Template/text/web page editor

The RefTracker Template, Text and Web editor functions are all used in a similar way.  For more detail see the manual sections for Template editor (email), Template editor (print), Template editor (text), or Web page editor.

Master copies of templates are provided with your RefTracker system. The system uses those master copies unless you create customisations by copying the master version to the /local directory (where you edit it to meet your requirements). All of the master templates appear in the master panel of this editing screen, however sometimes (such as for the email templates), where there are a lot of templates, they are divided into groups and you must first select the appropriate group of templates (Template group) that you want to edit.

You can view the content of the files in the Master directory by double clicking on the file name.

You cannot edit the master copies. To create a Local copy that you can edit, click on the name of the template that you want to edit, then click the copy button.  The copy proceeds and when complete your copied file appears in the local directory window.

If you are modifying the standard template, and you do not want your system to utilise the iterations of your template as you are changing it, it is a good idea to rename your copy of the template in the local folder before editing it, and rename it back to its standard name when you want the final version to go into live use.

If the file that you copy already exists in the /local directory, the newly copied version will have “_copy”, and a number if necessary, added to its name. Remember to give the file an appropriate name using the right click Rename function.

To rename a file in the local window, right click on the new file and choose Rename. Supply your new name and click OK, and the file will be renamed.

Every template has a purpose in RefTracker and that is indicated to RefTracker via an entry in the Email templates code table (see the Email templates code table heading in the Other code tables help page). Master templates will always be provided by RefTracker for new RefTracker functions, however you can create your own versions of the templates for client and internal correspondence for particular forms/workflows.  To do that, Copy the master for that function and rename it refmuxxx. . . where xxx is the same number as the master and you follow it with something that indicates the purpose of this custom template. You then need to create an entry for this new template in the Email templates code table to tell RefTracker its function and provide a subject line for it, and then link it into the template you want to use it using the Request form Design edit options.

The local panel header bar provides
– a Preview function allows you to view the current layout of the template you select in the local panel. The template displays in a separate window showing all for the formatting that an end user of that template will see.
– a Delete function that works in the same way as it does in the Upload/download function (see the previous section for details of how to use this function).
– an Upload function that works in the same way as it does in the Upload/download function (see the previous section for details of how to use this function).

You are now ready to edit your template, so click on its name and then click on the Edit button. Your template will then display at the bottom of the screen ready for editing.

Email and Print templates include special RefTracker coding. Click here for full details about editing email templates. All of the rules about leaving the RefTracker coding elements of these templates in place remain, so be sure to take everything from $rve$ to $rvb$, and including them, when removing optional variables.

If you want to Save your changes you MUST click a Save button.
“Save” saves your changes and redisplays the edit screen.
“Save and Preview” saves your changes, redisplays the edit screen, and shows the current layout of your page in a separate window allowing you to check the effect of your changes.
“Save and Close” saves your changes and closes the edit screen.
“Close without Saving” allows you to close the edit screen without saving the change/s you have made. Alternatively, moving to another screen without using any Save buttons will also result in your changes not being saved.

The triangle shaded area in the bottom right of the edit box allows you to change the size of this editing panel to make it easier to work with larger templates/files.

Should you wish to create another version of your customised template (for use with another Request form for example), you can copy the template. You do this by selecting the file in the local folder and clicking the “copy” button below that box. The copy will then display in the local folder panel named the same as the original file with “_copy” appended to the end (you can rename it using the rename function which is available by right clicking on the file name).

Design mode

RefTracker print templates must be changed using valid HTML statements in HTML mode, however a Design mode edit option is provided for the Qprint template editor that will correctly make HTML changes for a variety of formatting. To change to Design mode, click the Design button under the editing area. Each Design mode header button displays a tool tip describing its function if you place your mouse over the button (e.g. Spell checker, Numbered list, Bullet list, etc.). In Design mode you select the text that you want the function to apply to then click the appropriate button. In Design mode you can easily insert images and colours in your templates, as required to provide the professional print result that you may require. Click here for more information about using this HTML editor.

HTML mode

The text files used in RefTracker do not include RefTracker programming, and can include any HTML features, so the files are presented for editing in HTML design mode providing easy application of HTML functions using a range of buttons. The buttons all have tooltips explaining their function such as “Foreground colour” allowing colours to be applied to text.

Should you prefer, you can use traditional HTML coding by clicking on “HTML” in the lower bar. The area below the lower bar will display HTML depth indicators and error messages. The system will attempt to automatically correct bad HTML programming.