Overview
Asset templates allow you to standardize asset information across all locations in your Limble account by using a pre-determined group of fields.
In the "early access" phase, Super Users can create one account-wide asset template which can be applied to new assets at all locations.
This article will walk you through creating a template, configuring template settings, applying the template to assets, and deleting a template.
The asset template feature is currently in the "early access" phase.
Functionality will continue to expand in the coming months. This article and video walkthrough will be updated in real time to reflect those changes.
If you experience any issues, reach out to our support team.
Table of Contents
Creating an Asset Template
Only Super Users can create and configure asset templates.
Navigate to the Asset Templates page by clicking on the template icon from the navigation menu. Then, click "New Asset Template."
When you create a new template, it will show up in the Templates pane. In early access, this template will always be called "Master Template."
Until you publish the template, it will be considered a draft and not visible to users. This is indicated next to the template name.
From here, you'll take the following steps:
Add Templated Fields
Add Templated Fields
First, create your templated fields.
The process is the same as creating a location-based field:
Click "Add Field."
In the new window, click "Create New Field."
Name your field, select a field type, and click "Create."
Repeat this process until all desired fields are created. While you do not have to use it in a template, please note that once a templated field is created, it cannot be deleted.
Edit Field Settings and Configure the Order
Edit Field Settings and Configure the Order
After you've created a field, you can edit its settings, such as lock or show/hide settings, show on tasks, unique values, etc.
To do this, click "Add Field."
In the new window, click the pencil icon next to the desired field.
From here, you can configure field settings.
(Note: for date field reminders, you can only assign the “Send to” to a role, such as Manager, Technician, or a custom role.)
Use the four-way arrow icon to drag and drop fields in the desired order. This is the order they will appear in the asset card.
Publish the Template
Publish the Template
Once you have configured your fields and field settings, publish your template.
Make sure you are ready to publish your template. In early access, a published template, templated fields, and field settings will no longer be editable.
To make any changes after a draft is published, you will need to delete your template and start again.
When you're ready to publish the template, click “Publish Draft.”
In the new window, confirm your choice by clicking “Publish.”
Once the template is published, you cannot make any changes. You can view field settings by clicking the pencil icon next to the field.
Configuring Template Settings
Once a template is published, make sure to enable templates in your account.
By default, templates are disabled. To change this, click the Settings button.
In the new window, click on the dropdown:
“Required” will always require templates to be used when manually creating new assets at all locations on your account.
“Optional” will allow users to select a template when manually creating a new asset, but not require a template to be used.
“Disabled” will hide templates from users.
Choose your desired option and click "Confirm."
Once templates are enabled, whether required or optional, templates will be visible when a user is adding an asset.
If you disable templates, any assets you created using a template will still have those fields. Users can still update their values and include them in tasks. However, field settings will not be accessible or editable.
(Note: if you enable templates and use the bulk import or update systems with your assets, some exclusions apply. Please read about those processes carefully in the section below before performing an import or update.)
Creating New Assets Using a Template
Once templates are enabled on your account, you can use your template when creating new assets.
Navigate to the Manage Assets page and click "Add an Asset."
(Note: Regardless of template settings, location-based field settings will still be honored. For example, if you’ve configured a location-based field to automatically be included with new assets, that field will still be added to all new assets.)
Creating Assets When Templates are "Required"
Creating Assets When Templates are "Required"
Name your asset.
Then, choose between “Use a Template” or “A Copy of an Existing Asset.”
If you select “Use a Template” your master template will appear. Then, click “Add.”
If you select “A Copy of an Existing Asset” you will only be able to select from assets that are linked to a template.
Click on the asset you’d like to copy, and click “Add.”
If the asset you selected has child assets, you’ll be taken to a new window.
If any of its children assets are not linked to a template, you will only be able to copy the top level asset. Do this by clicking “No, Copy only top level Asset.”
Limble will copy the templated fields and their field values (and location-based fields if the asset has any).
Creating Assets When Templates are "Optional"
Creating Assets When Templates are "Optional"
Name your asset.
Then, choose between "Blank Asset," “Use a Template,” or “A Copy of an Existing Asset.”
If you choose "Blank Asset" you will not use a template. Click “Add.” Once the
asset generates, you will be able to choose from location-based fields.
If you select “Use a Template” your master template will appear. Then, click “Add."
If you select “A Copy of an Existing Asset” you will be able to choose from any asset at this location, even those not linked to a template. Limble will copy both the templated and location-based fields and their field values.
Click on the asset you’d like to copy, and click “Add.”
If the asset you selected has child assets, you’ll be taken to a new window.
You will have the option to copy the entire hierarchy, even if some children assets are not linked to a template. Make your desired selections to add your new asset(s).
Limble will copy both the templated and location-based fields and their field values.
If you duplicate an asset using the duplicate button, or add a child asset using the + button, template settings will still apply.
You will see the templated fields in the asset card. Templated fields are indicated with the template icon.
You can add and rearrange the order of location-based fields, but they will always appear after your templated fields.
Once a template is linked to at least one asset at a location, you will see templated fields in the edit visible columns tool.
You can include templated fields as part of your visible columns by checking the box next to the field name. Templated field settings will not be configurable from here.
When you create an asset using a template, it will be listed in the Assets tab on the Asset Templates page.
Bulk Importing and Updating Asset Fields
Templated fields can be used with Limble's bulk import and update systems.
If you have made asset templates required or optional on your account, please read the following sections carefully before performing bulk imports and updates.
The data you create and update now may be impacted later. In future iterations of this feature, you will be able to:
Merge location-based fields with templated fields as long as they are the same field type. For example, a number field and text field will not be mergeable.
Apply asset templates to existing assets. In early access, you can only apply templates to new assets. At this time, you cannot apply templates or templated fields to existing assets.
This is important to keep in mind now to make your data merging and migration as seamless as possible when field merging becomes available.
If you allow non-Super Users to perform bulk imports or updates, make sure to share this information with them. Non-Super Users cannot access the Asset Templates page and would only be able to see templated fields if you've already created assets that use templates.
How to Perform a Bulk Import Using Templates
How to Perform a Bulk Import Using Templates
If you have enabled asset templates, please read this section in its entirety before performing a bulk import.
Performing a bulk import with templates is a similar to a typical bulk import. However, field names and import settings play a critical role in how your data is imported.
From the Manage Assets page, click "Import/Export." From the dropdown, select "Import Assets."
You will be taken to the import window. If asset templates are set to required or optional on your account, you will see a new option to "Prioritize Asset Template Fields."
If you use this setting, assets will be created using templated fields if they exist. Where templated fields don’t exist, the system will use fields at this location. To enable this, click the checkbox next to the setting name.
We recommend keeping windows open with your templated and location-based fields visible as you're building your import file to ensure the data imports as desired.
Expand the sections below to read more about how importing works with this setting.
Importing with "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" Enabled
Importing with "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" Enabled
This example walks through how importing could look with "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" enabled.
The following templated fields exist:
Mileage
VIN
Up/Down Status
And the following location-based fields exist:
Mileage
VIN
Model
Status
The user set up the sample import file to include the Mileage, VIN, Model and Status fields for their assets.
The user made sure to check the box next to "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" to enable the setting before importing their assets into Limble.
The newly imported assets include the following fields:
Mileage (templated field): This is a templated field because "Mileage" was the field name used in the import file, which matches a templated field.
VIN (templated field): This is a templated field because "VIN" was the field name used in the import file, which matches a templated field.
Model (location-based field): This is a location-based field because "Model" was the field name used in the import file, which matches a location-based field.
Status (location-based field): This is a location-based field because "Status" was the field name used in the import file, which matches a location-based field.
The system looks for exact name matches between column names in the import file and field names in the system. If the user wanted to use the templated field, they would have needed to name the column "Up/Down Status" to exactly match the templated field name.
If templated fields are prioritized, for dropdown fields, keep in mind that you can only use valid options for the templated field.
For instance, imagine you have both a templated and a location-based field named "Status." The options for the templated field are "Up" or "Down," while the options for the location-based field are "Up - Active" or "Down - Receiving Maintenance."
If templated fields are prioritized, you can only use "Up" or "Down" as dropdown options.
Importing with "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" Disabled
Importing with "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" Disabled
This example walks through how importing could look with "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" disabled.
The following templated fields exist:
Mileage
VIN
Up/Down Status
And the following location-based fields exist:
Mileage
VIN
Model
Status
The user set up the sample import file to include the Mileage, VIN, Model, and Up/Down Status fields for their assets.
The user made sure to uncheck the box next to "Prioritize Asset Template Fields" to disable the setting before importing their assets into Limble.
In the upload confirmation window, the user ignores the highlighted area and proceeds with their import.
The new assets include the following fields:
Mileage, VIN, and Model were all added using location-based fields.
Up/Down Status (new location-based text field): This is a new location-based text field because "Up/Down Status" was the field name used in the import file, which does not match an existing location-based field.
Even though a templated field with this name exists, the system did not map it because the setting to prioritize templated fields was disabled.
If a location-based field does not exist with the same field name, the system will follow typical behavior and create a new location-based text field.
You will be shown this in the import process before the upload is completed as the window appears above. If you do not want to create a new location-based field, edit your file and try your import again.
How to Perform a Bulk Update Using Templates
How to Perform a Bulk Update Using Templates
If you have enabled asset templates, please read this section in its entirety before performing a bulk update.
At this time, you can only apply templates to new assets. Bulk updates cannot be used to circumvent this limitation. However, you can make changes to both newly added assets created with a template and existing assets in the same bulk update.
From the Manage Assets page, click "Bulk Actions." From the dropdown, select "Update Assets."
In the new window, download your asset list by clicking "List of Assets."
Before making changes, save a copy of your current list of assets. This ensures you have a backup to restore field data if needed.
Open your file. Templated fields and field data will be included in your export if they are linked to any asset at that location.
Performing a bulk update with templates is a similar to a typical bulk update, with two additional considerations:
You will see a new column named "Templated Fields - DO NOT EDIT OR REMOVE." If an asset was created using a template, the templated fields will be shown here.
Be sure to keep this column in your file. DO NOT edit, add, or remove field data. Doing so may result in loss of field data.
If both a templated field and location-based field exist with the same exact name, the data for both fields will export into one column.
In this example, the user has templated and location-based fields named "Mileage" and "VIN." The data has been consolidated into one "Mileage" and one "VIN" field respectively.
The new "Templated Fields..." column will tell the system which assets were created using a template, and where that field data needs to go.
In this example, the user is updating mileage for Vehicles 3 and 4 (location-based), and Vehicles 6 and 7 (created with a template). Their file looks like this before uploading:
In the update confirmation window, they can see assets that are being updated, and hover to see what info is changing.
When the updates are complete, the field data maps to the templated and location-based mileage fields for each asset respectively.
Deleting a Template
During the early access phase for this feature, in order to make any changes to your fields or their field settings, you must delete the existing master template and create a new one.
Navigate to the Asset Templates page. Click “Delete Template.”
A new window will appear to let you know the following actions will occur:
The template will be permanently unlinked from associated assets.
Fields and the data you’ve entered will not be deleted from associated assets.
Any assets you’ve created using this template will keep the fields from this template and the field values you’ve entered. You can continue to update the field value.
This does not mean the field will be treated as a location-based field. Even though the asset will no longer be linked to the template, the field itself is still a templated field. If the field settings are updated when configuring a new template, those will continue map to the field.
If you want to remove any of these fields from the asset, you will now have the ability to do so.If you copy an existing asset that was previously linked to this template, the templated fields will also be copied and the same logic will apply.
Fields in this template, including their settings, can be used again in a new template.
Confirm your choice by typing the number of linked assets in the provided field. Then click “Delete Template.”
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