Systems and methods for creating a template from an existing file are provided. The user can package one or more file(s) into a group and specify that the group is to be converted into a template. An IDE process can automatically index the content of the group and create a metadata file to represent the indexed content. The IDE process may employ a set of standard inference rules to index the content. The indexed file group and metadata can serve as a template for creating new files with properties of the original file(s). Additionally, templates can be provided with a set of default properties when no specific template properties are specified by a user. Completed templates can be added to a User Interface (UI) accessible location, such as a collection of templates accessible to UI dialog processes for opening new files.