Compose Email Message (window)
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    Compose Email Message (window)

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    Article summary

    Navigation Path​

    1. In the  ​Main Navigation​, click  ​Content​ > ​Email​ > Email Messages.

    2. In the ​Select Email Message​ overview, click a message name. The ​Edit​, ​Copy​, and ​Delete​ options display.

    3. Click ​Edit​. The ​Compose Email Message​ window for the selected message opens.

    Purpose​

    In this window, you define and modify your email message. The available composition options depend on the configuration of your framework and blocks. Several areas allow you to specify the layout and content of your email message before you save it or send it to your contacts.

    What can I do in this window?

    • Define information including the message description, message subject, and more.

    • Add blocks to a message.

    • Remove blocks from a message.

    • Edit the content in the blocks of a message.

    • Change the position of the blocks.

    • Review your message.

    • Define values for variables in the message.

    Available Actions​

    Action

    Description

    ​Save​

    Saves your changes. The window remains open for further editing. Changes will also autosave every 10 minutes.

    Prepare Sendout​

    Opens the ​Prepare Email Sendout​ window in the ​Message​ area. Here you select the sendout group, apply a selection, and prepare other sendout settings.

    In the ​Prepare Email Sendout​ window, you can save your message as a prepared message. The message is then available in the ​Prepared Messages Overview​ window.

    ​Close​

    Closes the window without saving your changes, after a confirmation prompt. The ​Email Messages​ tab opens.

    Opens the ​Information Panel​ of the message.

    Information Panel

    The ​Information​ panel defines the basic metadata of your email message. To open the panel, click the symbol.

    General tab

    Setting

    Description

    ​Type​

    Shows the type of message. For example, email. You cannot change this information.

    Name​

    Use this field to define the name of the message in Mapp Engage. The internal message name helps you find a message elsewhere in the system (for example, in the statistics). The message name is not visible to your contacts.

    The maximum number of characters is 250 characters.

    ​Description​

    Use this field to enter a description for the message. The description is an optional input field and not visible to your contacts. The description is used to identify the message in the system. Use this input field to provide additional information about the message.

    The maximum number of characters is 3000 characters.

    Textual fallback

    Use this field to define the textual message that will be delivered to the devices not able to render HTML content.

    Group

    Use this field to define the group that has membership attributes you would like to use for the conditional sendout option. The group that you define here will be automatically transferred to the  Sendout configuration step. You will still be able to change it on that step.

    Message category

    Use this field to pre-define the message category for the current message. The message category that is defined here will be automatically transferred to Sendout configuration. You will still be able to change it on that step.

    ​External Message ID​

    Use this field to enter an extra reference number for your message. The external message ID is optional.

    Character Encoding​

    This drop-down list defines the character encoding of the message.

    The following options are available:

    • ​ISO 8859-1:​ This encoding is sufficient for most characters in Western European languages. This encoding lacks the euro symbol. For more information, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_8859-1.

    • ​ISO 8859-15:​ This encoding is sufficient for most characters in Western European languages. This encoding includes the symbol for the euro and all French special characters. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_8859-15. We recommend that you use this encoding.

    • ​UTF-8:​ This encoding is the common character encoding for unicode characters (for more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8))). This character encoding supports all characters, including characters used in Middle Eastern and Asian languages.
      UTF-8 encoding increases the size of your email messages. An increased email size can influence sendout and deliverability and can have an impact on your billing. Choose ISO 8859-15 whenever possible.

    ​Image Handling​

    Use this drop-down list to define how Mapp Engage handles images in the message.

    • ​Image Links are Unchanged:​ Mapp Engage does not change the image address in any way. When the email is downloaded in the inbox, the images are downloaded from the URL you defined.
      Use this option when the image link contains additional information. For example, image links that contain parameters for a tracking pixel. You also select this option if you want to host the images locally or on a third-party server. For example, a content delivery network.

    • ​Images are in-lined (Offline HTML):​ Images are inserted into the body of the email as inline attachments. This option increases the size of your email messages.
      Use this option when you want email recipients to be able to view the images even when they are offline. When you send the email, Mapp Engage retrieves the images from the address you provide. To embed the images in the body of the email, Mapp Engage changes the image address in the HTML tags of the email. As a result, the email client does not have to load the images from an external address to display the images in the inbox. If Mapp Engage cannot retrieve one or more images, the system asks you to upload the missing images. This method does not affect the tracking pixel in any way. The tracking pixel is still hosted on the Mapp Engage server.

    • ​Images are Hosted in Mapp Engage (Online HTML):​ Images are uploaded to the Mapp Engage servers. When the contact opens the email, the images are downloaded from Mapp Engage. Flash movies (*.swf) in the HTML and Flash HTML fields in the message are treated as images. It is not possible to inline files with these formats. The flash movies are specified with a specially formatted <object> block.

    You can exclude individual images from the selected image handling method. This method can help to keep the overall email size low.

    ​Status​

    The drop-down list defines the status of the message.

    The following states are possible:

    • ​In Progress:​ The message creation is still in progress. The message is not ready for sendout.

    • ​Finished:​ The message creation is finished. The message is ready for sendout.

    ​Prevent RSS sendout if content is the same as the last sendout​

    Define if you want the RSS sendout rule to be applied to your message with the RSS content.

    • Disabled: The RSS sendout rule is not applied to your message.

    • Enabled: When this message is used as part of a recurring automation, at each interval the RSS feed is checked against the RSS content in the previous sendout. If the publish dates are not newer than the publish date for the last sendout, the interval message is skipped.

    Advanced tab

    Setting

    Description

    System Defaults​

    The entries in this area define the appearance of your message

    • ​Default Table Width:​ Sets the width of the table in your message.

    • ​Default Background Color:​ Sets the background color for your message.

    Compose Message Window​

    Subject 

    Define the text that is displayed in the subject line of the message. The message subject is mandatory. The subject line is the first thing that your contact sees in their email inbox.

    The subject is limited to 3000 characters.

    You can use personalizations and Mapp Engage Variables in the subject line.

    Visual Editor

    In the main visual editor, you can edit the blocks in your message. You can change text, images, and other content items.

    To edit a text block, click the individual element and enter your text.

    To edit an image, right-click the image to open the ​Image Properties ​pane. In this pane, you can browse the content store for an image or upload your own image. Enter an alternative text that displays when the image is not displayed.

    To save the image and return to the message, click  ​Ok​.

    Display Options​

    Setting

    Description

     ​Preview​

    Click for a preview of how your message appears on mobiles, tablets, or computers.

    A second menu bar opens with options to display the message in various layouts.

    Edit Monitor

    Click to open the visual edit mode for your message. This mode displays the elements that are used in the message as images. To select a component, click the list item. To reposition a component on the canvas, click the arrows symbol in the component header and drag the component to a new position in the list.

    Displays the components that are currently used on the canvas in a list. To select a component, click the item. To reposition a component on the canvas, click the arrows symbol in the component header and drag the component to a new position in the list.

    Components tab​

    This tab allows you to adjust the content of your email message to fit the needs of your target audience. Drag and drop the block components into your message.

    Here you can change text, images, and other content items of your email message before you save the message. You can only edit blocks that have ​Unlocked​ status.

    To see an image of the block and a summary of the block details, click in the block.

    Details tab​

    This tab shows a summary of the important information about a selected block in the visual editor.

    Procedures

    Related Topics​

    Email Message Preview​
    Content Management - Email Messages (tab)​
    Blocks (tab)​
    Configuration for Sendout​


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