Template Management

Templates in AcaTrove provide standardized starting points for documents, communications, and workflows. The template management page lets administrators create, edit, and organize templates that are available to all workspace members. Admin role is required.

Accessing Template Management

Navigate to /admin/templates from the admin sidebar. The page displays all templates organized by type.

Template list organized by type with status indicators

Template Types

AcaTrove supports several template categories:

Document Templates -- Pre-formatted structures for research documents such as manuscript drafts, lab reports, progress reports, and project proposals. These provide consistent formatting and standard sections for your institution.

Email Templates -- Standardized messages for common communications such as collaboration invitations, review requests, deadline reminders, and onboarding welcome messages.

Protocol Templates -- Starting templates for IRB, IACUC, or other compliance protocols that include your institution's required sections and formatting.

Notification Templates -- Customizable templates for system-generated notifications, including approval notifications, deadline alerts, and status updates.

Creating a Template

1. Click + New Template on the template management page.
2. Select the template type (Document, Email, Protocol, or Notification).
3. Enter a name and description for the template.
4. Use the template editor to compose the content. The editor supports:
   • Rich text formatting (headings, bold, italic, lists, tables).
   • Placeholder variables (e.g., {{user_name}}, {{project_title}}, {{due_date}}) that are automatically filled when the template is used.
   • Section markers that define required vs. optional sections.
5. Set the template status: Active (available to users) or Draft (visible only to admins).
6. Click Save.

Template editor with rich text formatting and placeholder variables

Editing and Versioning

Click on any template to open it in the editor. Changes are saved as a new version, preserving the previous version for reference. Users who have already started documents from an older version are not affected; their documents retain the version used at creation time.

Organizing Templates

• Categories -- Assign templates to categories to make them easier to find. Categories are managed on the Categories page.
• Tags -- Add tags to templates for filtering and searchability.
• Sort order -- Drag templates to reorder them within their type. The sort order determines the display order when users browse available templates.

Available Placeholder Variables

Templates can include dynamic placeholders that are replaced with actual values when the template is used:

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | {{user_name}} | Full name of the user | | {{user_email}} | User's email address | | {{project_title}} | Name of the associated project | | {{workspace_name}} | Name of the workspace | | {{due_date}} | Relevant deadline date | | {{current_date}} | Today's date |

Deactivating Templates

To remove a template from user access without deleting it, set its status to Inactive. Inactive templates are hidden from the template browser but remain accessible to administrators for reference or reactivation.

Tips

• Start with AcaTrove's built-in templates and customize them to match your institution's requirements.
• Use placeholder variables to personalize templates automatically rather than requiring manual edits.
• Review templates annually to ensure they reflect current institutional standards and formatting requirements.