Linking templates

In Template Studio, a designer can link two templates; when running the source template, the user can open the second template to see supporting details.

Add a template link. A template link can be added to a data view component, an Auto Text, an image or a chart.

  1. Open the appropriate data view drawer, or the Auto Text, Image, or Chart drawer.
  2. Select the data view component node (Rows, Columns, or Cells), or the Auto Text, Image, or Chart component.
  3. In the drawer lip, click . The Linked Template Editor opens.

  4. Select the Target template.

    The Page Member Mapping section lists all the visible page dimensions in the target template.

    The settings in this section determine what data the target template will show.

  5. For each page dimension, select one of the following mapping types:
    • Use default – Pass no data to the target template, which instead uses its own default settings.

    • Runtime selection – Pass the data that is found in the place where the end user double-clicks.

      Select a dimension from the adjacent drop-down, which shows all the dimensions and page dimensions from the source template that are available to the component.

      For example, if the chosen component is rows, and the report user double-clicks a cell, the member in that cell is passed to the target template.

      If you are adding the link to an Auto Text, image, or chart, the only options in the drop-down are template page dimensions.

      If there is no data view in the template, the Runtime selection mapping type is unavailable.

    • Specific member – Pass the specified member to the target template.

      Click to open Member Selector and choose the member.

  6. Click OK.

    In the data view drawer, a now appears beside the component name. Click this icon to see the name of the linked template.

Edit a template link. Open the drawer, select the linked component, and click . The Linked Template Editor opens.

Re-using links. When you cut/copy and paste an Auto Text, image, or chart that contains a link, the link is retained.

How do end users know that the link is there? When the template runs, if the user has the linked templates indicator enabled, they see a green triangle in the cell that contains the link.

Currently the linked template indicator only appears for data view components and Auto Text; a linked image or chart does not show the indicator.