New Document Templates

Project Notes includes several plugins that copy pre-configured Microsoft Office and MS Project templates into your project folder, optionally replacing placeholder tags with project-specific data. These plugins are available on all platforms, though opening the created files may require the associated application.

Available Template Plugins

Plugin Template File Default Output Sub-folder
New Change Order plugins/templates/PCR Template.docx (Word) Project Management/PCR's
New MS Project User-selected .mpp from plugins/templates/ Project Management/Schedule
PCR Register plugins/templates/PCR Registry Template.xlsx (Excel) Project Management/PCR's
New PowerPoint User-selected .pptx from plugins/templates/ Project Management/Meeting Minutes
New Risk Register plugins/templates/Risk Register Template.xlsx (Excel) Project Management/Risk Management

Default Project Folder Structure

All template and export plugins look for a Files & Folders entry on the project with the description "Project Folder" to determine the project's root folder on disk. From that root, each plugin writes output to a configurable sub-folder. The defaults assume the following structure:

[Project Folder]/
└── Project Management/
    ├── Meeting Minutes/      ← New PowerPoint
    ├── Schedule/             ← New MS Project
    ├── PCR's/                ← New Change Order, PCR Register
    ├── Risk Management/      ← New Risk Register
    ├── Issues List/          ← Export Tracker Items, Generate Tracker Report
    └── Status Reports/       ← SSRS Report Capture (IFS)

If no "Project Folder" entry is configured for a project, the plugin will prompt you to choose a folder when it runs.

How Template Plugins Work

When you invoke a template plugin from the right-click menu on a project:

  1. The plugin locates the configured template file in plugins/templates/.
  2. It copies the template to the configured sub-folder inside your Project Folder.
  3. For PowerPoint and Word templates, supported placeholder tags in the document are replaced with project values such as the project number and project name.

Common placeholder tags used in templates:

Tag Replaced With
<PROJECTNUMBER> The project number
<PROJECTNAME> The project name
<DATE> Today's date

Configuring Template Settings

Each template plugin has its own settings entry under Plugins > Settings where you can configure the sub-folder within the project folder where the generated file will be placed. The default sub-folder for each plugin is shown in the table above.

To configure a template plugin:

  1. From the Plugins menu choose Settings > [Template Name] (e.g., Settings > New Change Order).
  2. Enter the sub-folder name relative to the project folder.
  3. Click OK.

Open MS Project (Windows Only)

The Open MS Project plugin (Windows only) scans the project Files & Folders for .mpp files and opens the selected file in Microsoft Project. If multiple .mpp files are associated with the project, a selection dialog appears.

To open an MS Project file:

  1. Right-click on a project.
  2. Choose Open MS Project.
  3. If prompted, select the .mpp file to open.

Stranded Process Cleanup

If Microsoft Excel or Word automation fails mid-execution, the application process may remain open in the background. Use the utilities in the Plugins > Utilities menu to clean up these stranded processes:

  • Close Stranded Excel — Terminates any Excel processes left running by automation.
  • Close Stranded Word — Terminates any Word processes left running by automation.