Adding an Email Template

1. Adding an Email Template

 

Click on the ‘Email’ tab.

 

If the Email Marketing Module is enabled for your site then the screen displays:

 

 

If the Email Marketing Module is disabled for your site then the screen displays:

 

 

 

Enabled	Check the enabled tick box if this template is to be put into use immediately.
Subject	Subject lines added to templates are automatically inserted in to the message when the template is used. Available Template Fields maybe used to personalise the message sent to the customer.
Attachments	The power of auto response messages is the ability to answer customer questions without having to carry out any manual process.  This can be achieved by automatically sending frequently requested forms based on keywords setup on your site.
Template Text	This is the message that is sent out automatically based on the auto response rules specified. Template Field names allow data to be automatically inserted from the customer’s details where the channel address/ number only match one customer. Template Text: content can be formatted and managed in the following way. Spell checker Cut, Copy or Paste Undo or Redo Remove formatting Font Style and Size Font Bold, Italics and Underline Font / Background Colours Insert Tracked URL – only applicable if the Email Marketing Module is enabled for your site. Insert Subscription Link – only applicable if the Email Marketing Module is enabled for your site. View HTML Upload HTML Insert / Edit image Insert / Edit Link Table Formatting Text Alignment Bullet Points / Numbered Lists Indents Tables

 

Template Text formatting

 

Additional template formatting has been added for email and fax templates:

 

 

Spell Checker – standard spell checking as used within the Message Manager -

 

 

Cut, Copy or Paste – standard cut (Ctrl+X), copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V). If clicking on the ‘cut’ icon returns an error ‘action not currently supported by your browser the Ctrl+X keyboard action will work

 

Undo or Redo – Undo (Ctrl+Z) will remove the last keyboard action taken.  Redo (Ctrl+Y) reinstates the last keyboard action taken.  Both buttons are inactive until there is text to either remove or reinstate -

Remove formatting - For any highlighted text removes all of the formatting -

 

Font Style and Size - For any text in your template you can define the font and size. By default the font is as per the site setting in the core config console = Default Email Style.  See your reseller if this default setting needs changing.

 

 

Font Bold, Italics and Underline – standard bold, italics and underlining of text by selecting applicable icon

 

Font / Background Colours – Clicking on either the font or background colours option allows you to define the colour for either the font or the background on your template text. 

 

            

 

Picker -

 

Palette -

 

 

Named -

 

 

Insert Tracked URL – Only applicable if the Email marketing Module is enabled for your site -

Icon is used to insert a tracked URL - when this template is used for an outbound email broadcast and an email recipient clicks on this link the click information will be tracked and displayed in the Campaign Dashboard.

 

Click on Insert tracked URL icon and screen displays:

 

 

Display	Enter the details that the email recipient will click on that will in turn launch the applicable URL
URL	To avoid mistakes it is easiest to copy and applicable URL from the internet.  You can also manually type in the URL details (note if http:// is not included then it will be added when insert is clicked).  Please note that once this entry is saved there is no facility to alter the details here, rather you will need to create a new tracked URL.
Insert	Closes this dialogue box and the linked url will be created
Close	Closes this dialogue box and no linked URL will be created

 

Insert Subscription Link – Only applicable if the Email marketing Module is enabled for your site -

 

Icon is used to insert a subscription link to a customer group.  It can also unsubscribe customers from a particular group (or all customer groups).  When unsubscribing you can also nominate if the relevant customer record will be set to being ‘inactive’ and / or any corresponding email record will be set to ‘not contactable’.  When this template is used for an outbound email broadcast and email recipient clicks on this link the customer will be subscribed or unsubscribed to the applicable group (or possibly all groups) and the status of the customer / email address will be set accordingly.

 

NB/ Once you have inserted the details for any (un)subscribe you are not able to get back and edit or view the link.  Any amendments will need to be done by creating new details for the (un)subscribe.

 

Click on Insert Subscription Link icon and screen displays;

 

 

Link Display Text	Enter the details that the email recipient will click on that will result in them being asked if they wish to (un)subscribe to the relevant customer group (or groups if unsubscribing)
Unsubscribe	If the link is to unsubscribe the email recipient from the group select this radio button.
Subscribe	If the link is to subscribe the email recipient to a group select this radio button.
Make Customer Uncontactable	Is only input capable if unsubscribing.  Tick if you want any customer record with the email address of the recipient that is unsubscribing set to uncontactable.
Make Customer Inactive	Is only input capable if unsubscribing.  Tick if you want the customer record for the recipient that is unsubscribing to this group set to inactive.
Customer Group	If the link is to subscribe then only a single customer group will be able to be selected, selecting ‘All’ will result in an error ‘Can not subscribe to all groups’ when trying to insert the record. If the link is to unsubscribe then either a single customer group or All customer groups can be selected.  Note there is no facility to select multiple customer groups to unsubscribe to.
Insert	Closes this dialogue box and the (un)subscribe link will be created
Close	Closes this dialogue box and (un)subscribe link will be created

 

When the recipient of an email clicks on a (un)subscribe the display is:

 

Yes	This will carry out the action as required, a further prompt displays advising you have been successfully (un)subscribed to the group.
No	This will cancel the action, a further prompt displays thanking you for using this service will display
Close	This exits the confirmation dialogue box

 

It is also possible that the email recipient may have other pop ups displaying advising they are being redirected to / requesting closes of web pages.

 

Edit HTML Source – to view and if required edit the html source applicable to your template click on

 

Upload HTML – refer to the Appendix section of this manual for full details on uploading html -

 

Toggle Full Screen – when you require a large area to work on your template.  Icon toggles from full to reduced screen display - 

 

Insert / Edit image - 

Clicking on the Insert/edit image button opens the dialogue for including images in your template. 

 

There are two ways to include an image in your email. You can either use the Multichannel Image Manager, detailed later or link directly to any image stored on a public web server by pasting or typing the link into the Image URL field.  Once you navigate away from the field the preview panel should update to show the image. If it does not display, check that you have entered the address correctly. NB/ we support jpg, jpeg, gif, & png file extension images but we do not support bmp file extension images.

 

General – The settings under the general tab define the image that will be used in your template. 

 

Image URL	This is the location of the image that will be used in the template.
Image Description	Not all email clients are configured to display images. By adding a description some software will display it as an alternative.
Title	Provides a general description of the link. This may be displayed as a tooltip and be recognized by some software such as Text to speech applications.

 

Appearance –

 

Alignment sets the position of your image relative to the other elements in your template. The options available in this control are:

 

BaseLine	Align the baseline of the element with the baseline of the parent element (e.g. the text on that line.)
Top	The top of the element is aligned with the top of the tallest element on the line
Middle	The element is placed in the middle of the parent element
Bottom	The bottom of the element is aligned with the lowest element   on the line
Text-top	The top of the element is aligned with the top of the parent element's font
Text-bottom	The bottom of the element is aligned with the bottom of the parent element's font
Left	This option ‘floats’ your image to the left of the paragraph. All text will then flow around the image.
Right	Floats an image to the right with all preceding text flowing around it.

 

Dimensions: This sets the size of the image you are using by declaring the width and height of the image in pixels.

 

Vertical space: This value sets the amount of space (in pixels) separating the top and bottom of the image from the other elements in the template.

 

Horizontal space:    Sets the amount of space (in pixels) separating the left and right sides of the image from the other elements in the template.

 

Border:  Sets the thickness of the border that will surround the image.

 

Style: This field displays the style tag generated by the changes.

 

Advanced – The editor features contained within the Advanced tab are not supported in this version of Multichannel. 

 

 

Multichannel Image Manager

 

Anywhere where images can be included you have a choice of two methods with which to insert images. The first is by linking directly to the image, pasting or typing the URL of the image into the text field. The other is by clicking the ‘Browse’ icon next to the field.  This will open the Multichannel Image Manager.

 

 

 

Multichannel Image Manager is a convenient way in which to store, sort and insert regularly used images into your email templates.  The main view is divided into three sections: Navigation options are located in the panel on the left hand side of the view, allowing the user to easily navigate between folders. The menu bar along the top edge of the view is used to create new folders, upload images and filter results.  The rest of the panel is taken up by the file view which allows you to select and access images.

 

Menu Bar

 

Filter: Typing in all or part of a file name will restrict the results shown in the file view to only those with matching file names.  In order to view all files again, simply clear any text added to the filter field.

 

Selected Folder: Shows the name of the current folder being viewed.

               

Create Folder: Allows the user to create a new subfolder.  A new dialogue box will appear prompting the user to name the folder.

 

 

 

Upload: Opens a new dialogue box allowing the user to browse for files.

 

 

Clicking on Choose Files will open a new window allowing you to search for files on your computer to upload to Multichannel. You can select multiple files by holding Ctrl and clicking on the files that you wish to upload. Clicking the Open button will then add these files to the queue.

 

From here you have the option to remove files from the queue or add further files by selecting the appropriate link.

 

Once satisfied with the list of files to upload, click the Upload to Server button to save the files into Multichannel.

 

Refresh: The refresh button reloads the File view .

 

File View. Using the controls along the top edge of the file view you are able to navigate between pages of images, specify the number of images that should appear on each page and also choose between Thumbnail and Text list view. By default each file is shown as a thumbnail of the full size image with the filename displayed in a grey bar along the bottom. Clicking on the triangle icon to the right of the filename brings up the list of options for that particular file.

 

Insert: This option selects the image for insertion into the email and returns you to the appropriate function.

 

Delete: Clicking Delete will remove the file from the server.

 

View: Clicking the View option for an image will open the full size image in a new pane. From this pane you can navigate to the Editor, Delete the image or return to the main view by clicking the

 

Download: This function allows you to download a copy of the image from the server to a local drive.

 

Edit: This option opens the Image Editor pane.

 

The image editor allows you to make alterations to the image before including it in your email. The selected image will appear in the main panel with the edit options along the top of the view. The options are as follows:

 

Save: Allows you to save the image either replacing the original or under a new file name.

 

Revert: Undoes all changes made since the file was last saved.

 

Crop: This option allows the user to select only a portion of the image removing any unwanted area.

 

With this option selected the mouse pointer icon will change to a + icon. Simply click the left mouse button and drag across the selected area. Once you have selected an area the mouse pointer will change again, allowing you to move the selection range or change the size of the selection to suit your needs.

 

It is also possible to specify the selected area by overtyping the numerical values directly above the image. These values dictate how far from the top and left edges the selection will start as well as the overall width and height of the selection. Checking the Constrain Proportions box will retain the width to height ratio.

 

Once satisfied with your selection click Apply or Cancel to revert back to the previous state.

 

Resize: The resize option allows you to stretch the image horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Alternatively you can overtype the numerical values directly above the image. These values the overall width and height of the image. Checking the Constrain Proportions box will retain the width to height ratio.

 

Once satisfied with your selection click Apply or Cancel to revert back to the previous state.

 

Flip: You can invert the image either horizontally or vertically by clicking on the Flip icon and then selecting the axis using the radio buttons directly above the image pane.

 

Once satisfied with your selection click Apply or Cancel to revert back to the previous state.

 

Rotate: In addition to flipping the image, the editor allows you to rotate the image by 90, 180 or 270 degrees. To do this, click on the Rotate icon and then select the angle of rotation using the radio buttons directly above the image pane.

 

Once satisfied with your selection click Apply or Cancel to revert back to the previous state.

 

Insert / Edit Link – This feature allows you to insert links to external sources (eg. Your company website). By highlighting any text or image in your template the insert/ edit link becomes active. 

 

 

Click on  and the screen displays;

 

General

 

Link URL: Use this field to specify the URL that you wish the link to direct customers to. If you are linking to a website and do not specify a protocol Multichannel will prefix the address of the URL with http://

 

Target: This feature is not supported.

               

Title: Provides a general description of the link. This may be displayed as a tooltip and be recognized by some software such as Text to speech applications.

 

 

Text Alignment – to align your text to the centre, left, right, or full alignment – select applicable icon

 

Bullet Points / Numbered Lists – to assign either a bullet point or a numbered list to part / all of your template text – Select applicable icon

 

Indents – to indent your text on your template, once indented the outdent button is enabled, clicking on outdent removes the indent (one indent at a time). Click on applicable icon

 

Tables – To insert a table in to your template click the Insert/Modify dialogue will be displayed allowing you to customise your table.  Note that tables in email are often used for layout purposes as well as displaying data and as such the cells of an html table do not automatically wrap.

 

General

 

The General tab allows you to set up your table by setting the following initial values:

 

• Cols: Allows you to specify the number of columns within your table.
• Rows: Allows you to specify the number of rows within your table.
• Cellpadding: The space, in pixels, between the edge of the cell and the cell content.
• Cellspacing: The space, in pixels, between each cell.
• Alignment: The horizontal position of the table on the page (left, right, center).
• Border: The width, in pixels, of the border.
• Width: The overall width of the table in pixels.
• Height: The overall height of the table in pixels.
• Class: This feature is not supported

 

Caption: Creates a single cell row at the top of the table in which you can place a caption for the table.

 

Advanced

 

• Id: This feature is not supported
• Summary: Provides additional information to certain types of software but is not displayed visually.
• Style: This feature is not supported
• Language Code: This feature is not supported
• Background Image: In order to apply a background image to your table you can either type in a direct link to an image stored on a public server or click the icon to the right of the text box to launch Multichannel Image Manager.
• Frame: This feature is not supported
• Rules: This feature is not supported
• Language Direction: This feature is not supported
• Border Color: In order to select a colour for your table’s border, you can either launch the colour chooser by clicking the icon to the right of the text field or by entering the colours hexadecimal value.

 

 

If you do not specify a height and width, the table may appear very small as follows:

 

 

In order to resize your table, hover the mouse over the table itself until appears, right click and screen displays;

 

 

Hover mouse as per above and then click and expand the table to the required size;

 

 

Click inside one of the cells in the table and the following icons all become active -

 

Table formatting icons

 

Table Row Properties -

 

 

General

 

Row in table part: This option allows you to categorise the row as either a header row, part of the body of the table or a footer row.  Defining rows in this way enables some applications to support scrolling of table bodies independently of the table head and foot. When long tables are printed, the table head and foot information may be repeated on each page that contains table data.

 

Alignment: This control allows users to specify the alignment of elements such as text within the cells of the row.  The options available are Left, Center and Right.

 

Vertical alignment: This option allows the user to specify the vertical position of elements within the cells of a row. The options available are Top, Center and Bottom.

 

Class: Not supported

 

Height: Sets the height of the row in pixels

 

 

Advanced

 

Background Image: It is possible to set an image as the background for your table layout. Either enter the URL of the image you wish to use or click on the icon next to the text field to open Multichannel Image Manager.

 

Background Color: You can also set the background colour of your table layout by selecting a colour from the palette or typing in the hexadecimal reference of the colour you wish to use.

 

 

Table Cell Properties -

 

 

General

 

Alignment: This control allows users to specify the alignment of elements such as text within the cells of the selected cells.  The options available are Left, Center and Right.

 

Vertical alignment: This option allows the user to specify the vertical position of elements within the cells of a selected cells. The options available are Top, Center and Bottom.

 

Width & Height: Use these fields to specify the dimensions in pixels for the selection.

 

Cell type: This control allows you to categorise a particular cell or group of cells as either Data or Header cells.

 

Scope: This control allows you to specify whether to apply the changes to either the column or row that the selected cell appears in.

 

 

Advanced

 

Background Image: It is possible to set an image as the background for your table layout. Either enter the URL of the image you wish to use or click on the icon next to the text field to open Multichannel Image Manager.

 

Border Color: Use this control to set the border colour of your table layout by selecting a colour from the palette or typing in the hexadecimal value of the colour you wish to use

 

Background Color: You can also set the background colour of your table layout by selecting a colour from the palette or typing in the hexadecimal value of the colour you wish to use.

 

 

Delete / Insert Rows or columns –

 

                       Will insert a row directly before the row the cursor is positioned on

 

                     Will insert a row directly after the row the cursor is positioned on

 

 

                              Will delete the row that the cursor is currently positioned on