Content Manager > What is Content Manager?

What is Content Manager?

Content Manager offers you even more flexibility when creating mailings than the templates introduced in chapter "Templates - Re-usable text modules". At first glance, the basic principle of both functions is the same. just as with a template, with Content Manager you define the components of a mailing as well as those points in which should contain up to date texts. The special feature of Content Manager is that, in comparison to templates, mailings created using it no longer have a “rigid” structure. In Content Manager, you conveniently create the boilerplates and contents for mailings using a building block system. Moreover, the content modules of this building block system, in contrast to the text blocks, are not tied to a template or a specific mailing but can be edited and managed separately.

A mailing template defined using Content Manager consists of individual modules, the arrangement of which you decide for each mailing. When creating mailings, you can change the sequence of the individual components defined in Content Manager directly in the Content tab and add new components at any time with a mouse click. In this way Content Manager lets you design mailings considerably more dynamically, and particularly helps those users who are not especially familiar with HTML, but who would still like to create and send professionally designed mailings without much effort.

With its flexible structure for mailings, the Content Manager building block system offers a further advantage. If you have already integrated the appropriate AGNITAS tags into the boilerplate, you no longer have to add your current texts to these, and you can quite literally create your mailing with just a few mouse clicks. OpenEMM subsequently puts together the mailings automatically from these individual parts.

Please note: Beside the Content Manager you can still use the templates presented in chapter "Templates - Re-usable text modules".You can use both features of OpenEMM completely independent of one another and decide on a per project basis whether you want to use templates or Content Manager. Although it is not possible to use a template and the Content Manager for one mailing at the same time. A template must not assigned to a CM Mailing and the other way round.

Content Manager does not replace the templates presented in , but is meant to meaningfully add to their functionality. Content Manager is therefore intended to be an additional support tool for your mailing projects.

Whether you decide to use Content Manager or templates – your mailings are created as usual via the Mailings module. You can find out in chapter  "Using CM templates in mailings" how to use a CM template for a mailing.

How does Content Manager work? Mailing templates created with this function consists of three components: Module type, Content module and CM template. Under the Module categories menu point you can now assign each content module to a category freely defined by you. When creating a new mailing this eases searching for a thematically suitable content module, and is especially valuable if you use many different content modules.

The smallest unit is the module type, a predefined text module that contains placeholders for texts, graphics and links. The module type of the Content Manager can also be compared to a template. It defines a fixed frame, and in the mailing has only the current texts added.

Fig. 10.1: An example of a module type with placeholders for header, text and link.

Fig. 10.1: An example of a module type with placeholders for header, text and link.

Component number two, which is at the same time the next higher instance of the Content Manager, is made up of content modules. These access the module types and add the corresponding content to their placeholders. The module type used can be a simple content module that, similar to the above figure, consists only of a header, a text and a picture. More complex content modules that, for example, also contain an introduction, copy text, graphics, sub-headers and links, can be created just as easily using Content Manager.

Fig. 10.2: A content module supplements a module type with contents such as pictures or texts.

Fig. 10.2: A content module supplements a module type with contents such as pictures or texts.

The third and largest components of a mailing template created using Content Manager are the CM templates. The CM template combines the individual content modules into a basic structure that forms the framework for your mailing. In a conventional template, the order of the text modules is defined by the position of the placeholders. In a CM template however, the order of the individual content modules can be changed at any time.

The corresponding mailing boilerplate consists of one CM template and n content modules. The Content Manager has therefore the following hierarchy for the individual components:

Mailing = CM template + n content modules
Content module = module type + content for placeholders
Module type = predefined text module (HTML code + placeholder for graphics, text and links)
Fig. 10.3: A CM template consists of placeholders for content modules, whose order you can change at any time.

Fig. 10.3: A CM template consists of placeholders for content modules, whose order you can change at any time.

To cleanly separate mailings and their contents, all Content Manager components are saved in a central database. And do not worry, all data is securely stored on our servers and is available to you at all times.

If you have further questions on the creation of CM templates after reading this introduction, please contact AGNITAS Support. We can create these boilerplates for you if you wish, or together discuss the modified design.

Please note: If you use the CMS module of OpenEMM to build mailings and want to change the default text for text mails, please change the content of field text in table cm_text_version_tbl of database openemm_cms accordingly. At least you should change the domain name of the links from localhost to your redirect domain name.