Designing Document Templates

In Document template files you define the outline of the report layout. For example, a Document template dictates the design of the title page, whether the report includes a table of contents, page orientation, page numbering, and more. You design document templates using the Template Creator tab in Microsoft Word.

The following elements are used in Document templates:

• ReportName. A merge field that is replaced in reports by the value of the report's Name field.

• Custom fields. Merge fields that represent information you want users to include in reports, for example Author, Project. You can use any string as a custom field. Users type actual values for custom fields when configuring project reports.

• DocumentData. A merge field that marks the point at which the report sections begin.

• Document design. Document formatting that you define in a Document template is used in project reports that use the Document template. This includes headers and footers, page numbers, and page layout.

• Fixed text. Fixed text that you type in a Document template is displayed in reports. For example, type your organization name on the cover page, or type Created by: before the custom field Author.

To design a new Document template:

1. Create a new template file using the template creator in Microsoft Word. For details on accessing the template creator, see Template Creator Tab.

2. Click Template Type , and select Document.

3. To include the report name, click Insert Field Value , and select ReportName. The ReportName tag retrieves the report name from the Name field of the template based report.

4. To include customized information in areas such as the title page, headers and footers, click Insert Custom Field . In the Custom Field dialog box, enter a custom field name (for example, Author). When you create a report, you enter actual values that are displayed on the report cover page.

   Repeat the step to include additional custom fields.

5. Design the document with elements such as headers, footers, and page numbers.

6. Place the cursor at the point at which report data should begin, click Insert Field Value , and select DocumentData.