# How templates work

> Save your contracts, questionnaires, emails and items as templates in CoreHue, and add ready-made templates written for photographers in a click.

Source: https://help.corehue.co/docs/templates/how-templates-work/

Templates are the reusable versions of things you send. Write your contract, your pre-session questionnaire and your "your gallery is ready" email once, then use them for years.

**Templates** in the sidebar opens four tabs: **Items**, **Contracts**, **Questionnaires** and **Emails**.

## The four tabs

| Tab | What it holds | Used in |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Items** | The things you charge for, with names and prices | Invoices, proposals, bookings |
| **Contracts** | Your standard agreements | Contracts, proposals, booking services |
| **Questionnaires** | Your standard sets of questions | Questionnaires, booking services |
| **Emails** | The covering messages you send with everything else | Every send composer and Messages |

Items work a little differently from the others. See [Saving reusable items](/docs/payments/saved-items). The rest of this page is about the three template libraries.

## A template is a starting point, not a live link

This is the most useful thing to know. When you create a contract from a template, its content is copied. The new contract is its own document, and editing the template afterwards changes nothing about it.

That's what you want for legal and client-facing documents. A contract someone signed shouldn't change because you tidied a template months later. It does mean:

- Fixing a typo in a template doesn't fix documents already created from it.
- A contract or questionnaire on a booking service holds its own copy, so update it on the service too.
- A questionnaire already sent keeps the questions it was sent with.

## What every library can do

The **Contracts**, **Questionnaires** and **Emails** tabs work the same way:

1. **New template** writes one from scratch.
2. **Add from CoreHue** opens the library of ready-made templates.
3. **Duplicate**, in a template's ⋯ menu, copies one of yours. It's the quickest way to make a variant.
4. **Delete** removes one for good. Documents already created from it aren't affected.

Each list shows the template **Name** and when it was **Updated**, with a search box to find one fast.

## Ready-made templates from CoreHue

CoreHue keeps a library written for photographers: 34 contract templates, 26 questionnaire templates and 32 email templates, covering weddings, portraits, families, commercial, events, real estate, sports and more.

1. On any of the three tabs, choose **Add from CoreHue**.
2. Narrow the list by the kind of work, or leave it on **All types**.
3. Select a template to read its preview.
4. Choose **Add to library** and confirm.

The copy is yours from that moment, to edit or delete like anything you wrote. Templates you already have drop off the list, so it always shows what you don't have yet.

## What you start with

When you set up your account, CoreHue adds a starter set picked for the kind of photography you said you do: up to 5 contract templates, 5 questionnaire templates and 8 email templates. That happens once. If you delete one and want it back, or want more, use **Add from CoreHue**.

> **Read starter contracts before you send them**
The contract templates contain specific, binding promises with real numbers in them, like delivery times and deposit percentages. Go through every one and change it to match how you work. See [Contract templates](/docs/templates/contract-templates).

## Frequently asked questions

### Are templates included on the Free plan?

Yes. Every CoreHue plan, including Free, can create and use contract, questionnaire and email templates. On Free, the number of contracts and questionnaires you can send is capped, but templates themselves aren't. See [What's included on the Free plan](/docs/plans-and-billing/the-free-plan).

### If I update a template, do documents already sent change?

No. Contracts and questionnaires copy the template's content when they're created, so later template edits don't reach them. Change a live document directly if it needs fixing.

### Can I get back a starter template I deleted?

Yes. Open **Add from CoreHue** on that tab under **Templates** and add the starter template again from the library.

### How many ready-made templates are there?

The CoreHue template library has 34 contract templates, 26 questionnaire templates and 32 email templates.