Email templates

Under Mail templates you adjust the wording of the emails Smart Abstract sends in your project, e.g. the confirmation of an abstract submission, the deadline reminders from the deadline manager or the reviewer login details. Your changes apply to your project only. The system default is kept and can be restored at any time.

Navigate to
> Mailings > Mail templates

Quick access: What would you like to do?

• Template overview
  Which templates exist and what the columns mean.

• Edit a template
  How to change the subject and content of an email, in English (and German).

• Adjust the text version
  After every change to the HTML version, decide how the text version is updated.

• Use placeholders
  Insert personal and abstract data into the email automatically.

• Send a test email
  Check your template in your own inbox before saving.

• Save a template
  Once saved, the system uses your version for all further emails.

• Reset a template
  Discard your changes and restore the system default.
  
  

Template overview

The list shows all templates used in your project. Which templates appear depends on your project's configuration. For example, you only see “Reminder: Deadline for reviewers” if your project uses a review.

Available templates

The actions are on the right of each row: the pencil opens a template for editing. The red arrow only appears for project-specific templates and resets them to the system default.

Note: The “Reminder: Deadline for …” templates are sent via the deadline manager. You set when a reminder goes out there, and the wording of the email here.

Edit a template

1. Open the template: In the list, click the pencil icon of the template. Next to the template name you can see whether the system default or your project-specific version currently applies.

2. Choose the language: Use the German and English tabs to switch between language versions. Only the languages active in your project are shown. Edit each language separately, as recipients receive the email in their own language.

3. Adjust the subject: Click into the Subject field and change the text. The grey project abbreviation in front of the subject (“FEDACH 15 —” in the example) is added by the system automatically and cannot be changed here.

Attention: The subject is mandatory in every language. As long as a subject is empty, you cannot save the template.

4. Edit the content: Change the text in the HTML version editor. This is the version recipients see in their email program. The toolbar offers:

• Bold, italic, underline, subscript and superscript

• Adding and removing links (web addresses starting with https:// or email addresses). Links always open in a new window for the recipient.

• Numbered and bulleted lists

• Headings via the Format drop-down

• Quellcode (source code) for editing the HTML directly

Note: Email addresses and web addresses starting with “www.” are linked automatically when you save. When you paste text from Word, fonts and colours are removed, while bold, italic, lists, headings and links are kept.

The editor: subject and content on the left, test recipient and available placeholders on the right.

Adjust the text version

Every email is also sent as a plain text version, for email programs that do not display HTML. As soon as you change the HTML version, a red notice appears. Decide how the text version should be adjusted:

Adjust the text version automatically (recommended): The system regenerates the text version from your HTML version. Formatting is converted into text characters:

Adjust the text version manually: The view switches to the text version and the text field is unlocked. Transfer your changes yourself.

Attention: Until you have decided, Save and switching to the other language are disabled.

Edit the text version at any time

The text version is locked by default because it can be generated from the HTML version. To change it directly, open the Text version tab and click Unlock text version.

Note: Manual changes to the text version are not transferred to the HTML version. If you later change the HTML version again and choose Adjust the text version automatically, your manual text version is overwritten.

Use placeholders

When the email is sent, placeholders are replaced with the matching data, e.g. the personal salutation [LETTER_OPENING] or the abstract title [ABSTRACT_TITLE]. The list to the right of the editor shows which placeholders are available in the open template.

1. Copy a placeholder: Click a placeholder. It is copied to the clipboard, confirmed by the message “Copied to clipboard”.

2. Insert the placeholder: Place the cursor where you want it in the subject or in the editor and paste the placeholder with Ctrl+V (Mac: Cmd+V).

Attention: In the subject, only the placeholders listed under In subject are allowed; in the content, only those under In content. Placeholders not intended for the template are removed without warning when you save. Always copy placeholders in full, including the square brackets and in capital letters.

Send a test email

A test email shows you how the template arrives in the recipient's inbox.

1. Enter the recipient: Enter your email address under Test recipient. If the address is invalid, a notice appears and the test email cannot be sent.

2. Send: Click the paper plane icon. The message “Test email sent.” confirms that it was sent.

Note:

• The test email contains the current state of the editor, even if you have not saved yet.

• You receive one test email per language, so two emails for German and English.

• In the test email, placeholders are filled with sample values.

Save a template

Save your changes with one of the two buttons at the bottom right:

• Save: you stay in the editor and can continue working.

• Save and return to list: you return to the overview.

After saving, the message “Template saved.” appears and the template is marked as Project-specific. From now on, the system uses your version for all further emails of this type, in all languages.

Attention: Back to list leaves the editor without asking. Unsaved changes are lost.

Reset a template to the system default

If you want to discard your changes, restore the text provided by Smart Abstract. There are two ways to do this:

• In the list: click the red arrow in the template's row.

• In the editor: click Restore template at the bottom left.

Confirm the security prompt with Reset.

Attention: Resetting discards all project-specific changes to this template, in all languages. This cannot be undone.

See also:

• Deadline manager
  Set when deadline reminders are sent.