Blueprint Designer
The Blueprint Designer is the editor where you define the complete structure of a reporting blueprint — its sections, fields, form layout, permissions, and output templates. Every edition created from a blueprint inherits this structure.
Accessing the Blueprint Designer
- Navigate to Report Forge from the main navigation.
- Open the Blueprints list.
- Click a blueprint name to open it in the designer.
To create a new blueprint, click + New Blueprint in the Blueprints list.
Header controls
The Blueprint Designer header is sticky and shows:
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| ← Back | Return to the Blueprints list. Unsaved metadata changes are lost. |
| Status badge | Current blueprint status: Draft, Published, or Archived. |
| Version tag | Current version number (e.g. v1, v2). |
| ✨ AI Design | Open the AI Blueprint Design panel — upload an existing report and AI will suggest a field structure. See AI Design. |
| Save | Save blueprint metadata (name, description, short code). Disabled when blueprint is Published. |
| Publish | Publish the blueprint so editions can be created from it. Only shown when status is Draft. |
Editing a Published blueprint's structure (sections, fields) requires Unpublishing it first, which reverts it to Draft. Existing editions are not affected.
Blueprint details form
Below the header, the details form shows:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Blueprint display name — shown in the Blueprints list and on editions. Required. |
| Description | Optional summary of what this blueprint collects. Shown to contributors on editions. |
| Short Code | Short identifier (max 10 characters) used in edition reference codes (e.g. MPR-2026-01). |
All fields are disabled when the blueprint is Published.
Designer tabs
The three tabs appear once the blueprint has been saved for the first time.
Design tab
The main editing view. Three-column layout:
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Left (Sections) | List of all sections — add, rename, reorder, delete. Click a section to select it. |
| Centre (Fields) | Fields belonging to the selected section — add, reorder, delete, open field settings. |
| Right (Section Settings) | Configuration panel for the selected section — name, type, multi-row toggle, display mode, icon. |
See Sections Panel and Fields Panel for full configuration details.
Form Designer tab
Drag-and-drop interface for building a custom form layout for contributors. Define tabs, rows, columns, and field groupings instead of using the default single-column form.
See Form Designer for configuration details.
Preview tab
Read-only preview of the blueprint structure as contributors will see it. Useful for checking field order and section organisation before publishing.
Saving changes
- Save in the header saves blueprint metadata (name, description, short code).
- Section and field changes are saved automatically when you make them in the Design tab.
- Form Designer layout changes must be saved explicitly via the Save Layout button in the Form Designer tab.
What's next
- Sections Panel — create and configure sections
- Fields Panel — add and configure fields within sections
- Form Designer — build custom form layouts for contributors
- AI Design — use AI to generate a blueprint structure from an existing document
- Publishing and Lifecycle — publish, version, and archive blueprints