New/Edit Template - Files and Folders

Use this screen to define the folders and files that the template creates.

To display this screen:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To create a new template, right-click Templates and click New Template.
    • To edit an existing template, double-click the template.
  2. In the left pane, click Files and Folders.
Folders Templates can create two types of folders: root folders and subfolders.
  • Root folders are created in the root of the vault regardless of which folder the user runs the template in.
  • Subfolders are created under the active folder, which is where the template is run or under a specified template folder.
You can drag or copy a complete folder structure into the folder template section to create them as template folders (including files).
To create a root folder:
  1. Click or right-click a folder and select New Root Folder.
  2. Type the folder name.
If the specified root folder already exists when the template runs, the templates uses the existing folder.
To create a subfolder:
  1. Under Folders, click the folder under which to create the subfolder.

    If you select Current Folder, the template creates the subfolder (or steps into it if it already exists) under the folder where the template is run. If you select a root folder, the subfolder is created under that root folder.

  2. Click or right-click the folder and select New Folder.
  3. Type the folder name.
Other folder operations
From Folders, you can also perform the following operations:
  • To assign folder permissions or to copy variables, right-click the folder and select Properties.
  • To delete a template folder, select the folder and click , or right-click the folder and select Delete.
  • To rename a folder, right-click the folder and select Rename, then type the new folder name.
Files in the folder Templates can create files.
To create a file:
  1. Under Folders, click the folder where the template will create the new file.

    If you select Current Folder, the template creates the file in the folder where the template is run.

  2. Click New .
  3. From the Select Template File dialog box, select a file and click Open.

    This file is used as the source for the new file created by the template. The original file is not moved. Typically select a file that is the same type as the file the template will create, but you could, for example, select a .dot file as the source to create a .doc file.

  4. From the New File dialog box, set the properties for the new file, then click OK.
  5. The source file must be accessible to users running the template. If you selected a source file that is not in the vault, SOLIDWORKS PDM checks a copy into the vault. From the Select Folder dialog box, select the vault folder where SOLIDWORKS PDM will check in the template file, then click OK.

    The template file is now listed under Files in the folder. The Show Card and Share columns show your selections from the New File dialog box.
To edit an existing template file: Select the file and click .

The Edit Template File dialog box is the same as the New File dialog box.
To remove a template file: Select the file and click .
Template Variables Use template variables to dynamically create folder or file names and to enter values into data cards. To create and organize variables, click Template Variables. Use variables in template folder names by enclosing the variable name with percent signs (%variable_name%).