This article covers the common questions that users have regarding communications in Arbor. If you cannot find an answer to your query in this article, check our dedicated section of the Help Centre on this topic here.
Why is a mail merge taking a long time to send?
Communications can take longer to send during peak times. For this reason, we would recommend scheduling your communications to be sent outside of peak hours (e.g. lunchtime or Friday afternoon). If you need to send your communications at these times, you can send them slightly out from the hour e.g. 12:02 instead of 12:00 in order to prevent a build-up of mail merges being processed in Arbor's servers.
Can we recall an email, SMS, or in-app message?
No, it is not possible to recall communications that have been sent through Arbor. We would recommend sending another email or SMS with an explanation of the previous error if this occurs.
Take a look at our tips for preventing incorrect content from being sent out here: Data protection guidelines for communications.
What are the maximum file sizes for files and email attachments?
9.5 megabytes (0.5mb) is the limit per individual attachment. It is not possible to increase this limit, so you would need to reduce the file size or compress it using a third-party tool e.g. Adobe.
There is no limit to the number of files that you can upload to Arbor, or attach to an email.
There is no limitation to what file types that you can upload unless stated otherwise. For example, you can add any file type as an attachment to an email, but you cannot upload a PDF file for a student profile image.
Can I copy an email, SMS, or letter communication template?
No, it is not possible to clone or copy a letter or communication template, either to set up a new one on your site or to export it to another school's site.
Can we print communications that have been sent?
It is not possible to print SMS or text messages, emails, or in-app messages; you can only print out letters. If you would like to leave feedback on this, you can do so here.
Can we send emails from our non-default email address or another school email address?
When you are sending an email as yourself through Arbor, this will use the default work email set in the Contact Details section of your profile, so you change your default email to another email address to have emails send from that address instead.
Emails that you send on behalf of the school are taken from the school email address in School > School Details in the Contact Details section of the page. As only one email can be set as the default, it is not possible to send from another email address unless this is amended to your default address.
Does Arbor have a built-in spell checker?
No, Arbor does not automatically check spelling for fields, in communications (such as email, SMS, or in-app message), assessment comments, snippets, or Custom Report Cards.
However, as Arbor is accessible using an internet browser, you can use any browser-based spell checker, such as Grammarly.
Can we send emails to external or third-party contacts in Arbor?
No, it is not possible to send communications to external contacts in Arbor. To send an email from Arbor, the recipient needs to be a member off staff, a student, or a guardian or other contact added to a student's profile.
Communications to recipients that do not fall into these categories need to be sent outside of Arbor.
Can we delete communications from the Communication Log?
You can delete communication drafts, but once sent, it is not possible to delete emails, SMS, or in-app messages from the Communication Log. However, you can delete a mail merge letter from the Communication Log by following these steps:
Go to School > Communications > Letters > Merged Letters.
Click on the letter that you want to delete
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the red Delete All Letters button.
Alternatively, you can click the red Delete All Letters button when on the Merged Letters page to delete every letter.
Can we change our email signature or disclaimer?
At the bottom of emails sent from within Arbor, you will see:
- The name of the staff member who is sending the email
- Their job title
- The school's logo
- The school's address and contact details
- A text disclaimer
Is it not possible to amend the default disclaimer, and it is not possible to change the default format of staff names.
However, you can change:
Can we send private or direct messages through Arbor?
No, Arbor does not have a functionality for direct or private messages. You cannot send communications that can only be read by the recipient through Arbor.
This is because anyone who has the right permissions can access the messages sent in the Communication Log. You would need to send a message outside of Arbor (such as a direct email) if you do not wish to share the message.
Can we add images to send in email?
No, Arbor does not support images in text editors for sending email, SMS, or in-app message communications, only for letters.
We are looking to develop this feature in the future, so if you have any feedback please submit it here: Improvements to the communication designer.
Currently:
- It may be possible to paste an image into the editor, however, the image may not be there the next time you visit the page. This means that you cannot use pictures or photos in communication templates or drafts.
- When you drag an image into an email composed in Arbor, we cannot save the image anywhere so we save the base64 format of the image. As some email clients (such as Gmail) do not support base64, images may display as a string of characters instead. This means although you can see the image in Arbor, some recipients may see a string of text instead.
For this reason, we would recommend adding images in communications as an attachment where available.
How do I send emails to specific groups or demographics?
If you want to send an email to specific groups of students such as FSM or SEN, you would need to create a custom group for those students. When you have done so, you can search for the name of the custom group in the To box when sending any communications.
Can we see if a communication has been read?
No, it is not possible to have a 'read' indicator for emails and texts to confirm whether someone has read a sent message. This is because recipient inboxes can only send us confirmation that the communications have left Arbor and arrived at the intended recipient.
Can we exclude or remove students from a communication mail merge?
Arbor does not have the option to select a whole group for a mail merge and then remove certain recipients before sending. You can create custom groups to create bespoke mailing lists for communications that only include the intended recipients.
Can we forward communications through Arbor?
No, it is not possible to forward a communication received into Arbor to another staff member or to forward the communication log. They would need to go to the Communication Log to view the communication themselves, or you can send them a reminder (for example, via email).
Why am I getting an error message saying the email address to be used by default is not specified?
This happens when the email address on your Arbor profile has not been set as your work email. To resolve this, follow these steps:
Go to your profile and scroll to the Contact Details section.
Click on your email address.
Click Edit and change the email Type to Work.
Click Save Changes.
Why are staff members not receiving system emails?
Some actions such as resetting passwords will result in staff members being sent no-reply emails. if staff members are not receiving these, ask them to whitelist the following addresses:
welcome@arbor-education.com - Login details for new users
password-reset@arbor-education.com - Password resets
noreply@arbor-education.com - Group MIS data sharing requests Iif your MAT site has no email address set up in Administration > Group Details)
no-reply@arbor-education.com - All other automated system emails
Why does my printed logo look wrong?
You may find that your school logo is incorrectly formatted when printing documents. This is due to the size of your logo. Ensure that the logo is a minimum of 150 x 150 pixels in size, and ensure that your logo is in a .png format.
Can we send out polls, surveys, Google forms, or consent forms?
No, it is not possible to set up polls or surveys through Arbor. You cannot create tables within letters or templates, and you cannot download letters as Word documents.
Instead, you can send out an email to them with a link to a poll that you have set up in Google Forms, Wordpress, or another polling system. You can do this by using the link button in the communication toolbar at the top of the page.
Can we send hyperlinks in communication messages?
It is not possible to include hyperlinks in an SMS mail merge, but you can send a URL for a page which will be useable by the recipient.
You can add hyperlinks to emails and in-app messages by using the link button in the toolbar when creating the communication. Just click the icon, enter the URL and enter the text that you want the URL to appear as.
How do I change our SMS signature?
To change your SMS signature, follow these steps:
Go to School > Communications > Setup > SMS Settings.
Click on SMS signature.
Input the preferred signature and then click Save Changes.
How do I check how many SMS credits we have used?
To check how many credits your school has used, go to School > Communications > Setup > SMS Billing.
If you click on the Usage tab, you will be able to see how many credits you have used during the current academic year.
Can you add a header or a footer to an email?
No, it is not possible to add a bespoke header or footer to emails through Arbor. If you would like us to look at adding this in the future, please visit this page to provide feedback.
Can we have access to Sendgrid to monitor our email?
Arbor is not able to provide access to Sendgrid as this is an internal system only.
You can view your mail logs in Arbor using the All School Communications and the Mail Merge logs. Go to School > Communications > All School Communications and choose Email from the left-hand menu.
Can we unsubscribe a student from communications?
No, it is not possible to unsubscribe a student from emails or SMS messages; you can only unsubscribe guardians.
If a student has left the school and you do not want them to receive any communications, you can remove their contact details from the Contact Details section of their profile.
Can I send Mail Merge Labels?
No, it is not possible for labels to be sent via mail merge.
How do I edit an email or SMS to link it to a chosen user's account?
To edit a communication so that it appears in a chosen user's profile, follow these steps:
- Go to School > Communications > All School Communications.
- Click on the communication.
- Click the Actions button on the right side of the communication and then click Manage communication tags.
- Select the person's name in the Tag inboard message to drop-down box
- Tick the shared box and then click the green Tag inbound button.
Can we stop parents from replying to emails or SMS messages?
No, it is not possible to prevent guardians from replying to emails or SMS messages.
You may want to use a 'no-reply' email address to send from, send out a communication to let them know you would prefer them not to reply, or include a reminder in the email or SMS to not reply.
Can we stop parents from replying to in-app messages?
Yes, you can prevent guardians from replying to in-app messages. To do so, follow these steps:
Go to School > Communications > Setup > In-App Message Settings.
Click Accept messages from guardians and untick the box.
Please note that this will prevent guardians from sending any in-app messages as well as preventing replies to sent messages.
Does Arbor provide a fixed penalty notice template?
No, Arbor does not have a default template to create Fixed Penalty notices from. Instead, you would need to set up your own template for this. See our article on creating templates here.
Why can I not see the Load Template button for communications?
When sending a communication, you can click the Load Template button to select a template that you have set up previously.
If you cannot see this button, check that there are templates set up on your school's site from School > Communications > Templates.
If there are no templates set up, you will not see the Load Template button. If you need to set up templates, see this article for more information.
Can we attach letters to emails in bulk?
There are three ways to share letters and documents in bulk:
- You can share one or multiple generic attachments with multiple recipients. In this case, all the attachments will be sent to all the recipients. You can see how to do this here: Sending an email
- You can share some documents in bulk via email or through the Parent Portal in bulk, such as Report Cards, exam candidate timetables and statements of results.
- If you have individualised letters for each student that you want to share, you can see how to do this here: Can we share documents in bulk via email or the Portal?
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