Projects can be marked as templates, which can be copied later when creating new projects. Project templates are convenient, time-saving and they ensure your organization standards are respected from one project to the next. If you manage many projects that require a specific structure to be used every time, you should create project templates.
How to Mark a Project as a Template
You may mark any existing project as a template under Project Tab > Edit Project or create a blank project and immediately mark it as a template. The parameter is called “Project Template” and it is located in the “Settings” section. Once a project is marked as a template, it becomes available in the “Copy a project from this template” drop-down in the “New Project” page.
Dynamic vs. Static Project Templates
A project template can be marked as “Dynamic” or “Static”.
- A dynamic template is a project you can use both as a template and a real live project. Its tasks are displayed in task lists, these tasks generate e-mail notifications and time can be recorded against the project.
- A static template is a project you can only use as a template. It is not a real live project. Its tasks are not displayed in task lists nor do these generate e-mail notifications. Time cannot be recorded against a static template project.
What Happens when a Project is created from a Template?
The following items are automatically copied when a project is created from a template:
- The set of Task Group, Task Type, Task Status and Task Priority values.
- The project’s “Contact”, “Task Dependency Options”, “Settings” and “Default Values”.
The following items are options that can also be copied:
- Project assignments
- Project documents
- Discussion forum topics
- Tasks
- Task assignments
- Task documents
Other options when creating a project from a template:
- The task dates in the new project can be automatically populated based on the Estimated Start Date of the selected template and the one specified for the new project. When this “Adjust task dates based on project start date” option is used, task date intervals relative to the project estimated start date will be maintained.
- All task statuses can be reset to a “Waiting” status in the new project.
The “Parent/Child” Relationship and Linking a Child to its Parent
In AceProject terminology, the “Parent/Child” relationship refers to the relationship between a template project (the “parent”) and a project created from this template (the “child”). When a new project is created from a template, AceProject’s default behavior is to link the new project to its parent (the checked “Link with [parent_name]” checkbox in the “Settings” section of the “New Project” page reflects this behavior). While a child is linked to its parent, modifications to the Task Group, Task Type, Task Status and Task Priority values cannot be performed in the child project. If modifications to these values are necessary, two options are available:
- Unlinking the child from its parent.
- Making modifications to the Task Group, Task Type, Task Status and Task Priority values in the parent project. If any changes are made to these values in the parent project, each child still linked to the parent will inherit these modifications.