Communication Templates

Email Templates use HTML, the standard for writing websites, to create Templates to match your organization’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 minimizes the amount of HTML knowledge required to format your Template. The format bar behaves similarly to those found in common word-processing packages, such as Microsoft Word, or Apple 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. If you need any help or just would like to learn more about HTML, you can have a look at these useful guides from W3Schools and MDN Web Docs.

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.

How to add an Email Template

1. Ensure you are on the Email tab
   
   

2. Click Create Template and choose 'User' or 'System'
   
   
   
   
3. Fill in the data

How to add a Translation to a Template

Make sure you have configured the languages on the Languages & Translations page from the Control Panel.

To set or assign a new translation to your communications template, do the following:

1. Select a Template
2. Click on Create Translation and select the language.
   
   
   
   
3. Note that, if the Create Translation button is not displayed, it is likely that you haven't set up any additional languages on the Languages & Translations page.
4. Once a language has been set, you will need to fill in your template details as you did before and hit save.
   
   

How to preview a Template

You can preview an email template in the browser, or send yourself a test email.

1. Select a Template
2. Click on the Preview
3. Choose the preferred preview method (via Browser, via Email)
   
   

Previewing in the browser will allow you to view the email on desktop and mobile view. Please note that merge fields will not be populated in the preview.

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 that 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.

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.

Template Merge Fields

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 personalized. You can use Merge Fields in the Email Body and the Email Subject Line.

You navigate the fields according to how they are categorized. For example, select the merge field for the name of the Instructor for an Event with: Event → Instructor → Name. (See animation below.)

Using the Merge Field Picker to select the Instructor’s name.

 

date - (locale, long)   =  13 December 2013
time - (locale, short)  =  09:00

{{ delegate.event.end_date | date_format() }}  = for formatting dates
{{ delegate.event.end_time | time_format() }}  = for formatting time

{{ delegate.event.end_date | date_format(locale, dateformat) }}
{{ delegate.event.end_time | time_format(locale, timeformat) }}

{{ delegate.event.start_date | date_format('en_GB', 'long') }}

= 1 April 2007

{{ delegate.event.start_time | time_format('en_GB', 'short') }} = 11:22

{{ merge_field if merge_field else "" }}

{{ delegate.event.location_name if delegate.event.location_name else "" }}