Preparing to Create a Template

Before creating a template, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the forms, layouts, and styles that your institution has created. Then carefully consider the following questions and take appropriate action.

• What are the objectives of the type(s) of portfolios that will be based on this template?
• What content must be included to achieve these objectives?
• In what order should content be presented?
• If your institution has existing portfolio layouts, which of those layouts is best suited to portfolios built on this template? Upload the appropriate .xsl file to Resources. If you do not have an appropriate layout file at your disposal, upload passthrough.xsl to Resources. This file is available at \webapps\osp-portal\WEB-INF\transform and in the Downloads/OSP section of rSmart's RSN.
• Do users need to enter additional information such as a portfolio title and subtitle and/or captions for images? Do they need to select a single level of a matrix to include in the portfolio? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, in what file are these options available? Upload the appropriate .xsd file to Resources and make note of its root node.
• Your institution has a default "style" that includes a standard set of fonts, colors, and so forth. If your institution has created other styles as well, which style is best suited for portfolios built on this template? Upload the appropriate .css file to Resources. Make note of the name for this file that is used in the layout (.xsl) file you have chosen.
• What other files do you need to use in this template? You may include image, sound, video, javascript, and other types of files. Upload the appropriate files to Resources and make note of the name for each file as given in the layout (.xsl) file you have chosen.