Skip to main content


         This documentation site is for previous versions. Visit our new documentation site for current releases.      
 

Design templates

Updated on December 13, 2022
Applicable to Theme Cosmos applications

Design templates are reusable patterns that provide form and function for your user interface. Each template includes predefined areas to which you can add application content. By applying design templates to UI sections, you achieve consistency across your application, shorten development time, and reduce maintenance efforts.

Template-based sections

Design templates consist of a layout and named regions. When you create a new section, you can specify the design template for the section, and then insert your content, for example, fields or other reusable sections, into the regions.

When you update the content of a design template, any section that uses that design template is automatically rebuilt when you generate your application. Similarly, when you switch the design template on which a section is based to another template, the section is automatically rebuilt with the new template. In this way, you reduce maintenance to a minimum because when you need to change the interface, you only need to adjust several templates instead of a large number of individual sections.

Design templates and rulesets

Design templates are rules that you can store in rulesets, which affects how they function. As rules, you can also version design templates, save them in branch rulesets, and so on.

When you develop a UI with the use of design templates, consider the following points:

  • If a design template is in an application ruleset, the design template can support only sections in the application ruleset, or in branch rulesets of the same application.

  • If a design template is in a ruleset of an application that you use as a basis for building a second application, the design template can support the sections in the child application.

  • If a design template includes rules from branch rulesets, such as binary files, you cannot apply that design template to a section that you create in the application ruleset in App Studio. In such a scenario, the rule (the binary file) is unavailable.

  • If a design template of a section is part of a specialized ruleset, you cannot switch that design template to another template.

    Sample design template options
    Sample design templates, including single column options and multiple column options with varying size ratios
  • Best practices for design templates

    Ensure that you build a consistent, reusable, and responsive UI by learning about best practices for using design templates.

  • Creating design templates

    Meet the business needs of your projects by creating custom design templates that you can use to arrange the content of your application into reusable patterns. Design templates define the shape of the regions that hold the elements of your interface.

Have a question? Get answers now.

Visit the Support Center to ask questions, engage in discussions, share ideas, and help others.

Did you find this content helpful?

Want to help us improve this content?

We'd prefer it if you saw us at our best.

Pega.com is not optimized for Internet Explorer. For the optimal experience, please use:

Close Deprecation Notice
Contact us