Templates

What Is a Template

A template controls the header, background color, borders, and layout of an email. You can use the same template as the basis of multiple emails. It contains your brand and the layout of information.

All templates are stored under the Content tab in the My Templates folder.

Note: All templates that you create in your Enterprise administrator account are available to your Lock & Publish channel members in their Global Templates folder. If you do not want a template to be available to members, you'll need to create your own Lock & Publish channel member account and create the template there instead.

Note:  If you're using a Lock and Publish account, you'll see a Global Templates folder. You cannot create templates in the Global Templates folder and its subfolders.  That is where the templates created by your Enterprise administrator are stored.

Why Use a Template

Use a template when you want to create a customized look and feel for your emails that you can use in multiple email sends. A template:

• allows you to have the same look and feel in multiple related emails
• contains your brand and the layout of the information in an email
• allows an email to be built using content boxes, which are easy for nontechnical users to use
• allows you to have a template administrator create the template while someone else creates the content

Scenario

Northern Trail Outfitters wants to create a template for the Christmas season to send out four times, each with different content. Northern Trail Outfitters would create the template in the my templates folder under the Content tab. After clicking Create on the tool bar, they see a screen similar to this:

Northern Trail Outfitters names its template and then selects either the Use template editor, which allows them to create a template using existing layouts, or Paste HTML, which lets them create a template using HTML coding.

They choose Use template editor. After they create their template, they're faced with a blank template page:

To add images or content to their template, they click the buttons on the Tool Bar to customize the look and feel.

Northern Trail Outfitters adds a header and does nothing else to the email. The template appears like this:

Northern Trails is now free to use this template and add customized content for each email send. If they wanted to add color, borders, or any other element, they could use the tool bar to customize their template.

The template is saved in the application, and they are free to move on to creating their email. 

How To Create Templates Using the Template Editor

If you choose to create a template using the standard template editor, you can choose from several standard layouts and define your own background color and border style.

Follow these steps to create a template using the standard template editor:

1. Click the Content tab.

2. Click the my templates folder.
   
   If you've created a templates folder under My Templates in which you want to store this template, click that subfolder.

   Note: If you're using a Lock and Publish account, the Global Templates folder (and its subfolders) that you'll see under My Templates is where the application stores the templates that your Enterprise administrator created.

3. In the my templates (or whichever templates folder you selected) toolbar, click the Create button.

4. Complete the Create New Template page that appears.

   • Name: Enter an internal description for the template. Users see this name when choosing a template to create an email.

   • Tag: (You may not have access to this field. Contact your ExactTarget representative if you have questions.) Enter words that describe the survey you're creating. For example, you might tag a survey with the month you create it in so you can later view all the surveys for a given month.

   • Create in Folder: This field shows the folder in which the template is stored. If you want to store the template in a different folder, click the Select Folder button to choose a different folder.

5. Click the Use Template Editor radio button.

6. Click Save.

7. Click the Create Header button at the top of the workspace to create a header.
   

   Note: All images should be no larger than 600 pixels wide for to ensure your subscribers are able to view the image without distortion.
   
   

   These design options are applied to all emails created from this template. The user creating the email isn't able to change the header content or layout or the overall background and border design. However, the user can choose the background and border design for each individual content box.
   
   Edit the following fields to achieve your desired template:

   • Layout: Select the drop down arrow and choose the layout radio button you prefer. You can view a preview of the layout before you select it.

   • Border Width: Select the drop down arrow and choose the desired border width.

   • Border Color: Enter the hexidecimal color number in the first field or select the drop down arrow and select the desired color.

   • Background color: Enter the hexidecimal color number in the first field or select the drop down arrow and select the desired color.

8. When you're done constructing your template, you can click Save.
   
   Your template is now ready for use in building new emails.

How To Create Templates Using HTML Paste

For information on HTML Paste emails, see HTML-Based Emails.

If you're creating a template using HTML Paste, you must manually insert the tracking pixel. The tracking pixel provides you the tracking information related to opens. If you do not include the tracking pixel, the application will not record opens. Step 10 of this procedure explains how to add the tracking pixel.

Follow these steps to create an HTML paste template:

1. Click the Content tab.

2. Click the my templates folder.

   Note: If you're using a Lock and Publish account, you'll see a Global Templates folder. You cannot create templates in the Global Templates folder and its subfolders because that is where the templates created by your Enterprise administrator are stored.

3. In the my templates (or whichever templates folder you selected) toolbar, click the Create button.

4. Complete the Create New Template page that appears.

   • Name: Enter an internal description for the template. Users see this name when choosing a template to create an email.

   • Tag: (You may not have access to this field. Contact your ExactTarget representative if you have questions.) Enter words that describe the survey you're creating. For example, you might tag a survey with the month you create it in so you can later view all the surveys for a given month.

   • Create in Folder: This field shows the folder in which the template is stored. If you want to store the template in a different folder, click the Select Folder button to choose a different folder.

5. Click the Paste HTML radio button.

6. Click Save.

7. Either paste or type your HTML code in the space provided on the next screen that appears.

8. If you want to insert a content box into your template so that users can add content to the email, place your cursor in the HTML code at the location where you want the content box to appear (between begin and end block level tags), and click the Insert >> Content Area button at the top of the workspace.

9. To size and format the content box you've created, add formatting tags.

   Note: A content box can be placed any place a table can be placed. If you're using HTML tables, one content box per tag is allowed. Here's an example of the HTML code:
   

    <custom type="content" name="Content Area 1"> 

10. Insert the tracking pixel by clicking Insert > Email Open Tracking. You can insert the tracking pixel anywhere in the email.

11. Click the Save button when you're done.

11. Preview your template to ensure that your code is correct by clicking the Preview tab at the top of the workspace.
    
    Your template is now available for creating emails.

You can make changes to existing templates or remove templates that you no longer need.

Note: Editing a template doesn't automatically affect any emails already created from that template. Likewise, deleting a template doesn't delete the emails created from that template. See How To View or Modify a Template.

How To Save an Email as a Template

In order to save an email as a template, you must first create an email. See How To Create an Email for step-by-step instructions.

After you've created your email and would like to save it as a template, follow these steps:

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click the my emails folder.
3. Click on the email you wish to save as a template.
4. Click the Save as Template button on the task bar.
5. Complete the following fields:

6. Click each content box and define it's Template Conversion as Empty Content, Static Content, or Editable Content.

7. Click Save.

The template is saved in the my templates folder under the Content tab. You can apply that template to future emails.  

How To View or Modify a Template

To view or modify a template, follow these steps:

1. In the navigation pane, click Content.

2. Click the My Templates folder (or whichever folder holds the template you want to modify).
   
   The workspace in the right window pane now shows all templates in the selected folder, along with the layout used to create each template.

3. In the workspace, click the hyperlinked name of the template. That template appears for viewing or modifying.

4. Make your changes, following the same process as you did when creating the template.
   

   
   Note: If the template you're working with was created as an email and saved as a template, you cannot edit the template.

3. When you're done modifying your template, you can click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the workspace or navigate to another area of the application. (Your design changes are saved as you apply them.)
   
   Your modified template is now ready for use in building new emails.

How To Rename, Relocate, or Delete a Template

To change a template's name, move the template to another folder, or delete the template altogether, follow these steps:

1. In the navigation pane, click Content.

2. Click the My Templates folder (or whichever folder holds the template you want to modify).
   
   The workspace in the right window pane now shows all templates in the selected folder, along with the layout used to create each template.

3. In the workspace, click the Details button associated with the template.

4. In the Template Details dialog box that appears, take the appropriate action:

• Rename: To rename the template, type the new name in the Name field.

• Relocate: To move the template to another folder, click the Select Folder button and choose the desired folder.

• Delete: To remove the template, click the Delete button. Click OK when asked to confirm the deletion.

5. If you renamed and/or relocated the template, click the OK button in the Template Details dialog box.
   
   Your modification takes effect.