Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

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Document Templates

You use report templates to generate reports on your model that present specific information in a particular format, and to generate those reports repeatedly and consistently. You can select from a range of system templates on the Document Generator, to immediately generate reports from your model.

A template consists of:

  • 'Sections' that identify the model components to report on
  • Fields that identify the type of information to extract on each component
  • Styles and formatting instructions that define the layout of the report
  • Template Fragments containing smaller sub-templates

The system provides more specialized document templates for separate Cover Pages, Stylesheets and Tables of Contents.

You can also design your own custom templates, which provide the additional advantages of being able to generate reports tailored to your own organization, and to update certain aspects of the report without having to re-define every other specification. The report generator helps you manage these custom templates; that is:

  • Review the custom templates available to you for generating reports
  • Create additional custom templates
  • Edit custom templates
  • Import templates that were saved to XML files, and
  • Delete any custom templates that are no longer required

Access

Ribbon

Publish > Documentation > Document > Generate Documentation > Templates

Context Menu

Right-click on Package | Documentation | Generate Documentation |Templates

Keyboard Shortcuts

F8 | Templates

Manage your Custom Templates

Field/Button

Description

See also

User Templates

Lists the custom Templates, Fragments, Stylesheets, Cover Pages and Tables of Contents currently available to you for generating reports through the 'Generate' tab.

Your custom templates can be grouped within these standard folders (by Template Type), or in another folder that you have created to hold specific templates.

Generate Documentation

New

To create a new custom template, click on this button. The 'New Document Template' dialog displays.

In the 'New template' field, type the template name.

In the 'Template Type' field, click on the drop-down arrow and select the type of template to create.

In the 'Copy Template' field, click on the drop down arrow and select either:

  • 'None', to create an empty template to develop from scratch, or
  • The name of an existing system, Technology or custom template to act as a base; this list is filtered to show templates of the type you specified in the 'Template Type' field

In the 'Template Group' field either:

  • Select an existing group or
  • Enter the name for a new template group, or
  • Leave this field blank, to place the template in the appropriate standard type group

The 'Template Group' determines the organization of document templates in the Resources window. You cannot create a template of a specific type and assign it to  the standard group of a different type. For example, you cannot specify a Fragment and select to save it in the Cover Page folder. It either goes to a user-created group that you select or is automatically redirected to the Fragment folder.

Click on the OK button; the template opens in the 'Document Template Designer'.

Design Custom Document Templates

Edit

To make changes to an existing template, click on the template name and then click on this button.

The template opens in the 'Document Template Designer'.

Design Custom Document Templates

Import From Reference File

To import custom templates that were previously saved to batch XML files (that is, through the 'Export Reference Data' option), click on this button. The 'Import Reference Data' dialog displays.

Click on the Select File button and browse for and select the required source XML file.

In the 'Select Datasets to Import' panel, click on the required datasets:

  • RTF Document Templates
  • Templates - RTF Style Detail
  • Templates - RTF Tag & Language Options

Click on the Import button to import the templates. The names of the imported templates are added to the list on the 'Templates' tab.

If the template you want to import is a single, external file (not in a batch file) you can instead open a template and use a different option to import the file into that template.

Import a Document Template Export Reference Data Import Reference Data

Delete

To delete a custom template, click on the template name and click on the Delete button.

A prompt displays to confirm the deletion.

You can select multiple custom templates for deletion; press Ctrl or Shift as you click on each template name.

Notes

  • In the Corporate, Business and Software Engineering, System Engineering and Ultimate editions of Enterprise Architect, if security is switched on, you need 'Configure Resources' access permission to create document templates
  • Whatever template you initially select on the 'Template' tab or 'New Document Template' dialog, of whichever template type and/or group, you can easily switch to a different template and template type within the 'Document Template Editor' whenever you need to

Learn more