Template Manager
Apex Lucis Pro — the Template Manager is a Pro feature. Without a subscription the section still appears in the sidebar, but opening it shows the Pro upgrade screen rather than your templates.
This does not affect the documents you produce. Every invoice, contract, call sheet, crew sheet and model release still generates normally without Pro — it just uses the built-in template for that type. Pro is what lets you bring your own.
Every PDF Apex Lucis produces — invoices, contracts, model releases, crew sheets and call sheets — is built from a template. The Template Manager is where you review the templates that ship with the app, import your own, and choose which one the app uses for each document type.
Where to find it — Template Manager appears in the sidebar on iPad and Mac. It is hidden on iPhone, where the screen is too narrow to preview a document page usefully. Do your template work on a larger screen; the templates you choose sync to your iPhone through iCloud.
The five document types
| Type | Used for |
|---|---|
| Call Sheet | Telling clients and crew the schedule, meeting point and tasks for a shoot |
| Contract | The agreement a client signs off on for a work package |
| Crew Sheet | Telling the crew the schedule and tasks for a shoot |
| Invoice | Requesting payment from a client |
| Model Release | The permission a model signs before a shoot |
Each type has its own set of placeholders, so a template written for one type will not work as another. You choose the type when you import.
Built-in templates
The first time you launch Apex Lucis, one built-in template is installed for each of the five types, named after the type it serves — Invoice, Contract, Call Sheet, Crew Sheet, Model Release. Each carries a Built-in badge in the list so you can tell it apart from anything you import.
This happens for everyone, with or without Pro. The built-ins are what non-Pro users’ documents are generated from.
Built-in templates cannot be deleted or replaced. If you try to delete one, the delete action is replaced by a “Can’t Delete” item, and no Replace action is offered. This is deliberate: it guarantees every document type always has at least one working template to fall back on, so you can never end up unable to produce an invoice.
You can, of course, import your own and make that the active one instead. The built-in stays in the list, unused.
The template list
Templates are grouped by type, with a section for each. A yellow star next to a template’s name means it is the active template for its type — the one the app will use when you generate that kind of document. A Built-in badge on the right of a row marks a template that shipped with the app.
Reviewing a template
Select any template to open it in the detail pane. At the top you get a short description of what that document type is for, then a segmented control with two tabs.
Templates you imported also show an Updated date beneath the description. It changes whenever you replace the template’s file, which is how you confirm a replacement went through.
Overview
The Overview tab lists every placeholder available to this document type, with a plain-English description of what each one is replaced with. This is your reference sheet when writing a template — placeholders not on this list will not be filled in.
Preview
The Preview tab renders the template as a finished PDF using sample data — a made-up client, booking and set of figures. Nothing in the preview comes from your real records, so it is safe to look at with someone over your shoulder.
Use it to check layout: whether your logo sits correctly, whether the table has room, whether anything overflows onto a second page.
Choosing which template to use
Only one template per type can be active at a time.
When you select a template that is not currently active, a Use this template button appears above the tabs. Tapping it makes that template active for its type and clears the star from whichever template previously held it. Every invoice you generate from then on uses the new template.
The button is hidden when you are looking at the template that is already active — if there’s no button, that one is already in use.
Importing your own template
Templates are RTF files (Rich Text Format). Write yours in any word processor that can save RTF — Pages, Word, TextEdit, Nisus — using the placeholder tokens listed in the Overview tab wherever you want app data to appear.
- Tap Import Template in the toolbar (the download-arrow icon, top right).
- Choose your
.rtffile. Only RTF files can be selected. - Pick which of the five document types the template is for, then tap Import.
The imported template takes its name from the filename, capitalised — a file called studio invoice 2026.rtf becomes a template named “Studio Invoice 2026”. Name your files accordingly.
Importing does not automatically make the template active. Select it in the list and tap Use this template when you’re ready to switch.
If the file cannot be read, or is not really an RTF document, the import is refused with a “Could not import template” message naming the file, and nothing is added to the list. This most often catches a file that has been renamed to .rtf without actually being converted — a .docx or a .pages file saved under the wrong extension. Re-export it as Rich Text Format from your word processor and try again.
Updating a template — replacing its file
When you edit a template on your computer, the copy inside Apex Lucis does not change. To pick up your edits, replace the template’s file.
- iPad — swipe left on the template row and choose Replace File.
- Mac — right-click (or Control-click) the row and choose Replace File.
- Either — select the template and use the Replace File button in the detail pane, next to Use this template.
Then choose the edited .rtf. That’s the whole flow — you are not asked which document type it is, because the template keeps the type it already had.
Everything about the template stays as it was except its contents:
| Kept | Changed |
|---|---|
| Its name | The document layout and wording |
| Its document type | The Updated date in the detail pane |
| Whether it is the active template (the yellow star) |
That last one is the point. Replacing the file on your active invoice template means your very next invoice uses the edited version, with nothing else to do. If instead you deleted the old template and imported the new one, the star would be lost and your invoices would quietly revert to the built-in layout until you remembered to press Use this template again.
Replacing an inactive template does not make it active — swapping a file is not the same as choosing to use it.
Replacing cannot be undone. The old contents are gone once the new file is read. If you might want to go back, keep the previous
.rtfon your computer, or import it as a second template rather than replacing.
A file that isn’t valid RTF is refused the same way as on import, and — importantly — the existing template is left untouched. A bad file cannot break a template you are relying on.
Built-in templates cannot be replaced, so no Replace action appears on them. Import your own version as a new template and make that active instead.
Deleting a template
- iPad — swipe left on the template row.
- Mac — right-click (or Control-click) the row and choose Delete.
Built-in templates show “Can’t Delete” instead.
If you only want to update a template, use Replace File above rather than deleting and re-importing — it keeps the template’s name and active status.
Writing a template
Placeholder syntax
Placeholders are written in double curly braces, in capitals, exactly as shown in the Overview tab:
Invoice {{INVOICE_NUMBER}}
Due: {{INVOICE_DUE}}
{{CLIENT_NAME}}
{{CLIENT_ADDRESS}}
Formatting is preserved. If you make {{TOTAL}} bold and 18pt, the replaced figure comes out bold and 18pt — so style the placeholder itself in your word processor, not the text around it.
Empty lines disappear
If a line contains only placeholders and every one of them resolves to empty, the whole line is removed from the finished PDF. A client with no second address line will not leave a blank gap in the address block. This means you can write a generous template covering every optional field without worrying about holes in the output for clients who don’t have them all filled in.
A line that mixes placeholders with literal text is always kept, because the literal text is still content. Phone: {{PHONE}} on a record with no phone number leaves a stranded “Phone:” — so put optional fields on their own lines.
The {{TABLE}} marker
{{TABLE}} is special. It is not replaced with text — it marks the position on the page where the app draws a real table. On an invoice that’s the package line items; on a crew sheet it’s the crew listing.
Put {{TABLE}} alone on its own line, with enough vertical space beneath it for the table to grow. The table is drawn at the marker’s position, so anything you place immediately below may be overlapped if the table is longer than expected. Check the Preview tab.
{{SLOTS}} and {{CREW}} on call sheets work the same way — they are insertion points, not text substitutions.
Placeholder reference
Invoice
Company details come from Settings → Company; bank details from Settings → Business.
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
{{COMPANY}} | Your company name |
{{ADDRESS1}} | Address line 1 |
{{ADDRESS2}} | Town / City |
{{ADDRESS3}} | Postcode / Zip |
{{ADDRESS4}} | Country |
{{EMAIL}} | Your email address |
{{PHONE}} | Your phone number |
{{INVOICE_STATUS}} | Status of the invoice |
{{INVOICE_NUMBER}} | The invoice number |
{{INVOICE_ISSUED}} | When the invoice was sent |
{{INVOICE_DUE}} | When payment is due |
{{CLIENT_NAME}} | Name of the client |
{{CLIENT_ADDRESS}} | The client’s address |
{{CLIENT_EMAIL}} | The client’s email address |
{{PACKAGE_TITLE}} | The word “Package”, shown only when the table has rows |
{{TABLE}} | Insertion point for the package line-item table |
{{SUB_TOTAL}} | Subtotal, excluding tax |
{{TAX_RATE}} | Tax rate, e.g. “20%” |
{{TAX}} | Total tax |
{{TOTAL}} | Total including tax |
{{SORT_CODE}} | Bank sort code |
{{BANK_ACCOUNT}} | Bank account number |
{{PAYMENT_LINK}} | Payment link, e.g. PayPal |
{{NOTES}} | Any notes on the invoice |
Contract
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
{{NAME}} | Photographer’s name |
{{CLIENT_NAME}} | Client’s name |
{{BOOKING_TITLE}} | Booking title |
{{SHOOT_DATE}} | Date of shoot |
{{TOTAL_AMOUNT}} | Total cost of shoot |
Call Sheet
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
{{TITLE}} | Title of shoot |
{{SHOOT_DATE}} | Date of shoot |
{{MEETING_POINT}} | Where to meet |
{{EMERGENCY_CONTACT}} | Emergency contact |
{{SLOTS}} | Insertion point for the time-slot listing |
{{CREW}} | Insertion point for the crew listing |
{{DATE}} | Date the PDF was created |
Crew Sheet
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
{{TITLE}} | Title of crew sheet |
{{DATE}} | Date of shoot |
{{TABLE}} | Insertion point for the crew table |
{{NOTES}} | Crew sheet notes |
{{GEN_DATE}} | Date the PDF was created |
Model Release
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
{{COMPANY}} | The name of the company |
{{MODEL_NAME}} | The name of the model |
{{GUARDIAN}} | Guardian’s name, if the model is below legal age |
{{SHOOT_TITLE}} | The title of the shoot |
{{USAGES}} | What the images may be used for |
{{EXCLUSIONS}} | What the images may not be used for |
{{TERRITORY}} | Where in the world the images may be used |
{{DURATION}} | How long the release is valid for |
{{COMPENSATION}} | The model’s compensation |
Troubleshooting
A placeholder appears literally in my PDF, braces and all. The token isn’t recognised for that document type. Check it against the Overview tab — spelling, capitalisation and the double braces all have to match exactly. Copying the token straight from the Overview tab avoids the problem entirely.
My changes to a template file aren’t showing up. Importing copies the file into the app, so editing the original .rtf afterwards changes nothing. Use Replace File on the template row (or the Replace File button in the detail pane) and choose your edited file. The template keeps its name and stays active, so there is nothing else to do.
The wrong template is being used. Check which row has the yellow star. Selecting a template only opens it for review; it isn’t in use until you tap Use this template.
A table overlaps the text below it. The table is drawn at the {{TABLE}} marker and grows downward. Move the marker up, or clear more space beneath it, and check the result in the Preview tab.
Opening Template Manager shows an upgrade screen instead of my templates. The Template Manager is a Pro feature. Subscribe, or use Restore Purchases in Settings → About if you have subscribed before. Your documents still generate without Pro — they use the built-in template for each type.
I subscribed before and now my custom templates have gone. They haven’t been deleted. When a subscription lapses the Template Manager re-locks, so the list is hidden behind the upgrade screen and your documents fall back to the built-in templates. Everything you imported is still there and becomes active again as soon as Pro is restored.
Template Manager isn’t in the sidebar at all. It is hidden on iPhone, where the screen is too narrow to preview a document page usefully. Use an iPad or a Mac; the template you choose syncs back to your iPhone through iCloud.
“Could not import template” when picking a file. The file could not be read, or is not really an RTF document despite its name. Re-export it as Rich Text Format from your word processor. If you were replacing an existing template, it has been left exactly as it was.