Text Templates¶
Text Templates let administrators define reusable text strings with placeholders that are resolved at runtime against entity property values. They are used to auto-generate consistent descriptions, labels, file names, and other structured text output.
Accessing text templates¶
Go to Configuration → Text Templates in the workspace settings.
How text templates work¶
A template is a named string containing fixed text and placeholders in {PropertyKey} syntax. When the template is rendered against an entity, each placeholder is replaced with the value of the matching property from that entity.
Example template:
{PD_PartNumber} - {PD_Description} ({PD_Material})
Rendered against an entity with Part Number MAT-0042, Description Bracket, Material Aluminium 6061:
MAT-0042 - Bracket (Aluminium 6061)
Creating a text template¶
- Go to Configuration → Text Templates.
- Click New.
- Enter a Name (used to identify the template when selecting it in other areas of the platform).
- Enter the Template string with
{PropertyKey}placeholders. - Optionally add a Description for the administrator notes.
- Save.
Placeholder syntax¶
Placeholders reference property definition keys — the internal key assigned when a property definition is created (e.g. PD_Description, PD_Material). Keys are case-sensitive.
If a placeholder key does not match any property on the entity being rendered, it is left blank (not shown as an error).
Supported placeholder types:
| Property type | Rendered as |
|---|---|
| Text | The text value |
| Number | Formatted number string |
| Date | ISO date string (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| Boolean | true or false |
| List value | The selected list item label |
Use cases¶
Text templates are used in several places across MatStream:
| Use case | Description |
|---|---|
| Auto-generated entity descriptions | Assign a template to a category to auto-populate the description field when an entity is created or updated |
| Part labels | Generate a formatted label string for printing or export |
| Export file names | Use a template for the file name when exporting or generating documents |
| Import field defaults | Use template output as the default value for a mapped field in an import definition |
| Notification message bodies | Automation scripts can call a template to build a consistent notification string |
Assigning a template to a category¶
To auto-populate an entity's description when it is created:
- Go to Configuration → Categories.
- Select the category.
- In the General tab, find Auto-description template.
- Select the text template from the dropdown.
- Save.
When a new entity in this category is created or saved, the description field is automatically populated with the rendered template output.
Related¶
- Categories — assign templates to categories
- Properties — define the properties referenced in placeholder keys
- Automations — use templates in automation scripts