Summary
This article covers the four primary sections of the Excel document used to design action item sets.
Table of Contents
The structure template is the simple Excel document that is used to design action item sets. Structure templates have four primary sections, the column grouping, data type, column header, and Action Items.
Column Grouping
The Column Grouping is the first row in the structure template and is shaded blue. The Column Grouping is used to create a grouping of one or more columns in the action item set and place a label over them. This is done by entering a value in the column you would like the grouping to begin at, and placing an ‘*’ in each column you would like the grouping to extend across. The following example
Would produce the column groupings you see here:
Data Entry Type
The Data Entry Type is the second row in the structure template and is shaded green. The Data Entry Type is used to define what type of data will be collected in the column beneath it. It is an interactive field. Clicking it will display the options currently available in the system. These are: ID (Text), Label (Text), MultilLine (Text), Check (Checkbox), MultiCheckbox, File, Select, MultiSelect, and Date. When Label fields contain data values in the template, the screen will display the text as read-only. When Label fields do not contain data values in the template, a text field will display on the screen.
ID
If the Data Entry Type is ID, this column will be used in other parts of the system to identify the row. The ID column produces a read only text field for each row in the column. This Data Entry Type can only exist in one column of a set, and will cause the Load action to fail otherwise. A set can be loaded without an ID column.
Label
If the Data Entry Type is Label, the valid values in the column are either blank or any text. Label fields accept a max of 255 characters. If a template file contains a field with more than 255 characters an error will display and the file cannot be loaded.
Check
If the Data Entry Type is Check, the valid values in the column are either blank, ‘n/a’, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ (ignore case).
File
If the Data Entry Type is File, the valid values in the column are either blank or ‘n/a’ (ignore case).
Date
If the Data Entry Type is Date, the valid values in the column are either blank, ‘n/a’ (ignore case) or a date value in the same format set on the CTMS Settings page.
MultiLine
If the Data Entry Type is Multiline, the valid values are either blank, 'n/a' (ignore case) or any text.
Select
If the Data Entry Type is Select, the valid values are either blank, 'n/a' (ignore case), or the display value, with :: used to separate the options. An example would be [001::002::003]
MultiSelect
If the Data Entry Type is MultiSelect, the valid values are either blank, 'n/a' (ignore case), or the display value(s), with :: used to separate the options. An example would be [001::002::003]
MultiCheckbox
If the Data Entry Type is MultiCheckbox, the valid values are either blank, 'n/a' (ignore case), or the display value(s), with :: used to separate the options. An example would be [001::002::003]
Column Header
The Column Header is the third row in structure templates and is shaded grey. The column header is simply the label that appears above each column in the produced action item set. Each column accepts any text entry and will produce that column heading above its associated column. The following example:
The following example:
Would produce the column headers and data entry fields you see here:
Action Items
Action Items is the last section of structure templates and it comprises all rows after the column headers. Additional rows can be added to this portion, as this section is responsible for generating the desired rows in your resulting action items set. One of two things can be done in this field. The first is that cells can be left blank. Leaving a cell blank results in the creation of a blank data entry field in the action item of the type defined in the Data Entry Type row.
However, you can also enter a value into any cell. This will result in a static value at that point in the resulting action item set which will not be capable of accepting data entry. This can be used to create labels or add fixed values in your set.
Example 1:
Populating one value in the structure template for each row, such as an Action Item number, will produce a flexible Action Item set that can be fully entered online.
The above setup will produce the following Action Item list view:
Example 2:
The needed Action Items and related data can be fully configured offline via the structure template, then later uploaded to complete tracking.
The above setup will produce the following Action Item list view:
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