Letter editor features

Chris Horroll
Chris Horroll
  • Updated

Alto uses a word processor to create letter templates enabling you to create, edit and send bespoke letters at scale.

It works in a similar fashion to modern document editors like Microsoft Word, making it easy to:

  • Copy and paste - Insert text from Microsoft Word and other document editors at the click of a button
  • Change fonts
  • Add bullet points and numbering
  • Drag and drop content into tables

This article includes: 

Letter editor features

  1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
  2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
  3. On the side menu, under App Tools, click Letters & Stationery Templates
  4. Click the relevant Letter Template that you wish to change
  5. The Letter Template opens. A toolbar of icons will display above the letter template
    (You can hover over the icons for a description of each)

Letter_editor_features_new.png

In order of left to right, key features include:

  • Capitalisation - Highlight the relevant text and use the dropdown to instantly alter the text between lowercase, uppercase and title case
  • Insert/edit link - URLs can be added, although whether they will be clickable or not depends on the software used to read the .pdf
  • Table - Create, customise and sort tables, as well as drag and dropping content into them
  • Page break - Add a new page using Page break
  • Numbered list - Add numbered lists, using the dropdown to specify the format. Press the Tab key to advance numbering to the next level
  • Bullet list - Add bullet lists, using the dropdown to specify the style. Press the Tab key to advance bullet points to the next style
  • Insert Checkbox - A checkbox will be placed where your cursor is, which can be ticked or unticked
  • Decrease Indent/Increase Indent - Decrease or increase the indentation of text, numbers or bullets
  • Alignments - Alter placement of text using Align left, Align centre, Align right or Justify
  • Accessibility Checker - Detects within your letter for any accessibility issues
  • Fullscreen - This is active by default allowing you to edit your letter more easily, whilst reducing the risk of errors. You can however toggle between Fullscreen and minimised
  • Source code - Shows the text in HTML format, and it allows you to write your letter in HTML instead of text if necessary
  • Template Config - Quickly amend your template details and settings. You can however toggle between them being visible or not
  • Preview - View a side by side preview of the letter layout on your chosen stationery, making sure you're happy with it's appearance, i.e. where page breaks fall, how text wraps, your logo positioning etc. You can however toggle between this being visible or not
  • Merge code - Used to search for and insert merge codes into your document
  • Formatting - Format your text using Bold, Italic, and Underline
  • Strikethrough - Highlight the text in your letter template and use this option to place a line through the selected text
  • Undo/Redo - Undo or Redo any changes you've made
  • Blocks - Use the dropdown to switch between preset text block styles; Paragraph, Heading 1 etc
  • Fonts - Use the dropdown to switch between a range of different fonts
  • Font sizes - Use the dropdown to alter your font sizing
  • Text Colour - Highlight the relevant text and use the dropdown to instantly alter the text colour. You can also set custom colours, and use RGB or Hex codes
  • Background Colour - Highlight the relevant text and use the dropdown to instantly alter the background colour (highlight colour). You can also set custom colours, and use RGB or Hex codes

Template Config

Within Fullscreen and minimised view, you can quickly amend your Template Config (details).

template_details.png

  • Branch - In the dropdown menu, you can select as to whether this template will be available to individual branches, or to All Branches
  • Brand - If your agency operates under two different brands, in the dropdown menu, you can select the relevant brand option
  • Stationery - In the dropdown menu, you can select which stationery is best suited to this template
    (Stationery refers to the templates that are set up with your header, logo and footer, i.e. the letterhead design)
  • Sale or Rent - In the dropdown menu, you can select the relevant option if the template you are creating is specific to one department or the other
  • Associated Event - This option appears depending on the type of letter, as it may be one that's associated against certain events and records. You can use the the dropdown menu to amend this, if necessary

Related articles: 

Creating an ad hoc letter template

Creating a new event driven letter template

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