You can save custom tools created via the Groove Forms Tool or Groove InfoPath Forms Tool as a template file, and then add it as a new tool in other workspaces. This allows you to capture all design objects, such as forms, fields, views, macros, and scripts, without also including data records. Creating a tool template provides a way for designers to distribute custom tools for use in workspaces. It also gives designers a separate development tool for updating production workspace tools using replace design. Designers can use replace design to update a Forms tool or to update an InfoPath Forms tool.

You can lock the design of a Forms or InfoPath Forms tool application before you save it as a template. Use this feature if you want to prevent others from updating the design in workspaces they create using the template.

1. Select the Forms or InfoPath tool you want.
2. On the File menu, point to Save Tool As, and click Template...
3. In the Save As dialog box, select a disk location to place the new tool or accept the default location, and click Save.

If you accept the default location, the Groove Tool Templates folder in My Documents, the new tool will be listed in the More Tools list. To see the More Tools list, on the File menu, point to New and then Tool, and click More Tools.... If you place the list in another location, you can browse to as follows: On the File menu, point to New and then Tool, and click Browse....

4. If you want, set password information in the Template Options dialog box, and click OK.

About tool templates and tool versions

When you save a Forms or InfoPath Forms tool as a template, and then add it to a workspace, the tool is automatically upgraded to the latest version, even if the tool template was saved using a tool from an earlier version of Groove. For example, if you create a tool template from a Groove 3.x Forms tool, and then use this tool template to add a Forms tool to a new workspace, this Forms tool will automatically be upgraded to a Groove 2007 tool version.

Additionally, note that Office Groove 2007 does not support adding tools from tool templates to earlier workspace versions. For example, you cannot add a tool template created from a Groove 3.x Forms tool to a workspace created in an earlier version of Groove.

About distributing Forms or InfoPath Forms tool templates

A Forms or InfoPath Forms tool template is simply a data file, with a *.gta file extension. As such, you can distribute it to other Groove users just as you would for any other data file. For example, you can send it as an email attachment, place it in a Groove Files tool, or place it on a file server or Web site.

To assist other users, you might provide instructions on where to place the template file, such as the folder location that will allow the tool template to display in the More Tools list: the Groove Tool Templates folder in My Documents.