1. In the __configuration folder in the Content Library, go to the templates folder.
   Note:

   If you don't see a __configuration folder in your Content Library, contact your Customer Success Manager.

2. Create a new folder to keep your templates separate from the default templates.

   Follow this naming convention your organization name-templates.

3. In the new folder, create a folder for each template.
4. Create template resources:
   • To create a topic template, see Create a Topic Template.
   • To create a map template, see Create a Map Template.
5. Modify topics and maps so they can be templates. See Add ID attribute placeholders and Warehouses to a Template.
6. Make the template available in the Create New menu. See Enable a Template.

Create a topic template with the desired structure and content.

1. In the Content Library, in the __configuration folder:
   1. Click Create New and select a topic type that you want to use as a template.
      If you create a template for reference material such as a data-sheet, select Reference.
   2. If needed, enter a title and modify the file name.
      Note:

      The valid characters for file and folder names are:

      • lowercase letters (a-z)

      • uppercase letters (A-Z)

      • numbers (0-9)

      • underscore (_), hyphen (-), and period (.)

      This applies to creating files and folders and renaming files and folders.

   3. Click Create & Edit.
2. Edit the topic template to include desired elements, text, or guidance.
   Note:

   You can provide internal guidance on how to use a template by including draft comment elements or XML comments in the template. See XML Comments.

   

Create a map template with the desired topics, elements, and content.

1. In the Content Library, in the __configuration folder :
   1. Click Create New and select a map type that you want to use as a template.
   2. Enter a title and modify the file name if needed.
      Note:

      The valid characters for file and folder names are:

      • lowercase letters (a-z)

      • uppercase letters (A-Z)

      • numbers (0-9)

      • underscore (_), hyphen (-), and period (.)

      This applies to creating files and folders and renaming files and folders.

   3. Click Create & Edit.
2. Add topics that you want to include to the map.
3. Optional: Add any other elements or metadata to the map.
4. Edit the map template to include desired guidance.
   Note:

   You can provide internal guidance in maps by using XML comments. We recommend using tooltip XML comments. See XML Comments.

Set up content templates to auto-generate new IDs, automatically include author information in the prolog element, and create titles based on the file name.

1. Set the template to generate random, unique IDs for root topic elements or root map elements when a new file is created from the template.
   Remember:

   ID values must start with a letter or number. You cannot just use the [RANDOM] variable for an ID placeholder.

   For topics, replace:

   <topic id="topic-3460">

   with:

   <topic id="topic-[RANDOM]">

   For maps, replace:

   <map id="ditamap-3981">

   with:

   <map id="ditamap-[RANDOM]">

   Important:

   If you have IDs on elements in the body of a topic template, you need to also convert those ID values to use [RANDOM] instead of a specific numeric value. For example:

   • <section id="section-[RANDOM]">
   • <table id="table-[RANDOM]">
2. Modify the prolog element to populate the author information with the user that creates a new topic or map from the template.
   Replace:

   <author>John Smith &lt;john.smith@acme.com&gt;</author>

   with:

   <author>[CURRENT_USER_FIRSTNAME][CURRENT_USER_LASTNAME]&lt;[CURRENT_USERNAME]&gt;</author>

3. Optional: Modify the template title element to use the title entered by the user when they create a new topic or a map from the template.
   Tip:

   Skip this step if you want to use a consistent map or topic title, such as Policy & Procedures. If you choose to skip this step, users will be prompted to enter a unique file name, but will not be able to change the title of the document from the Create new window.

   Replace:

   <title>Policy &amp; Procedures</title>

   with:

   <title>[REQUESTED_FILE_NAME_WITHOUT_EXTENSION]</title>

4. Optional: If you want to add reusable content to your template, for example, a copyright topic, make sure that it is located in the main Content folder, and not in the __configuration folder.
5. Save the template file.
   Note:

   When you click Save, an invalid XML notification appears due to the [RANDOM] value in the ID attribute. This is expected. Save the file anyway. Ignore the validation warning that appears in the Content Library for the same reason.

You enable map and topic templates so they become available in the Create New menu.

1. In the __configuration folder in the Content Library, navigate to templates/topics/topic.
2. Right-click topic.xml and select Download > File.

   If you are enabling a map, from the templates/maps/map folder, download map.xml.

3. Open the downloaded topic.xml file in a source code editor like Notepad++.
   The topic.xml file looks like this:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <template>
    <label>Custom Topic Template</label>
    <instance source="custom_topic_template.dita"/>
    </template>

4. In the <label> element, type the template name you want listed in the Create New menu.
   Replace <label>Custom Topic Template</label> with <label>Briefing Note</label>
5. In the instance element, change the source attribute value to the file name of the topic or map you want to enable as a template.
   Replace <instance source="custom_topic_template.dita"/> with <instance source="briefing_note_template.dita">
6. Save the topic.xml file with a file name that matches the template file name.
   Save the file as briefing_note_template.xml
7. Upload the file to the __configuration folder, in the same location in the __configuration folder as the template that you are enabling.
8. Refresh your browser.
9. Open the Create New menu to confirm that the new template is listed.
10. Recommended: Create new topics or maps to ensure that you have configured the templates properly.

If you no longer need a template or you don't want a template to be available in the Create New drop-down menu, you can disable it by commenting out the <label> and <instance> elements in the .xml file relevant to that template.

1. In the Content Library, go to the __configuration folder and find the .xml file associated with the template you want to disable.
2. Right-click the .xml file and select Edit Source.
3. Place your cursor in the <label> element, right-click and select Command Palette. Type comment and select Add Line Comment.

   You commented out the <label> element.

   

4. Repeat 3 to comment out the <instance> element.