Getting started with Email Templates

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. 

This article includes:

• Message editing and the Features panel
  • Content
• Navigating the message editing area
• Undo and Redo

Message editing and the Features panel

The template editor is divided into two main areas:

• The message editing area (the stage) on the left
• The features panel on the right

In general, you can drag and drop the content elements into the main message editing area (the stage) and then edit them using the features panel.  This is true for entire structures (e.g. a single-column row) and individual content blocks (e.g. a text content block).

The features panel is divided into three tabs:

• Content - This is where you will choose and edit the specific content elements that make up your message (e.g. buttons, images, text blocks)
• Rows -  This is where you can select different structural elements (e.g. a single-column vs. three-column row) to organize your content
• Settings - This is where you will define some overall settings that affect the entire message (e.g. a default font family)

Content

The Content tab allows you to choose a new content element and add it to your email message.

1. Drag and drop a content element (a button, an image, a text block, a transparent or solid divider, social media sharing, etc.) in the message editing area on the left
2. It will be added to an existing Row
   1. Alternatively, you can add a new row first from the Rows tab and drag the content element on to the new Row
      

For more information on How to use Rows in Email Templates, click here

The Content elements that you can use are:

• Title - Add a title to your email message or section of your message
  For more information on Email Templates Content elements - Titles, click here
• Text - If you click inside a text content block, the text editor toolbar appears directly on the main message editing area.  It gives you access to a number of text editing tools: font family, font size, basic formatting, text alignment, numbered and non-numbered bullets, font colour, links, etc
  

• Image - You can drag and drop image files directly from your desktop on to an image content block. You can also upload them using the File manager or use the URL of remotely hosted images.  Images can be edited using the Image Editor
• Button - You can add buttons, change the way they look, and decide where they link to
• Divider - Dividers help create visual separation between design elements.  Granular control on padding provides great design flexibility
• Social - You can add the icons for the social media platforms you use, and create links to your URLs
• Video - You can share your video content easily in your emails by pasting the URL of your YouTube or Vimeo video
  For more information on Email Templates Content elements - Video, click here
• Icons - You can use Icons to create visual bullet lists, ratings, properties, logo galleries, etc
  For more information on Email Templates Content elements - Icons, click here
• Menu - You can create horizontal or vertical menus of links that send your customers to relevant web content

Once the content is added to the message editing area, you can amend the settings of that content in the Content Properties section of the editor. 

Navigating the message editing area

When you hover over the message in the message editing area of the editor (the stage), the following happens:

1. If you hover over a block of content (a button in the example below), the editor shows you an icon on the right side that allows you to drag that block of content elsewhere
   
2. If you click on a block of content, the editor will:

• Show you two icons on the stage, which allow you to remove or clone that block of content
• Open the Content Properties section on the right side of the editor to display a series of features that you can set for that block of content
  
  

3. When you hover over an area that is free of content, i.e. the row in which the content is located, the editor will highlight it and display an icon that allows you to drag that entire row elsewhere on the stage
   
   
4. When you click on a row, the editor will:

• Deselect any block of content that had been previously selected
• Select the row, and show you two icons that allow you to remove or clone the entire row and all its content
• Change the Properties section on the right side of the editor to display a series of properties that apply to that column within the row. (A row can contain more than one column)

Undo and Redo

Email Templates also contain a feature to help you to correct mistakes or return to a previous edit. 

When enabled, the Undo function allows you to rewind and fast-forward to any point in your recent edit history.  When changes are detected, a compact Undo widget displays in the bottom left corner of the stage, as shown below.
If you click on the Undo or the Redo arrows, it allows you to undo the latest edit or re-apply it.