Friday, June 21, 2013

Apply versus APPLY and View Templates

When you right click on a view name in the Project Browser you see the option to Apply Template Properties. This takes the settings for the view template you choose and changes the selected view to match its settings.


This is quite different from the button that appears next to View Template in the Properties Palette when a view is selected (or just active with nothing selected). Click that button (says None initially) and you get the same dialog called Apply View Templates but the template you choose becomes "in charge" of the view. The parameters that the view template controls will become disabled in the properties of the view as well as the Visibility Graphics dialog.


The dialog will report how many views are affected by a selected View Template.


You can also set a View Template in a View List (schedule), just include the View Template parameter. Click the little browse button and the Apply View Templates dialog will open up.


Pro Tip: If you know the name of the template you can just type it instead, but you've got to spell it perfectly. If you don't you'll get an error message.


Conceptually
Apply = match view template settings but the view remains independent
APPLY (better word is ASSIGN) = View Template is in charge of the view

In Action
Apply =
  • Right Click on View in Project Browser
  • View ribbon > View Templates > Apply Template Properties to Current View
APPLY (ASSIGN) =
  • Properties Palette View Template parameter button
  • View Template parameter in View List (schedule)
In response to a comment on a later post about using Temporarily Apply View Template I wrote this:

I describe them this way now:
Apply is passive (this is how they've only worked in the past)
Assign is aggressive (View Template button in Properties Palette)
Override (only relevant and necessary when a VT is Assigned, otherwise we can't alter a view without changing its template first)

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