The idea of making a template seems to be positive, however the current user experience is clunky. It is also inconsistent between the browser and iPad experience. You can create a working Paper document from a template in the browser, but you can't do the same thing on an iPad.
Let's assume you have template (.papert extension) available. So when you open it, it opens in Edit Template mode. To create a working Paper document, and not modifying the template, you have to then click the Create doc button.
This generates your own version of the template (.paper extension) but it puts it in the top level of your Dropbox home folder.
So from a user experience point of view, the user isn't asked where the document should go. Because we are trying to file content in the right project folders, 100% of the time the choice of the home folder is wrong. So the user then has to navigate to move the new paper document to the correct place. This is cumbersome.
If there was a create new document from template menu it might be understood that the current folder is where the new .paper document should be placed.
Ideally, you won't keep your templates in the same place where you keep the working documents.
So all of the above only works within the Web Browser.
Switch to an iPad using the native Dropbox app and there seems to be no way to open a new document based on a template.
We are trying to equip a mobile team with iPads. Templates are at core of the workflow. However, on an iPad, they can't do this, they have to refer back to a web browser.
So the magic of templates is let down by the inconsistent user experience and the inability to infer the current folder in which the working Paper document should be filed.
