Form Template Library

The Form Template Library is your organisation's collection of reusable form templates. It includes discipline-specific system templates provided by TerraSitu, as well as custom templates your admins have created or copied for your team.

Access it from the main navigation under Forms → Library.

Browsing templates

Use the discipline tabs — Ecology, Archaeology, General — to filter the list. The search bar matches against template names, descriptions, and tags.

Each card shows:

• The template name and discipline
• An optional survey method tag (e.g. transect, point count)
• Field count — how many data fields the form contains
• A Custom badge for templates created by your organisation
• A lock icon on system default templates — these cannot be deleted

Using a template in a survey

Click Use in Survey on any template card, then choose the survey from the picker. The template schema is copied into that survey's form, ready to customise in the Form Builder.

Copying a template to your library

Click Copy on any card to create your own editable copy in the library. The copy is named "Copy of [original name]" and marked as a Custom template. You can then rename and edit it from the library.

This is the recommended workflow for customising system templates — copy first, then edit the copy.

Creating a new template (Admin only)

Admins can create templates from scratch by clicking Create Template in the top-right corner. This opens the Library Template Editor where you can:

1. Set the template name, discipline, survey method, and tags
2. Build the form schema using the same field palette and canvas as the standard Form Builder
3. Save the template — it immediately appears in the library for your whole organisation

Editing a custom template (Admin only)

Click Edit on any Custom template card to open it in the Library Template Editor. Changes are saved as a new version. Note: system default templates cannot be edited — copy them first.

Disabling templates (Admin only)

If a system default template is not relevant to your organisation, admins can hide it from the library by clicking Disable. Disabled templates are removed from the default view but can be re-enabled at any time.

To see disabled templates, click Show Disabled in the toolbar. Each disabled card has a Re-enable button.

Custom (tenant-owned) templates can be Deleted permanently — this cannot be undone.

System default templates

System defaults are pre-built templates that come with TerraSitu. They cover common field survey workflows across ecology, archaeology, and general fieldwork. They cannot be deleted or edited directly, but can be:

• Copied — to create a customisable version in your library
• Used in surveys — as-is, cloned directly into a survey
• Disabled — hidden from your library view if not relevant

Tips

• Tags help your team find the right template faster — use comma-separated keywords like vegetation, invasive, wetland
• The Survey Method field narrows down templates to specific techniques (e.g. transect, quadrat) — useful when your team runs multiple method types
• Use copies of system templates as a starting point rather than creating from scratch — they include sensible field structures and validation rules