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What are Reusable UI Templates?

Reusable UI Templates are self-contained UI component hierarchies that you design once and instantiate multiple times throughout your application. They solve common UI development challenges:
  • Repetitive styling: No more redoing component styles and properties for similar UI patterns
  • Manual updates: Reduce the need to manually change components across multiple locations
  • Template management: Centralized configuration and management of UI templates
Reusable UI Templates
Reusable UI Templates focus on visual components and layout. They cannot include reusable business rules or complex business logic.

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Key benefits

Consistency

Ensure uniform UI patterns across your entire application

Efficiency

Design once and use many times - no more recreating similar patterns

Maintainability

Update templates in one place to affect all instances automatically

Omnichannel support

Templates work across different platforms and channels

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Template types

FlowX.AI supports two main types of reusable UI templates:
  • Dynamic Templates (with inputs)
  • Static Templates (without inputs)
Characteristics:
  • Include input parameters that receive data from the process
  • Support output parameters that send data back to the process
  • Contextualized based on runtime data
  • Ideal for forms and data-driven interfaces
Use cases: User registration forms, data collection cards, feedback forms

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Template structure

A reusable template consists of:
  • Root component: A single container (Card, Container, or Custom Component)
  • UI hierarchy: Child components arranged in a hierarchical structure
  • UI actions: Interactive elements that can trigger process actions
  • Data model: Input and output parameters for template configuration
  • Configuration: Name, description, and resource metadata
Reusable UI Template Structure

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Before you begin

Make sure you have:
  • Access to FlowX.AI Designer
  • Appropriate permissions to create and manage reusable resources
  • A clear understanding of the UI pattern you want to standardize

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Create a reusable template

1

Access template management

  1. In FlowX.AI Designer, go to your project
  2. Navigate to Reusable Resources > Templates
  3. Click + New Reusable Template
2

Configure basic settings

  1. Enter a descriptive name for your template (required)
    Template names cannot contain spaces. Use UpperCamelCase or underscores instead.
    • ✅ Good: PersonalDetailsCard, User_Registration_Form
    • ❌ Avoid: Personal Details Card, user-form
Personal Details Card
  1. Add an optional description explaining the template’s purpose
  2. Choose your root component type:
    • Card: Best for content needing visual separation and styling
    • Container: Ideal for layout and grouping without visual styling
  3. Configure the data model with input and output parameters
3

Define the data model

Set up the internal data structure that your template will use:
  1. Set the root element (e.g., applicationUI)
  2. Define field attributes with appropriate data types:
Example: Personal Details Template
applicationUI:
├── firstName_UI – string
├── lastName_UI – string  
├── emailAddress_UI – string
├── phoneNumber_UI – string
├── dob_UI – date
├── gender_UI – string
├── consent_UI – boolean
└── ssn – string
Use descriptive field names with consistent naming patterns (e.g., fieldName_UI) to clearly identify template-specific data.
4

Configure input and output parameters

Define the data contract between your template and the process:Input Parameters:
  • Data that flows INTO the template from the process
  • Example: ssn (pre-filled from existing process data)
Output Parameters:
  • Data that flows OUT of the template back to the process
  • Example: firstName_UI, lastName_UI, emailAddress_UI, phoneNumber_UI, dob_UI, gender_UI, consent_UI
Parameters control data flow only. They don’t determine field visibility or editability - you can still edit input parameter fields unless explicitly made read-only.
Once parameters are defined, click Done to establish the template’s data contract.
5

Design the UI hierarchy

Use the template UI designer to build your component structure:
Root Component (Card/Container)
├── UI Components (Text, Input, Button, etc.)
├── Layout Components (Containers, Flex containers)
└── Interactive Components (Forms, Actions)
The template UI designer focuses on screen parts without navigation concepts or process-related navigation.
6

Configure UI actions (optional)

Define interactive elements within your template:
  • Template-defined actions
  • Form-centric actions
  • Define UI actions within the reusable template
  • Assign node actions when instantiated in User Tasks
  • Use for standard actions like “Save”, “Submit”, or “Cancel”
7

Test your template

  1. Use Preview Mode to see how your template renders
  2. Verify component hierarchy and basic functionality
  3. Test with different themes and configurations
  4. Save your template when testing is successful
Preview Mode provides visual-only testing. Templates are not functional until embedded in a live process with proper parameter mapping.

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Use templates in User Tasks

To integrate reusable templates into your processes, follow this complete workflow:

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Prerequisites: Set up data models

1

Configure Project Data Model

  1. In your project, define the main entity (e.g., Application)
  2. Add child objects that match your template structure (e.g., Client)
  3. Include all fields from your template’s data model:
    • firstName, lastName, emailAddress
    • phoneNumber, dob, gender, consent, ssn
2

Configure Process Data Model

  1. Reference the project entity in your process
  2. Select application as the root entity
  3. Include Client as a child object
  4. The data model will automatically populate with the correct entities

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Add and configure templates

1

Add template to User Task

  1. Open the UI Designer for your User Task
  2. In the component panel, locate Reusable Templates
  3. Drag and drop your desired template into the UI hierarchy
  4. The template will appear with red warning icons indicating unmapped parameters
2

Map input parameters

  1. Select the template instance in the UI hierarchy
  2. Navigate to the template settings panel
  3. Click Define Parameters for Input Parameters
  4. Map each input to process data using dynamic keys: Example mapping: 
    Static value: "123-45-6789"
Dynamic key: ${application.client.ssn}
    Use dynamic keys like ${application.client.fieldName} to pull data from your process context automatically.
3

Map output parameters

  1. Click Define Parameters for Output Parameters
  2. Select all fields that should return data to the process
  3. Map each output to the corresponding process data structure: Example mappings: 
    applicationUI.firstName_UI → ${application.client.firstName}
applicationUI.lastName_UI → ${application.client.lastName}
applicationUI.emailAddress_UI → ${application.client.emailAddress}
  4. Test the parameter mappings to ensure data flows correctly
4

Connect template actions to process

  1. Define process action: In Process Designer, create a new UI action (e.g., saveData)
  2. Link to template: Return to UI Designer, select the action button within the template
  3. Configure action: Click Add UI Action and select your process action
  4. FlowX.AI automatically fills in the action identifier and establishes the connection

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Runtime behavior

At runtime, the process engine expands reusable templates by:
  • Replacing the REUSABLE_TEMPLATE placeholder with the actual component hierarchy
  • Maintaining proper parent-child relationships
  • Ensuring unique identifiers for each instance
  • Preserving configured UI actions and data bindings

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Manage templates

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View template usage

To see where a template is used:
  1. Go to Reusable Resources > Templates
  2. Select your template
  3. Click the Usages tab
  4. Review all processes and User Tasks using the template

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Update templates

When you modify a reusable template:
  • Changes automatically propagate to all instances
  • Existing process instances may need to restart for updates
  • Instance-specific configurations are preserved
  • The system validates changes to prevent breaking existing implementations
Template updates affect all instances immediately. Test changes thoroughly before saving to avoid disrupting active processes.

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Template dependencies

Reusable templates can reference these project resources:
Use for dropdown menus and selection components within your templates
Include images, documents, and other media assets in your templates
Add dynamic content that updates based on process context
Apply consistent styling across all template instances

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UI actions in templates

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Current capabilities

UI actions in reusable templates support basic interactive functionality. The system handles:
  • Action context management: Unique identification for template instances
  • Form submission: Automatic identification of form elements within template context
  • Data mapping: Proper mapping of data keys to process variables
  • Validation preservation: Template validation rules are maintained across instances

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Planned scenarios

  • Template-defined actions
  • Form-centric actions
How it works:
  1. Define a UI action within the reusable template
  2. Assign the node action when instantiated in a User Task
  3. Use for standard actions needing different backend connections
Best for: “Save”, “Submit”, or “Cancel” actions that need process-specific handling
Reusable UI Templates are designed as self-contained components and do not support nesting within other reusable templates

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Troubleshooting

Possible causes:
  • Invalid template hierarchy
  • Missing dependencies (enumerations, media, themes)
  • Insufficient permissions
  • Invalid component configurations
Solutions:
  • Verify template structure in the designer
  • Check all referenced resources exist
  • Confirm user permissions for template access
  • Validate component property settings
Possible causes:
  • Incorrect action context configuration
  • Invalid form submission setup
  • Data model compatibility issues
  • Missing action permissions
Solutions:
  • Verify action context is properly set
  • Check form submission configuration
  • Ensure data models match between template and process
  • Review user permissions for action execution
Possible causes:
  • Invalid key mappings in template instances
  • Mismatched process data model structure
  • Data type incompatibilities
  • Incorrect substitution tag usage
Solutions:
  • Validate key mappings match expected data structure
  • Check process data model compatibility
  • Ensure data types align between components and data sources
  • Review substitution tag configurations

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Reusable UI Templates vs. Reusable Functions

Understanding the difference between these two reusable components is crucial:
  • Reusable UI Templates
  • Reusable Functions
Purpose: UI Designer components for creating reusable interface elementsScope:
  • Visual components and layout
  • Styling and basic UI interactions
  • Form structure and input patterns
Usage context: User Tasks and interface designCannot: Include reusable business rules or complex business logic

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Advanced features

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Planned enhancements

Template nesting

Future support for using templates within other templates for enhanced modularity

Enhanced data model

Input and output parameters with function-like behavior and type safety

Advanced testing

Mock data testing and interactive validation capabilities

Cross-project sharing

Export/import templates and library dependency management
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