When starting your work in Synapse, one of the first things that we recommend you do is align internally on what templates would be useful. Then, agree on what base requirements and sections these templates should have. 

Here are five easy ways to leverage Templates to optimize your workflows:
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When you set up a new template, you should customize your branding standards. These standards are then applied to any design created with that template. This helps to standardize your training designs. 

To customize your branding, click on the Gear icon in the top right corner. The Branding, Hierarchy Labels, Tab Settings, and Assessments (if enabled) options will appear. 

In the Branding tab, you can customize the font, upload a logo, and modify the colours. Simply click on the different elements of the preview to reveal the colour picker. You can also add a Copyright Disclaimer and link. 

In the Hierarchy Labels tab, you can modify the default hierarchy labels "Course," "Lesson," and "Topic" to the terminology that you use internally. 

For Tab Settings, you can control whether the Requirements, Design, Blueprint, and Preview tabs will be visible on the designs created in that template. This can help focus the attention of the Design Owners and Collaborators on the required elements for that type of design.

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When creating your templates, you should also navigate to the Requirements section. Here you can customize what requirement cards are going to appear in designs created with that template. When you get started, you'll see some default cards that you can use, rename, or remove. 

You can also add any additional requirements cards by clicking "Add Requirement" at the bottom of the page. You can select a title for the card from the dropdown menu, or create a custom title.

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When editing a template, you'll see that many of the cards include a pencil icon. 

If you click on the icon, you'll be able to modify the Title, Summary, and Example. Out of the box we give an overview and summary of each of the available requirement cards, and examples. However, you can edit these so that they are specific and relevant to your organization. 

When building your templates, consider what tips, explanations, and examples would be useful for our Design Owners and Collaborators.
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Some clients we work with have a structure that they'd like each course to have. For example, maybe a design must always have three lessons, with two topics each. 

In the Design section of the templates, you can create placeholder lessons and topics that will then transfer to any designs. This will ensure consistency in how courses are structured.

Once you've created a template, it's also possible to make a duplicate. This is useful if you want to create many similar templates with only slight changes between them.
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For example, you are creating training for your Sales and Engineering teams, and both should have templates with slightly different branding. From the Templates section, you can click the three dots to the right of the template name to make a copy. 

You can then jump into the templates individually to make any additional adjustments.
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If you want to strategize about your template use further, contact your Client Success Manager via the in-product help or through email. We are happy to assist!
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