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Configuring templates

Use the Templates page in PageBuilder Editor to create, edit, manage, and delete templates for your website.

Templates and pages serve different purposes in Arc XP:

  • Pages are unique, standalone content pieces with specific URIs. Create a page when you need special content with a custom layout —like your /homepage, /about_us section, or event landing pages. Pages update constantly in Arc XP, so your visitors always see the latest version of your content.

  • Templates are reusable layouts that display content across multiple URLs. When you need the same design for similar content types, such as articles or tag collections, use a template instead of creating separate pages. Templates connect to URL patterns through resolvers. When you want to make changes, you update the design once, and all content using that template automatically reflects your changes.

Important

To create, edit, import, or export templates, you must have Developer Tools privileges assigned to your role in the Permissions service.

Scenario: Creating a template for sports articles

As an editor of a news organization, you want to ensure consistency across your sports section while streamlining your team's workflow.

You enter the PageBuilder Templates page and configure a sports article template that automatically maps stories to the correct front-end rendering format, selects their circulations, and applies consistent styling to all sports articles.

When sports editors create new articles for soccer, football, swimming, or any other sport, they select the sports template, which provides your users with a consistent look and feel when navigating any sports article.

When you decide to change that template, for example, by adding a collection block, you edit the template once, and the changes apply instantly to all the pages using that template.

Procedures

Creating a template

To create a template, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Click Create Template. The Create new Template window opens.

  3. Enter a Template Name.

    You can also import an existing template configuration.

    1. Click the upload icon icon_upload.png.

    2. Drop a file or click Upload a file to upload the page.

      You can only upload .json or .pbexport files.

    See Exporting a template for more details on exporting and importing templates.

  4. Click Create.

The newly created template opens in the Curate workspace.

See Curating in Arc XP to learn how to structure the layout.

Editing a template name

To edit the template's name, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Search for the desired template.

  3. Click the ellipsis icon icon_ellipsis.png > Edit Properties. The Edit Properties pane opens, allowing you to change the template's name.

  4. Click Save. A confirmation message appears at the bottom of the page.

Publishing a template

To publish a template, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Search for the desired template.

  3. Click the ellipsis icon icon_ellipsis.png > Publish Template. The template opens in the Publish workspace.

    See Publishing a page for more details.

  4. From the Publish workspace, click Share & Publish.

A green Published tag appears next to the template name on the Templates page.

Deleting a template

You can delete templates only when they are not associated with a resolver. See Configuring resolvers for more details.

To delete a template, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Search for the desired template.

  3. Click the ellipsis icon icon_ellipsis.png > Delete Template. The Delete Template window opens.

  4. Click Delete template. Deleting a template cannot be undone.

Creating a new template version

Creating multiple template versions allows you to test different layouts or experiment with new block arrangements without affecting the published version.

To create a new template version, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Search for the desired template.

  3. Click the ellipsis icon icon_ellipsis.png > Create new Version. The Create new Version window opens.

  4. Enter a Version Name.

  5. Select one of the following options:

    • Create a blank New Version - allows you to build the template without pre-existing blocks, layouts, or configurations.

    • Create a new Version from existing Template or Version - copies the current blocks, layouts, and configurations from the selected version, allowing you to modify them as needed.

  6. Click Create Version.

The newly created template version opens in the Curate workspace. You can then make the necessary changes and publish the new version, following the ??? process.

Copying a template

To copy a template to create a new one, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Search for the desired template.

  3. Click the ellipsis icon icon_ellipsis.png > Copy Template. The Copy to new Template pane opens.

  4. Enter a new Template Name.

  5. Click Create Template.

The newly created template opens in the Curate workspace.

Purging template drafts

The Purge Drafts option is only available on templates with a Draft status. It allows you to delete all local drafts for a specific template.

This functionality is particularly useful when templates remain blank after a deployment or when you need to clear problematic draft configurations.

To delete template drafts, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Search for the desired template.

  3. Click the ellipsis icon icon_ellipsis.png > Purge Drafts. The Purge Draft right pane opens, displaying a list of the drafts created by different users for this page.

  4. Click Purge Drafts. A confirmation message appears at the bottom of the page.

Exporting a template

The Export Template option in PageBuilder allows you to transfer your template configurations between different environments without having to rebuild them manually.

After creating and testing templates in your Sandbox environment, you can export and import them into Production. This action saves you time and ensures all your configurations remain intact, eliminating the risk of errors that can occur during manual recreation.

To export a template, complete the following:

  1. Navigate to PageBuilder Editor > Templates. The Templates page opens.

  2. Search for the desired template.

  3. Click the ellipsis icon icon_ellipsis.png > Export Template. The system downloads a .pbexport file to your computer.

Import the .pbexport file when creating a new template in your desired environment to recreate the layout.

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