Templates and macros

Templates are pre-defined pieces of content that structure and populate studies. They help speed up the reporting process, and standardize reports across your organization. 

In this article: 

1. Roles and permissions
2. Template collections
   1. Creating a collection
   2. Editing or deleting a collection
   3. Subscribing to a collection
3. Templates
   1. Creating a template
      1. Adding a template to a collection
      2. Inserting elements
      3. Setting an impression zone
      4. Using the outline
      5. Browsing and inserting other templates
      6. Configuring template settings
   2. Editing or deleting a template
   3. Viewing a template's version history
4. Applying templates and macros to reports
5. Embedding templates
   1. Creating an embeddable template
   2. Embedding templates
6. Frequently asked questions

 

Roles and permissions

To use templates, you need the the right role and permissions depending on your goal:

• To apply templates and macros to reports, you need to be assigned a role that has the following permissions allowed:
  • All Report permissions, except for Archive Report and Delete Report.
  • View Template
  • List Template
     
• To manage personal templates, you need to be assigned a role (e.g. ‘radiologist’) that has all Template permissions allowed:
  • Copy Template
  • Create Template
  • Delete Template
  • View Template
  • List Template
  • Update Template
     
• To manage site templates and add collections on behalf of other users, you need to be assigned a role (e.g. ‘admin’) that has all Template permissions and the Admin Access permission allowed for your site.
   
• To manage all-site templates, you need to be assigned a role (e.g. ‘admin’) that has all Template permissions and the Admin Access permission allowed across all sites. See roles and permissions to learn more about the difference between site and all-site admins. 

 

Template collections

Creating a collection

In Rad AI Reporting, templates and macros are organized into collections. There are three levels for collections: personal, site, and all sites. Make sure you have the right role and permissions to create a collection at the desired level. 

💡 Templates and macros in personal collections can only be edited by the user who created the collection and site admins. Personal template collections are discoverable to all users in your organization.

Templates in site collections can only be edited by site admins. Templates in all-site collections can only be edited by all-site admins.

1. Select Templates from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side. 
   
   
    
    

2. Click the + icon next to the level at which you want to create a collection. For example, to create a personal collection, click the + icon next to My Collections. 

   💡 Administrators with "Admin Access" and "Update Collection" permissions at specific sites can add site collections. If they have admin permissions across all sites, they can also add all-site collections. Learn more.
   💡 Administrators with "Admin Access" and "Update Collection" permissions can add template collections for other users. Click the + button next to "Other Collections" or a user's name to add a collection for that user. Learn more.

   
   
   
    

3. Enter a Title and Description for your collection, then click Save. The collection will appear in the left-hand panel. You can create multiple collections.

Editing or deleting a collection

1. Select Templates from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side.
    

2. Locate the collection you want to edit by clicking through the sections, or using the search bar.

   💡 You can search for collections by collection title or owner name (site or user).
3. Click the three-dot icon next to the collection you want to edit.
    
4. Click Edit. The Edit collection dialog will appear. 
   
   
   
    
5. You can edit the title and description, or Delete collection. Deleted collections will be permanently removed from the collections panel.

 

Subscribing to a collection

If you subscribe to a collection, all templates and macros in that collection are shown under the Templates view in the report workspace—making it easy to quickly apply that template or macro to a report. They can also be triggered through a voice command. 

If you don’t subscribe to a particular collection, templates and macros in that collection are still discoverable and usable in the report workspace. But they can’t be triggered through a voice command. Learn more about applying templates and macros to reports.

Here’s how to subscribe to a collection: 

1. Select Templates from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side.
    

2. Locate the collection you want to edit and click the three-dot icon next to it.  

   
   
   
    

   💡 To find collections created by other users, look under Other Collections.
   
    
3. Click Subscribe. The collection is now listed under My Subscribed Collections. 

Follow the same steps to unsubscribe from a collection. 

Templates

Creating a template

Templates must be placed into a collection. Before creating a template, make sure you’ve first created a collection. 

💡 Want to optimize your templates for Reporting's AI features? See template best practices for Omni AI features. 

Adding a template to a collection

1. Select Templates from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side. 
    
2. Click the Add Template button. 
   
   
   
    
3. Select a collection for the new template. If you’re currently viewing a collection, it will be selected as the new template destination by default.
    
4. Use the template editor to fill out your template. See below for more details on available features in the template editor.
    
5. Once done, click Save new template.

 

Inserting elements

1. Click Insert at the top of the template editor.
   
   
    
    
2. There are four types of elements you can add to your template:
    
   • Field: Text fields prompt the user to type a value into the report, while data and formula fields automatically populate the report with information that’s available to Reporting. Learn more.
      
   • Picklist: Prompts the user to select an option from a menu.
      
   • Observation: Pre-configured fields that are managed and edited by admins. Learn more.
      
   • Template: Use the Template Chooser to find and either copy-paste or embed another template into your template. Embedded templates are only editable at their source. Learn more.
      
      
3. Once inserted, the element's properties will be displayed in the right-hand panel.
   
   
    
   • Fields and picklists let you define the field name. This shows up in the "Outline" tab in the report editor.
      
   • Fields and picklists let you define a default value—the value that is populated by default when the template is applied to a report.
      
   • Text fields and picklists have the option to Focus cursor in this field on template launch. If selected, the user’s cursor starts in the text field or picklist when the template gets applied to a study. If no text field or picklist has this selected, the cursor focuses on the first field in the template by default.
      
   • Fields have the option to make a field required with the Required field checkbox. When a field is required, anyone signing a report is notified if they try to sign the report but the field is still empty. Signing is blocked until the field is no longer empty. This behavior is the same as the required field for observations.
      

   • Picklists let you define the picklist option type—“Text” or “Embedded Template”. 

     • With "Embedded template" as the option type, click Select template... to browse templates to embed via the Template Chooser. 
       
       
     💡 If your organization has imported a XML file with picklist options that are embedded templates, the option type will be set to "Embedded Template". Users with template edit permissions will also see options to Preview embedded template and Edit embedded template.
   • Picklists let you define a label / shortcut for each option—the name radiologists see in the picklist and the phrase they can say to select that option by voice command (for example, “Pick BIRADS 0”). Use it to create short, memorable option names without changing the full text that’s actually inserted into the report when that option is selected. Learn more about voice commands.
      

   • With picklists, you can opt to show picklist option numbers or not. If deselected, the option numbers will be hidden from the template. 

     ⚠️ If you hide picklist option numbers, the ability to reference those numbers in voice commands gets removed. This means users can't say "pick 1" to choose the first option in the picklist. However, they can still say the option label—e.g. "chest"—to choose that option. Learn more about voice commands.

 

Setting an impression zone

Impression zones allow you to designate specific areas for Rad AI’s Omni Report, Impression and Recommendations features. When radiologists use the "Omni Report" or "“Omni Impression” voice command, the impression zone will be automatically populated based on the report findings. 

💡 Setting an impression zone is particularly recommended if you have any content below the impression section in your template. It tells the AI exactly where to locate the impression—without it, content below the desired boundaries of the impression may get overwritten. Setting an impression zone isn't usually necessary if it's the final section in your template.

1. In the template editor, highlight the area in which you'd like the impression to be located. Generally, this sits under the "IMPRESSION:" header and would encompass any default impression statement. 

   ⚠️ The generated impression will replace any content within the highlighted area.
   💡 The default impression statement can be plain text or a field.

   
   
   
    

2. Click the Set Impression Zone button at the top of the editor, or right-click and select Set Impression Zone from the menu.

   💡 You can only set one impression zone per template.

   
   
   
    

3. If the impression zone has been set successfully, it will appear in the Outline panel on the left-hand side and as a gray background in the template editor.
   
   

 

Using the outline

The Outline view on the left side of the template editor shows the overall structure of the template, allowing you to quickly navigate and edit fields. It shows fields and the Impression zone. 


 

 

Browsing and inserting other templates

Use the Template Chooser to browse and insert other templates into your template. 

1. Click Template Chooser at the bottom of the report editor. The template chooser drawer will expand.
    
2. Use the search bar to find a template. By default, only templates from subscribed collections are shown in the list. Click the filter icon next to the search field to subscribe or unsubscribe from collections and update the list of shown templates accordingly. 
   
   
   
    
3. Select a template to preview it.
    

4. Choose how you want to insert the template:
    

   • Copy and paste template: Inserts a standalone copy of the template. Once inserted, it is no longer linked to the original, so you can edit it freely without affecting the source.
      

   • Embed: Inserts a linked version of the template inside your current template. You can only edit embedded templates at their source, and any changes will apply everywhere the template is embedded. Learn more about embedding templates.

 

Configuring template settings

The Settings view has overall configuration options for your template. 

1. If not selected already, click Settings on the right-hand side of the template editor.
   
   
   
    
2. (Required) Enter a Name for your template. 
    
3. Choose your template Type:
    
   • Template: fully replaces any existing content when applied to a report. Generally used to provide overall structure to a report. 
      
   • Macro: inserted wherever your cursor is located in a report. Generally used as ‘building blocks’ and triggered by voice commands to quickly populate a report.
      
      

4. Enter a Description for your template.

   💡 Templates can be searched for by title, custom phrase, or description.

5. Enter a Custom phrase—a voice command that will apply this template following the command phrase “template…” or “macro…”

   ⚠️ Custom phrases are personal to each user. If you subscribe to another user's template collection, you can't view or use their custom phrases to apply those templates—nor can you create your own.
   • If a custom phrase is entered, only the custom phrase works as a voice command in the report workspace—not the template name. 
   • If the custom phrase is left blank, only the template name works as voice command in the report workspace. 
   • In either scenario, an exact match is needed (including punctuation). 
      

6. Configure auto-launch rules to automatically launch this template based on the procedure code when the study is opened. Learn more about template auto-launch rules.

   💡 Currently you can only configure auto-launch rules for templates, not macros. 

Editing or deleting a template

1. Select Templates from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side.
    
2. Select a collection.
    
3. Double-click a template or macro to open it.
    

4. Edit your template, then choose one of the following:

   1. Click Save to keep your changes. 
   2. Click Delete template in the Settings tab on the right-hand side. 
   💡 Templates embedded in other templates can’t be deleted. To delete one, first remove all instances where it’s embedded. Learn more about embedding templates.

 

Viewing a template’s version history

Version history automatically tracks changes made to templates over time. It allows you to audit and restore previously-saved versions of any template in your organization. 

1. Select Templates > Manage from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side.
    
2. Select a collection.
    
3. Double-click a template or macro to open it.
    
4. Click the drop-down arrow next to the template’s name at the top of the template editor, then click View version history. A dialog will appear. 
   
   
   
    
5. Versions of the template are listed, with editor and timestamp, in the timeline on the left-hand side:
   • The current, unsaved, version of the template appears at the top of the timeline.
   • Previously saved versions of the template appear below, sorted by newest to oldest.
      
6. Click a version to preview the template’s content at the time it was saved.
    
7. To replace the current version with a previous version, click the three-dot icon next to a version then click Restore this version. A confirmation dialog will appear—click Restore.  
   
   

 

Applying templates and macros to reports

There are three ways to apply templates and macros to reports:

• Automatically launch when the study is opened using template auto-launch rules (works for templates, not macros).
   
• Voice command, using “template…” or “macro…” followed by the template’s custom phrase. This only works for template collections that you’ve subscribed to. Learn how to configure a custom phrase in template settings. 
   
• Select from the Templates view in the report workspace. 

 

Browsing and selecting templates from the Templates view

1. Select Reports from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side, select a report list, then open a report.
    

2. Go to the Templates view in the report workbench. This should appear automatically if you’ve subscribed to at least one collection. 

   💡 If you don’t see the Templates view, go to Profile > Personal Settings > Workbench and check the Templates toggle is turned on. 

3. Templates and macros from subscribed collections are listed in the view. 
   

   💡 If no templates are listed, you may not be subscribed to any collections. See step 4 below to learn how to subscribe and unsubscribe from collections.
   
   

4. Scroll the list or Search for a template by title, custom phrase, or description. You can also filter the list to show just Templates, just Macros, or All. 

   
   
    

4. (Optional) Click the filter icon next to the search field to manage your subscribed collections and how they appear in your Templates view.
   
   
   
   
   From this menu you can:
    
   1. Search collections by title or owner name using the search field
       
   2. Subscribe or unsubscribe from a collection by checking or unchecking the box next to it
       
   3. Reorder the subscribed collections listed in the Templates view by dragging and dropping the handles. In the Templates view itself, templates are displayed in a single unified "Other templates" list and are not grouped by collection.
       

   4. Browse collections by clicking the header to expand or collapse each section. Expanded and collapsed sections are saved automatically.
      
      

      💡 If a finalizing author has been set for the report, their template collections will appear in a dedicated Finalizing Author Collections section for easy access. Learn more about multi-author workflow.
      
      

5. (Optional) Click the template/macro icon to preview the content. From the preview, you can choose to Apply/insert the template/macro. 
   
   
   
    
6. (Optional) Hover your cursor over a template to reveal the full template title, author, and collection it belongs to.
    
7. (Optional) Right-click a template for more options:
    
   • Apply template: replaces any content in the editor with the selected template. 
   • Insert template: adds the selected template to the editor where your cursor is located. 
   • Omni: Report: applies the template and runs the Omni Report AI feature. 
   • Omni: Unchanged: applies the template and runs the Omni: Unchanged AI feature. 
   • Edit template: takes you to the template editor (if you have edit permission) 
   • Set personal custom phrase: enter a voice command that will apply this template following the command phrase “template…” or “macro…” Learn more about custom phrases.
      
      
8. Double-click a template (or click the + icon next to it) to apply it to the report.
   
   
    

 

Embedding templates

You can embed templates into other templates. This inserts a linked version of the template into the template you're editing. You can only edit embedded templates at their source, and any changes will apply everywhere the template is embedded. This makes it easy to maintain and update standardized language across different types of reports.

Read on to learn how to use embedded templates effectively.

Creating an embeddable template

Before you can embed a template, you’ll need to create it:

1. Select Templates from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side.
    

2. Click Add Template and select a collection for your new template. 
    

3. In the Settings view on the right-hand side, enter a Name that clearly identifies this template as embeddable, and the purpose of the template (e.g. "Embeddable: Header" or "[Embed] Technique").
    
4. (Recommended) To avoid embeddable templates being used like regular templates, change the template Type to Macro in the Settings tab. While macros are still discoverable in the report workbench, they get inserted into report content rather than replacing the report content entirely.  
    

5. Add content to the template editor to create your embeddable template. This might include headings, structured fields, phrases, or formatting.
   
   

   💡 Embeddable templates should be self-contained and modular. Avoid adding content that only makes sense in one specific context. A embeddable template should be a specific report section (e.g. header, technique, a set of anatomical parts)—not an entire report.

6. Click Save new template.

Your template is now available for embedding into other templates.

Embedding templates

1. Select Templates from the main navigation menu on the left-hand side.
    

2. Open a existing template, or click Add Template and select a collection for your new template.
    

3. In the template editor, place your cursor where you want to embed a template.
    

4. Select Insert > Template from the upper toolbar.
   
   
   
    

5. Use the Template Chooser to search for the template you want to embed.

   💡 Only templates from collections to which you're subscribed are searchable. But you can click the filter icon next to the search bar and use the checkboxes to subscribe to/unsubscribe from collections—right there  n the Template Chooser.

   
    
    

6. Select a template to preview its content. Then click Embed. 

   ⚠️ If you select copy and paste template, it will detach the content from its source. This means changes to the source template won’t be reflected in the template you're editing. Use Embed to maintain a single source of truth across multiple templates.
7. Continue building your template with additional embeds or other content. Once done, click Save. 
    

8. To view and edit templates at their source, click on an embedded template in the template editor. Then click Edit template in the Properties tab on the right. You'll be directed away from this page.
   
   

   💡 You can use the back button in your browser to return to your main template. 

 

Frequently asked questions

As an admin, can I add template collections on behalf of other users?

Yes, as long as you're assigned a role (e.g., "Admin") that has the "Admin Access" and "Update Collection" permissions enabled. To add template collections for other users: 

1. Select Templates from the left-hand navigation menu. 
    
2. Do one of the following: 
    
   1. Click the + button next to "Other Collections", fill in the collection title, collection description, and user, then click Save.
      
      
      
       
   2. Open "Other Collections" then click the + button next to the user for whom you want to add a collection. Fill in the collection title and description, then click Save.