Layout Templates and Sub-Templates

This topic describes layout templates and sub-templates.

Layout Templates

Just as a word processing template contains default styles and formatting to apply to word processing documents, a layout template contains default styles, formatting, media queries and other options that impact the display of mobile application pages that you develop using the PeopleSoft Mobile Application Platform.

Layout templates are not required to build applications using the PeopleSoft Mobile Application Platform, however they provide the following benefits:

  • Speed up development.

    You can define styles, formatting and other display options in a layout template, and then quickly and easily apply the template to one or more application pages.

  • Provide consistency among mobile applications and mobile application pages.

    Since styles, formatting, and other display options are stored in the template, you’re assured that every mobile application page to which a template is applied features the same styling and display options.

    If you’re building multiple mobile applications and want them to have the same look and feel, using templates can help you achieve that objective, especially if different development teams and developers are involved in developing the applications.

  • Simplify customization and maintenance.

    Customizing and maintaining mobile application pages is simplified when you use templates, because you make changes in one place (the template) and they are then with the push of a button you can apply the changes to your mobile application pages to which the template is applied.

Layout templates are managed objects. The Mobile Application Platform framework provides a Template Designer that you use to create and manage layout templates. You apply layout templates to application pages in the Layout Designer.

Layout Sub-Templates

In the Mobile Application Platform framework you can define a template as a sub-template and then assign the sub-template to a template.

Creating and using sub-templates is way to re-use styles and other display options at a more granular level than with regular templates.

For example, you could have a requirement where you need to use differently styled footers for application pages. You could create several footer sub templates. And then when you create the main template, you could assign a sub-template that featured the appropriate footer styling for the main template.

You cannot use sub-templates as stand-alone templates. You must attach them to a regular template.