we read “At any point, these templates can be reverted to their original designs, using the Reload system templates functionality.“
I did this on a test environment from a FreeTextInvoice.Report screen.
This appears to have had the effect of changing the Templates table from having one row with Current storage type of Azure Storage to having two rows. The new row had a storage type of AOT Resource.
Can anyone help me understand this behaviour? Why does this happen and why would we want or not want it to happen and now what do I do with two template rows? Can I just delete the new second row that is AOT Resource storage type?
When you install our SSRS Replica model (which you did, based on the described situation), you get ready-made Docentric designs for some 60+ reports, and FreeTextInvoice.Report (FTI) is one of them. For each supported report, this model contains one template in the form of .docx file, stored in AOT as an AOT Resource, and one class responsible for some report-specific logic, such as datasource reshaping, implementation of custom placeholders, populating the print archive metadata etc.
We refer to these templates as (Docentric) system templates. When you clicked the Reload system templates button, you requested from Docentric to look for any Docentric replica template available in AOT for the current report (FTI). As the template was found, you got a new entry in the templates list, so everything is as expected. We simply added a new entry, so that your custom template was preserved.
It is a good idea to have the Docentric replica template easily accessible, as it (1) produces the same result as the original SSRS format, and (2) is a good reference and sometimes even starting point for your own templates. So, it makes sense to leave it there, but operate on your own template version, that you would upload to Azure blob storage as until now, or to SharePoint if you decide so. But if this replica template bothers you, you can simply delete it and have the same situation as before clicking the Reload system templates button.
Having two or even twenty template records doesn’t introduce any performance overhead. We have clients with multiple legal entities, who maintain a different template for each legal entity, so that is one reason why one would want multiple templates. Another reason is when a client wants to use different templates for different i.e. customer groups, or even some special template for a special customer. In short, multiple templates are there to give you flexibility, but if they bother you, feel free to delete the replica template and stick to your one template entry.
