Designing System Emails

Task/Problem Overview

This knowledge base article will discuss how to use the System Emails screen. This screen is used to build and format emails sent by the system. For example, you can design the email that is sent out when a quote is created/emailed out. The email will also have a PDF attachment of the form, but this screen designs the email itself.

• In the Admin menu, choose System Emails.

• On the bottom half of the left side of the screen, choose the form you want to edit the email for. This example shows Quote.

• Notice when you choose a form the options above it change. These are the actual data sources/ fields found on the form. This is if you want pieces of information from the form to be in the email (even though it's in the attachment too). This can be helpful to the recipient when sorting their emails.

• Notice the subject line at the very top of the screen. You can drag and drop a data source to include that information in the subject.

• In the email body, notice the header, details, and footer. This could be a brief message, more info in the details, and then the signature.

• In the email body, you can also add a grouping of info. At the bottom of the screen you can click Add a Group and select the field name and info to appear on the email.

• To add more info you can drag and drop the “A” button to add a label wherever you want it.

  • Click the little right arrow button above the label and edit the name of the label in the text field (becomes left arrow when clicked).

  • Choose the data source/ the information you want to show up.

• When you move labels or other items around the workspace, the border will turn green or red, if it’s red, it can’t go there. Anywhere it turns green is a viable space to put it.

• The tool bar in the top part of the screen lets you choose fonts, colors, and other formatting within the labels, and other areas.

• Use the left sidebar to add other pieces of information like a panel to group things together or even graphs.

• The right sidebar shows the properties of what section you’re working on. You can use it to format as well. Such as the background colors, text alignment, etc.

• Click into a panel or section of the email to choose what you want to edit and make the changes. You can also choose the section by selecting it in the drop down in the Properties sidebar.

Using HTML To Customize Emails

• You can also ust HTML to do essentially the same things instead of using the built in tools. Also, it’s more compatible with Google Mail.

• To start, add a rich text box (Paper and pen icon) to the area you’re working on

• Begin typing your HTML formatting.

• You can test it out on a website like https://www.w3schools.com/html/tryit.asp?filename=tryhtml_intro

Where you can type it or copy and paste it here and it will give you a preview of what it will look like.

• You can find a basic list of html tags here https://docs.devexpress.com/AspNet/119045/components/rich-text-editor/document-management/html-support

Further Customization - Formatting Rules

• These settings are not by the user so when you set these up, it is the template for when anyone sends the particular email. However there is a way to customize further if there are any special exceptions.

  • For example, if one customer gets a specially formatted quotation email template.

• For this customization, you must set up rules.

• Click on the little right arrow button by a panel and choose formatting rules.

• Click Edit Rule Sheet

• For this example, there will be 2 rules, one rule to know what template to send when it is a specific customer, and one rule to know what template to send when it’s NOT that customer.

• Click the plus sign to add a new rule.

• Name the rule in the design section of the window.

• Set the special formatting as desired when the condition is true.

• Then click the “...” button by condition. This is telling the system how to know when to format what when certain conditions are met. Such as when it’s a certain customer, make it look a special way.

• Choose the data source you want it to look at (such as account number for the customer).

• And create the Boolean statement, Example: If([account number] = 1234,[true], [false]) means if the account number is 1234, send the email with the set formatting, if it’s not 1234, do not send the email with the set formatting.

  • Boolean Expression: In computer science, a Boolean expression is an expression used in programming languages that produces a Boolean value when evaluated. A Boolean value is either true or false. A Boolean expression may be composed of a combination of the Boolean constants true or false, Boolean-typed variables, Boolean-valued operators, and Boolean-valued functions.

  • You can find more information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_expression

• When ready, create the second rule so it knows what to send when it’s not that customer. You can put a double = sign before the number and it will see it as “not equal.”

• Back on the Formatting rules Edit screen, choose both rules to apply when the conditions are met.