The Templates button under "Customizations" in the Admin Dashboard allows users to create and configure report templates, export templates, and create style guides.
Report templates: Defines the report layout that may include narrative sections and custom fields.
Export templates: Ability to manage templates for exporting reports from PlexTrac.
Style guides: Defines the styles and presentation when exporting Jinja reports to Word.
A report template is a pre-defined structure and format for creating reports. It may include narrative sections and custom fields, as well as the ability to select an export template.
Report templates save time and ensure consistency in the formatting and presentation of reports within an organization. They save time by pre-populating report sections, such as the introduction, methodology, or threat model. Linking to a custom export template ensures an exported file is branded and structured in the desired reporting methodology.
Step 1: Click New report template.
Step 2: Enter a template name and select a default export template from the pulldown menu, if applicable (i.e., a Jinja template).
The default export template must be loaded first before starting this process.
Step 3: Add any custom fields or narrative sections by clicking the appropriate buttons and entering the required information.
Step 4: Click Create.
The template will appear in the list on the Report templates tab.
Report templates can be previewed by clicking Preview under the "Actions" column.
The preview will show any text entered in the narrative section when the template was created. It does not display template custom fields.
Report templates can be edited by clicking Edit under the "Actions" column.
This will launch a modal, allowing the entire template to be modified. Click Save when finished.
Report templates can be deleted by clicking Delete under the "Actions" column.
A box will appear confirming the action. Click Delete.
A style guide helps content creators and publishers maintain consistency in their content presentation. It provides guidelines on spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, formatting, and other elements of written communication.
The purpose of the style guides is to provide the ability to overwrite the default PlexTrac formatting during the report export process. The style guides only apply to Jinja templates exported to Word (.doc). Style guides do not impact rich-text fields.
PlexTrac provides a default template that can be configured, leveraged, or cloned to create other style guides. There is no limit to the number of style guides.
The default style guide cannot be deleted.
The style guide consists of four tabs/sections:
Code blocks
Images
Tables
Hyperlinks
This tab defines the code block experience, including style, prefix, font, font size, font color, background color, border color, width, content alignment, and padding.
This tab defines the image experience, including caption font and prefix, border style, image width and alignment, and padding.
The options to add a border color and width only appear when a border style is selected. If the border style value is "None," color and width options are hidden.
Include any desired punctuation within the "Prefix" box when adding an image prefix label. For example, "Figure:".
This tab defines the table experience, including caption font and prefix, and the table justification within the content.
Include any desired punctuation within the "Prefix" box when adding a table prefix label. For example, "Table:".
This tab defines the font color of links.
Step 1: Click the box.
Step 2: Choose the desired color by clicking in the color box, dragging the circle to the desired color, or entering the hex color code in the provided box.
Step 3: Click X to remove the overlay.
Click Reset under the "Color Options" pulldown menu to revert to the previously selected color.
Step 1: From the Admin Dashboard, click Templates under "Customizations," then click the Style guides tab. Click Create style guide.
Step 2: Select if starting from the default style guide provided by PlexTrac or an existing style guide. Click Create.
If no other style guides exist, the only option in the pulldown menu will be the default style guide.
Step 3: Enter a name for the new style guide.
There is a 100-character limit to a style guide title.
Step 4: Configure the style guide to the desired experience by navigating between the four tabs. Click Create style guide when finished.
A style guide must be associated with an export template to be leveraged. The export template is then associated with a report template, which is then associated with a report. The instructions below assume all files (style guide, export template, report template, and report) exist.
Step 1: From the Admin Dashboard, click Templates under "Customizations," then click the Export templates tab and find the desired export template to associate with the style guide.
Step 2: Under the "Style Guide" column of the table of the export template, select the desired style guide from the pulldown menu.
Any report templates associated with this export template will now leverage the style guide. If no report templates are associated with this export template, continue with Step 3.
Step 3: Click the Report templates tab.
Step 4: Click Edit from the "Actions" column.
Step 5: From the pulldown menu under "Export template," select the export template from Step 1. Click Save.
Any reports associated with this report template will now leverage the style guide when exported. If no reports are associated with this report template, continue with Step 6.
Step 6: Click the Reports module from the left navigation bar. Click the row of the impacted report.
Step 7: Click the Details tab.
Step 8: Go to the "Report Template" field and select the report template in the pulldown menu from Step 4. Click Save.
The next time this report is exported (assuming it is a Jinja template), it will reflect the configuration of the associated style guide from Step 2.
PlexTrac allows the uploading of templates to provide flexibility in exporting reports in a custom format and style.
File names for export templates can be duplicated, but creating unique values is recommended for easier management.
Titles can only contain alphanumeric characters and these special characters:
()-_
PlexTrac allows export templates to be uploaded in .doc (for Word documents) or .j2 (for PDF documents) format.
Jinja is a template engine that dynamically generates text-based documents by defining Word templates with placeholders for dynamic content. PlexTrac provides Jinja Word templates to match the branding and styling of an export organization.
PlexTrac provides default templates for exporting to PDF and Word.
Step 1: From the Admin Dashboard, click Templates under "Customizations."
Step 2: Click the Export templates tab.
Step 3: Click Create export template.
Step 4: Drag a .docx or .j2 file to the box provided or click the box in the model to find the file to upload to the computer.
Step 5: Select a style guide to associate with the export template if applicable.
Step 5: Click Upload.
The new template appears in the table.
Export templates can be downloaded by clicking Download under the "Actions" column.
The file will download to your local system.
Export templates can be deleted by clicking Delete under the "Actions" column.
A dialog box will appear confirming the action. Click Delete to complete the task.
