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Set up a Design for Populate

Choose Table columns, blank-cell behavior, and compatible source Visuals for a reusable template.

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Written by David Peng

Turn a Visual into a reusable template by choosing which layers become Table columns and which stay fixed.

Start template setup

  1. Select the Visual you want to use as the source.

  2. In the Properties panel, find Template.

  3. Click Set up template.

You can also enter setup from the empty Table view or search for Set up template in the command palette.

Choose Table columns

A new setup initially maps eligible Text and Image layers. Select a layer and use Template → Show in Table to control whether it becomes a column.

  • Turn Show in Table on for copy and images that change by row.

  • Turn it off for logos, legal copy, backgrounds, and decorative layers that stay fixed.

  • An Auto Layout group containing only Image layers can become one Image List column.

Name each column

Give every mapped layer a clear, unique name. Layer names become Table columns and Excel headers. Template setup reports empty, duplicate, reserved, or mismatched names.

Choose blank-cell behavior

For a mapped Text or Image layer, choose what happens when its Table cell is blank:

  • As designed keeps the template content.

  • Hide layer hides the layer in that Generated Visual.

  • Leave empty clears the content.

Finish setup

  1. Resolve every blocker and review any warnings.

  2. Click Done to return to Canvas, or Open Table to add production rows.

You can exit before setup is ready, but Table remains unavailable until the blockers are resolved.

Add another size

  1. Duplicate a source template Visual.

  2. Resize and adapt the duplicate while preserving its corresponding Text and Image layers.

  3. Right-click the duplicate in Layers and choose Add to template setup.

  4. Resolve any alignment or field-name issues.

Use another size when the column contract is the same. Use New template in Table when a different layout needs different columns.

Remove template setup

Select a source Visual and choose Remove from template…. If Generated Visuals exist, choose whether to keep them as regular editable Visuals or delete them with the setup.

Troubleshooting

  • If no columns appear, confirm that the Visual contains editable Text or Image layers.

  • If Table stays unavailable, open template setup and resolve the blocker shown in the Template section.

  • If another size cannot be added, duplicate an existing source template Visual so stable layer identities are preserved.

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