How to Copy Modules

I often like to think of module development like building a house. With houses, there are a wide range of possibilities when it comes to size, layout, & design, not to mention, the internal décor of furniture, paint, & appliances.  

With developing a module, lots of consideration goes into aspects such as fields and functionality, structure and layout, ease of use and visual appeal. 

If you have ever driven through a suburb you quickly realize that there are groups of homes that all seem to have a similar appearance. Regardless of one’s opinion on the aesthetics of these homes, one thing is certain – planned communities and the templated homes they create are an exercise in efficiency.  

This approach most likely benefits the builder with efficiency and lower costs; especially when compared to a custom-built home in every lot. The same can be said for module developers. 

As developers we often need to create modules, whether they’re for reference data or application-based functionality. We discovered that we would constantly use similar fields as well as rules and behaviors in most of the modules that we would create. This was how we birthed our base templates – common bare necessities and best practices features that we would create repeatedly. In other words, our version of cookie cutter homes.  

When beginning to build, if it isn’t one of our standard products, we now look to copy a module template instead of starting from scratch. We refer to these modules as “Base Templates” (0 – Base Product Templates). We have a template for reference data, a workflow-based application, & a non-workflow-based application. *Reach out to your account manager if you don’t have these installed in your Build area.  

To copy a module, begin by opening the Module Tools screen located in the Module Development folder on the side panel under the link “Tools”.  

Once the screen opens, select a module from the dropdown. Then provide a new name and prefix. Once that is done click [Copy] above. Note that the module will appear under the same Folder/Category as the module you copied after you logout and back in. 

We continue to strive to make improvements in how we build, and I look forward to sharing more of them with you.