When you have created a Group Template, you can add items to a Group Template in the same way as you add items to a ‘normal’ Group (see Place Database Items in a Group). When deciding what items to add to a Group Template, take into account any Limitations and Restrictions. Whatever database items you add to a Group Template are automatically replicated in each Instance that references the Template.
Remember that the items in a Group Template do not actually represent ‘live’ data—they are the ‘model’ for the ‘live’ items in each Group Instance that references the Template.
If the items are to vary in type or number in the Instances that reference a Group Template, consider adding Abstract Items to your Template (see Add an Abstract Item to a Group Template).
When assigning names to items in a Group Template, take into consideration the fact that those names will be inherited by each Instance that references the Template, (you cannot rename items within a Group Instance directly—the names are inherited from the Group Template that the Instance references). You can rename the items within a Group Template at a later stage—the same alteration will occur in each Instance that references the Template.
When you have added the required items to the Group Template, you will need to configure each of those items in the Template (see Configure the Items in a Group Template). The configuration that you specify automatically becomes replicated for the version of the item in each Group Instance that references the Template.
Use the Property Overrides feature to define which configuration properties can be modified locally in each Group Instance, and which are derived from the Template (see Define which Property Values Derive from a Group Template).
To ‘activate’ an Abstract Item, you convert it to the required type of point or outstation, within a Group Instance(see Convert an Abstract Item into a ‘Real’ Point or Outstation).
For information on configuring database items, see the relevant configuration section.