Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.1nspect.app/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Template Designer
Template Designer (route /templates/designer or /templates/designer/:templateId) is the visual canvas for inspection templates. It’s where you choose the rating scale, set the default cover, and configure the look-and-feel of report PDFs at the template level. The deeper per-page rules live in Visual Page Designer; per-element design (fonts, colors) is on Template Editor.
This is the largest of the template editors — 1,841 lines of source — because it manages canvas state, live preview, and the rating-scale + cover bindings.
When you arrive here
You reach Template Designer by:
- Clicking Open Designer from Template Editor
- Clicking Visual Designer card on the Templates hub
- Navigating directly to
/templates/designer/:templateId (if you know the template ID)
The page loads the template by ID. The header banner reads: ”📝 Note: Editing template ID: {templateId}. Changes are saved to the database when you click the Save button.”
If you reach /templates/designer without a template ID, you’ll land on a picker that lets you select which template to design.
Screen layout
[SCREENSHOT: template-designer-canvas.png — desktop, the Template Designer showing a header configuration bar at the top, a large canvas in the center, and a side panel of design controls.]
The Designer has three primary areas:
- Top configuration bar — Inspection Standard, Rating Scale, Default Cover
- Canvas — Live preview of how the report will render
- Side panel — Design controls (margins, photo grid, finding card style, etc.)
Top configuration bar
Inspection Standard
A picker showing the active inspection standard. Editing here updates the same standard field as Template Editor → Template Information.
Why it’s here: the standard drives the rating scale options and the default sections for new template work. Changing it surfaces a confirmation if the template already has data that would conflict.
Rating Scale
A drop-down with two options:
| Option | Pills shown to inspectors |
|---|
| TREC Standard (I / NI / NP / D) | Inspected · Not Inspected · Not Present · Deficient |
| Binary Pass / Fail | Pass · Fail |
Default Cover
A picker showing every cover designed in Cover Designer.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|
| None | No cover page; report PDF starts on the first content page |
| A named cover | That cover renders as the report’s first page |
Canvas (live preview)
A large pre-rendered preview of how the report will look. The canvas updates as you change controls in the side panel.
Limitations:
- The canvas approximates the final PDF — true server-side rendering may differ slightly in font kerning and image sharpness
- To see the actual generated PDF, save the template and use Generate PDF Preview from any inspection using this template (e.g. via Inspection Reviewer)
The canvas reflects:
- Cover page (from Default Cover)
- Section header style (color, weight, alignment)
- Rating row layout (per-rating-scale)
- Finding card style (border, background, photo grid)
- Margins and spacing
- Page-break rules
Side panel — design controls
The exact controls depend on which template element is selected (canvas elements are clickable). Common groupings:
Margins
| Field | Notes |
|---|
| Preamble pages | Pixel margin (96 px = 1 inch) for cover and front-matter pages |
| Section pages | Margin for body pages |
| Summary pages | Margin for the executive summary |
Colors
These override tenant defaults at the template level:
| Field | Where it appears |
|---|
| Primary Color | Section headers, table borders, primary buttons |
| Secondary Color | Accent bars, subsection dividers |
| Accent Color | Highlights, badges, AI-generated content markers |
Rating column
| Field | Notes |
|---|
| Rating column width (px) | How much of the section page is reserved for the I/NI/NP/D rating boxes |
| Show rating legend in header | Toggle to show/hide the I-NI-NP-D legend in the running header |
Finding card
| Field | Notes |
|---|
| Border weight | Thickness of the deficiency card border (px) |
| Background tint | Light fill behind the finding card content |
| Heading style | Typography for the caption (size, weight) |
Photo grid
| Field | Notes |
|---|
| Columns | 1 / 2 / 3 — number of photos per row in a finding card |
| Caption position | Above / Below the photo |
| Gap | Spacing between photos in pixels |
Saving
The Designer is explicit-save, not auto-save. A prominent Save button (top-right or footer) commits all changes. Until saved:
- The canvas reflects unsaved changes (visual preview is live)
- The database still holds the previous version
- Other users opening the template see the old version
A small unsaved-changes indicator near the page header warns you. Navigating away prompts confirmation.
Loading state
If the template data hasn’t fully loaded yet, an info alert appears: “Loading template…”
Common causes of slow loading:
- Templates with large schemas (50+ subsections) take a moment
- Slow tenant network connection
- Backend cold start (rare)
If loading hangs for >10 seconds, refresh the page.
Validation
The Designer validates several invariants before allowing Save:
| Validation | Message if fails |
|---|
| Rating scale must not be empty | ”Choose a rating scale” |
| Margins must be positive | ”Margin values must be positive numbers” |
| Photo grid columns 1–3 | ”Photo grid columns must be 1, 2, or 3” |
| Colors must be valid hex | ”Invalid color value: [color]” |
What this page does NOT do
- It does not edit the schema. Sections, subsections, and fields are managed in Schema Upload & Review or the deeper schema editor.
- It does not edit per-page styling like headers/footers. That’s Visual Page Designer.
- It does not design cover pages. Use Cover Designer — this page only picks from already-designed covers.
- It does not preview AI narratives. Use Inspection Reviewer on a real inspection.
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