Why create a message in HTML mode?
Creating a message using the HTML editor is the oldest way of creating a message in Dialog Insight. In genera, you will use this type of editor if you have already created messages this way and still use these messages, or if you prefer building your messages from HTML code.
All templates are available in Drag and Drop mode, and offer a more visual and easy way to create messages. Refer to Creating a Message Using Drag-and-Drop.
How to
 Access Path | Communications > Emails |
| | Notes for V1 messages The option to create V1 messages no longer exists. But it is still possible to create such new messages by duplicating an existing V1 message and editing it afterwards. V1 messages are identified by an empty V2 column. To duplicate a message, just click on the related  icon. |
Set the structure of the message
- In the message listing page, click on Create a message
- To create a message in an HTML editor, you can either copy an existing HTML message or create a message from scratch by selecting Blank message.
- In the list of templates, select the HTML editor and click Select.
- In the next window, select the communication type to be associated with your message and click Continue. The communication type can be used to categorize messages, or if you have set up a consent manager, to define the opt-ins and implied consents needed to make contacts eligible to receive messages.
- Then message editor opens up in full screen mode, and hides the left menu, the right pane, as well as the application header, to provide you with more space to work.
*To go back to the list of messages, and to the standard application display, with menus, just click on the
icon shown in the editor's toolbar.
Define the subject and the sender
- Once the message editor is opened, start by specifying the subject of your message.
- Identify the sender by providing its name and email address, as well as the reply email address if different from the one already provided.
- If needed, you can personalize elements in the subject line, or in any field, adding variables, which are selected by clicking on the related
icon. Variables are created from data shown in the contact profile, company information or system information. Variables used to name the recipient are very common. For example, Hello [[=Contact.f_FirstName;]]. - By default, only the subject and sender's name are shown. Just click anywhere in this section to show the other options.
For more info, read the Field Descriptions.
Write the content of the message
More often, if you use this edit mode, it is because you plan on copying the HTML code of a message created elsewhere. But know that you can also create a message from scratch using the HTML editor if you want to.
- Start by selecting the editor of your choice, either HTML or WYSIWYG. If you are copying code, make sure to select HTML.
- If you want recipients to be able to receive a text version of the message, if this is their preference, select the Alternate text version option.
- In the center pane of the editor, type in the text of your message.
- Add elements to the text by using any of the options available in the left pane of the editor. This pane offers the most common edition options. You can view additional options in the editor's toolbar.
Description of the most common edit options
| Section | Description | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Images | Section used to add an image in the message. This image can be hosted on the Dialog Insight server or located on your own server or computer. The list displayed shows all the images that are hosted on the application server. To find an image, you can use the search box to enter the name of the image and specify to search in all files or in a specific file category. You must then click on the icon to refresh the results. To add the image in the message, you must place the cursor in the desired location in the message, select the desired image and click on Insert. You can also download new images by clicking on Upload an image. If needed, you can edit an image right within the integrated image editor. To do so, click on the edit icon  related to the image to edit when you are in the maximized view of the window, displayed by clicking on  .The Host images option is used to copy the images not hosted on the Dialog Insight server when the message is sent. Normally, clients who have a hosting space on Dialog Insight will use this option.If you add an image in a message, make sure to add an alternate text that will display when images are not automatically downloaded in the message or when the mouse cursor is on the image. Using alternate text for images is important as most images are now blocked when recipients first open their messages. This text informs the recipient even if the images are not displayed. When an image is inserted, the properties can be adjusted by editing the width, height, alignment and alternate text. The Preview with text option lets you see how the image is aligned with the text. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Customization | Section used to customize the content of the message with data extracted from the contact's profile, project, company or system information. Variables used to name the recipient in the introduction are the most common. Example Hello [[=Contact.f_FirstName;]], See How To | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Link library | This section lets you add an hyperlink in your message. Operational links let you, for instance, add functions on a click, modify the contact profile, or send a message to an administrator or subscriber. Following is a description of all possible links: See How To
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynamic content | Section used to insert content in the message based on conditions. For example, you might want to display the office address that corresponds to the location of the recipient. To do so, you must define the display based on conditions. This option lets you enter the content to display, select the field to use to find the value specified, based on the selected operator. By using also the Else option, you can specify an alternate text to display if the condition is not met. Example If the content includes "repsolution.com", display the text ABC, otherwise display 123, will give the following: [[ if (Contact.f_EMail CONTAINS "repsolution.com") { ]]ABC[[ } else { ]]123[[ } ]] See How To |
Edit the message
You might want to customize the content of the message with variables. The most common variable used is for the introduction. ExampleHello [[=Contact.f_FirstName;]], will show in the message as: Hello Peter, or Hello Susan, You can however insert customizable variables anywhere in the message by using fields from the contact's profile, whether it is an address, a phone number or a comment entered in the profile.
- Place the cursor in the message where you want to insert the customized text.
- In the Customization section, select the data source by clicking on
to display the list of possible sources. By default, the source is the contact's profile, but you can choose variables from the project, the company, or even from system data. Then, select the field corresponding to the value you want to insert. - Click on Insert.
- Place the cursor in the message where you want to insert the link.
- In the Link library section, select the type of link to insert, the name of the link as well as the label you wish to see displayed in the message.
- Click on Insert.
If you want to customize the message by adding dynamic and conditional content, you must select the desired options under the Dynamic content. For example, you might want to show in the message the address of the company that is in the same location as the location of the recipient. ExampleIf the region of the contact is Quebec, show the address of the office in Quebec; otherwise, show the address in Montreal.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Contact's profile | Lets you add content based on any field in the contact profile. |
| Project's info | Lets you insert specific content when a given project data is met, such as the project name, id number, key or creation or edit date. |
| Company's info | Lets you choose amongst the information on the company to insert a specific content. This information is found in the Account Management module. |
| System info | Lets you insert dynamic content based on a given system date. |
| Device | Lets you personalize the content depending on the type of device and platform used to view messages. See a description of all available choices under Device |
- Place the cursor in the message where you want to insert the conditional text.
- If you need more space to type in your text, or simply wish to work in a bigger space, click on
to see the section in full-screen mode. - In the Add this content section, type in the text to insert in the message if the condition is met. ExampleThe address of the office in Quebec. You can also select the text right in the message and click on the
icon to copy your selection. - Under the If... section, select the data source by clicking on
to display the list of possible sources. By default, the source is the contact's profile, but you can choose variables from the project, the company, or even from system data. Once the source is selected, select the field and the operator to use for the search. - If you want to have an alternate text, for when the condition is not met, check the Else option and specify the replacement text. Example The address of the office in Montreal if the contact's region is not Quebec
- Click on Insert.
To insert images in your message, go to the Images section.
- Place the cursor in the message where you want to insert an image.
- In the Images section, select the desired image from the list of hosted images or click on Upload an imageto download one from elsewhere. **You can display a preview of images by hovering over the image name with the mouse.
- To search for an image
If you have a lot of images, it might be useful to perform a search to help you find your image quicker. To do so, type in the partial or full name of the image in the search box and click on
to update the results. - To download an new image
To insert an image that is located on your computer, click on the Upload an image link. Note that images to be hosted should be in a PNG, GIF or JPG format. In the file upload window, select a category where you want to save the image and click on Select a file to open Windows Explorer to choose an image. Once you have selected the image, click on Open. Make sure the dimensions of the image are appropriate for the message, and if not, make the necessary changes by clicking on the edit icon
. Do not forget to save your changes in the image editor. Back in the application, click on Select.
The image will then be added to the list of hosted images, and you will be able to select it to add it to your message. - To open the image selector
The image selector lets you see the list of images in a separate window, much bigger, and offers additional options to manage images. From this selector, you can refresh an image, see a normal size preview, edit the URL address of an image or even delete an image.
- Once the image is selected, click on Insert.
- If needed, you can change the width, height, text alignment and alternative text to show. To do so, select the image, click on Insert and edit the image properties as needed. You can also select the Preview with text option to see how the image looks with the text.
- When all the properties are set as desired, click on Insert again.
- The only step left is to format the message, either by adding the format options available in the WYSIWYG editor or adding the required tags in the HTML editor.
- After all the changes are made, make sure to save your changes by clicking on Save. It is actually recommended to save your changes as you make then, to be certain not to loose them.
Note that most email clients do not automatically display images anymore, as they need to be authorized to do so beforehand.
Images must therefore be downloaded once the message is opened and they can take some time to display. So, it is very important for images to include the proper width and height tags <img src=…> so that the text of the message is still correctly displayed even without images. It is also strongly recommended to add a text to your images.
Since images are only called when the message is opened, they must all be accessible via the Web and therefore have an full and absolute URL address (http://...).
In addition, make sure to reduce the size of your images to its minimum size so they display quickly.
Example<img src="http:// repsolution.com/images/myimage.gif" width="10" height="10" alt="Text to be displayed when the image is not displayed">
Validate the message
Make sure that your message is valid and that it has no errors before sending it.
You can check the validity of a message by looking at the editor's toolbar. If you see an error indicator, click on it to view the details about the errors and/or warnings.
- To be able to send a message, you must at least correct the errors. As for warnings, correction is optional but suggested.
- If comments or notes were added about the message, you can see them, or add notes, by clicking on the additional option icon
shown on the editor's toolbar, and then selecting Reviews section.
Additional edit options
To facilitate edits and only put up front the most used features, many options were grouped and placed in a window that is not shown by default, but easily accessed if needed.
To view these other options, just click on the 
icon in the editor's toolbar.
For more information, see Description of additional edit options.