If you're planning to utilize the Smart Layouts feature, there are some preliminary steps in SharePoint Online that need to be addressed. Here's a straightforward guide to get you started:

The first thing you’ll need when getting started with Smart Layouts is a template library. Here we will outline the setup of this SharePoint Online library that will link to your Smart Layout Content Source. However, if you would like to know more about SharePoint Online libraries, you can have a look at the Microsoft Support article here. 

How to Create Your Layout Template

Types of Layout Templates

Your Layout Template is the design that will be used to insert your Smart Layouts into your Word or PowerPoint document. There are two types of templates that can be used with Smart Layouts:

Fixed. This describes a design that is in a “repeating list” type of format. Typically this would be used in a Word document, and is often table-based. This type of Layout Template must be set up through a QorusDocs Professional Services engagement; contact your Customer Success Manager for details.

Floating. This describes a design that is made up of shapes, and is often the type of design that is used to develop what’s commonly known as “tombstones”. A Floating template is one that you can set up yourself.

Designing Your Layout Template

The look and feel of your layout template design is completely in your hands! You can add all of the colors, fonts, etc. that reflect your organization’s specific style. The key is adding a shape where you would like to pull in the data for your Smart List.

For each shape, right-click and select "View Alt Text".

In the Alt Text input box, type in the name of the field from your Smart List that represents that data you’d like inserted into that shape. Note: If the field is an Image type field, append the text “_tsimage” to the end of your field name. Here’s an example of how you would set the field names in the Alt Text for a group of shapes that you might use to create an Experience record:

If you’d like to feature several records in the same template, you’ll want to group your shapes together for each record, and then number them. Select all of the shapes that you’d like to be part of the same group, right click, and select “Group”:

Then in the Alt Text field for that group, give it a number. Your first group would be “1”, your second group would be “2”, and so on.

When you design the template in this way, even if you select 8 records and the template only has 6 records in the design, the 6 records will be inserted on the first page, and then a second page will be created using your same layout design for the remaining 2 records.

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Library Creation and Structure

Once you have your Layout Templates designed, you’ll add them to a SharePoint Library that can be referenced by your Smart Layout Content Source.The first thing you will need to do is create a library in your SharePoint Online environment. Here’s a quick refresher on how to do that:

1. Gear icon top right
2. Sight Contents
3. New
4. Document Library
5. Give it a name (Smart Layout Template)
6. Create 

Once the Template library has been created, you will set up the following columns:

• Name: Name of the file with your design.
• Title: Single line of text field representing the name that you give the file for your library. This is the name of the template that users see when making their template selection.
• Description: Multiple lines of text type field. This will be a description that users will see when considering which template to use for their Smart Layout.
• Image: Image type field. This will be the thumbnail image that displays to the user when choosing the Layout Template for their Smart Layout selections; note that the display in the template selector is 155 x 129, so this is the aspect ratio recommended for optimal display
• Default – Yes/No Type field that indicates whether this Layout Template should be the default selection in the case that there are multiple Layout Templates in the Library. Set the default value to No.

Layout – Choice type field. Permitted values are “Fixed” or “Floating”, as described above

• “Fixed” design – a repeatable format that is not shape-based, but rather more of a formatted list
• “Floating” design – a configuration of shapes (e.g. “tombstone” style)

ow that you have your Layout Template library set up, navigate to your QorusDocs Hub to create a Content Source that you will link to your Smart Layout Template library. Click here to find out more.

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