Using Email, SMS, Letter, In-app message communication templates

In Arbor there are two types of communication templates:

• Preset/System templates - Used by the system to send out preset messages, such as following up with absent students. They cannot be used when sending a mail merge communication.
• Custom Templates your school has set up - Used to load a custom template your school has created when crafting mail merge communications from School > Communications > Compose > Email/Letter/SMS/In-App message or in Incident Workflows.

Permissions

You'll need the School: Communications: Administer permission to add templates. If you don't have the permission, you'll need to ask your admin team to give you permission using these instructions.

Editing a system template

You can tweak the preset templates used for features that send out messages like Attendance Follow-Up, Guardian Welcome to Arbor, Behaviour Incident Workflows and Sending exam timetables. 

• Go to School > Communications > Templates & Layouts > Templates 
• Click the template you would like to edit (e.g. Candidate exam timetables: Email exam timetables)

• On the next page, if applicable, use the tabs to choose the template you want to edit. 
  
  Note: if you switch to a different tab (e.g. from email to SMS) without saving your changes on the previous tab (e.g. email), and you then save changes on the next tab (SMS), the changes on the first tab (email) are not saved. So, please make sure you select the right tab immediately and that you save any changes before switching tabs.
   
  • Edit the template text, subject line and merge fields and click the green Save Template Changes button to finalise 
  • Or, revert the template to its default with the orange Reverse Template to default button 

Creating a new template

With this feature, you can create Custom Templates for Emails, SMS, In-app messages and Letters

Types of custom templates

There are four types of templates you can create. You can:

• Set up a new template (e.g. Add email template)
• Base your template on a Custom Report from the Custom Report Writer (e.g. Add email template with Custom Report)
• Use Detention or Behaviour Incident information (these last two types of templates can only be used in incident workflows, not when composing a message via School > Communications > Compose > Email/Letter/SMS/In-App message)

Please note:

• You can only set up a new template without data for in-app messages.
• You cannot use Detention or Incident data for letters or in-app messages

Adding the template

To create a new template:

• Go to School > Communications > Templates & Layouts > Templates 

• Select whether you want to create an Email, SMS, Letter or In-app message template using the tabs at the top of the page

   

• Click +Add

• On the pop-up, choose whether to

   

  • Create a new template (e.g., email template).
  • Use a Custom Report from the Custom Report Writer as your template base (e.g., email template with Custom Report).
  • Templates using Detention or Behaviour Incident info can only be used in incident workflows, not when sending messages via School > Communications > Compose > Email/Letter/SMS/In-App message.

You are then directed to the main Email, SMS, Letter or In-app message template page. 

• Add a Template name. 
• Create the body of the template using the text editor template you wish to use
• Click Create New Template to save.

Loading a custom template when composing a message

To compose a message with a custom template:

• Head to  School > Communications > Compose > Email/Letter/SMS/In-App message.
• Clicking the grey Load Email Template button 

• Select the template from the list (Detention or Behaviour Incident template will not appear in the lsit, these can only be used for behaviour workflows)

Top Tip: The order here is not alphabetical, but the order in which they were created.

Custom Report Writer Templates

You can link Communication templates to Custom Report data. Create a report in the Custom Report Writer, then go to School > Communications > Templates to create an Email, SMS or letter template using data from the report as a merge field. Perfect for following up with parents about low attendance marks!

For more details on how to set up templates from the Custom Report Writer, click here.

Top Tip: If you want others to use your email/letter/SMS templates created from custom reports, you'll need to share your report with anyone who needs access to the template.

FAQ

How are templates ordered in lists?

The order here is not alphabetical, but the order in which they were created.

Do we need to add an address when creating letter templates?

When creating letter templates, you don't need to add a merge field for the address, as these are automatically included in letter headers by default. Adding this would mean the addressee details show twice.

Can I use a template when sending a communication from a staff/student/guardian profile?

Templates cannot be used when sending communications directly from student, parent or guardian profiles. You would need to manually compose the message from their profile instead, or manually select the right recipients when merging your communication via School > Communications > Compose > Email/Letter/SMS/In-App message.

Can we change the default font size and style that loads when creating templates?

No, the default font is PT Sans, size 14px. It isn't possible to set this centrally or change this, so you would need to amend it for each new draft or template. When returning to a draft, the settings already selected will remain applied, and won't revert to the default.