Skip to content
GIMLabsDocs

Building templates

Author the templates everyone collects against, in Design mode.

Templates are where Calc's power lives. In Design mode you decide what data a template pulls, how it is laid out, which charts it draws and which project values it stamps in - so that anyone can open it in Use mode and Collect a finished workbook.

Design mode needs permission

Creating and editing templates depends on your role, and is unavailable on the Go tier. If the Build and Save groups do not appear, see modes and permissions.

Open a template to edit

Click Templates, then choose:

  • Edit to open an existing template in Design mode,
  • New for a blank template,
  • Import to start from a local .xlsx or .xlsm file.

The ribbon shows the Build, Macros, Sheets and Save groups.

The build workflow

Add tables

Use Tables to add the data blocks the template collects, and choose each one's columns, filters, sorting, grouping and start cell.

Lay out and chart

Arrange the template sheet, insert charts, and use Charts to map their series to data columns.

Stamp project values

Use Constants to place project values (Project Name, Client, ...) that fill in on Collect.

Automate (optional)

Use Macros to choose workbook macros that run automatically after a Collect.

Pick sheets and save

Use Sheets to choose which worksheets the template keeps, then Save back to the template or Save As a new one.

In this section

Last updated 17 June 2026