Creating Templates for Word, Excel or PowerPoint

Templates can be setup for different types of document types, such as standard letters in Word, or standard images and text in Excel spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations. This improves productivity and quality controls with standardised content that can only be maintained by administrators. Templates also ensure that standard documents are created with the text, layout etc that is approved by the partnership. Refer to Creating Documents from Templates.

Templates can only be set up and maintained by an FYI administrator. You can also give create and edit rights for Templates to specific users according to the User Group they belong to. This is controlled by enabling Administer Templates in specific User Groups. Refer to Users and User Groups. 

Create or Locate the Word, Excel or PowerPoint Files to use in FYI Templates

FYI Templates use existing Word, Excel or PowerPoint files that contain all the images and text that will be brought into a document when it is created in FYI.  It is likely you already have these prepared in your practice. Either create or locate the Word, Excel or PowerPoint files for any standard text, layout or format that you want to incorporate as Templates in FYI.

Creating Templates in FYI

1. From FYI, click Settings in the top right-hand corner.
2. Select Practice settings from the drop-down, then select Documents.
   Or,
   If you are not an FYI administrator, but have access to administer templates,
   from Settings select Documents.
3. Go to the Templates tab.
   
4. Click the Add Template button.
   

   

   Type - select the type of document in which the template will be used, Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation.
   
   Name - This identifies the template internally and is the name that displays when selecting the Template when creating a document. Make sure this clearly describes when the Template would be used. When you add the Word, Excel or PowerPoint file, the name of the template is automatically set to the name of the file.
   
   State - Select the State as "Published", "Draft" or "Archived". A template will only be available for selection in new documents if it has a state of "Published".
   
   Categories - You can optionally select the Categories that will be offered as the defaults when the template is used. When using the Template to create a document, users can make different selections for the Categories if required.
   
   If a default Category is not set in a Template, users will select the Category when creating the document.
   
   Note that a Category will only be available for selecting in a Template if it has been set up as "Available in Templates" on the Document - Category. Refer to Managing Categories.
   
   
5. Click Choose a file to select from Explorer the Word, Excel or PowerPoint file that holds the text, any images (for example, your company logo) any footer or header text, etc that will be used as the standard template. Or drag and drop the file.
   To delete the selected file, click the X in the top right-hand corner of the file area.
   
   
6. Click Save.
   
   

Updating Templates in FYI and Downloading FYI Sample Documents

You can make any changes to Templates by downloading the Word, Excel or PowerPoing document, updating it, saving it and updating the changed file to the FYI Template.

FYI installs some sample documents that you can use as a basis for setting up your own Template files. These can be downloaded in the same way.

1. From FYI, click Settings in the top right-hand corner.
2. Select Practice settings from the drop-down, then select Documents.
3. Go to the Templates tab.
4. Select the Template (or one of the samples that are installed with FYI).
5. In the Drawer, click the Download existing template link to download the existing Template file.
   
   
6. When you click Download existing template, you can open the downloaded file from the link in the bar at the bottom of your browser.
7. Make any changes and save the edited file.
8. Upload the edited file to the same Template, or add it to a new Template, by clicking Choose a file and select the document from Explorer. Or drag and drop the file.

Creating Templates with Merge Fields

You can include Merge Fields in a Template to bring in content from Xero Practice Manager and from FYI and to include a Word function such "today's date". Merge Fields are added to the Word document that will be used as the template, for example, «ContactName» for the Contact Name, or «PostalAddress» for the address. 

You can download the FYI Merge Fields.docx document with a list of these codes at the bottom of this help article. FYI also installs some sample documents that you can use as a basis for setting up your own Templates. 

For full information, including how to include Merge Fields for Xero Practice Manager Custom Fields, refer to Creating Stationery and Templates for Word with Merge Fields.

Email Templates

Email Templates, including Merge Fields, are created directly withing FYI. Refer to Creating Email Templates.