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📊⚙️Create Templates - For TFL Studio Administrators

Creating Reusable Table and Figure Templates in TFL Studio Using Data Spec Variable Mapping Efficiently

This tutorial explains how to create, reuse, and edit table and figure templates in TFL Studio using data specification variables, enabling use across multiple datasets without complete mapping. Users build a template from scratch by selecting variables, configuring layout and paging, and saving it to a collection. Once saved, templates are immediately available and automatically apply their mappings in future analyses. Templates can be managed in the admin interface, but structural changes require recreating the output in an analysis and overwriting the existing template. The same process applies to both tables and figures, providing a consistent workflow for standardized outputs.

Key Takeaways

  1. Templates are built using data specification variables, making them reusable across datasets.

  2. You can create templates even if variable mapping is not fully complete.

  3. Saved templates automatically apply predefined mappings when reused.

  4. Template structure can only be edited by recreating and overwriting it from within an analysis.

  5. The same workflow applies to both tables and figures, ensuring consistency.

View The Tutorial

At-a-Glance: Creating Templates – Quick Steps

Let’s go ahead and create a table template.

We’ll start from scratch and create a new table.

For this example:

  • We’ll define Concentration by Time.

  • We’ll page by Analyte.

  • We’ll add Subject ID as a row identifier.

This is a simple example, but you can build the table however you like.

Next, I’ll adjust a few layout options:

  • Switch to Landscape mode

  • Keep it set to Fill Page

And that’s all we need to define the template.

Now, because all the variables used here are mapped to data spec variables, I can click Save as Template.

That’s the only requirement:
As long as every variable used in the table (or figure) is mapped to a data spec variable, you can save it as a template.

I’ll name this “Demo Table Template.”

When saving:

  • You can adjust the template name.

  • You can add it to an existing collection or create a new one.

Once I click Save as Template, it’s immediately available for use.

Using the Template in an Analysis

Now let’s go back to the Create TFL flow.

Previously, this spec had no associated templates.
But now, we see the template we just created.

When I select it:

  • The template variables auto-populate.

  • Because everything is mapped, there’s nothing additional to configure.

When I click Create, I get back:

  • The exact same table

  • With the template name applied

That’s how templates are created and reused.

Viewing Templates in Admin

If we navigate to the Admin Templates page, we can see:

  • Template name

  • Template type

  • Associated spec

  • Collection

  • Last edited date

You can edit template details here—like the name or collection—but you cannot edit the actual template content from this page.

Next, I’ll show you the easiest way to edit a template.

Editing a Template (Recommended Workflow)

The easiest way to edit a template is:

  1. Create the template in an analysis

  2. Make your changes

  3. Save it again as a template

Let’s walk through that.

I’ll recreate the Demo Table Template.

Now suppose I want to modify it:
Instead of paging by Analyte, I want Analyte to be a row stratifier.

So I make that change in the table.

Now to update the template:

  • I click Save

  • Then Save as Template

  • And use the same template name

The system will warn me that I’m about to overwrite the existing template.

At this point I have two options:

  • Provide a new name to create a separate template

  • Or keep the same name to override the existing one

I’ll keep the same name and overwrite it.

Now if we go back to the Templates page and refresh, we can see the updated timestamp.

And when we use the template again in the Create TFL flow, we see the updated structure reflected immediately.

So to summarize:
The easiest way to edit a template is to create it in an analysis, make your changes, and overwrite the existing template.

Creating Figure Templates

The process for figures is exactly the same.

Once your dataset is mapped—and the variables used in the figure are mapped—you simply:

  • Build the figure

  • Click Save as Template

  • And follow the same workflow

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