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Creating text and HTML modules

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1.In the Mailing view, click on the Content tab at the top. The content area has the column headings Text module, Target group and Content. The following table lists the column headings and explains them.
Fig. 3.22: Content modules for text- and HTML-Mailings

Fig. 3.22: Content modules for text- and HTML-Mailings

Column

Contents displayed

Text module

Concerns the text module created for your newsletter text. This can be used to store contents. The OpenEMM default settings display separate text modules for the text and HTML versions of your mailing. All you need to do is fill the relevant module for your chosen format (Text, HTML).

Target group

You may define different texts for your various target groups. This column shows which target group the text displayed in this line belongs to. Clicking on New content calls up the entry dialog for new text modules.

Content

The OpenEMM displays the first 30 characters of your text. This guarantees you a quicker overview and makes the modification options easier.

2.For our example, all we need is the text module for the text version. Clicking on one of the text modules in the overview opens the entry dialog into which you can insert the required content.
3.The large Content field is for your mailing text. You can type directly into that field or copy text from another software using the Windows copy function.
Please note: You should use an editor capable of producing ASCII text, like Notepad, instead of Microsoft Word. Most word processing software like Word use special formatting for special characters (symbols, double characters, punctuation marks etc.). This can cause problems when transferring the text into a newsletter mailing. If, however, you create a .txt file with an ASCII editor like Notepad, you will not have such problems.
4.The same applies to HTML text modules, with the only exception that you enter HTML source code instead of normal text. With the tabs above the content field you can easily switch between the source code and the HTML-editor to control your entries.
Fig. 3.23: By clicking on the tab above the content field you open the integrated HTML-Editor

Fig. 3.23: By clicking on the tab above the content field you open the integrated HTML-Editor

Tip: As well as the practical preview function, the HTML editor offers you the possibility of conveniently modifying the text field. For this purpose there are numerous icon commands directly above the text field that are similar to Microsoft Word regarding presentation and function. Your advantage: If you want to enter the contents of your mailing as conveniently as possible and without using HTML commands, you can do this quickly by using the HTML editor.

In the upper right area of the HTML editor you will find the picture editor and AGNITAS Tags, two more powerful tools that are available to you.

With AGNITAS Tags you can personalize mailings and, for example, address the recipient directly by name or modify the reference line as desired. AGNITAS Tags offer even more possibilities. You can find out more in the chapter "Inserting AGNITAS-Tags". "Appendix A: AGNITAS-Tags" shows you a list of all available AGNITAS Tags.

With the HTML command <img src=""> a picture can always be inserted into a text building block. With the HTML editor, this functions much more conveniently and, moreover, saves you troublesome typing. To insert a picture, click on the picture icon at the upper right edge of the HTML bar.

Fig. 3.24: With the HTML editor, you add pictures to your mailings without having to at the same time attend to the underlying HTML structure.

Fig. 3.24: With the HTML editor, you add pictures to your mailings without having to at the same time attend to the underlying HTML structure.

With the HTML editor, you can insert graphics into a text building block with a few mouse clicks. Select first of all the desired picture with the button Browse Server. In this operation, OpenEMM only considers picture material that has already been uploaded to the server. In the chapter "Using graphic elements" you can find out how to upload pictures to the OpenEMM server.

After you have selected the desired picture, OpenEMM presents it in a small preview. Now optionally enter parameters such as Width, Height, Border or Align. Then click OK to add the picture together with your settings to the mailing text building block.

5.Please note: Information on how to create customized mailings, for instance inserting the recipient’s name into the header, can be found in chapter "Creating customized mailings".
Fig. 3.25: The large entry field takes the text for your mailing (without the subject line).

Fig. 3.25: The large entry field takes the text for your mailing (without the subject line).

6.The Target group drop-down list can stay as All subscribers for our example. Usually, you would assign a target group for each text module. Only recipients included in that particular target group will receive the mailing. Further information about target group-specific content can be found in chapter "Dynamic content generation".
7.As soon as you are happy with your text, click on the Add button to send it to the system.
8.The new entry now features in the text module overview. The line Text version displays All subscribers as its target group. The last column shows the first characters of the text.
Fig. 3.26: The new text module has been added to the overview.

Fig. 3.26: The new text module has been added to the overview.

As soon as you open an existing text module, a new entry field for New content opens as well. This gives you the opportunity – if required – to enter an alternative text to be sent to a different target group. Since in our example you only want to send one text to one target group, the second entry field can safely be ignored for the time being. More information on the entry field New content can be found in chapter "Dynamic content generation".