What changed?
In Office Timeline Version 8, we released a major advancement to Custom Templates. This functionality now depends on the new Themes feature to function, and the rebuild of Custom Templates required changes to which Editions can access custom template creation.
Themes are switchable skins that handle the bulk of the styling work and enable quick standardization, and the new Custom Templates relies on this capability to create much more predictable results replicating timeline designs and layouts.
All users on Version 8 or higher have access to a collection of predesigned themes for immediate style changes. Any existing custom templates will work better than before; however, in order to create new custom templates, users on Versions 8 or higher will need full access to the Themes functionality, only available in Expert Edition.
Why the change?
Based on feedback from power users, the Custom Templates feature, despite our best efforts, often caused unpredictable results and dissatisfaction, and only a small portion of our users leveraged this feature. In planning for Version 8, we prioritized improvements to this functionality and rebuilt Custom Templates from scratch as part of Themes, ensuring best-in-class template creation.
Due to the extremely limited usage we saw of the Custom Templates feature, weighed against the complexity of splitting template creation from Themes, we decided to couple the functionality together and put it into a separate Edition. As per our data, 97+% of our users are unlikely to be affected.
Access to Custom Templates for Pro+, Pro and Basic users
For the avoidance of doubt, existing custom templates still work on Version 8. Your existing templates will be fully accessible and functional, minimizing any disruption to your work.
If creating new custom templates is crucial to your workflow, please reach out to our support team at support@officetimeline.com, and we can assist with alternative options.