Templates can be used to organize and/or populate your notebook to ensure that it supports your policies, processes and workflows.
In LabArchives, templates come in all shapes and sizes. They can be used to define structure and control content, and they are reusable and portable.
Some examples of templates in LabArchives ELN; note that the term "template" is used in a fairly broad sense:
- A Rich Text entry that contains instructions on what data to include and in what format
- A custom widget that acts as a data entry form
- A template file that is stored in LabArchives as an Attachment entry
- A page structure containing one or more entries that act as placeholders and aid data entry
- A standard folder structure that can be copied from notebook to notebook
- A notebook containing a standard folder structure and/or entry templates and/or standard content
The How to share and copy your templates section details the ways in which templates can be distributed and re-used.
Templates for efficiency and good data management
Templates can help ensure that your data management plan is implemented and adhered to. A data management plan may be required by your institution or a funding/government agency. It is a formal document detailing the data you create and collect, and how you work with and store your data.
Templates can support many aspects of good research data management, including:
- the discoverability, integrity and future usability of your research data
- the creation of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) data
Scientific research consists of a lot of repetitive work, so it can be helpful to standardize those workflows and associated documentation methods for yourself and your team. Templates can help you and your team to:
- Organize your notebook for ease of navigation
- Reuse structure and content for consistent layout and data entry
- Promote clear, consistent, complete documentation of research
- Implement more efficient research documentation workflows
Entries as templates
A single entry can be used as a template. There are three main types of entry template:
- A Rich Text entry
- A custom widget
- A template file
You may devise other types of entry templates, depending on your needs.
Rich Text entry template
The Rich Text entry lends itself to the creation of simple data entry forms such as this one:
The entry can be populated with instructional and/or placeholder text and other useful elements such as tables. A variety of text and image formatting options are available.
More information on working with the Rich Text entry can be found in our Help Center article.
Widget template
Widgets are customizable, interactive HTML forms or applications. If you are a Notebook Owner, Account Administrator, or Notebook Administrator, you can access the Widget Manager to create your own custom forms and calculation tools. Once created, a custom widget can be added to your notebooks as an entry template and copied and used by your team. It also becomes available in the list of widgets presented when the Widget entry type is selected.
Widgets are a great way to create more sophisticated data entry forms, with user-friendly elements such as select lists, check boxes and radio buttons to streamline and control the entry of data. For more information on creating widgets, check out the Widgets section in our Help Center.
Example of a widget template:
Template file
A template file can be stored in your notebook as an Attachment entry and copied or edited by team members as required. The file might be a Microsoft Word or Excel template, which can easily be updated using LabArchives' integration with Microsoft Office for the Web, or accessed and edited in your locally-installed Office application using our Microsoft Office Plugin.
Our Help Center has more information on working with Microsoft Office for the Web and our Microsoft Office Plugin for Windows users and for Mac users.
You can store any type of file in LabArchives notebooks, and these can be downloaded to be used in the appropriate application on your device, then uploaded as a new attachment entry, or as a new version of an existing entry. For more information, see our Help Center article on Attachments.
Page Templates
You can combine several entry templates to form a page template. This allows your team to use any individual entry as a template, or the full page template. Any entry type can be included.
Example of a page template:
The above example comprises headings and rich text entries. This is a simple template, but you could add different types of entries and attachments, video clips, anything that your team needs…
A dictionary – Any acronyms or words that your team uses that may be a form of shorthand for your team. Then when people come to read your data, you have definitions and therefore your data will be understood by the reader.
Health & safety guidance – To ensure that everybody in your lab has read the safety sheet before they start to use certain pieces of equipment or work with certain chemicals.
Add a spreadsheet or create a table – Add these into your template to help your team to record their results.
Photos and Diagrams - For complex procedures, it is helpful to include photos of a fume hood or glassware used for the experiment. Additionally, if there is a visual indicators for the experiment (as an example, if the material should change color), consider adding a photo to help others follow the procedure or template.
Video clips or audio files - If you are recording your results and data via a video or audio, add these files into the template.
How to share and copy your templates
Once created, templates can be copied and reused in a variety of ways. You can add the page template to a folder and then add it to a team notebook where all your team can copy the templates from. You could add some instructions with guidance on how you would like the team to use these templates in other notebooks.
Click here for more information on how to copy different kinds of content in LabArchives.
Template of a research notebook
The highest level of template is a template of a research notebook. Using a template notebook, with its structure of folders, subfolders and pages, will save you time when creating new notebooks for your team and ensure a consistent layout and starting point for your notebooks.
The notebook owner can develop a template notebook with folders, sub folders, pages for the whole team to use. When a new team member joins, or a new project is begun, the notebook owner can clone this notebook and assign the copy to the new researcher or the whole team.
The cloned notebook will contain the same content as the original, including the revisions history for all entries and any content in the Deleted Items bin of the original notebook. It's recommended to create a clean notebook with no deleted items as your template notebook.
Any users who had access to the original notebook will have access to the clone, so you don't need to manually add your team to each shared notebook you create using the clone method
To clone a notebook
- Click on the triple dot menu in the top right hand corner of your Notebook page and select Utilities then Notebook Manager.
- Find the notebook that you want to clone on your list.
- In the Action column, click the Clone icon.
- Click Clone notebook to confirm. Your cloned copy will have the original notebook's name with “-copy” appended.
To rename the notebook
- Open the newly created notebook.
- Right click on the notebook name in the Notebook Navigator on the left-hand side of the page and choose Rename.
- Enter the name for the notebook and click OK.
Best practice for template creation
Plan your template
Before you start creating your templates, sit down with your team and discuss what you do, what processes you use to create and record your data, how you might improve consistency and accuracy. Do you have controls over the methods of recording, how you generate and name your files? Remember to think about FAIR data, talk to your Research data librarians and manager. Identify what you do, how you do it, what fields you need, what would save you time. Then make your templates.
Test your templates thoroughly
Have your team test the template for any errors and inefficiencies. If you will need to print your template, test to ensure it will fit on the page, especially if you are using a widget.
Making these corrections and changes during this stage will ensure that when you roll out the template, it is ready to be used.
Make the template available
Decide how your template will be accessed by the team, and by whom. Will it reside in a view-only folder in the working notebook? Will you have a separate notebook of templates and other reusable content? Make sure everyone knows where to find and how to copy the authoritative version of your template.
Update as needed
As you start to use templates, set aside time to discuss your data policies and the templates that you are using. How do you update these templates? Who is responsible for this within your team? Keep reviewing your templates to ensure that they continue to meet your team’s needs, updating them as needed