View source for Templates versus Charts for Version 7.1

==Overview==

Charts and '''Templates''' both let you customize your work and save time making new charts or updating existing ones.  Charts and '''Templates''' have some similar looking forms, so it is important to understand how they differ and what roles they play.

The concepts described and used in this article apply equally to OnePager Pro, OnePager Express and OnePager Bundle.

==Templates==

A '''Template''' is a framework from which you create '''new''' charts.  It contains no imported tasks or milestones and it is never displayed on the screen as graphics. It is just a convenient way of '''standardizing''' the parameters for creating new charts. The '''Template Properties''' form establishes default settings for '''color assignments, row and swimlane assignments, font properties, time axis choices, headers, footers, task links, and comment boxes'''.  It also tells OnePager which '''Fields''' to import from a Microsoft Project or a Microsoft Excel '''source plans''' when a new chart is created.  Once you have created a chart using a '''Template Properties''' form, the chart becomes independent of the '''Template'''.  You can change the '''Template Properties''' form and it has no further effect on charts already created. '''Templates''' are used by OnePager through the '''Template Properties''' form.

==Chart==

The chart is the graphical representation of the data '''imported''' from your Microsoft Project,  Microsoft Excel, Smartsheet, or Oracle Primavera P6 '''source plan''' under the control of the the '''current Template Properties''' form. The chart can be manually '''edited''' on the screen which is called the '''Chart Editor'''.   

For more information, please see the article at:  [[Manual Editing Task/Milestone Shapes and Text Labels for Version 7.1 (Portal) | Manual Editing Task/Milestone Shapes and Text Labels (Portal)]] <!--9.0.1-71-->

You can also use the '''Chart Properties''' form accessed from the '''Home''' ribbon tool bar tab to make '''edits''' and changes to the chart which override the settings in the '''Template Properties''' form.  These '''Chart Properties''' form changes do not change the settings in the '''current Template Properties''' form. Finally, you can convert a chart and its property settings into a '''Template Properties''' form for future use and '''save''' it under a '''file name''' of your selection.

==The Chart Versus Template Relationship==

Given the explanations provided above for charts and '''Templates''', the relationship between the two include the relationship between charts and '''snapshots''' as well.  The figure below shows this relationship:

<center>[[File:P71-4_0_1_3-(1)-02082021.png]]</center>
<!--<center>P71-4_0_1_3-(1)-02082021.png</center>-->

The vertical columns overlaying Project A and B represent the control that the three '''Templates Properties''' forms have over the look and feel of the charts and '''snapshots''' created for each of the three audience groups - Executives, the project Team, and Regulators.  Each '''Template Properties''' form can create different charts that are tailored to the needs of each audience when it comes to telling a part of the schedule story. '''Template Properties''' form can be applied to many different projects as shown above and can be tailored with different settings as required. The charts and their '''snapshots''' respond to the settings in their respective '''Template Properties''' form by displaying task bars and milestone symbols, their decorations and adornments, and other chart features in accordance with '''Template Properties''' form's settings.

For more information on '''Template Properties''' forms, please see the articles in this series:  [[Managing Templates for Version 7.1 (Portal) | Managing Templates (Portal)]] <!--24.0.1-71-->

For more information on the management of charts, please see the articles at: [[Managing Chart Data for Version 7.1 | Managing Chart Data (Portal)]] <!--23.0.1-71-->

==Related Links==

[[Manual Editing Task/Milestone Shapes and Text Labels for Version 7.1 (Portal) | Manual Editing Task/Milestone Shapes and Text Labels (Portal)]] <!--9.0.1-71-->

[[Managing Chart Data for Version 7.1 | Managing Chart Data (Portal)]] <!--23.0.1-71-->

[[Managing Templates for Version 7.1 (Portal) | Managing Templates (Portal)]] <!--24.0.1-71-->

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[[Category:Version 7.1]]
[[Category:Getting Started with Version 7.1]]
[[Category:Core Concepts]]
[[Category:Templates]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Templates Versus Charts]]
[[Category:Importing]]
[[Category:OnePager Pro]]
[[Category:OnePager Express]]
[[Category:OnePager Bundle]]