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Templates

A template is a saved preset for link settings. You attach it to links instead of entering the same channel, attribution, and social-preview values each time. This page explains what templates hold and how their values behave. For click-by-click management steps, see Link templates; for how values resolve on a single link, see Link anatomy.

What a template holds​

  • Channel — social, email, sms, qr, referral, push, web, in-app, or custom.
  • Attribution defaults — deferred delivery on/off and the match window (hours).
  • UTM defaults — source, medium, campaign, term, content.
  • Open Graph defaults — title, description, image URL.
  • Base parameters — merged under each link's own parameters.
  • Tags and a web fallback URL.

A template never holds a destination path or short code; those are always per-link.

Inheritance: values resolve at read time​

A link attached to a template does not copy the template's values. Each time a link is read — the detail page, the create preview, a redirect — every setting resolves in a fixed order:

  1. A value you set on the link (an override) wins.
  2. Otherwise the template's value applies.
  3. Otherwise the org default, then the built-in default.

Base parameters follow the same rule per key: a link's own parameter value wins over the template's base value; keys you didn't set come from the template.

Channel is the exception. A link freezes its channel at creation from the template, so an install source never shifts under a live campaign.

Editing a template is live​

Because values resolve at read time, editing a template changes every attached link immediately — no re-publishing, no per-link edits. Correct a UTM once and all attached links report the fixed value on their next read. The flip side: a template edit is a fleet-wide edit, so treat heavily attached templates like production config.

Deleting is blocked while attached​

Deleting a template that links still use would change those links' resolution. The portal disables Delete until every link detaches, and the API answers with a conflict if a detach races a delete. Detached links keep resolving; they fall back to defaults for the values the template used to supply.

Provenance: who set this value​

Wherever the portal shows effective values (the create preview, the link detail page), each value carries a badge: link, template, org, or default. When a value looks wrong, the badge tells you which layer set it — usually a template default you forgot about.

Built-in starters vs your templates​

OptoLink ships built-in starters covering the common channels. Everyone can use them from the create page's template picker; they attach directly, can't be edited or deleted, and never count against your quota.

Templates your organization saves behave differently: they're editable, deletable, and count against the plan's template slots (see Plans, quotas & entitlements).

When to use a template​

Template the settings you repeat: if several links share UTM conventions, social previews, or attribution behavior, a template makes one edit fix them all. Keep one-off links plain. For a group that shares settings today but must never change together tomorrow, set the values as overrides on each link — frozen values can't drift with the template.