---
title: "Pre-Built Templates"
slug: "pre-built-templates"
updated: 2026-03-18T13:54:39Z
published: 2026-03-18T13:54:39Z
canonical: "docs.sightmachine.com/pre-built-templates"
stale: true
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sightmachine.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pre-Built Templates

Two pre-built templates are currently available, **Parse Formatted Numbers** and **Track Changes**, with plans to add more pre-built templates.

## Configuring Templates

Templates are available, along with individual operators, in the **Operator Library**. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/c65001f1-30e3-4f1d-b335-57abf64ebd31/Images/Documentation/image-1719506279127.png)Hover over a template to view a short description that explains its intended use case, similar to the functionality available for individual operators.

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/c65001f1-30e3-4f1d-b335-57abf64ebd31/Images/Documentation/Presentation1(33).gif)

Each template includes a default configuration and provides access to detailed documentation by clicking the **Syntax: JSON** information icon within the configuration panel.

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/c65001f1-30e3-4f1d-b335-57abf64ebd31/Images/Documentation/Presentation1(34).gif)

Double-click a template on the canvas to expand its view and reveal the individual operators that compose it.

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/c65001f1-30e3-4f1d-b335-57abf64ebd31/Images/Documentation/Presentation1(35).gif)

While you cannot directly configure individual operators within a template, you can select any operator to view its specific configuration.

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/c65001f1-30e3-4f1d-b335-57abf64ebd31/Images/Documentation/Presentation1(36).gif)

## Parse Formatted Numbers

The **Parse Formatted Numbers** template converts multiple decimal string fields into numeric format and should be used when source data follows non-standard English number formatting.

This template supports the following options:

- **place_separator**: string that separates groups of digits in the formatted number.
- **decimal_separator**: string that separates the integer and fractional parts of the formatted number.
- **fields**: array of fields to convert. Each field is configured using an object that has the following attributes:
- **from_field**: name of the string field to convert to a number.
- **to_field**: name of the numeric field in which to store the converted value.

You can convert two fields from the French numeric format (123.456.789,12345) by using the following configuration:

```json
{
  "place_separator": ".",
  "decimal_separator": ",",
  "fields": [
    {
      "from_field": "Manually-Entered Weight 1",
      "to_field": "Weight 1"
    },
    {
      "from_field": "Manually-Entered Weight 2",
      "to_field": "Weight 2"
    }
  ]
}
```

## Track Changes

The **Track Changes** template identifies the current value for data sources that append new records without deleting or updating old ones in-place.

This template supports the following options:

- **primary_key**: array of field names. The logic that combines updates will merge together records that have identical values for all the fields in the array. For example, if primary_key is ["machine", "serial_no"] then records with machine="A" and serial_no="S" will not be combined with records having machine="A" and serial_no="T".
- **deleted_field**: name of a boolean field indicating that the record was deleted. This field is automatically dropped after combining together updates.

When combining updates, the system identifies the most recent value based on the **timestamp field**, requiring a **timestamp_tiebreaker** if multiple updates share the same timestamp.