Templates

The Template feature in Cheetah Digital allows you to build reusable email templates that contain both configurable and non-configurable sections. This feature is intended to be used by clients who have standard corporate email marketing content, and they don't want users to be able to edit or remove this content when building an email Campaign. The non-configurable elements of the email content are defined directly with the Template. Any elements that need to be configurable by the end-user can be added as Template Blocks. Template Blocks are similar in concept to Content Blocks, in that they're a container for HTML code. Template Blocks allow the end-user to modify only these elements as he or she is creating the Campaign.

For example, let's say your standard email marketing collateral consists of a standard header with various links and your company logo, followed by a user-selectable image and text field, and then a standard footer. You could build a Template that includes the header and footer as non-configurable elements, meaning that the user creating the Campaign would be unable to modify these elements. The image and text field, however, could be configured as Template Blocks.

Note: Templates are available only for use in the email Channel.

 

Access

The Templates screen is accessible via the Main menu; selectAssets > Content > Templates

 

Create a new Template

Templates can either be created through the Cheetah Digital user interface, or uploaded into the platform (see Create a New Item: Template).

To create a new Template through the user interface:

  1. In the Tool Ribbon, click + New Template.

  2. A New Item pop-up window is displayed. To select the folder where you want to save this new Template, click the folder name in the Navigation Tree on the left side of this pop-up. The Where? field is updated with the selected folder name.

  3. In the Name field, enter a name for your new Template. This name must be unique within the selected folder.

  4. From the Data Source drop-down menu, select the source table for this Template.

    Note: You can never modify this source table after the Template is created.

  5. From the Channel drop-down menu, select the marketing channel that will utilize this Template (Email is currently the only Channel to support the use of Templates).

  6. Click Create. The Workspace is refreshed to show a blank Template details screen. The tabs across the top of the Content field indicate which format version of your message you're currently editing. An Email Template will have an HTML version created and selected by default.  

  7. Enter, or copy-and-paste, the Template content into the Advanced Editor. For more details on how to use the Advanced Editor, please see the Advanced Editor Help topic.

    Note: The content you enter here will be non-configurable by the end-user when he or she is building a Campaign that uses this Template; user-configurable content must be defined within Template Blocks.

  8. If you're including links within your Template, you can optionally provide a friendly name for the link, right from within the Advanced Editor. Friendly names makes it easier to read the Campaign reports that track link usage (friendly link names can also be defined on the Link Library).

  • Within HTML content, add a name attribute (data-link-name) to the anchor tag.

<a data-link-name="Cheetah Digital home" href="http://www.cheetahdigital.com">Cheetah Digital Home Page</a>  

  • Within either HTML or Text content, use a new URL merge tag to specify the friendly name.

{@Cheetah Digital home|http://www.cheetahdigital.com@}

  1. Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your Template. To assign a tag, click on the Add tag field in the Edit > Tags section of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the X icon next to the tag label.  

  2. To save your Template, click Edit > Actions > Save in the Tool Ribbon.

  3. Optionally, to see a mockup of your Template, click Edit > Show > Preview in the Tool Ribbon. The Preview screen is displayed. If your message contains Personalization Fields, the pane on the right-hand side of the screen lists each of these fields. Optionally, type in a value; the system refreshes the preview screen with this value inserted into the message. When finished, click Edit > Show > Edit in the Tool Ribbon to return to the Advanced Editor.

 

Copy a Template

To copy an existing item to use as the basis for a new item:

  1. Search for the desired item (see Search for an Item for more details).

  2. Click on the item name. The main item screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected item.

  3. In the Tool Ribbon, click Save As. A Save as dialog box is displayed.

  4. Enter a name for the new item.

  5. By default, the new item will be saved in the same folder location as the base item. Optionally, click the magnifying glass icon to browse to and select a different folder location.

  6. Click Save a copy. The system creates a copy of the selected item.

 

View or edit a Template

To view or edit an existing Template:

  1. Search for the desired Template (see Search for an Item for more details on the available search methods).

  2. Click on the Template name. The Template screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected Template.

  3. Optionally, to view detailed information about the Template, click the Content Template tab in the Tool Ribbon. The Item Details screen is displayed, showing who created the item, who modified it last, and what the last actions taken on the item were. On this screen, click Related Items in the Function Menu to see other items in the system that reference or utilize this Content Template. When finished, click the Edit tab in the Tool Ribbon to return to the main edit screen.

  4. Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your Template. To assign a tag, click on the Add tag field of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the X icon next to the tag label.  

  5. Optionally, to rename the Template, click Rename in the Tool Ribbon. A Rename Item dialog box is displayed. Enter a new name for the Template, then click Save new name.

  6. The tabs across the top of the Content field indicate which format version of your message you're currently editing. Optionally, to switch to a different format of your message, click the appropriate tab.

  7. Make any necessary changes in the Advanced Editor. For more details on how to use the Advanced Editor, please see the Advanced Editor Help topic.

  8. To save your changes, click Save in the Tool Ribbon.

 

Delete a Template

To delete an item:

  1. Search for the desired item (see Search for an Item for more details).

  2. Click on the item name. The main item screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected item.

  3. In the Tool Ribbon, click Delete. A confirmation dialog box is displayed.

  4. Click Delete item to confirm the deletion.

Foldered items are moved to the Recycle Bin. Non-foldered items are permanently deleted.

 

Assign a Template to a Campaign

Once you've created your Template, you can use it within one or more Campaigns by assigning it as the Content Source.

To change the Campaign's primary Content Source to use a Template:

  1. Navigate to the desired Campaign (see Campaigns for more details).

  2. Scroll down to the Message section, and click Change. The Choose Content Source pop-up window is displayed.

  3. Click Template. The Browse Templates pop-up window is displayed.

  4. From the Browse Templates pop-up window, you can click on a folder in the directory structure to see a list of all the Templates stored within that Folder. Or, if you want to search across the entire system, click the double-left arrow icon near the top of the directory structure; the system collapses the directory structure and shows every Template in the system. This pop-up window also allows you to search based on Tags, or by name. When you find the desired Templates, click on its name.

    Note: Templates have to be created using the same source table as the Campaign in order for them to be available as a selection.

  5. The Edit Template screen is displayed. This screen shows the content embedded within the Template; this content can't be edited. If this Template contains any Template Blocks, the system displays the default content for each Template Block.

  6. To modify the content for a Template Block, click the Edit link next to that Template Block. Your editing options depend on the Template Type for the selected Template Block:

    • Rich Text: The system displays a Rich Text editor, with a full range of text-editing tools, including fonts, styles, typefaces, colors, and tables.
    • Plain Text: The system displays a simple text field, where you can enter a new text message.
    • Image: The system displays the HTML code for the default image. Make any necessary changes to this code to modify the URL to the image, the image dimensions, and / or the image Alt Text.
    • Link: The system displays the HTML code for the default link. Make any necessary changes to this link to modify the URL and / or the link text.

  7. If you modified a Template Block, click Save to save your changes and return to the Edit Template screen.

  8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 as needed to modify any other Template Blocks.

  9. When finished, click Edit Template > Close > Close Edit to return to the Campaign details screen.