Reusing forms with templates

When to use templates

Templates are how you stop reinventing the wheel. If you find yourself building the same form on every new project — a daily inspection, a scaffold check, a delivery note — you're better off building it once as a template and then spinning up project-specific forms from it as you need them.

The benefits:

• Consistency across projects — every site uses the same checklist
• Faster setup — new projects get their forms in minutes instead of hours
• Easier updates — improve the template once and spin up the next form from it
• A library of best practice that grows over time

Forms versus templates

Two distinct concepts that can look similar at first:

A form is what users actually fill in. It's linked to one or more projects, has a status (Draft, Published, Archived), and shows up in project-specific Forms lists.

A template is a blueprint. It lives in the Template Library, has no project assignment, and never receives submissions itself. Its job is to spawn new forms via the Create from Template flow.

Creating a template

You build a template the same way you'd build a regular form, but you start with a different option in the New Form menu.

1. 1

   Open the Forms list and click New Form > Create New Template.

2. 2

   Give the template a clear Name (e.g. "Standard Daily Site Inspection") and an optional Description. There's no Projects field — that's the point.

3. 3

   Click Create. The Form Builder opens for you to add fields.

4. 4

   Build the template the same way you'd build a regular form. When you're happy, change its status to Published so it becomes available in the library.

Templates can be Draft, Published or Archived just like forms. Drafts are pinned at the top of the library so you can keep iterating before publishing.

Browsing the Template Library

The Template Library is a searchable list of every template in your company. To open it:

1. 1

   On the Forms list, click New Form > Create from Template.

2. 2

   The Template Library opens in a dialog.

Inside, you'll see:

• A search box at the top — type any part of a name or description to filter
• Drafts pinned at the top — templates you're still working on, easy to find
• Published templates — the bulk of the library, ready to use

The library only shows templates — your project forms don't appear here, even if they're published.

Searching the library

The search box matches against both the name and the description of each template. Type a keyword like "inspection", "scaffold" or "handover" to narrow the list.

If you remember roughly what a template was called but not the exact name, search is the fastest way to find it.

Previewing a template

Click any template in the library to see a preview. The preview shows:

• The template's name and description
• The version number
• The field count (e.g. "23 fields")
• A Create Form button

The preview gives you enough info to decide whether this is the right template, without committing to creating a form from it.

Creating a form from a template

In the preview, click Create Form. The system:

1. 1

   Copies all the fields, conditional logic and structure from the template into a brand new form.

2. 2

   Marks the new form as a regular form, not a template.

3. 3

   Opens the new form in the Form Builder so you can make any project-specific tweaks before publishing.

4. 4

   Adds a small Library badge to the form's row in the Forms list, showing the original template name so you can see at a glance where the form came from.

The new form is now completely independent of the template. Editing the form doesn't change the template, and editing the template doesn't change the form.

Linking the new form to a project

After you create the form from a template, you'll typically want to link it to one or more projects so it shows up in those projects' Forms lists. Use the Modify Form action to add project links.

If you started from inside a project, the new form may be linked to that project automatically — check the Projects column on the Forms list to confirm.

Keeping the library tidy

A library is most useful when it's well curated. A few habits help:

• Archive old templates when they're superseded by a newer version. Use the Archive action on the template's row.
• Use versioning on templates to make structural changes safely — the same versioning flow that applies to forms also applies to templates. See Updating a published form.
• Delete unused templates that were never adopted and won't be — better than leaving them as noise.

A library full of abandoned drafts and obsolete templates makes the search noisier and slower for everyone. A bit of regular weeding keeps it sharp.

Real-world example

A typical company-wide template set might include:

• Daily Site Inspection — the standard daily walk-around
• Scaffold Pre-Use Check — for any scaffold inspection
• Plant Pre-Use Check — for excavators, dumpers, telehandlers
• Toolbox Talk Sign-In — for capturing attendance at a briefing
• Visitor Sign-In — for the gate
• Snagging Sheet — for defect capture during a walk
• Handover Form — for project sign-off

Build each of these once as a template, and every new project starts with a complete set of forms in minutes — no more rebuilding from scratch every time.

Next steps

• Building your first form — for the New Form menu including Create from Template.
• Updating a published form — for the same versioning flow applied to templates.
• Finding your way around the Forms list — for the Modify Form, Duplicate, Archive and Delete actions on each row.