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Managing Templates

Templates are the primary content unit in Typograph. This page covers the lifecycle you'll use in the Portal. For the document JSON schema see the developer concepts.

Where Templates Live​

Every template belongs to a project, which belongs to a team, which belongs to an organization. To find or create one:

  1. Pick an organization (top-left picker).
  2. Pick a team in the sidebar.
  3. Pick (or create) a project.
  4. Open the Templates tab inside the project.

Creating a Template​

Every way to start a template is in the project's Gallery: a blank template, your own files, or a ready-made design.

  1. Open a project.

  2. Click New template at the top right, or the New template tile at the end of the template list. The Gallery opens.

    The header of the project Demo project, with the New template button at the top right next to the project's members, Share and the project menu

  3. Choose how to start:

    • Blank template opens the Editor on a blank canvas. Your work is saved as you go.
    • Upload files opens a file picker. The Gallery closes and a panel at the bottom right shows the upload's progress. See Importing a File as a Template.
    • A design copies a ready-made template into this project, as described below.
    The Gallery dialog of a project, with the categories All, Brochures, Catalogs and Menus, the tiles Blank template and Upload files, and designs such as Product Catalog, Brasserie Menu, Pizzeria Menu and Trifold Brochure

The gallery holds ready-made designs to start from, such as menus, brochures and catalogs.

  1. Click New template.

  2. Pick a category at the top to see only those designs, or stay on All. Only categories that hold at least one design are shown.

  3. Click a design to see it large, with its number of pages, its size and a short description. Back to the gallery returns to the list.

  4. Click Use template. The design is copied into this project and opens in the Editor.

    The design Product Catalog in the gallery, shown large, with 24 pages and A4 Portrait below its title, its description, and the buttons Back to the gallery and Use template

A design that says This template cannot be used yet. can be looked at but not copied.

The gallery is also on Recents. Using a design from there asks which team and project it goes into.

In an Empty Project​

A project without templates shows No templates in this project yet with a New template button, which opens the Gallery. You can also drag a PDF, ZIP or JSON file anywhere on the page to import it as a template.

The Templates tab of the empty project Summer campaign: No templates in this project yet, the New template button, and the line Or drag a PDF, ZIP or JSON anywhere on this page

Importing a File as a Template​

A PDF, a Typograph ZIP package or a Typograph JSON file becomes a template when you upload it: drag it onto the project page, or click New template and choose Upload files in the Gallery. See Uploading Files.

To keep a copy outside the Portal, use File → Save as… inside the Editor: it downloads the template to your computer as a Typograph file. See Saving and Exporting.

Editing​

Click a template to open the Editor. Changes autosave as you work. Use the file panel on the left to navigate pages, elements, fonts, and swatches. See the Editor SDK reference for detail on the editor UI (the Portal embeds the same SDK).

Favoriting​

Click the heart icon on any template card (or in the Editor header) to add it to your Favorites. Favorited items appear in the sidebar for quick access.

Sharing a Template​

Templates can be shared with people outside the team using Invite:

  1. Open the template's menu and choose Invite.
  2. Enter the collaborator's email and pick a role (see Roles).
  3. They receive an invite — the link also appears in their Notifications and Shared with me once accepted.

Shared templates show up under Shared with me → Shared Templates in the sidebar.

Comments​

Use comments to leave feedback on specific places in a template:

  • Press the Comments button (the pin) in the bar at the top of the Editor. You switch from editing to commenting, and the comments open beside the page.
  • Click the place on the page the comment is about, and type it.
  • Replies thread under the parent comment.
  • Resolve a comment when the feedback is addressed.
  • Press Comments again, or close the comments, to go back to editing.

If you can only comment on or view a template, the Editor opens in that mode and the bar says so; the Comments button then only opens and closes the comments.

Publishing (Export to PDF / Image)​

To render a template into a PDF or image:

  1. Open the template.
  2. Choose Export → pick PDF / PNG / JPEG / WebP.

A batch with one output per row of a CSV runs through the API, not the Portal: see Batch Processing with CSV.

Renaming, Moving and Deleting from the Project​

Each template's card in a project has a ⋮ menu, next to the heart, so you can tidy up without opening the Editor:

  • Rename changes the template's name.
  • Move takes it to another project: pick the team, then the project, and confirm.
  • Move to trash, for the project's admins, moves it to the trash after you confirm. You stay in the project, with the message Template moved to trash.
The card of the template Spring poster A3, with its menu open: Rename, Move and Move to trash

Deleting and Restoring​

A template you no longer need goes to the trash first, where it can be restored. You can do this from its card in the project (above), or from the Editor:

  1. Open the template in the Editor, open the ⋮ menu at the top right, and choose Move template to trash.

    The Editor's template menu, with Rename, Move and Move template to trash

  2. Confirm with Move to trash.

    The Move template to trash? dialog, saying the template will move to the trash and that the template's admins can still restore it from there, with the buttons Move to trash and Cancel

  3. You are taken to the team's projects, with the message Template moved to trash.

From Trash the template's admins can restore it, as the admins of a project or team can restore that. After the retention period expires, trashed items are permanently removed.