What are Quick Project Templates?

A template is a collection of files that are copied into a new QuickProject folder. When creating a new QuickProject, if 'default' is chosen in the Template drop down box, a default QuickProject will be created containing 3 shapefiles: point.shp, line.shp, and polygon.shp. These are the same files that were created in ArcPad 8's QuickProject tool.

Installed with ArcPad are four sample templates that you can use in place of the default template: Fire Perimeter, Tree Register and Sign Survey and Short Shoreline Assessment (Short Shoreline Assessment only available on PC). More information on these templates can be found by tapping the info tool next to the template drop down box on the QuickProject dialog.

A Template is simply a zip file containing all the layers that make up the template, and an apm file called Template.apm that references all of these layer files. You can easily create your own template from any layers. The layers can be shapefiles, AXF layers or raster layers.

Every time you choose to create a new QuickProject, and you nominate a template, you will create a new set of files based upon the template - but without editing your original files.

Some examples of how templates can be used are:

• Provide a common basemap and empty operational layers for re-use. Users that collect new data, may often reuse the same basemap data, but simply collect new features in an operational data layer. You can create a template that contains the basemap layers, and one or more 'schema only' operational layers. Each time the user creates a new QuickProject with your template, they will always start with the recognisable basemap, and a new (empty) layer(s) to collect data in.
• Manage multiple field project templates for a user.Users may have different data collection scenarios, that require different information to be collected. Organising the projects into templates, can help the field worker organise their projects in an orderly fashion, because all new projects will be created with uniform naming convention (ie: QuickProject folder names automatically include date and time)
• Manage multiple users use, of an AXF.Since ArcPad 7.1, data that is checked out and back into ArcMap, is stored in an AXF file. AXF's created by the ArcPad Data Manager can copied many times, each one edited, then each copy can be checked back into the source geodatabase. By inserting an AXF into a template, a copy of the AXF will be made each time you create a new QuickProject. Edits the user makes in this copy of the AXF can be checked back into the geodatabase. If the AXF was the result of an ArcGIS Server ArcPad Service, and the user has network connectivity, they could synchronize their edits with ArcGIS Server.