Message Templates¶
[Draft — pending review]
Message templates let you create reusable, pre-formatted messages with dynamic content that is automatically filled in when the message is sent. Templates are managed in Settings > Messages.
Managing Templates¶
The template management screen shows a list of all templates, with the ability to add, edit, delete, and clone. You can filter the list by searching for text, or limit results to templates available for the current event.
Creating a Template¶
Click Add to create a new template. You can create both email templates and text message templates.
Step 1: Availability and Scoping¶
The first step defines where and how the template can be used:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A descriptive name to identify this template |
| Scope | Who is this template for? Options: Staff, Guests, or All |
| Meetings | Can this template be used anywhere, or only in the context of a meeting? Meeting-only templates can include meeting-specific merge fields |
| Minimum Status | For meeting templates only — the template will only be available if the meeting has reached at least this status |
| Calendar Attachment | For meeting email templates — optionally include an ICS calendar attachment so the recipient can add the meeting to their calendar |
| Events | Available for all events, or only selected events |
| Shared With | Private (only you can use it), shared with all users, or shared with selected roles |
Info
A template scoped to meetings will only appear in the Templates list when you send a message from within a meeting. This prevents meeting-specific merge fields from being used in a context where they would have no data.
Step 2: Header (Email Only)¶
For email templates, the second step records the email header information (from name, reply-to).
Step 3: Content¶
The final step provides the subject and body fields. For text templates, only the body is available.
Both the subject and body support merge fields — placeholders that are replaced with real data when the message is sent. See Merge Fields for details, or the Scriban Template Reference for the full list of available fields.
Using a Template¶
When sending a message, click the Templates button on the send form. You will see a list of templates that are appropriate for the current context (matching the recipient type, meeting status, etc.).
Select a template to load it into the form. The merge fields are processed in two passes:
- On load — fields that are the same for all recipients are expanded immediately (e.g. meeting name, date, location)
- On send — fields that differ per recipient (e.g. recipient name, accommodation details) are expanded individually for each person
This means after loading, you can see the shared content filled in while recipient-specific fields remain as placeholders. You can edit the message further before sending.
Previewing¶
Click Preview to see exactly what each recipient will receive, with all merge fields fully expanded. This is especially useful when sending to multiple people to verify that personalised content looks correct.
ICS Calendar Attachments¶
Email templates scoped to meetings can include an ICS calendar attachment. When the recipient opens the email, they can add the meeting directly to their calendar (Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, etc.).
The ICS attachment includes the meeting name, date, time, timezone, and location. This is particularly useful for external guests who do not have direct calendar integration with Ordinate.
Info
For internal staff, direct calendar integration is usually preferable as it updates automatically. ICS attachments require the recipient to manually add and later remove calendar entries. See Calendar Integration for the difference.