Project Templates

Last Modified On: June 12, 2025

Project Templates - Overview

Project templates make it quick and easy to create new projects by allowing you to reuse a predefined set of tasks and settings. When you apply a template to a project, the new project automatically inherits the template’s structure and details.

This includes project tasks, duration, dates, predecessors, assigned resources, priority, planned effort, budgeted cost, categories, notes, and project settings like column display preferences, non-working days, and scheduling direction.

For best results, set up your templates thoughtfully to simplify the creation of future projects.

You can apply a project template either when creating a project or after the project has been created.

Please note the following:

• Project task status does not carry over when creating a new project from a template—all tasks will default to ‘Not Started’ (or your custom equivalent). We recommend reviewing the tasks in your template to ensure each one has a status, as this affects task assignment.
   
• Any filters applied to columns in a project template will automatically carry over to new projects created from that template. To avoid unintended filtering in new projects, we recommend reviewing your templates and removing any filters you no longer need.
   
• Only include in the template the values you want carried over to new projects. For example, if task assignments vary from project to project, it’s best to leave the assignment field blank in the template.
   
• Templates are created as projects, so they follow the same sharing settings. If project sharing is set to private, the template will only be visible to its creator and Salesforce System Administrators. To share a template with others, you can add them as collaborators, or your Salesforce System Administrator can update the sharing settings or create sharing rules. For more details, please see Options for Sharing Projects.
   
• When applying a template during Project creation, the new Project inherits the Project Status of the Template. 
   
• When applying a template to an existing Project, it does not inherit the Project Status nor settings of the template.
   
• Project Timezone is never inherited from a template. For more information on how project timezone is assigned, please see Project Timezone Assignment.
   
• If the Project Name contains the word "Template", there is a workflow rule called "Update Is Template TRUE" that will automatically set "Is Template" to TRUE. Salesforce Administrators can choose to deactivate this workflow rule.
   

Start with the video below:

Creating a Project Template

Creating a new Project Template is the same as creating a new Project (see Getting Started to learn how to create a new Project) except that you are designating it as a Template by selecting 'Is Template'.

You can also designate an existing project as a template. Simply open a project and then click on the View project detail icon in the Project Toolbar.  

Then within the Project Detail, double click on the space beside 'Is Template' and select the checbox. Then click on Save.

Creating a new Project using a Project Template

To create a new project from a Project Template, go to the Projects Tab and click on New.

Next, populate the Project Name. Locate the Project Template field and search for a project template by entering the project template name. A list of project templates will display. Select the project template you wish to use.

Click on Save.

Once you save the new project, the new project will inherit the content and properties of the Project Template you specified. You can then make any needed adjustments to the new Project.
 

Project Templates and List Views

You can make use of a list view to view project templates or to designate existing projects as templates. You can either create a new list view or edit an existing list view which contains the 'Is Template' field as a column.

Open or create a new list view. Click on the List View Settings icon at the top right and click on 'Select Fields to Display'.

Look for 'Is Template' in the list of Available Fields on the left and move it over to the Visible Fields box using the arrow.

You can re-order the fields by using the up and down arrows to the right of the Visible Fields box. Click on Save when done.

The page will refresh and you will now be able to see the 'Is Template' column. You can designate a project as a template by hovering over the checkbox. Click on the Edit icon beside it.

You​ can now select the checkbox to designate the project as a project template. Click on Save at the bottom of the page to save your changes.​​​​​​

You can also filter the list using the 'Is Template' field so that you are viewing either only projects that are or aren't designated as project templates. You can do this by clicking on the Filter icon at the top right corner of the list.

Click on Add Filter.

Select 'Is Template' as the Field. Then select your operator (equals or not equal to) and the value (True or False). Click on Done.

You'll now see the filter you've added. Click on Save.

Your list view will refresh to display only projects that match your filter.

Another way to quickly create new projects is by cloning an existing project using the Save As Function. Please see Save As (Cloning) Functionality for more information. 

See also, Applying a Template to an Existing Project