By registering a work standard file that your company uses, you can export Dive SOPs in that format. Register the format your team uses in "Dictionaries / Templates", and select it from the "Export" menu on the SOP details screen.
You can register Excel (.xlsx / .xlsm), Word (.docx / .docm), and PowerPoint (.pptx / .pptm) files.
Available with the Enterprise plan. Register and delete formats with Team Administrator privileges or higher; export is performed by anyone with permission to export SOPs. This is done from a PC browser.
What is an Export format
Dive's standard export outputs in the order Dive specifies. When you use an export format, grid lines, column widths, logos, headings, fonts, print settings, formulas, and macros remain intact as your SOP content is transferred to your company's format.
Within the file, write "merge tags" in the locations where you want content transferred. The content corresponding to each tag appears in the place you wrote the tag. Files containing macros (.xlsm / .docm / .pptm) are exported with the macros preserved.
The only difference by format is "how frames grow"
Steps are enclosed between {{step_begin}} and {{step_end}} as one "frame". The writing method is the same for all three formats, with differences only in how frames behave when steps are added.
| Format | Frame placement | When steps are added |
|---|---|---|
| Word | Place only one frame | Frames increase by the number of steps |
| PowerPoint | If you place one step per slide, place only one frame on that slide. If you place a list table on one slide, make one row of the table a frame | Slides or table rows increase |
| Excel | Line up as many frames as needed, writing a number like {{step_begin:1}} in the start tag | Do not increase. Unused frames remain blank, and an error message appears if steps exceed the number of frames |
Excel frames do not increase because row additions or deletions shift cell references used by formulas, conditional formatting, print title rows, and macros. The structure is designed to never move rows.
Prepare a template
Create from a sample
When creating for the first time, you can create faster by using the sample Dive provides as a foundation.
- Open the sidebar "Dictionaries / Templates"
- "Templates" tab → Open "Export format"
- From "Excel sample template", "Word sample template", "PowerPoint sample template (1 step per slide)", and "PowerPoint sample template (2 steps per slide)", click the format you want to create. The samples are complete files ready to use as-is for export
- Customize the downloaded file to match your company's format
If you already have a work standard file in use, you can also use it by simply adding merge tags to that file.
Merge tags
Directly enter the tag for the content you want to transfer in the location where you want it. You can click tags in the list on the screen to copy them. If you type manually, a typo will leave only that frame blank, so copy and paste instead.
●Cover and shared
| Tag | Content inserted |
|---|---|
| {{title}} | The SOP title |
| {{description}} | The SOP description |
| {{rev}} | Revision number (latest Rev) |
| {{cover_photo}} | The SOP cover image. It pastes in the size that fits the location where you placed the tag |
●Start and end of a step
| Tag | Content inserted |
|---|---|
| {{step_begin}} | Start tag. One step begins here (use this for Word and PowerPoint) |
| {{step_begin:1}} | Start tag for lining up frames. The number is the step number to be transferred there (use this for Excel) |
| {{step_end}} | End tag. From the start tag to here is one step |
●Steps (tags placed between start and end tags)
| Tag | Content inserted |
|---|---|
| {{step_no}} | Step number (sequential from 1) |
| {{step_title}} | The step heading |
| {{step_detail}} | Work content |
| {{step_tips}} | Work tips |
| {{step_note}} | Quality warnings |
| {{step_safety}} | Important safety information |
| {{step_question}} | Question. Type (single choice etc.), question text and options |
| {{step_subtitles}} | Subtitles for that step (hidden subtitles excluded) |
| {{step_url}} | URL to open that step. It becomes a clickable link |
| {{step_photo}} | Step image. It pastes in the size that fits the location where you placed the tag |
| {{step_qr}} | QR Code to open that step. It pastes in the size that fits the location where you placed the tag |
●Revision history (1, 2, 3... newest first)
| Tag | Content inserted |
|---|---|
| {{rev_begin}} | Start tag. Written the same way as for steps |
| {{rev_begin:1}} | Start tag for lining up frames. The number is the newest-first sequence number (use this for Excel) |
| {{rev_end}} | End tag. From the start tag to here is one history entry |
| {{rev_no}} | Rev number (with latest / editing indicators) |
| {{rev_comment}} | Revision details |
| {{rev_drafter}} | Drafter |
| {{rev_started}} | Proposed date |
| {{rev_approved}} | Approval date |
| {{rev_approvers}} | Approvers |
Determine where one step starts and ends
From {{step_begin}} to {{step_end}} is one step. One step can span any number of rows or paragraphs. The end tag can be written consecutively with other tags in the same cell or paragraph. You do not need a row or column dedicated to the end tag.
For Word, place only one frame. Since frames increase by the number of steps, no numbering is needed.
For PowerPoint, if you place one step per slide, place only one frame on that slide. If you place a list table on one slide, making one row of the table a frame will increase rows. Only when you want to line up two or more items on one slide, write a number like in Excel and line up frames.
For Excel, line up as many frames as needed and write a number in the start tag. If you export an SOP with 15 steps, line up 15 sets of {{step_begin:1}} to {{step_end}} frames, changing the numbers.
Revision history uses the same concept, with {{rev_begin}} to {{rev_end}} as one entry.
Tips for creating a template
Common to all three formats
- Column order, width, grid lines, headings, font, and colors remain intact. Feel free to customize to match your company's format
- Keep step tags in one place. If you place them in both the body and header, the header side will be blank
- Do not copy merge tags into explanatory text within the template. Tags are treated as real tags wherever they appear in the document, and that explanatory text becomes a second frame
- For page repetition and page numbering, rely on Word's table heading row and page number, or Excel's print title row and &P / &N. This prevents the layout from breaking when the number of steps changes
Excel
- Create one complete frame, then copy it changing the numbers to line them up—this is faster
- Unused frames remain as blank rows (grid lines do not disappear). Decide how many to line up based on paper space
- One tag fits in one cell and does not flow to the next row. For items that become long, like work content, merge cells vertically or increase row height
- Images and QR codes paste in the size that fits the cell where you placed the tag (or the merged range if merged). Do not overlay other shapes on the cell for photos
- Enter tags directly in cells. Tags inside text boxes or shapes are not included
Word
- Place only one frame. Rows increase by the number of steps
- Long text wraps automatically, so no height adjustment is needed
- You can write tags in headers and footers. However, if you place something like revision history (which grows by count) in the footer, the bottom of all pages will expand. We recommend placing revision history at the end of the body
PowerPoint
- Keep step frames consistent in design. Mixing "one step per slide" and "table row" in one template makes it unclear where the second and later items go
- For photo tags, place them alone in a text box dedicated to photos. Since it pastes to match the shape's position and size, placing it in the same box as body text will overlap with text
- Tags that have only one value per document, such as document name, description, revision, and cover photo, can also be placed in slide masters or layouts. You can use them for form headers printed on all pages. Step and revision history tags cannot be placed because one master is shared by all slides and there is no way to determine which entry to use
- When writing in a slide master, draw a text box instead of using a placeholder (the "Click to input" frame). Text inside a placeholder will not display on the slide
- If you use a table row as a frame for a list, the table may extend beyond the bottom of the slide with many steps. SOPs with many entries are better suited to a "one step per slide" structure
Register an export format
- Open the sidebar "Dictionaries / Templates"
- "Templates" tab → Open "Export format"
- Click "Register an export format"
- Enter the template name (example: Our own work standard format). This name appears in the export menu
- Drop the file you created or click to select it
- Click "Register"
Registered formats are available to everyone on the team. In the list, you can confirm the template name, file name, format, registration date, and registrant, and download the original file from "Open". The template name can be changed later from [Rename] in the list (Team Administrator privileges or higher required).
Item headings
In the list under "Item headings", you can toggle whether to add a heading like "Work tips:" before the body text when transferring Work tips / Quality warnings / Important safety information. If your format's column already has headings, selecting "Do not add" will make it more readable.
Export an SOP
- Open the details screen of the SOP you want to export
- "Export" → Open the format ("Excel", "Word", or "PowerPoint")
- "Standard" (Dive's standard order) and the names of registered export formats appear
- Select the name of the format you want to use
If no export formats for that format are registered, "Excel", "Word", and "PowerPoint" will display as individual items as before, and will be exported in Dive's standard order.
When transfer is not working correctly
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| "There is no place to insert step ◯ in the template" message appears and export fails | There are not enough frames for the number of steps. Add frames to the template for the number shown in the message. If frames are lined up on one slide in PowerPoint, setting it to only one frame will increase slides by the number of steps |
| "No merge tags found in the template" message appears | Check if tags are entered directly in cells, body text, or slides. In Excel, tags inside text boxes or shapes are not included |
| Only a specific frame is blank | A typo in the tag is likely. Copy from the list on the screen and paste again |
| "There is an error in the combination of start and end tags" message appears | There is a location with only a start tag or only an end tag. Always surround one frame with both |
| "There are two or more frames with the same number, so the same content is transferred to multiple locations" message appears | The numbers are duplicated when lining up frames. Re-number them |
| "There are step tags in the header and footer, so those are left blank" message appears | Step tags are split between body text and header/footer. Consolidate steps in one location |
| "Step and revision history tags cannot be placed in slide master or layout" message appears | In PowerPoint, place step and revision history tags on the slide. Only document name, description, revision, and cover photo tags can be placed in master or layout |
| "Tags written in a placeholder will not display on the slide" message appears | In the slide master, draw a text box instead of using a placeholder ("Click to input" frame). Write tags in that text box |
| Photo does not fit or position shifts | In PowerPoint, place photo tags alone in a text box dedicated to photos. In Excel, do not overlay other shapes on the cell for photos |
| Revision history only appears partway | There are not enough revision history frames. Only the amount that fits is transferred in newest-first order, and a message appears at export time |
| Text is cut off | The cell height in Excel is not sufficient. For items that become long, merge cells vertically or increase row height |