Group Templates

Why group templates

If every lighting layout you price needs the same dozen groups (downlights, emergency fittings, switches, and so on), setting them up by hand on each drawing is slow and inconsistent. A group template holds a named list of groups with their type, colour, width or size, opacity and linked price item. Import it onto a drawing and the groups are there, empty and ready to take off into, in the same order every time.

Group templates are shared across your company. Anyone can create, edit, import or delete them.

What a group template holds

Each row in a template is one group. The table shows what is stored for each type:

Scale is not stored. Imported Linear and Area groups take the drawing's default scale, because scale belongs to the drawing rather than the template.

Creating a template

Open Templates › Groups from the left navigation (no drawing open).

1. 1

   Click New Template at the top right.

2. 2

   In the New Group Template dialog, enter a Template name and click Create. The name must not be empty and must not match an existing template.

3. 3

   You land on the template's detail page. Click Add Group and choose Detection, Linear, Area or Unit.

4. 4

   Click the new row's label (for example New Detection Group) and type the group name. Press Enter to save it.

5. 5

   Click the colour swatch on the left of the row to open the appearance popover. Pick a preset colour or a custom one, adjust Width (Detection and Linear), Size (Unit) or Opacity, and click Apply.

6. 6

   Optionally click Link on the row to attach a price item from the Database Items window. Components, Contractors Choice and Custom items can be linked here; double-click a row to link it.

7. 7

   Repeat for every group. Rows appear in the order you add them, and that is the order they are imported in.

Editing a template

On the detail page:

• Rename the template with the pencil beside its title, then confirm with or cancel with (Enter and Esc also work).
• Rename a group by clicking its label; it saves when you press Enter or click away.
• Change appearance through the swatch popover, which shows a live preview of the group's colour, width, size and opacity.
• Remove a linked item with the Remove button on the row, or change it with Link.
• Remove a group with the trash at the end of its row. A confirmation asks Remove group "…"? and offers a Don't ask again checkbox. You can turn the prompt back on under User Preferences › Confirmations › Removing an item from a group template.

Click Back to Group Templates to return to the list.

The Templates › Groups list

The list shows Name, # Groups, Created By, Created At and Actions. Click a row, or the eye , to open it. The trash deletes the whole template after a confirmation that reads This cannot be undone. Templates are shared across your company.

Importing a template onto a drawing

1. 1

   Open the drawing you want to set up.

2. 2

   Click Actions in the toolbar.

3. 3

   Choose Import Template → Groups.

4. 4

   In the Import Group Template dialog, select a template. Each row shows the name, the number of groups, who created it and when.

5. 5

   Click Import.

A toast confirms how many groups were imported. The new groups appear in the marker sidebar in the same top-to-bottom order as the template, each with its colour, size and linked item intact. If the list is empty, a Manage templates link takes you to the Templates › Groups page.

Filling an imported detection group

A Detection group from a template has no symbol yet, so its thumbnail shows a placeholder. To fill it:

1. 1

   Open the group's menu in the sidebar.

2. 2

   Choose Detect New Symbol .

3. 3

   Draw a box around one example of the symbol on the drawing.

Detections land in that group, and its captured symbol becomes the group's template image. The group's linked item is kept. For Linear, Area and Count groups, select the group and start the matching takeoff tool as usual; or press the group's button on a detection or count group to place markers into it by hand.

Common issues

Import is greyed out or shows a "not connected" message

Importing needs an open drawing and a live connection. Wait for the connection indicator in the user menu to show Connected and try again.

The imported groups have the wrong scale

Linear and Area groups take the drawing's default scale at the moment of import. Set the scale before importing, or adjust the group's scale afterwards.

Next steps

• Detect New Symbol — fill an empty detection group by drawing a box around one symbol.
• Linking to custom items — attach your own priced items to template groups.
• Group appearance — the same colour, width and opacity controls used on template rows.
• Setting the scale — set the drawing scale before importing Linear or Area groups.
• Zone templates — reuse zones the same way.