[Communication] Templates
Please use Email Templates for fully featured content-rich content, and SMS Templates for short simple notices.
Communication Templates are the contents that your recipient will receive. In addition to being used with Communication Triggers, these Templates can also be selected when sending notifications to students and/or Instructors upon cancelling an Event and cancelling Event Sessions.
You can personalise and link dynamic information from your database in your Templates using Template Merge Fields.
You can switch the Email Trigger and SMS Template views by clicking on the appropriate tab:

Switch between Email and SMS using the tabs.
Please click on the link you wish to see more information for:
Email Templates
Email Templates use HTML, the standard for writing websites, to create Templates to match your organisation’s branding and existing documents. You can use HTML to create powerful templates, such as those that include maps and images.
By default, the Templates editor is WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get): this allows you to see how the email appears as you create it, and minimises the amount of HTML knowledge required to format your Template. The format bar behaves similar to those found in common word processing packages, such as Word or Pages.

Formatting Bar for Templates
To manually edit the HTML, click on and the body will change to a code-style interface. WYSIWYG functions will be greyed out and inaccessible when in HTML View. W3 Schools provide a useful guide for basic HTML.
Please note that pasting content from a rich text editor, such as Word, can produce undesirable results. We recommend that you always check the HTML code for better results.
Click on again to return to the WYSIWYG interface.

HTML View for the Editing a Template
Add an Email Template
- Click
- Name your Template: this is for your reference only, the recipients won’t see this.
- Audience: what group of recipients is this intended for? (see Template Audiences)
- Email Subject: this is the subject of the email (the same as your standard emails) Template Merge Fields can also be used. There is no direct way to have Merge Fields appear in Email Subject. So you will have to manually cut and paste it into the Email Subject field.
- [Optional] Click
to add email attachments, either generated documents, or those from your DMS (e.g. terms and conditions).
- Compose your message in the main text box, using Template Merge Fields as appropriate.
- Click

Copy and Paste Merge Fields from the content body to the Email Subject.
Edit an Email Template
- Click on the Template you wish to edit.
- Make your desired changes.
- Click
Your Email Template will then be updated.
SMS Templates
SMS Templates use plain text and cannot be formatted, unlike Email Templates, nor can you include attachments. However, you can still use Template Merge Fields.
There’s a 1,000 character limit which should be adhered to. This limit excludes rendering of the merge fields, so don’t worry about approaching the 1,000 character limit. You can see how many characters you have remaining when you compose your message.
Please remember to switch the SMS tab when using this section.
Add an SMS Template
- In the SMS tab, click
- Name your Template: this is for your reference only, the recipients won’t see this.
- Audience: what group of recipients is this intended for? (see Template Audiences)
- Compose your message in the main text box, using Template Merge Fields as appropriate and keeping within a 1,000 character limit.
- Click
Your SMS Template will be added to the list.
Edit an SMS Template
- Click on the Template you wish to edit.
- Make your desired changes.
- Click
Your SMS Template will then be updated.
Template Audiences
The Audiences are the group of intended recipients. These apply to both Email and SMS Templates.
The Audience selection determines the Template Merge Fields that will be available to you through Note: The Scheduled audience does not feature merge fields.
Audience | Who? |
---|---|
All Staff/Event Staff | Administrators and Instructors for the Event |
Booking Contacts | The Contact which was used to book Unnamed Students |
Students | Students, who are Contacts, that have registered for an Event |
Scheduled | These are regular (daily/weekly/monthly) recipients, e.g. line managers who require frequent reports |
Opportunity Owner | The assigned Owner, a TMS User, for an Opportunity. |
Opportunity Contact |
The Booking contact designated for the Opportunity (which may also be the Learner). |
Opportunity Recipient | This option allows for a general Opportunity notification to be generated, which is not specific to the Owner or Contact. |
Template Merge Fields
Note: We recommend using the Merge Field Picker, , even if you’re familiar with the codes, to avoid typing errors.
Merge Fields are a set of codes that inserts text, from your database, into a Template automatically. This means you can include data specific to each recipient without manually editing the Template before sending each email, e.g. you can insert the recipient’s name so that every email will appear personalised. You can use Merge Fields in the Email Body and the Email Subject Line.
You navigate the fields according to how they are categorised. For example, to select the merge field for the name of the Instructor for an Event: Event → Instructor → Name . (See animation below.)

Using the Merge Field Picker to select the Instructor’s name.
Merge Field Macros
The Merge Field Macros are sets of instructions to produce information as follows:
All Instructors | Display a list of all the Instructors attending the Event |
All Sessions | Display a list of all the Event Sessions |
All Students | Display a list of all the students for the Event |
Advanced Date and Time Formatting
You can configure the format of how dates and times are displayed within Merge Fields. By default, the system uses the locale of your Events to format dates and times. You should format date and time according to the country you are offering Events in.
For example, based on a company locale of en_GB :
date - (locale, long) = 13 December 2013
time - (locale, short) = 09:00
This section will use the following date and time examples:
{{ delegate.event.end_date | date_format() }} = for formatting dates
{{ delegate.event.end_time | time_format() }} = for formatting time
locale
A preset locale can be used to format the date and time:
{{ delegate.event.end_date | date_format(locale, dateformat) }}
{{ delegate.event.end_time | time_format(locale, timeformat) }}
To specify the locale, a 2 letter language code and a 2 letter country code, connected by an underscore is required. For example:
Codes | Locale |
en_GB | British English |
en_US | American English |
fr_BE | Belgian French |
it_CH | Swiss Italian |
date_format
For date_format , the following can be specified:
dateformat | Example Output |
short | 4/1/07 |
medium | 4 / 11 / 2007 |
long | 1 April 2007 |
full | Sunday, April 1, 2007 |
For example, a date_format of en_GB and in long format:
{{ delegate.event.start_date | date_format('en_GB', 'long') }}
= 1 April 2007
time_format
For time_format , the following can be specified:
timeformat | Example Output |
short | 11:22 |
medium | 11:22:28 |
long | 11:22:28 +0000 |
full | 11:22:28 GMT+00:00 |
For example, a time_format of en_GB and in short format:
{{ delegate.event.start_time | time_format('en_GB', 'short') }} = 11:22
A typical scenario for locale use is if your company is UK-based but runs an Event in the US. Your locale is set to en_GB by default for all your Events. However, you’d want to use the US locale for date/time formatting so that information will appear natural for US students, instructors, etc.
Date:
Default en_GB Locale | Output | en_US Locale Applied | Output |
{{ delegate.event.end_date | date_format() }} | 20 December 2013 | Start Date: {{ delegate.event.end_date | date_format('en_US', 'long') }} | December 20, 2013 |
Time:
Default en_GB Locale | Output | en_US Locale Applied | Output |
{{ delegate.event.start_time | time_format() }} | 10:00 | {{ delegate.event.start_time | time_format('en_US', 'short') }} | 10:00 AM |
Even More Customization Options
To customize your dates and times even further, for example listing dates without the year, you can replace the "short" and "long" options with your own custom defined syntax.
For a complete list of options, refer to the Babel Pattern Syntax Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
The address merge fields available for the CRM have different terminology. Here are some of the mappings:
CRM Address Field |
Communication Template Merge Field |
Address Line 1 |
Address Unit |
Address Line 2 |
Address Street |
Address Line 3 |
Address Locality |
City |
Address Town |
County / State |
Address Region |
Zip Code |
Address Postcode |
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