In Alto, to save you time and to help ensure your communication to your customers is on brand, you can now select a template to use when sending an ad hoc email.
How to use and send templated emails
- Click Tools on the main navigation bar
- In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
- On the side menu, under App Tools, click Email Templates
- A list of the templates available for your agency group displays. This can be filtered by Branch and/or Brand if required
For more information on Creating and editing Email Templates, click here
When you go to send an email whether it's to a contact or group of contacts, or to a property, if you prefer not to use a template or haven’t got any set up yet, click Use the Template and Alto will load a default blank template. This template will contain a default header which merges in the group logo and details of the branch you are logged in to, and a default footer, which also merges in the group logo and negotiator details.
To use a template you have created:
- Click the @ icon on a contact or property record, or Send Email within Progressions
- Select the template from the dropdown menu
- Click Use the Template
- Within the Details section:
- Add any additional To recipients or CC's
- Link the email to a Property
- Edit the Subject of the email, if needed (by default, the template name will be set as the Subject)
- Amend the content of the email by clicking inside any of the blue boxes that appear when you hover over the email body. Type in any additional text you want to add
- Add any Attachments needed either by selecting Browse your Computer and selecting attachments directly from your desktop, or, by selecting Browse Alto and attaching documents stored on the tenancy record (if applicable)
- Send the email as usual
You can type or copy and paste the following merge codes and these will merge on sending the email, but no other merge codes are available:
- #branch_name#
- #branch_web_address#
- #branch_phone#
- #branch_fax#
- #branch_default_clientaccount#
- #branch_default_clientaccount_sortcode#
- #branch_email#
- #branch_address#
- #branch_address_block#
- #branch_address_subdwelling#
- #branch_address_nameno#
- #branch_address_street#
- #branch_address_locality#
- #branch_address_town#
- #branch_address_county#
- #branch_address_postcode#
- #company_vat_reg_no#
- #company_reg_no#
- #company_name#
- #brand_sms_sender#
- #negotiator#
- #negotiator_email#
- #negotiator_phone#
- #negotiator_job_title#
- #negotiator_signature#
Note
If you see a message advising that the row is locked for editing, this means the template was created with a locked row intentionally because the creator did not want that portion of the message to be altered
To unlock the row, the template itself needs to be amended
For more information on how to use the email editing tools, click here
Using standard paragraphs that have already been configured
If you want to use any standard paragraphs that have been configured:
- Select a Paragraph from the dropdown menu
- Click Copy to Clipboard
- Right click and paste (or use the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl + V on a windows PC, or Cmd + V on a mac) the paragraph into the relevant box
You can preview what the email will look like on a mobile at any point whilst you are editing.
- Click Actions
- Click Preview
- Slide the toggle to Mobile
To return to the edit view:
- Click the X next to the Mobile toggle
- When you are ready, click Send
Merge codes will be populated with relevant content on send, and the following text will be added to the end of the email: You have been contacted because you have registered with us. Please use the manage your preferences link to control how we contact you.
Note
No header or footer will be added during the send process, so ensure you are happy with the full content of the email before you send it
Where to find email templates in Alto
Email Templates are available when sending an ad hoc email from:
- Contacts Overview
- Groups of Contacts
- Properties Overview
- Groups of Properties
- Tenancies Overview
- Groups of Tenancies
- Progressions
And from the Main Dashboard:
- Quick send
- Esignatures
- Email tracking
Note
Email templates are not currently available for any event triggered or automated emails, or when emailing letters