Preview, history and changes to a template in use

Manual — Task templates and checklists · chapter 9 of 10

Before releasing a template to the team, see how it reaches whoever executes it. Once released, be careful when changing it: the tasks’ checklist is read from the template.

The Preview tab

Figure 27. Preview tab of Monthly infrastructure inspection — Data Center: each item with the control the technician will use, the sections and the camera on the items with a required photo.

1. 1Checklist Preview — N items · N sections.
2. 2The title of a section.
3. 3An item with the type badge and the simulated control.
4. 4The Numeric with the range (Tol:).
5. 5The Photo required area.

The Preview saves nothing: it is just a simulation. The row-based types appear as a sample card (1 row per object — the technician adds them in the field), with the fields each row will have. A choice item without options shows Define options in the template.

PDF preview

PDF preview (at the top of the record) opens, in a new tab, the blank PDF of the template, in your language — good for reviewing on paper, sending to the client for approval or attaching to a procedure. The PDF cuts nothing: a long description continues on the next page, and section titles, options and badges wrap.

Figure 28. Pages 1 and 2 of the PDF preview: the header with the company name and logo, TEMPLATE PREVIEW with the number and the total of items, the name, the description and the items by section.

1. 1TEMPLATE PREVIEW, #id and N items.
2. 2The template name and the Description (the Content).
3. 3A section and its items, each with its control drawn.
4. 4The PHOTO REQUIRED badge (page 1) and the classification DOCUMENTOS (page 2).

The preview shows the structure only — no client, asset, answers, photos or signatures; in the footer, Page X of Y. The PDF with the answers is the task one (chapter 7).

History

Figure 29. History tab (cropped): the newest records — items added — and the first ones — the creation and the change of Recursive in the header —, with who did it and when.

1. 1N change records.
2. 2Date and User.
3. 3Action — Update, Add item, Component updated, Delete item — and where: Template, Checklist item, Material or Asset linked to item.
4. 4Change — the old value struck through → the new one, with the field name (for example, Recursive: No → Recursive: Yes).

What you did	How it appears
created the template	Add item — Created: <name> (by the assistant, Created by the AI assistant: <name> (N items); cloned, Cloned from #N (<name>) — N items, N materials)
changed a header field	Update · Template — <field>: <before> → <field>: <after>, with yes/no, type, periodicity and state in your language
added an item	Add item · Checklist item — the item text
changed an item	Component updated · Checklist item — the old text → the new one (other fields with the field name in front)
deleted an item	Delete item · Checklist item — the item text
reordered	Update — N items reordered
added, changed the quantity of or removed a material	Add item / Component updated / Delete item · Material — <material> (Qty: N)
linked or unlinked an asset	Add item / Delete item · Asset linked to item — <asset> → <question>

The item texts and the names appear as they were recorded.

Changing a template already in use

The task does not keep a copy of the checklist: it points to the template, and the answers are stored by the item position. Therefore:

Change to the template	Effect on tasks not yet answered	Effect on tasks already answered (and on their PDF)
fix the text of an item	they get the new text	they show the new text next to the old answer
add an item at the end	they get the item	the item appears unanswered
add in the middle, drag or delete an item	they get the new order	the answers move to another question: each answer stays at the position where it was given
change type, range, options or required photo	apply from now on	the old answer is shown with the new rule

Warning

Do not reorder, delete or insert items in the middle of a template that already has Executions (chapter 3): the answers of the tasks already done move to another question, in their PDF too. To change the structure, clone the template, adjust the clone and start using the clone in the tasks and in Automatic Scheduling. The original keeps serving the old tasks — rename it so it is not chosen by mistake (chapter 3).

Small text fixes (a typo, an updated standard) can be made on the template itself: they apply to all tasks.