Creating and Updating Services › Management of Services › How to Use a Service as a Template

How to Use a Service as a Template

You can optionally create a service to use as a template for creating all services in your catalog (a template service). Creating a template service helps ensure that all services in your catalog have a consistent look-and-feel. To create a template service, follow this process:

1. Add a new service, using the following guidelines:
   • Include the word "template" in the name.
   • Mark the service as unavailable by setting the Unavailable After date to the current date.
   • Select the service option groups that you want to be in the template service.
2. Inform other administrators about the template service. Tell them to follow the remaining steps to use it to add a new service:
   1. Copy and paste the template service to an appropriate "holding" folder.
   2. Rename the service each time that you copy it to a different folder.
   3. Add new service option groups to the service, if necessary.
   4. Remove existing service option groups from the service, if necessary.
3. Do one of the following to modify a service option group in a service created from your template service:
   • To apply your changes to all services that use the service option group, edit the service option group definition directly.
   • To apply your changes only to the new service that you are creating from the template service, do the following:
     1. Copy and rename the service option group.
     2. Modify the new service option group as required. For example, update its name, add one or more new service option elements to it, or delete one or more service option elements from it.
     3. Add the new service option group to your new service.
     4. Remove the original service option group from the service.

   Note: When you copy a service, you specify whether the new service includes copies of the original service option groups or links to them. If you specify links, any changes to a linked service option group apply to all services that include it: the original service, the new service that you copied, and any other service in the Catalog system that includes the link. Sample updates include changing its details and adding or removing service option elements.

4. Define a service option element in a service option group, or update it, if necessary.