A template is simply a pre-saved drawing that can be used to base new drawings on, useful if you want to reuse a standard layout, such as...

• a border, company logo and title block on every new drawing;
• to add any set of page objects or properties, such as cabinet depths and kickboard heights, to multiple drawings;
• to set page size, e.g. A3 and scale defaults;
• to have a series of templates that let you quickly select between a few preset material colour schemes;
• apply costing information (See topic on Pricing Extra Items  in the CM-Cabinet Library User Guide)

Using Templates

In this tutorial we will discuss how to:-

1. apply templates to a new drawing;
2. create a new template;
3. unlock to allow editing of a template;
4. delete existing templates;
5. duplicate objects by creating a Common Page;
6. set a common size/font or format individual labels;
7. unlock common size/font to copy to another template.

Applying a Template

A template is typically applied when starting a new drawing using the Create from templatedialog but you can apply one or more templates in a currently opened drawing i.e. from the File menu select Prepare > Apply Templates.

The Create from template dialog allows you to merge in a template in several ways:-

• Ask you about any conflicts;
  • This means you can apply multiple templates that may affect different aspects of the drawing.
• Use template properties;
  • Overwrite existing values with ones from the template.
• Use drawing properties;
  • Keep the existing drawing value.

Since these templates should contain only properties relevant to their purpose, you could apply them all, in any order, without problems. This also means you could switch between similar templates at any time because they will only overwrite a limited number of properties.

Creating A Template

To create templates you start CabMasterPro as per normal, except without a library. You can update a current template by moving things around (see Allow Edit) or create a template from scratch. The following outlines the basic steps required.

1. Start a new drawing with NO library by selecting "<none>".
   

   Example

   

   The reason for creating a template with no library is so that when you apply the template, the Drawing Properties aren't replaced with those from whichever library you were using at the time.

   A template should contain the minimum amount of properties it needs to do its job.

   See FAQ Applying Template Deletes Properties

2. If the "Create from template" dialog is presented and you are creating a template from scratch, then again select "<none>".
   

   Example

   
   
   You can update a template or create a new template from an existing one, in which case you would select the relevant template from the list displayed.
3. Then place on your new drawing everything that you want to be part of the template such as border, images or text boxes and set page size and scale if required.
4. From the File menu, select Save As. Ensure the "Save as type" is Template (*.QIT) and type in a descriptive "File name".
5. Now save the drawing as a template in the "Templates" folder (instead of the usual "Data" folder by clicking the "Folder Up" button to move up one directory ), so that it is detected at start-up.
   
   Exact File Locations, including your "Template" folder, can be found using the File > Options [F10] dialog.

From now on when you start a new drawing, you will be able to apply the template you just created.

Allow Edit of Template Items

Items such as text boxes, graphics lines, logos etc, that got added because they are part of a template, are not normally editable. This is because templates are locked down so that they do not interfere with cabinets and drawings in general and to prevent users from accidentally editing, or dragging, resizing etc a template item.

Also, formula controlled text updates as the details, such as client and material information, in the Drawing Properties change. See discussion on Formula Controlled Labels below.

Plan View Options F9  -  Click to Expand

To unlock/lock, open View Options [F9] and check/uncheck the Allow Edit of Template Items, as shown.

If, however, you want to deliberately change or copy a template item, you can temporarily enable this checkbox, but it is recommended you turn it off again when done. This is because usually, when drawing a new job, you will not be wanting to edit items that arrive as part of the template. Once locked, it can no longer be selected as part of the drawing.

Delete Existing Template

If you apply a template to a drawing that already has one applied, and the current template contains page objects (e.g. text boxes or rectangles) you will be asked whether you wish to delete existing template items.

• No - the new objects will be merged in with the drawing, leaving all existing objects untouched.
  This is required when more than one template is applied to the one drawing - see example in Scale Drawing Tutorial.
  
  
• Yes - all the objects that were added by the original template will be deleted, as well as any drawing properties that it merged in. This effectively allows you to completely replace the current template, which can be useful in some cases. For example, if you have several templates with different border and title layouts, you can use this functionality to switch between the layouts at any time, without affecting the cabinets on the drawing.

Common Page

If you want the certain parts of your template, such as your logo and contact details, to appear on more than one "Page" of a drawing, then you can move these to the Common Page.

Example : A drawing with multiple pages

In this example, on Page 1 we have placed a picture of the company logo (see Insert Picture). This is not, however, reflected on Page 2.

Show Common Page

To "Show" the Common Page right click any of the "Page" tabs and select from menu.

Move to Common Page

To move objects to the [Common] page:-

• Select the objects to be moved and right click to bring up the menu;
  
• Select "Move to Page..." option and in the presented dialog, enter in "Page #" edit box the value 0 (i.e. zero) and click OK;
• Now check each page, including the [Common] page, you will see the company logo duplicated on all pages.
  

  Example : Move to Common page

  

Label Text and Field Name

You can set a common size/font for your template items by using the File > Prepare > Resize Labels command, then:-

• Press the Pick new font radio button, as shown.
• Then click the Select... button which will open a dialog, allowing you to configure a new font size etc. Change as required and close.
• Ensure that the "Include template items" check box is ticked and close this dialog also.

  Example 1

  

You can add/change Label and text as per the following. Simply...

1. Select the label or text;
2. Right click and Format Item;
3. Amend as applicable.
   

   Example 2

   

Adding Variables

There are two ways to add variables (including formula controlled labels) to a newly created template i.e. Copy or Load existing.

Copy Variables

The first way is to copy labels from an existing template and paste these into your new template.

With your template that you are creating open...

1. Open a 2nd copy of CabMasterPro either from the Windows > Start menu or using your desktop icon.

   Windows 11: Left click on the "All Apps" button top right (this changes to "Back" button) and scroll down to AllMasterSoftware folder.

   Start menu

   

2. From the "Create from template" dialog select an existing template that has variables and ensure that the "Allow Edit of Template Items" option is ticked.
   

   

   Plan View Options F9  -  Click to Expand

3. Select the label that you want to copy and use your clipboard to Copy from one template and Paste to the other, as shown. Repeat.

Example: Copy formula controlled text into New template

Copy the formula controlled variable (below left) and Paste into your new template (below right).

Click on image for more on Formula Controlled variables. If 'Allow Edit' is turned on, you can move/resize etc the copied variables.

Click to see more on Formula Controlled Items

Load Variables

Another way to add variables, is to load supplied variables provided by CabMaster Software™ for the Annotate > Labels Tool.

With your template that you are creating open...

1. Right click on the Label Tool;
   • the list will only show the first ten (10) files.
2. Click on Load from the presented menu (only necessary if the required variable is not in the list);

   

   • From the presented "Load" file dialog, select the relevant variable (in this example CustomerName.qtd);

     Load Label Tool Data Example

     These variables are used in the following video.

     

3. Click on drawing page to place and drag the label to the correct position.

Tips on Placing Labels

Resize Labels

After copying/loading labels you may find that the font and size are different. This is where File > Prepare > Resize Labels is useful. As you can see in the example below left, the text "Customer" is a different size and font to the variable.

After closing the "Resize Labels" dialog, all text is now displayed with the same size and font, as shown below right.

Keyboard Shortcuts

As you can see above, the label text "Customer" is not correctly lined up with it's associated variable.

There are a number of ways to move labels. You can simply select the text and use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move in the required direction. Hold down the Ctrl + arrow key to make small movements.

Using Markers

You can use Markers, available on Insert ribbon, to provide a snap handle to assist in the easy placement of text.

In the following example, we have 2 labels placed but now need to place at even intervals. To do this add markers in a clockwise direction:-

1. the first marker (highlighted in green) was placed lower left
   • then using the movement commands we added markers 150mm apart in the Up direction.
2. when we reached the top we added a marker (highlighted in purple) 50mm to the Right
3. then we added makers 150mm apart in the Down direction (highlighted in orange) until parallel with the first marker.
   

   Example

   First marker shown in green, continue to add markers Up until top is reached.

   Then add marker right shown in purple, continue to add markers Down until bottom reached.

   

4. Now we can select and move the text but first ensure that the Snap To Handle is on i.e. tick the check box as shown.
   

   Example

   

Video

This video discusses how to create a template in CabMaster. (15.28mins)