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Enter a name for the topic
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Select the Languages that you want the new topic to support.
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Select From template to display a browse dialog for topic templates. Select the topic template that you want the new topic to be based on.
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Select OK to confirm your choices.
Paligo creates a new topic that is based on your chosen topic template. It contains new versions of the elements and content that were present in the topic template. You can make changes to the new topic without affecting the topic template or any other topic that is based on that topic template.
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