You can import an entire template or a section of a template
by physically embedding elements into another template. You can also
import a template into another template during document generation
by dynamically linking to it instead of physically embedding it.
About this task
You can import templates with their data sources, master
pages, styles, and variables. If the imported content matches the
contents of the template, you receive a conflict notification. Edit
the content or replace the content to resolve the conflict.
Procedure
- In Document Studio, select one of these options:
- To insert a template into an existing element or to the end
of your template, click .
- If an existing element is selected in the template and that element
can contain imports, Import Template is enabled
so that the imported content can be inserted into the selected element.
- If an existing element is selected in the template and that element
cannot contain imports, Import Template is
disabled.
- If no existing elements are selected, Import Template is
enabled so that the imported content can be inserted to the end of
the template.
- To add a template before or after an element that is selected
in the template content editor, click and then
select Before selection or After
selection.
In the Import template wizard, click Next.
- In the Select Template window, select
a template.
- Select the importing type:
- Physical embedding: Inserts the template
elements into the current template.
- Dynamic referencing: Template elements
are linked and loaded during document generation into the output.
Important: Use physical embedding instead of dynamic referencing
when:
- A template or snippet is designed to extract information from
a data source.
- A template or snippet contains a dynamic reference in it.
- If there are any conflicting information for master pages,
styles, and variables, the
Conflicting content icon
displays in front of the conflicting content. Edit the conflicting
contents: - To use the information from existing template, click Use
Existing Item For Conflicts As Allowed.
- To edit the conflicting content with the new content, click Edit,
modify the value and then click OK.
Note: If
you first imported a template by dynamically referencing it, and then
imported another template by physically embedding it, none of the
conflicts can be resolved by reusing the values for the dynamically
referenced template. You must edit each conflict to resolve it.
Click Next.
- Review the summary and click Finish. If authentication credentials were provided in the imported
template and display in the summary, those credentials are also stored
in the host template. You can revise those credentials after the import.
- Optional: If necessary, reorder the elements
in your template. If you imported several templates or
elements in succession, each item you added displays above the last
item. The latest import displays first. In the template content editor,
you can drag the imported templates to a specific location to reorder
the template.
Note: In the Outline view, you can drag elements to a
specific location to reorder the template, but you cannot drag imported
templates to reorder the template.
Results
The template content or template link is inserted into your
host template.
If you selected Dynamic referencing for
the importing type, the styles, master pages, data sources, and variables
from the imported template display in the Outline view with (referenced) after
the name. You can drag and drop these references into
template elements and use
them in expressions in the script editor. You cannot assign values
to these variables or edit the variables. When Rational Publishing Engine loads
a host template, it checks that all of the references to variables,
styles, and master pages exist. Deletion of referenced templates that
have variables, styles or master pages used in the host template is
not permitted. In Rational Publishing Engine 1.3.0
and later versions, external variables from dynamically imported templates
can be used in scripts in the host template.
What to do next
- If you chose to dynamically reference the file, you might be prompted
to change the file path to be relative to the host template.
If
you are prompted to use relative paths:
- Remember that the relative path that is specified is relative
to the host template, not the document specification.
- If you move one of the templates from its original location and
the relative path changes, you must remove the referenced template
from the host template and import the template again.
If you are not prompted to use relative paths, verify
that:
- The host template is saved.
- Both the host and imported templates are version 2 templates.
- If necessary, revise the authentication credentials stored in
the host template from the imported template.