Editing Templates
Work inside the template editor — sections, items, and the rules that guide inspectors.
Overview
The template editor is where you build out a report template's structure in detail: adding sections, items, and the validation rules that keep Inspectors from skipping something important. Open a template from the Templates tab to get started.
For report-enabled accounts
Templates work together with rating systems and the comment library.
Board and Tree Views
Switch between two layouts using the view switcher:
- Board — sections appear as columns, with items as cards you can drag between them.
- Tree — sections and items appear as an expandable list, useful for scanning a large template quickly.
Both views share the same search box and filters, so switching views doesn't lose your place.
Cards show small icons for anything that needs attention: a missing rating, a missing comment required by validation rules, or a photo that hasn't finished uploading. When a card has more than two of these at once, they collapse into a single count badge — hover it to see the full list.
Selecting Multiple Items
Click Select in the toolbar, next to the search box, to turn on multi-select. A checkbox appears on each card or row — check the ones you want, then use the bar at the bottom of the screen to Delete them or Clear the selection. Click Done selecting (it replaces the Select button while multi-select is on) to leave selection mode.
You can also start from a single item: open its ⋯ menu and choose Select — this turns on multi-select and checks that item.
Press-and-hold only drags
Pressing and holding a card starts a drag, not a selection. Use the Select toggle to choose multiple items.
Managing Sections
Add a Section
Click Add Section to create a new column (or list group in Tree view).
Use the Section Menu
Open a section's ⋯ menu for more actions:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Rename | Change the section's name |
| Duplicate | Copy the section along with its items, comments, attributes, and photos |
| Lock / Unlock | Prevent new items from being added to the section |
| Hide / Show | Remove the section from new reports without deleting it |
| Delete | Permanently remove the section (with confirmation) |
You can also drag a section's header to reorder it relative to other sections.
Locking is a soft guardrail
A locked section still shows its existing items — it just blocks adding new ones. Use it to keep a shared template consistent across your team while inspectors can still edit item details.
Hidden Sections
Hiding a section is reversible — it isn't deleted. In the template editor a hidden section stays on the board, dimmed, so you always know it's there; use Show in its ⋯ menu to bring it back. Hidden sections are left out of new reports built from the template.
The Item Editor
Click any item to open the item editor sheet. It has five tabs:
- Details — the item's name and whether it's Information only
- Comments — pre-written comments an inspector can insert (from the comment library)
- Attributes — custom fields inspectors fill in for this item (text, number, or list values)
- Photos — reference photos attached to the item itself
- Sub-Items — child cards for repeated instances or specific findings (see Sub-Items)
Mark an attribute as Required to show a Required badge next to it — this flags the field for the inspector to fill in, but it doesn't block publishing a report that's missing it.
Validation Rules
For report items that aren't marked Information only, the item editor has a Validation Rules block where you can turn on:
- Require a Rating — the item must have a rating before the report can be published cleanly
- Require a Comment — the item must have at least one comment
These rules apply while writing a report built from this template: a missing rating or comment shows an inline error on the item and is counted in the publish checklist. An inspector can still override the checklist and publish anyway — the rules are a reminder, not a hard stop.
Default Ratings
Each rating system can have one rating item marked as its default. When an inspector starts a new inspection from this template, every item that needs a rating is pre-set to that default instead of starting blank — handy when most items typically pass inspection, since the inspector only has to change the exceptions.