Templates are external files that all users need to access. In some cases, Assembly Planner reads files and formats from uploaded templates rather than loading the information directly into the database; this is because the template files are typically updated on a regular basis. There are five types of templates that Assembly Planner uses: TimeEstimation, Ergonomics, WorkInstruction, Reports, and Images. The screen shot below shows the dropdown containing the types of templates and what templates look like when they are loaded.
Template Type Dropdown Menu
Each time Proplanner delivers an upgrade to the Assembly Planner system, a new set of template files should be delivered as well. An administrator is responsible for loading these new templates and making other users aware of changes to the templates.
To load the new templates as an administrator, you will first go to Admin Tools and open the Template Manager. First make sure that you have unzipped the template files or folders you received. For each template folder, with the exception of TimeEstimation files, select the same name from the drop down menu at the top of the screen. Then click the Import button (or right-click in the white template list area and select 'Import.' Select all the new files you received and import them into the Template Manager. If a previous version of the report already exists, you will be asked to confirm its overwrite.
For Time Estimation templates files, select the files associated to the MTM-1 standard and import them just as described above. For all other standard files, please refer to Loading Time Standard Templates.
After completing the import of all new template files, make sure to click the 'Refresh Cache' button in the Template Manager and restart your application for changes to take effect. Other users must manually refresh the templates on their machines. To do this, remind them to go to the Assembly Planner Tools menu and select Refresh Templates. It may take a few moments to collect all the new template information.
Editing Templates
To edit a spreadsheet-type template within Assembly Planner, select the template to be edited and click the "check-out" button at the top of the editor. When the template is checked out, the file can be opened and edited within the template manager. The changes are uploaded when the template is checked in again.
Several templates will be in formats that cannot be edited inside of Assembly Planner (eg, .csv files). Editing must be done outside of Assembly Planner in an appropriate software program (eg, Microsoft Excel). Checking out the template and then double clicking on the name will open the template in the correct program.