The Templates are a way to share content between a prototype's screens in order to save time and facilitate any global changes. In Justinmind Prototyper, Templates behave like a screen as far as the user interface edition is concerned but, unlike the screens, they can define a set of styles and can be associated to screens. Every screen in a prototype has one Template associated which also defines the default styles of every widget.
In a screen, the contents of the associated Template are displayed slightly transparent during edition so you can clearly see which contents belong to the Template and which ones to the screen. Notice that the contents of a Template cannot be changed during a screen's edition. To edit the contents of a screen's Template you first need to select it on the Templates panel to open it.
To create a new Template follow the steps:
Click on the 'plus' button in the Templates panel. A dialog will appear.
Introduce the name for the new Template in the 'Name' field. Remember the name must be unique in the prototype.
Press Ok to apply the changes or click on Cancel to close the dialog without creating the Template.
Alternatively you can create a Template by duplicating an existing one. To duplicate a Template, right-click on the Template you want to duplicate in the Templates panel and select the 'Duplicate' option. Then follow the same steps described above.
If you want to change the name you gave to a Template, right-click on it in the Templates panel and select 'Edit'. A dialog like the creation dialog will appear. Introduce the new name and press Ok.
If you want to make a Template the default Template for every new screen, right-click on it in the Templates panel and check the option 'Set as default Template' in the dialog that will appear. Then press Ok to apply the changes.
To associate a Template to a specific screen so it can work as its Template, right-click on the screen you want to associate the Template to and then select the 'Edit' option. A dialog showing the current screen's name and Template will appear. Select the Template and press Ok to apply the changes.
Alternatively you can click on the background of the screen and in the properties panel choose the template you want to use for that screen.
To delete a Template, first make sure the Template is not set as default or is being used by a screen. Then right-click on it in the Templates panel and select 'Delete'.
To change the styles defined by the Template, see the Default Styles section.
To export a Template, follow these steps:
Click on File->Export->Template...
Select the Template you want to export from the drop-down field 'Select Template'. Once selected a preview of the Template will be shown so you can check it is the correct one.
Click on the Browse button ("...") of the 'Export Location' field and select the export destination in your file system as well as the name for the file.
Select Ok to export the selected Template or click on Cancel to close the dialog without applying changes.
To import a Template previously exported, follow these steps:
Click on File->Import->Template...
A new dialog will appear to select the Template file.
Click on the Browse button ("...") of the 'Import Location' field and select the Template file (.vpt extension) you want to import. Once selected the Template will be displayed in the same dialog so you can check it is the correct one.
Select Ok to import the selected Template or click on Cancel to close the dialog without applying changes.
Tip: You can also import a Template by drag and drop: just drag the file from your file system and drop it on the Templates panel.