Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Document Templates


Recommended Posts

I have two matters that I would like to raise in connection with document templates:

  1. If Affinity Publisher is going to be supplied to customers pretty much as it is in the beta version, then it looks to me that it is going to be supplied without a selection of pre-made templates. I would like to suggest that consideration is given to setting up a number of pre-made templates for customers to either use as they are or which can form a basis from which they can create their own documents. Apart from assisting customers to get started with their own documents, it would enable Affinity to showcase the capabilities of its product. 
  2. I would like to be able to design and save a basic structure of a document to be used as a template, such as a newsletter. With the template set up, then other users could take the base template to create an updated version of a document without the risk of the original template being overwritten. At the moment, I believe that the only way to do this is to design and save the base document and then open it for use when needed. My concern is that it will be easy for the base document to be overwritten or amended as people start to use it.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Steve2 said:

My concern is that it will be easy for the base document to be overwritten or amended as people start to use it.

Both macOS and Windows have functions to mark a file as "read only" which should let you avoid that problem.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In MacOs you can turn any document into a Stationery Pad (Get Info on the file in Finder). This tells the system to create and open a copy of the original when it's double-clicked to open it: 

244814515_Screenshot2018-09-02at14_37_28.png.81effb7c23677a5d806b6962f49dee38.png 

 

Not sure if there's a Windows equivalent though.

Affinity Photo 2.0.3,  Affinity Designer 2.0.3, Affinity Publisher 2.0.3, Mac OSX 13, 2018 MacBook Pro 15" Intel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...
1 hour ago, jonwright said:

I've been designing a 'template' for my Dad and his local magazine, it would nice if it could be saved as such, so he can't mess with it by mistake.

On Mac, mark it as a Template once you've saved it.

On Windows, change it to read-only: From File Explorer, right-click on the file and choose Properties. Then select the Read-Only box under Attributes.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/7/2019 at 6:21 AM, walt.farrell said:

On Mac, mark it as a Template once you've saved it.

To be precise, select the file in the Finder, and choose File→Get Info. Option 1: you can tick the “Stationary pad” option. With this option active, when you try to open the file, it will make a copy of the file to the same directory as the original and open that copy in the default application. Option 2: you can tick “Locked,” which works the same (I assume) as Windows’s read-only option. When you open a read-only document, then you can’t accidentally save over it. Your first save operation must be a Save As.

Personally, I prefer the second option, as I store documents in different directories than where I keep the templates.

As to feedback for improvement, a true template feature where Publisher supports template files would be a minor but welcome addition. I can see it working in one of two ways:

1. A separate file extension, where by default Publisher always opens it as an unsaved new document. InDesign behaves this way.

2. A dedicated templates directory where files in that directory are offered as templates from within the app. I think that is basically the way MS Word and Apple Pages work.

My favorite in other apps is option 2. I like to have an option where new documents can be made from templates from the file menu, such as File→New…→My_Custom_Template_A, etc.

People in organizations who need to share templates might prefer option 1 so they can store template files anywhere. Perhaps a compromise would be to be able to define the path to the template folder, such as on a shared drive. I would use that if it were available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.