Clone Case Templates
Overview
Institutions can automatically take case templates at various points throughout their unit hierarchy and clone them for use at other units. This allows for these templates to be edited and used by various colleges and departments without changes to the master template(s) or the need to manually set up the same templates for use lower down the unit hierarchy.
Prerequisites
Before this API can be used, Interfolio Review, Promotion and Tenure (RPT) should be fully configured for use on campus, including defining Case types that might be used in these recipes (e.g. “Tenure”, “Promotion”, etc.). HMAC keys/credentials for RPT API access must be established (contact your Interfolio Project Manager or Customer Success Manager for acquiring API access keys), and you must know the “tenant_id” of the RPT database that you wish to be acting upon. Also, it is preferable that the following standard data be populated: units, faculty, and administrative roles.
This recipe does not cover using the API to build a case template from scratch. Rather, it will walk you through how to clone a case template from an existing template that has been configured within the RPT software interface. Therefore, the desired template must be properly configured before the cases can be assigned from it.
Important Notes
- The API endpoints we will be calling use shared language common between both the RPT and Faculty Search software. The most relevant aspects of this shared API for this recipe is that “Case Templates” are accessed for RPT under endpoints labeled for “Packet Templates” and that "Units" are shared between RPT and FS.
- The API endpoints we will be calling use shared language common between both the RPT and Faculty Search software. The most relevant aspects of this shared API for this recipe is that “Case Templates” are accessed for RPT under endpoints labeled for “Packet Templates” and that "Units" are shared between RPT and FS.
Clone Case Templates using the API
About
The key to utilizing this recipe for building and managing case templates via the API is to have the RPT software properly configured with the appropriate primary template already built. Using these templates greatly simplifies and helps assure accuracy in building cases dynamically.
Cloning templates from an existing case template automatically builds:
- Workflow “Steps” the case must progress through
- Associated “Committee” reviewers for each workflow step
- Sections for organizing case content
- Content requested for each section
Please note that the cloning process copies the primary template as-is. Make sure the primary template is fully configured with all the sections, requirements, workflow steps, and committees desired to use the cloned templates.
These templates, and associated cases built from them, are associated with academic units, and it is important to be able to use the API endpoints properly to determine the appropriate unit and its correct associated template. For example, when searching for the “templates” associated with a given “unit_id,” what the API returns is any templates directly associated with that unit as well as higher-level ancestor units that might apply.
API Resources Available
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Retrieve Units by Hierarchy |
This endpoint will return a listing of units organized as a hierarchical JSON array of objects. The ID for the top-level unit in the hierarchy is always the tenant_id. Each descendant unit shows its name, id, and any of its descendants in a ‘units’ array. The unit_id is needed for each unit for which you want to create a case template. It is also needed to identify the appropriate templates that exist to build cases from. These templates are organized by unit. Action: GET => /byc/core/tenure/{tenant_id}/units/hierarchy Required Parameters: “tenant_id” |
| Retrieve Template List by Unit |
This endpoint will return a listing of the RPT templates that are applicable to the specified unit, i.e. those built for the specific unit and all of its ancestors. From this list the 'packet_type_name', ‘unit_name’, and ‘name’ fields help identify the appropriate template to be used. The template_id in the ‘id’ field will be needed for creating a copy of this template. Action: GET => /byc-tenure/{tenant_id}/units/{unit_id}/packet_templates” Required Parameters: “tenant_id”, “unit_id |
| Create Cloned Template from Primary Template |
This endpoint will create a clone of the given template at the designated unit. The new template will inherit all associated data, like workflow steps and candidate requirements, set up on the primary template. Action: POST => /byc-tenure/{tenant_id}/packet_templates/create_from_template Required Parameters: “tenant_id”, “template_id” (as “packet_id”), unit_id |
Check out the API documentation for cloning case templates for more information.