In this guide we will cover the process of creating a Message Template which can be used at a later point to streamline how Schools communicate with Students/Contacts.
You can see an Overview of sent messages in Modules>Communication>Overview and/or Sent Messages if needed.
See also: How to Send an SMS or Email from Bromcom.
Access: The minimum permissions required to create Message Templates are found in the Communication Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
Creating a Message Template
To begin, you will need to go to Config>Communication>Message Templates.
On the page you will have New and Edit buttons, as well as any pre-existing Message Templates below.
Click on the New button to start.
This will allow you to begin creating the Message.
Complete the information, with mandatory fields marked with an *
- Message Name – this will be used to identify the Template when you go to use it later on
- Language – pick from a dropdown. Note that this is not a translation feature and languages have to be written in that language.
- Message Type – whether this will be a SMS Message Template or an Email Message Template. If selecting SMS, simply enter your message into the text box; if selecting Email, you will have all the same fields but with an additional Subject field.
- The Dynamic Fields list can be used to add Dynamic information which will auto populate in the message such as Title, Name or School Name.
When you’re finished click Save.
Editing Templates
Once saved, you can now Edit the Message Template from the Message Template Page or make a copy of it so that you can have multiple variations.
To do this, Edit one of the Message Templates and use the Save As button.
An example of where you might use this feature is to be able to send the same message in other Languages.
To identify which languages have been used to write a given Message Template, press Edit after selecting that Template and click on the Language Dropdown.
There will be a tick (√) next to each Language version available for the selected message as shown below;
Inserting Images into Message Templates (HTML – Email only)
When editing or creating a new Message Template, there are two available methods if you need to also include an image.
Note: These methods only apply to Message Templates that are created as an Email – HTML Message, they will not work if the Message Template is Email – Plain Text or SMS.
- Copy/Paste – This method allows you to copy an image on your PC and paste it directly in to the Message section of the Message Template.
This method is best used when sending a one off message as it requires you to manually select and paste the image each time and embedded images are usually larger.
To begin, right click anywhere within the Message field of the Message Template and paste your desired image.
The image will then appear in the Message as shown below;
Note: This works when you copy an image from another webpage or directly from your PC desktop for example.
2. Direct Linked Imaged – This method allows you to insert a linked image by using the Insert Image icon within the Message Template.
This method is best used when you have a hosted image in a central location such as Sharepoint or Onedrive.
To begin, left click anywhere within the Message field of the Message Template.
A toolbar will then appear above containing lots of options, you must select the Insert Image icon which is highlighted below;
Next, you will then need to provide/paste the link for the image, as well as the Width/Height you wish the image to be in pixels.
Once the link for the image and the size is entered, press Insert.
You can now enter your message around the image and even adjust the position of it by cutting and pasting it after your text if desired.
Note: The advantage of using linked images is that it reduces the size of the email because the image isn’t actually embedded into the message, and also if you update the image the image will be updated in the Template which it wouldn’t be if you use an embedded image.