Getting started with the Export Template Designer

Overview

You can invoke the Export Template Designer in the following ways:

From the quick access menu’s Export Templates menu. The menu exposes the following options:

From a Tasks or File Type widget. Typically, these might be displayed at your Home Page. For more information on widgets, please see the Dashboard Designer documentation.
By double-clicking an export template file in the File System Dialog, or by highlighting an export template and clicking OK in the same context.
By viewing the latest version of an export template contextually – for example, from an export activity’s configuration panel in the Interaction Designer.

Note that access to the Export Template Designer is controlled via the Export Template – Design functional permission. If none of the user groups of which you are a member are associated with this permission, you will not be able to able to access the Export Template Designer.

Export Template Designer Basics

The Export Template Designer is displayed in a separate tab in the RPI framework.

It is composed of the following elements:

Toolbar
Toolbox
Properties
Options tab
Attributes tab
Attribute Sort Options tab

Start Page

The Export template Designer Start Page is shown upon invocation of Export templates at the quick access menu, and also on clicking Create new Export template at the Export template Designer toolbar. It contains the following:

Create New Export template button. Clicking the button displays a new, unconfigured Export template in the Export template Designer.
Recent: lists recently-accessed export templates, facilitating the opening of the same.
Browse: displays the Open Export Template File System Dialog, allowing you to select an export template to open.

A Cancel button is shown at the top of the Start Page. Clicking it removes the Start Page from display, and redisplays the Export Template Designer. The Cancel button is only shown on invocation of the Start Page by clicking Create new Export Template at the Export template Designer toolbar.

The Export Template Designer toolbar exposes the following options:

Create new Export Template: clicking this button displays the Export template Designer Start Page. A close button is shown to its top right; clicking it removes the overlay from display. If an export template containing unsaved changes is displayed at invocation of Create New, an 'Are You Sure?' dialog is shown, from which you can:
- Save the changes
- Abandon the changes
- Abandon creation of the new Export template

The new export template’s name is ‘New Export Template’. Its other properties are set to their default values.

Open an existing Export Template: displays the File System Dialog, allowing you to navigate those folders within the RPI file system to which you have access in order to locate an export template to open. Only export template files are displayed in the File System Dialog. You can invoke OK to open the export template. You can also cancel opening an export template.
Save the current export template: saves the selected export template to an existing filename. This option is only enabled if an export template to which changes have been made is displayed. If the export template has been saved previously, it is saved to its existing file, and its version number is incremented.

If the export template is yet to be saved, Save behaves like Save as…: the File System Dialog is displayed, allowing you to navigate accessible folders within the RPI file system to locate a folder to which to save the export template. Having done so, you can invoke OK to perform the save, which creates a new, independent export template file. You can also cancel saving an export template.

Save the current export template as...: invoking Save as… displays the File System Dialog, allowing you to navigate accessible folders within the RPI file system to locate a folder to which to save the export template. Having done so, you can invoke OK to perform the save. Export Templates are persisted as ‘Export Template’ files. Note that you can also cancel saving an export template.
Version number
Follow/Unfollow File: please see the RPI Framework documentation
File options: please see the RPI Framework documentation
File Metadata: please see the RPI Framework documentation
Linked Page options: please see the RPI Framework documentation

Toolbox

The Export Template Designer toolbox contains the standard Folder Search component. Only attribute folders are displayed. For more information, please see the Dashboard Designer documentation.

Configuring an Export Template’s Name

An Export template’s name is configured in the large property shown at the top of the Export Template Designer, below the toolbar:

Provision of a name is mandatory, and the value provided may be a maximum of 100 characters. The export template’s name is the same as the filename under which it is saved within the RPI file system. As such, it must be unique amongst the export templates in the folder within which saved.

You can edit an export template’s name by clicking the property. Complete the edit by clicking off the property, or by hitting return.

Export Template Validation

Before an Export template can be used, it must be valid.

A validation status indicator is displayed to the right of the export template’s name. When the export template is valid and contains no validation errors, the validation status indicator is shown as follows:

Specific validation errors are outlined in the export template documentation. When one or more validation errors is present, a validation error indicator is shown:

Clicking the indicator lists the validation errors in a dialog:

You can use the button at the bottom left of the dialog to copy the validation error details to the clipboard. You can close the dialog using the OK button.

Closing the Export Template Designer

You can close the Export Template Designer by closing the tab within which it is displayed, or by shutting down RPI itself. If you do so when an export template to which changes has been made is shown in the Export Template Designer, a dialog is displayed, within which you can:

Save the changes and proceed with closing the Export Template Designer
Abandon the changes and proceed with closing the Export Template Designer
Cancel closing the Export Template Designer or RPI.