BrightWork Template Design Sync enables you to make design changes to a template and pull those changes into sites that are bound to the template on a site-by-site basis.

Site changes can include adding new items such as lists and list columns and removing certain unmatched items in the destination site.

Unmatched items are items found in the destination site that were not found in the template. This can occur for two reasons:

  • The items were removed from the template
  • The items were added to the destination site

Some items are automatically synced and some are optional. Due to certain SharePoint design restrictions and other practical reasons, not all changes to the template are synced.

Sync Site with Template

To sync a site with a template:
  1. Click Settings | Site settings.
  2. Click Synchronize with Template.
  3. Select the design changes that you want to sync to the site from the template. Note that this may include removing certain items from the site. See below for details.
  4. Click Sync and then click OK to confirm.

The sections below outline the options available when synchronizing with a template.

Template Binding

  1. Source Template
    Displays the Name and Site URL of the template the current site is using to synchronize with.
  2. Select all adds and updates or deselect all
    1. Selecting the checkbox will select all addition and update checkboxes on the page.
      It does NOT select any Delete checkboxes and these need to always be selected manually.
    2. Deselecting the checkbox will deselect all checkboxes on the page.
    3. To revert to the default settings, Refresh the browser page using 'F5'.

Log Settings

Every time you run a Design Sync a Site Sync Log is written to a list in the destination site. The log details the changes made and includes any warning or error messages.

By default, all changes are written to the list, but you can choose to exclude certain kinds of changes by unselecting them from the list:

  • Added
  • Updated Files
  • Deleted

Site Level Changes

Automatically Synced

  • Site features
  • Site regional settings
  • Site custom actions
  • Site content types
  • Site columns
  • Site Logo URL and Description
  • Tree view settings

Sync Options

You can also optionally choose to do a straight replace on the following navigation items:

  • Quick Launch
  • Report - Tabs List

You can remove the following unmatched site level items:

  • Site Columns
  • Site Content Types

You can apply the following template design settings:

  • Site Theme
  • Master Page Application

Home Page Changes

Sync Options

Select Apply Home Page design to replace the home page in the destination site with the one in the template.

List and Library Level Changes

Automatically Synced

With list and library level changes, the following items are synced automatically:

  • Custom actions
  • Content types
  • Columns
  • Settings
  • View changes
  • InfoPath customizations

Sync Options

You can choose to delete the following unmatched list and library items:

  • Lists and Libraries
  • Content Types
  • Columns
  • Views
  • Forms (other than Nintex Forms)

You can also select Nintex Forms options which will be visible if Nintex Forms are present in the template or the destination site:

  • Add new Nintex Forms
  • Synchronize Nintex Forms
  • Delete unmatched Nintex Forms
  • Log all Nintex Forms changes

Special Library Content

Sync Options

Select BrightWork Pages library options:

  • Add new BrightWork Pages
  • Synchronize the web parts on common BrightWork Pages (i.e. BrightWork Pages that exist in both the template and project)
  • Delete unmatched BrightWork Pages
  • Log changes to BrightWork Pages

Select the Site Assets library options, if the library exists:

  • Add new Site Assets
  • Delete unmatched Site Assets

Select Site Pages library options, if the library exists:

  • Add new Site Pages
  • Delete unmatched Site Pages

Project Metrics Items

Sync Options

  • Add new Project Metrics
  • Synchronize the settings of common Project Metrics (i.e. Metrics that exist in both the template and project)
  • Delete unmatched Project Metrics
  • Log all Project Metrics changes
  • The following lists the Metric content that is synced:

    Column Sync Comment
    Title Yes
    Description Yes
    Metric ID No Treated like a deletion if changed
    Active (Y/N) Yes
    Category Yes
    Metric Number Value No Copied only when adding
    Apply Metric Value to No N/A
    Metric Data Source (all details) Yes
    Metric Calculation (all details) Yes
    Include in Metric Recalculation Timer Job Yes
    Metric Value Format (all details) Yes
    Show indicator Yes
    Compare to Yes
    Fixed Number No Copied only when adding
    Another Metric Yes
    Which is better? Yes
    Comparison is a number Warning Level Yes
    Comparison is a number Danger Level Yes
    Comparison is a Percentage Warning Level Yes
    Comparison is a Percentage Danger Level Yes
    Indicator Icon (path) Yes
    Warning Indicator Icon (path) Yes
    Indicator Icon (path) Yes

Project Request Manager Template

Automatically Synced

With Project Request Manager template changes, the following Configure Process items are automatically synced:

  • Status Settings
  • Status Transitions
  • Department
  • Reference
  • Ranking: Ranking Default Value

Promoted Link Items

Sync Options

  • Add new Promoted Link items
  • Synchronize the settings of common Promoted Link items
  • Delete unmatched Promoted Link items
  • Log all Promoted Link item changes

BrightWork List Setting Changes

Sync Options

BrightWork provides lists with additional capabilities. Some of these configurations you may want to optionally sync from the template:

  • Project Status Report Column Mappings can be optionally synced from the template.
    Caution: Selecting this option will overwrite any local customizations made to the project site with the settings from the template.

Workflow Sync

Sync Options

SharePoint 2010 and Nintex List workflows can be synced depending on the options selected:

  • Add new List Workflows
  • Update common List Workflows to a new version
    If a workflow is updated during a sync any instances of the workflow that are running will continue with the workflow version that it started with.
  • Delete unmatched List Workflows
    If a workflow is deleted during a sync any instances of the workflow that are running will be cancelled.
  • Log all List Workflow changes

The following table illustrates which workflow types are supported and which are not supported:

Template Design Sync
Workflow Type New
Workflows
Updated
Workflows
Deleted
Workflows
SharePoint 2010 List Workflow
Nintex List Workflow
SharePoint 2013 List Workflows
Site and Reusable Workflows

The workflow design sync deep dive article contains detail on the scope of this feature.

Items Not Synced

The following items are always excluded from the design sync:

  • Links under the Recent heading on the Quick Launch
  • Common content in Site Assets libraries
  • Any library marked as a catalog (like the web part library)
  • Content in lists and libraries, including Email Scheduler and Wiki libraries
  • Email Notification settings
  • Hold and eDiscovery feature settings
  • List and libraries that are hidden from the browser (via SharePoint Designer) or hidden by design (e.g. Hold and eDiscovery)
  • List Alerts
  • Master Page library settings and views
  • Metadata navigation settings
  • No Code Workflow library settings
  • BrightWork Reporter Personal Reports
  • Personal Views
  • Security Settings
  • Site Title and Description
  • Project Request URL
  • Project Request Manager Configuration: Role Names, Security, Notification Options, Ranking Status, Ranking Columns, Create Project
  • Metric recalculation order settings
  • Task Schedule settings
  • SharePoint 2013 workflows
  • SharePoint 2010 and Nintex reusable workflows and site workflows

Troubleshooting Template Design Sync

A web part maintenance page displays after clicking on an item in a synced list

Issue
After adding a new list with a Nintex Form to a project via Template Design Sync, a web part maintenance page displays after clicking on a list item.
Root Cause
Template Design Sync was done with a template that contains a new list with a Nintex Form, and the sync option 'Synchronize Nintex Forms' was not selected in addition to the option 'Add new Nintex Forms'.
Resolution
Perform another Template Design Sync with the sync option 'Synchronize Nintex Forms' selected.

Was this article useful?

Back to Top