Creating a Template in Flare

I am working on a project that requires using the same H1 and 3 H2s in about 50 topics.  These topics would end up as topic popups in image maps throughout the online help project.

Instead of copying the first topic over and over, I decided to use the template feature.  Since, technically, I was creating snippets that would become topics controlled by condition tags, I needed to create a snippet template.

First, I had to create a template folder on my pc – so I did that through Flare: Tools > Manage Templates and clicked on New Template Folder and followed the windows. Easy peasy.

Next I needed to create the template itself. I made a couple of mistakes that, next time, I won’t make. First, I created the template from a snippet I had already made. That, in itself, was not a mistake – but I had left content in the H1 so it has carried through to every snippet created from the template. It’s not a heinous error – but it’s annoying (and I know I could fix it…I’ve just chosen not to). In retrospect, I should have created the template from scratch – and not having done that, I should have deleted all content before making the existing content a template.

Once I got the snippet looking the way I needed it to, I was on my way. Here’s what it looked like (I added the text to show more than just the html tags on the left).

Once I saved the topic as a snippet, I had to add it to my Templates folder. I did the following:

1. I went to Tools > Manage Templates and clicked on the folder I had created earlier – then the Add New Template icon .
2. I then found the snippet I wanted to add as a snippet via the Explorer window that opened.
3. I named the template something I would remember and made sure that it was located in MY templates folder (as opposed to Flare’s).

Here’s what my template manager looks like with my new template.

To use this snippet template, create a new snippet as you normally would: Project > Add Snippet…but instead of just naming the snippet and moving on, you would select your new template from your template folder and then name the snippet. The new snippet would have the structure you created there for you to fill out.

Have you used templates in Flare? if so, for what?