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Template Builder: Access, Templates, and Pages
### Scanifly Proposal Tool
* Template Builder
* Template Builder: Access, Templates, and Pages
##### Template Builder
### Template Builder: Access, Templates, and Pages
#### Build a fully custom proposal from scratch, page by page, and know what you're getting into before you start.
The template builder lets you build your own proposal from scratch, page by page, using your own variables and your own layout. It is the most customizable part of the Proposal Tool, and it is also the hardest part to use.
Read the expectation setting below before you start building. It will save you time.
🚧 **Requires Scanifly Support to Enable** 🚧
The template builder is unlocked by the **Manage proposal templates** permission, which only a Scanifly admin can grant. It is not something you can switch on yourself, even with full admin access to your own account. Ask Scanifly support to turn it on.
For more information on [Proposal Tool Permissions: Who Can Do What](https://help.scanifly.com/proposal-tool-permissions-who-can-do-what), please see this support article.
---
##### Read This First: What to Expect
The template builder is powerful, and the learning curve is much steeper than the rest of the tool.
In its current form, it can take hours of work to recreate a standard proposal. Not minutes. Hours. It was built to make deep customization possible, and it does, but the version available today is genuinely difficult to use.
That is exactly why three easier options exist:
* **The standard proposal.** Already built, already pulls your live project data, and ready to send.
* **The included reports.** Usable as individual pages inside a proposal or as standalone exports.
* **Ready-made templates.** Templates Scanifly can provide, which you can use straight away.
Most companies should start there. The template builder is worth reaching for once you know exactly what the standard proposal does not do for you, not as the first thing you open.
None of this is a reason to avoid the feature. Used alongside variables, it will let you build very close to whatever you want. It is a reason to be realistic about the time it takes.
For more information on [Standard Proposal Example](https://help.scanifly.com/standard-proposal-example), please see this support article.
---
##### Send Us Your Existing Template
You do not have to start from a blank page.
Scanifly can take the proposal template your company uses today and recreate it as a starting point, the same way the team helps customers build site survey checklists. You then go in and make adjustments to something that already resembles your proposal, rather than assembling one block at a time from nothing.
In the early going this is almost always the faster path. Send your existing template to Scanifly support rather than rebuilding it yourself.
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: is there a supported file format for sending an existing template, e.g. PDF, and is there a turnaround expectation worth stating here?]
---
##### Or Skip the Template Builder Entirely
Scanifly can also provide ready-made templates that you can use immediately, without opening the template builder at all. They show up as a custom proposal option for your team the same way a template you built would.
If your goal is a proposal that looks different from the standard one, and not specifically the ability to edit it yourself, ask about a ready-made template first.
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: how does a company request a ready-made template, and where does it land once provided — the same Custom section in the Active Proposal selector, or somewhere else? This same gap is currently open in "Use a Custom Proposal Template" as well, so it's worth resolving once and answering it consistently in both places.]
For more information on [Use a Custom Proposal Template](https://help.scanifly.com/use-a-custom-proposal-template), please see this support article.
---
##### 1. Open the Template Builder
Once the **Manage proposal templates** permission is in place, the template builder appears in global settings.
❗ **IMPORTANT: Your Changes Are Not Saved Until You Click Update Preset**
The template builder lives in global settings, and nothing you build here is saved until you click **Update Preset**. Given how much work a template can take, get in the habit of clicking Update Preset after every page, not at the end of a long session.
For more information on [Set Up the Proposal Tool: Order of Operations](https://help.scanifly.com/set-up-the-proposal-tool-order-of-operations), please see this support article.
[Image: Screenshot of global settings with the template builder section visible]
---
##### 2. Create a Template
Create a new template. This gives you an empty template to build pages into.
[Image: Screenshot of the template list with the create new template control highlighted]
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: is there a page limit per template, and can a template be duplicated or deleted once created? Neither appears in the source material, and both are likely the first things an admin asks.]
---
##### 3. Rename Your Template
Rename the template to something your team will recognize in the proposal selector, since this is the name they will be choosing from later.
[Image: Screenshot of the template rename field with a name entered]
---
##### 4. Add Pages
Add pages to your template. Each page is a separate canvas that you build with blocks, and the pages together make up the proposal your team generates.
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: can a page be reordered or duplicated within a template? This isn't in the source material and is a likely first question once someone has built more than one page.]
[Image: Screenshot of a template with several pages added, showing the add page control]
For more information on [Template Builder: Block Types and Building a Page](https://help.scanifly.com/template-builder-block-types-and-building-a-page), please see this support article.
---
##### 5. Find Your Template in the Editor
Open the **Active Proposal** selector in the editor and expand **Custom**. Your template appears there under the name you gave it in step 3.
Templates you create appear in the **Custom** section of the Active Proposal selector in the editor. When someone on your team generates a proposal and picks your template there, they see your pages populated with that project's live data.
[Image: Screenshot of the Active Proposal selector in the editor with the Custom section expanded, showing a created template]
📘 **Pro Tip:**
Build one page, then generate a proposal against a real project and look at it in the editor before you build page two. Catching a layout or variable problem on one page is much less work than catching it on eight.
---
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: are templates stored per preset, like most other global settings, or are they account-wide? If per preset, this article needs an Update Preset step tied to preset selection, and readers need to know a template built under one preset may not appear under another.]
For more information on [Template Builder: Build with AI](https://help.scanifly.com/build-templates-with-ai), please see this support article.
For more information on [Media Library and PDF Content Pages](https://help.scanifly.com/media-library-and-pdf-content-pages), please see this support article.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please reach out to our chat support or email hello@scanifly.com.
* Template Builder
* Template Builder: Access, Templates, and Pages
##### Template Builder
### Template Builder: Access, Templates, and Pages
#### Build a fully custom proposal from scratch, page by page, and know what you're getting into before you start.
The template builder lets you build your own proposal from scratch, page by page, using your own variables and your own layout. It is the most customizable part of the Proposal Tool, and it is also the hardest part to use.
Read the expectation setting below before you start building. It will save you time.
🚧 **Requires Scanifly Support to Enable** 🚧
The template builder is unlocked by the **Manage proposal templates** permission, which only a Scanifly admin can grant. It is not something you can switch on yourself, even with full admin access to your own account. Ask Scanifly support to turn it on.
For more information on [Proposal Tool Permissions: Who Can Do What](https://help.scanifly.com/proposal-tool-permissions-who-can-do-what), please see this support article.
---
##### Read This First: What to Expect
The template builder is powerful, and the learning curve is much steeper than the rest of the tool.
In its current form, it can take hours of work to recreate a standard proposal. Not minutes. Hours. It was built to make deep customization possible, and it does, but the version available today is genuinely difficult to use.
That is exactly why three easier options exist:
* **The standard proposal.** Already built, already pulls your live project data, and ready to send.
* **The included reports.** Usable as individual pages inside a proposal or as standalone exports.
* **Ready-made templates.** Templates Scanifly can provide, which you can use straight away.
Most companies should start there. The template builder is worth reaching for once you know exactly what the standard proposal does not do for you, not as the first thing you open.
None of this is a reason to avoid the feature. Used alongside variables, it will let you build very close to whatever you want. It is a reason to be realistic about the time it takes.
For more information on [Standard Proposal Example](https://help.scanifly.com/standard-proposal-example), please see this support article.
---
##### Send Us Your Existing Template
You do not have to start from a blank page.
Scanifly can take the proposal template your company uses today and recreate it as a starting point, the same way the team helps customers build site survey checklists. You then go in and make adjustments to something that already resembles your proposal, rather than assembling one block at a time from nothing.
In the early going this is almost always the faster path. Send your existing template to Scanifly support rather than rebuilding it yourself.
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: is there a supported file format for sending an existing template, e.g. PDF, and is there a turnaround expectation worth stating here?]
---
##### Or Skip the Template Builder Entirely
Scanifly can also provide ready-made templates that you can use immediately, without opening the template builder at all. They show up as a custom proposal option for your team the same way a template you built would.
If your goal is a proposal that looks different from the standard one, and not specifically the ability to edit it yourself, ask about a ready-made template first.
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: how does a company request a ready-made template, and where does it land once provided — the same Custom section in the Active Proposal selector, or somewhere else? This same gap is currently open in "Use a Custom Proposal Template" as well, so it's worth resolving once and answering it consistently in both places.]
For more information on [Use a Custom Proposal Template](https://help.scanifly.com/use-a-custom-proposal-template), please see this support article.
---
##### 1. Open the Template Builder
Once the **Manage proposal templates** permission is in place, the template builder appears in global settings.
❗ **IMPORTANT: Your Changes Are Not Saved Until You Click Update Preset**
The template builder lives in global settings, and nothing you build here is saved until you click **Update Preset**. Given how much work a template can take, get in the habit of clicking Update Preset after every page, not at the end of a long session.
For more information on [Set Up the Proposal Tool: Order of Operations](https://help.scanifly.com/set-up-the-proposal-tool-order-of-operations), please see this support article.
[Image: Screenshot of global settings with the template builder section visible]
---
##### 2. Create a Template
Create a new template. This gives you an empty template to build pages into.
[Image: Screenshot of the template list with the create new template control highlighted]
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: is there a page limit per template, and can a template be duplicated or deleted once created? Neither appears in the source material, and both are likely the first things an admin asks.]
---
##### 3. Rename Your Template
Rename the template to something your team will recognize in the proposal selector, since this is the name they will be choosing from later.
[Image: Screenshot of the template rename field with a name entered]
---
##### 4. Add Pages
Add pages to your template. Each page is a separate canvas that you build with blocks, and the pages together make up the proposal your team generates.
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: can a page be reordered or duplicated within a template? This isn't in the source material and is a likely first question once someone has built more than one page.]
[Image: Screenshot of a template with several pages added, showing the add page control]
For more information on [Template Builder: Block Types and Building a Page](https://help.scanifly.com/template-builder-block-types-and-building-a-page), please see this support article.
---
##### 5. Find Your Template in the Editor
Open the **Active Proposal** selector in the editor and expand **Custom**. Your template appears there under the name you gave it in step 3.
Templates you create appear in the **Custom** section of the Active Proposal selector in the editor. When someone on your team generates a proposal and picks your template there, they see your pages populated with that project's live data.
[Image: Screenshot of the Active Proposal selector in the editor with the Custom section expanded, showing a created template]
📘 **Pro Tip:**
Build one page, then generate a proposal against a real project and look at it in the editor before you build page two. Catching a layout or variable problem on one page is much less work than catching it on eight.
---
[NEEDS CLARIFICATION: are templates stored per preset, like most other global settings, or are they account-wide? If per preset, this article needs an Update Preset step tied to preset selection, and readers need to know a template built under one preset may not appear under another.]
For more information on [Template Builder: Build with AI](https://help.scanifly.com/build-templates-with-ai), please see this support article.
For more information on [Media Library and PDF Content Pages](https://help.scanifly.com/media-library-and-pdf-content-pages), please see this support article.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please reach out to our chat support or email hello@scanifly.com.