Placeholders help stakeholders understand and use Tempo templates before personalized content is added. They provide default text or imagery in the template preview and in the editable fields within a publication. Use these best practices to ensure your stakeholders have the right context when customizing assets.  


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Understanding One-Time Placeholder Syncing Between CHILI and Tempo

When you first sync a CHILI file to a Tempo template, placeholder values from CHILI are automatically pulled into the Tempo template. This initial sync is a one-time event.


After this first connection:

  • Updating placeholder values in CHILI will not update those same values in the Tempo template.
  • Updating values in Tempo will not push those updates back into CHILI.


This means that once a Tempo template is created, placeholder values must be manually maintained in both CHILI and Tempo if changes are needed. Keeping values aligned across both platforms ensures your stakeholders see accurate previews (via CHILI) and editable fields (via Tempo) when customizing templates.


This behavior is why we recommend entering placeholder values in both systems during template setup, especially if you're still finalizing designs.




Text Placeholders

To ensure the right values appear in both the template thumbnail and in the editable fields stakeholders use, always add the placeholder text in both CHILI BackOffice and Tempo Template Settings.


Add in CHILI BackOffice: When you add text to the fields in the variables panel in CHILI, it shows in both Tempo template thumbnails and editable fields in the publication.


Adding text placeholders in CHILI BackOffice

 


Add in Tempo Template Settings: When you add text to the fields in the Tempo Template Settings, it shows only in editable fields (not thumbnails). This is helpful for ensuring consistency if you’re making edits after publishing a template in Tempo.

 

Adding text placeholders in a Tempo template



For static text frames: Use Fill with placeholder text in the CHILI BackOffice to preview how larger text blocks will look.

 

Adding static text frames in CHILI BackOffice




Image Placeholders

Link image variables: Add the asset ID from the Lytho DAM and set it as the default image in Tempo Template Settings. This ensures the correct image displays in both the template thumbnail and the publication.


This setup ensures your end users always see clear instructions and accurate previews.