An email template specifies the subject, body, and format of an email message that will be sent by TransForm E-Forms Manager. Although you may define email templates for form workflow processes along with each form's workflow settings, global email templates defined here allow TransForm E-Forms Manager administrators to configure templates once, which may instead be used in multiple areas of TransForm E-Forms Manager. For example, the same global email template may be used by multiple workflow processes.
In addition to providing standard text for the subject and main contents of an email, the template configuration allows you to provide placeholders for text that can be supplied dynamically by the system at the time emails are sent. This enables your workflow and other email-based processes to send content that is customized and personalized.
The list of email templates that are defined in the application can be viewed by clicking the Email Configuration menu item under the main Administration tab, then clicking the Templates tab.
The following information is displayed for each email template that is listed:
Template Name: The unique name that identifies the template.
Edit Icon: Allows you to edit the email template when the icon is clicked.
Delete Icon: Allows you to delete the email template when the icon is clicked.
If you click the template name, then the full details of the email template will be displayed.
To create a new email template, view the list of email templates and click the New Email Template link. A new window will appear that will allow you to provide the following information:
Template Name: Enter a unique, descriptive name for the email template. This name will be used to identify the email template in other areas of the application. Template names can only contain letters, digits, dashes, and underscore characters.
Message Type: Select either HTML or Text as the type of email message. HTML is selected by default. If you select HTML, then the editor will allow you to use text formatting and other features of HTML. You need not specify your own HTML markup for layout, fonts, and formatting, as the editor will take care of this for you. If you select Text, then the email messages will be sent as plain text.
Subject: Enter the subject of the email message. Placeholders can be used in the subject.
Body: Enter the body of the email message. Placeholders can be used in the body.
After you provide all of the required information, click the Finish button. The new email template will be displayed in the list of email templates.
The subject and body of an email template can contain several types of placeholders. Placeholders specified in an email template are replaced with the actual values before messages using the template are sent by TransForm E-Forms Manager. The value is determined by one of the types of placeholders described below:
Form Data: The value of any field from a form submitted to TransForm E-Forms Manager can be used in the email subject or body.
Constants: Values that are configured in the application as constants can be used in the email subject or body.
Submission-Related Data: Information related to the submission of a form to TransForm E-Forms Manager can be used in the email subject or body.
If you want values to be retrieved from submitted forms, submission-related data, or constants and placed into your email body or subject when an email is sent, you can type placeholders into your email template using special keywords reserved for this purpose. The table below lists the keywords that should be used for the different types of placeholders:
|
Placeholder Type |
Indicated By |
Replaced With |
|
Form Field Value (Form Data) |
$PFF.<field_name> |
Value of the submitted form’s field named <field name>
|
|
Constant Value |
$CONST.<constant_name> |
Value of the constant named <constant name> as defined in TransForm E-Forms Manager
|
|
Submission Tracking Number (Submission Data) |
$SUBMISSION_ID |
The unique tracking number associated with a form submission.
|
|
Submission Timestamp (Submission Data) |
$SUBMISSION_DATE |
Date and time that the form was submitted to TransForm E-Forms Manager
|
|
Submitter (Submission Data) |
$SUBMITTED_BY |
Name of the end user that submitted the form. This information is only available if submission of the form requires authentication. |
Similar to a Placeholder, the FormatDate function can be used in the body section of an email template to format the value of a date field in a submitted form into a customized text format when an email is sent. The FormatDate function takes two arguments that provide the name of the form field to get the date value and a format string that describes the output text format.
Syntax: FormatDate(FormFieldName, DatePattern)
FormFieldName: A form field reference in the form of $PFF.fieldName. The form field that is to be formatted should be defined in the form with a FieldType of Mask and a date FieldMask – a mask that contains MM, DD, YY (or YYYY).
DatePattern: Text that indicates how the value should be formatted. The date pattern should be one of the following values: “SHORT”, “MEDIUM”, “LONG”, or “FULL”.
Example: FormatDate($PFF.deadline, "SHORT")
The following table lists the result of using each available date pattern:
|
Date Pattern |
Result |
|
FormatDate($PFF.deadline, "SHORT") |
02/08/2012
|
|
FormatDate($PFF.deadline, "MEDIUM")
|
Feb 8, 2012
|
|
FormatDate($PFF.deadline, "LONG")
|
February 8, 2012
|
|
FormatDate($PFF.deadline, "FULL")
|
Thursday, February 8, 2012
|
An existing email template can be edited by viewing the list of email templates and clicking the Edit icon next to the template that you wish to edit. A new window will appear that will be populated with the values from the selected email template. Edit the values that you would like to change and click the Finish button.
Note: An email template’s name cannot be changed if the email template is being used in other areas of the application. If you need to change the name of an email template, you will have to modify all items that are using that email template to use a different email template.
An existing email template can be deleted by viewing the list of email templates and clicking the Delete icon next to the template that you wish to delete. A dialog box will appear to confirm the deletion. Click the OK button to delete the email template or the Cancel button to return to the list of email templates without deleting the template.
If the email template that you select to delete is used in other areas of the application, then you will not be able to delete it. Instead, you will see a message indicating that you must first change any existing references to the template. You can view the list of items that are using an email template by clicking the link in the message.
Using this list, you can find the items that are using the email template. You will then have to modify all items that reference it, removing all references to the template. Once finished, you will be able to go back to the Email Template List and delete the template.