Using the New Vita Builder to Support Your Faculty
This document will provide the steps to recreate demonstrations highlighted in our Elsevier Impact Conference (EIC) Vita Builder workshop, including new features, helpful template configurations, and enhanced styling options. This EIC Workshop will be presented live on June 15, 2025 by Andrew Hare (Interfolio; Product Manager: Faculty Activity Reporting) and Katie Wrucke (Interfolio; Implementation Specialist).
Because Vitas in Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR) are highly customizable, our step-by-step guide was created to accommodate most setups.
Step-by-Step Demonstration Guide
Propagation
Vita builder introduced the concept of "linked" and "unlinked" templates. This feature, combined with our new propagation logic, enables templates to be managed seamlessly at the highest level. This feature, along with the option to archive templates that are no longer in-use, makes for dramatically streamlined template management.
How to Propagate (5 Steps)
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Navigate to Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup > Configuration: Institutional Vita Templates. |  |
| Step 2 | Select the +Create New Template button from the upper right-hand corner. |  |
| Step 3 | Select a source template unit, name, and destination unit. Click ‘Continue’ when finished. |  |
| Step 4 | If you want to apply source template settings and edits to the Vita you're creating, select Linked Template, then click 'Continue.' |  |
| Step 5 | Complete your template settings and either Save as Draft or Create and Activate. |  |
Auto-Generation
Vita builder introduced the concept of "draft" and "active" templates. This feature allows
administrators to do all of the work necessary to set up a new template before making it
faculty-facing. In addition, the new auto-generation feature allows vitas to be automatically available to faculty without any additional setup required.
Generate a Vita for Your Faculty (4 Steps)
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Navigate to Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup > Configuration: Institutional Vita Templates. | |
| Step 2 | Auto-generation depends on the “active” status on a Vita. This can be done when 1) Creating a vita, 2a) Editing a draft Vita, or 2b) Selecting a draft vita from the Templates page. |
1) 2a) 2b)
|
| Step 3 | Once activated, click into the vita and select Edit Template Settings from the ‘Edit Template’ dropdown in the upper right-hand corner. |  |
| Step 4 | Scroll down and select/apply Show to faculty to auto-generate the vita for your faculty. |  |
Template Configuration
Vita builder has the flexibility to allow for a large number of customizations to vita
templates. These dynamic, new options allow institutions to create templates that meet a
vast array of use cases.
Duplicate a Vita Section (4 Steps)
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Navigate to Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup > Configuration: Institutional Vita Templates. | |
| Step 2 | Select the vita you wish to edit. |  |
| Step 3 | Click Copy next to the section you wish to duplicate. |  |
| Step 4 | Create a name for this new duplicated section and click Duplicate when finished. |  |
Show/Hide Tabular Columns (6 Steps)
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Within Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup in the vita you wish to edit, select Edit next to the section you wish to edit. |
The ‘Delete’ option only exists for copied sections. |
| Step 2 | Select Settings in the right-hand menu. |  |
| Step 3 | If not already, change the display style to Tabular. |  |
| Step 4 | Under the ‘Display Style’ dropdown, click the option to Edit Table Columns. |  |
| Step 5 | Here you can click Shown or Hidden to change the visibility of section columns in Tabular display. The up/down arrows can be used to reorder Tabular columns. |  |
| Step 6 | Click Apply Changes at the bottom of the menu when finished. |  |
Show/Hide Columns, Cont. (4 Steps)
These instructions can be applied to any Vita “Edit” menu option where "show and hide” is available.
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Within Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup in the vita you wish to edit, select Edit next to the section you wish to edit. |
 The ‘Delete’ option only exists for copied sections. |
| Step 2* | Select Activity Classifications in the right-hand menu. |
|
| Step 3 | Select Shown or Hidden to change the visibility of the ACs. Up/Down arrows can be used to reorder AC display. |  |
| Step 4 | Click Apply Changes when finished. | |
Section Grouping (4 Steps)
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Within Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup in the vita you wish to edit, select Edit next to the section you wish to edit. |
The ‘Delete’ option only exists for copied sections. |
| Step 2* | Select Section Grouping in the right-hand menu. |
|
| Step 3 | Select the dropdown under Group by. Here options vary. Pick the grouping that works for your institution. Grouping is optional and multiple groups can be selected. |  |
| Step 4 | Click Apply Changes when finished. | |
Chronological/Reverse Chronological Order (3 Steps)
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Within Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup in the vita you wish to edit, select Edit Template Settings under the ‘Edit Template’ dropdown in the upper right-hand corner. | |
| Step 2 | Select the Sort CV in chronological order checkbox under 'Display Settings.' |  |
| Step 3 | Click Apply Changes when finished. | |
Styling Options
Vita builder has enhanced styling options to enable professional curriculum vitae. In
addition, any changes made to templates are tracked in a change log which allows for
complete transparency.
We highly recommend using this header option when a PDF export is preferred. Word export and FAR-to-RPT do not currently support this “header-like” section.
Creating a Header-Like Section (8 Steps)
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Within Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup in the vita you wish to edit, select Edit next to the ‘Contact Information’ section. |  |
| Step 2 | Select Settings in the right-hand menu. | |
| Step 3 | Remove the Section Name (include spaces so the field isn't empty) and select Listing as the ‘Display Style.’ Click ‘Apply Changes’ when finished. |  |
| Step 4 |
Still editing the section, go into Contact Information and hide/show the desired fields. Click Apply Changes when finished. Field Display Option can be left blank. |
 |
| Step 5 | Still editing the section, add and apply your preferred Styling. Click ‘Apply Changes’ when finished. |  |
| Step 6 | Back within the Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup in the vita you wish to edit, select Edit Template Styling from the ‘Edit Template’ dropdown in the upper right-hand corner. |  |
| Step 7 | These are the title stylinggs used in the EIC workshop. |  |
| Step 8 | The result will look something like this. |
Use of this ‘header-like’ section should only be used with PDF export. Word export and FAR-to-RPT Vita options are currently not supported. |
FAQ
Is there a ‘best way’ to preview an Institutional Vita?
Yes and no – it really depends on how you want to view the changes made. We recommend
two different ways depending on the changes you make:
- The “Preview” button from Administration > Setup > Institutional Vita Templates > click
into any vita template. - While emulating a faculty member.
“Preview” Changes Made to a Vita (3 Steps)
This is the best choice when making stylistic format changes to a vita. Whether you’re adding italics, borderlines, or curious about how a display type (e.g. tabular) might look at a high-level, “Preview" makes reviewing these choices simple and easy.
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Navigate to Institutional Vita Templates under Administration > Setup > Configuration: Institutional Vita Templates. | |
| Step 2 | Select the vita you wish to edit. | |
| Step 3 | Make any stylistic format changes, as needed. Click Preview to review the changes with the pre-filled sample text. |  |
Emulate Tool to Explore the Faculty View
This is the best choice when making configuration changes to a vita. This includes section changes, changes to hidden/shown options, or even high-level changes (e.g. chronological sorting).
Prerequisite: The Vita template must be published and visible to faculty at time of emulation.
| Instructions | Visual | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Navigate to the Emulate Tool under Administration > Administration |  |
| Step 2 | Select the faculty member you wish to emulate. |  |
| Step 3 | From the left-hand menu, go to Vitas under the ‘Vitas & Biosketches’ section. |  |
| Step 4 |
If visible to faculty, go to the auto-generated Vita of the template you wish to review. If not visible to faculty, create a new Institutional Vita using a published Institutional vita in the faculty member's profile. Vitas created via auto-gen will show ‘Administrator (view-only)’ as the source. |
|
Recommendations
- We find that using two browser windows (not tabs), one normal and the other ‘incognito,’ allows for the best ‘edit-and-preview’ experience. This way you can edit the vita from the Setup and then quickly refresh the faculty view in your other browser window to see. your updates in real time.
- Refresh the vita (via emulation) often!