primedocs can integrate four different types of template:
Word
Outlook
Excel
PowerPoint
In addition, primedocs can list further document type, such as pdf files, which are simply opened with their respective application when double-clicked upon.
Let’s start with Word and then move on through the other template types.
Word templates
primedocs in Word is an exceptionally powerful document automation tool, and we will be discussing this aspect of primedocs a little later on. But first, it is important to understand that Word templates in primedocs do not follow the regular Word template structure - as this would not allow the felixibility that primedocs needs. Instead, we have a three-level hierarchy:
Style template: Right at the top, we have a style template, which defines (as the name suggests) the document styles. primedocs reads the required document styles from this template ans makes the styles listed here available to all documents which are based upon that particular Style template. And yes, you can have multiple Style templates if you need different set of styles.
Layout template: the Layout template contains all layout elements common to the Contant templates below it. So if you have, say, a set of documents such as contracts, and they vary in content, but all have the same logo, cover page, table of contents and cosing page, you could define these elements in the Laout template, and then in the content template simply add what makes each document uinique. And now here’s the thing: If you ever need to modify a logo or an element of the cover page, you only need to do this once - in the Layout template - and it will be automatically passed down to every Content template which is based upon this specific Layout template. This can save an enornous amount of maintenance time.
Content template: On the lowest and most individual level, we have a content template, which builds upon the Style and the Layout templates, and then adds the rest of the document content required for each document the user needs to be able to create.
You can think of this as a pyramid, if it helps.
Now, which elements you define in the Layout template and which in the Content template is a question of your planning. You could, in theory, define everything in the Content template and almost nothing in the Layout template - or even have an empty Layout template. But of course any changes you make will then have to be replicated across all Content templates. It is certainly a better idea to use this three-tier hierarchy to place all “lowest common denominator” document attributes sich as styles, content and so on into the Layout template - and only those elements which are specific to each document in the actual Content template.
So together, these three templates define each document you can make available to the user.
Special case: Theme templates
But wait - there is a fourth template type as well. This is the template which contains the document fonts and colours, and this is attached to your User Profile. You will find this theme file (or these theme files) in the Styles category in the admin view you will be working in anyway as a layouter.
If you switch to the Organization tab of the primesoft tab, and then to “Organization units” in the left navigation, you will see the following, provided you have the necessary access rights, as this requires the Org. units administrator access rights, because this is where you aan build new organisational units. But as a layouter, you typically do not need to do this, but can use the theme templates that have already been made availabel for each existing organisational unit.
At the right end of the ribbon, you can see the buttons for creating the colour and the font theme. You can edit these directly in XML.
Outlook templates
Outlook and Word are technically closely related, and you will notice several similarities when you start working with Outlook templates. In Outlook, the templates are structured a little differently, however.
We have the following, which are always present:
Mail theme template: This contains the mail styles and the colour theme, embedded into the Outlook file as you would normally embed the colour and the font themes (Options → Colors; Options → Fonts - both of which can be saved as a package, or a new theme here).
E-mail template: This contains all the content that should be pre-filled in when a new e-Mail is opened, not including the signature, which is a separate element.
Signature templates: these contain the signatures - usually one for the internal and one for the external signature.
The following are optional, and may or may not be present:
Disclaimer template: This contains the company disclaimer, which may for instance be present only below the signature in external e-mails, if so desired.
Campaign template: This file contains the campaign banner for each campaign. - so you can have multiple campaigns running in parallel and you can schedule when which campaigns become active and when they stop being selectable by the end users.