Diagram templates
Templates cut the blank-page problem and, more usefully, make diagrams across a team look consistent without anyone policing it.
#Where templates come from
Kind | Where it is offered |
|---|---|
Space templates | Saved by your team in one space, and offered in that space. |
Global templates | Saved in the global space, and offered in every space. See Global template library. |
Examples | Built-in starter diagrams in every language, shipped with the app. |
#Using one
When you insert a diagram, pick a template rather than an empty canvas. You get a copy to edit; the template itself is untouched.
The quickest way to a template you know by name is the page byline. Select Capable under the page title, type part of the name in Search capabilities, and pick it from Templates. Your space and global templates are listed first, then the built-in ones. The editor opens with a copy, ready to Insert.
#Making your own
Open a diagram from Diagrams on pages in the Capable Diagrams catalogue and select Save as template. A copy opens as a new template for you to name and save. You can also create a template directly under Space templates or Global templates.
#What templates are good for
House styles for architecture diagrams, so every service page looks the same.
Pre-built swimlane frames for process work.
Standard legends and keys people otherwise redraw badly.
#A few things that catch people out
A template is copied at insert time. Editing the template later does not update diagrams already made from it.
A space template is only offered in its own space. If every space needs it, make it a global template.
A new template can take a few minutes to show in search while it is indexed.
Templates for a language your administrator has turned off are not offered.
For a diagram that must stay in sync everywhere, use a reference instead. To group existing diagrams without copying them, use a collection. See Find and reuse.
#Related
Start from something, not from nothing.
