Creating Customized Newsletters

Creating professional looking HTML messages is easier than ever with the HTML Editor in LISTSERV 16.0, which comes with ready-to-use content templates that let you fill in the predefined areas with your own text and images.

To access the Newsletter Template wizard, go to the List Archives screen, the Archives Index screen, or the Archive Browsing screen for the list you want to post the newsletter to, and then click on the Newsletter Template option.

To select a newsletter template, click the [Select] button associated with the template you want to use as your content. The Select Template screen will refresh with the selected template displayed in the Template Selected box.

Notes: If you decide to edit an existing, default newsletter template on this screen, then you will no longer be able to edit colors on the Content Definition screen. Any color modifications should instead be done on this screen.

To create an all new template, click on the Create New Template option. The Create New Template screen opens, which is where you enter the content for the template.

To edit the profile for all of the newsletters, click on the Edit Newsletter Profile option. The Edit Newsletter Profile screen opens, which is where you can enter any changes you’d like to make to your newsletter profile. These changes will be applied to the entire newsletter template gallery and will be associated with your user account only.

The Newsletter Drafts section at the bottom of the screen contains any previously saved drafts. To continue working on an existing draft, click on the draft’s subject. To delete the draft, click on the Recycling Bin icon associated with that draft.

The Define Content screen is where you “fill in the blanks”. The templates were designed to make defining newsletters quick and easy; the majority of the options, settings, and coding are already in place. The only work left for you is to give the newsletter a customized feel by filling in special template placeholders.

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Your Name – This field is automatically filled with the email address associated with your user account. To change this, simply delete the email address and enter your name as you wish it to appear in the From field of the email header of the newsletter. The email address that will be used in the From field is the one that is logged into LISTSERV and may not be changed.

•	Subject – The subject line for the newsletter.

•	Template – If you want to change the template you are currently using, click this drop-down menu and select a new template from the drop-down list.

•	News Items – Enter the number of news items you want to have in your newsletter. This will determine the amount of news item placeholders you will need to define. The maximum number allowed is 99.

•	Feature Items – If available, enter the number of feature items you want to have in your newsletter. This will determine the amount of feature item placeholders you will need to define. The maximum number allowed is 99.

In the placeholders list, any placeholder without a value supplied is marked with a red x; these placeholders will require your attention. Placeholders where a value has already been supplied are marked with a green checkmark.

Note: If you leave a placeholder blank, then this content will not appear in the newsletter; however, there are some exceptions such as headers and text since they are expected to be defined. If you want to remove a header for a news item or feature item, simply adjust the value for those items in the appropriate field above.

The type and amount of placeholders available for definition will vary depending on the type of template and the number of news and/or feature items you have entered. The following placeholders are always available for definition and can also be defined in your newsletter profile:

&*SELFLINK; – This placeholder will be automatically replaced with a link to view the newsletter in a browser and does not need to be defined on this screen. This placeholder is only available for lists with archives.

Additional placeholders are available, depending on template, and are numbered according to how many news and feature items you have chosen for your newsletter. These additional placeholders include:

&*IMAGEn; – This placeholder is used for an accompanying image or graphic for the news item. If you don't want to use an image, you can leave this placeholder blank. When including images, they need to be uploaded to a public server before creating your newsletter. You should then enter the URL of the images, including the http:// or https:// part in the Contents field. It is recommended that you resize the images that you want to use to an appropriate size before uploading them although it is possible to resize them further on the Fine Tune screen if needed.

&*URLn; – This placeholder is used for the URL to a Web page if subscribers want to read more. If you don't want to use a URL, you can leave this placeholder blank. Since the URLs are hyperlinked from the newsletter, remember to enter the whole URL, including the http:// or https:// part as appropriate.

The placeholder that is currently selected in the placeholder list is highlighted both in the placeholder list and in the template preview pane. You can also move the mouse over the preview pane to see and select placeholders.

To re-define the colors used for the placeholders, click on the View Colors options. The placeholders list is replaced with the placeholder colors list. Select the placeholder color you want to re-define, and then enter the RGB color value in the Color field. To view a color palette to help you select the color, click on the Color Picker icon, and then click on the color you want to use. The color for that particular placeholder will be updated.

Once you are done filling out the placeholders, click [Save]. This makes your updates and changes permanent, and places a copy of the newsletter in the Newsletter Drafts section.

To undo your changes, click the [Revert] button. The template will revert back to the previously saved version of the template (or the default version if no saved version is available).

To cancel the definition of the newsletter and return to the Select Template screen, click the [Cancel] button. If you have a saved draft version of your newsletter and you click [Cancel], then the saved version will still be available in the Newsletter Drafts section.

For those who are familiar with HTML, LISTSERV gives you the ability to expand your limits and design profession-looking HTML newsletters that go above and beyond the everyday standards.

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•	Subject – The subject line for the newsletter.

•	Content-Type – This drop-down menu is read-only unless the advanced options are activated (see below). If available, you can re-define the format of the newsletter.

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Charset – Use this drop-down menu to select the charset (character set) of the newsletter. If your newsletter requires a charset that is different from the default charset for LISTSERV (UTF-8), then you can use the drop-down menu to select the matching one before you type or paste in your content. This selection will not translate one charset to another. It is used to sync the charset of the original newsletter with LISTSERV so that it can be encoded correctly for sending.

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RSS Abstract – Many lists allow subscribers to read postings through RSS feeds. LISTSERV automatically creates RSS abstract from the text part of the message. By default, LISTSERV uses a maximum of 500 and a minimum of 250 words for an implicit RSS abstract. These default numbers can be changed either for the entire site or on a list-by-list basis. However, this option also allows you to create explicit RSS abstracts, which can be HTML or text of any length. To provide an explicit RSS abstract, simply enter text here in the RSS Abstract text box. To use your text or HTML part in its entirety for the RSS abstract, click the Use as RSS Abstract icon next to either the Plain Text Content-Type or HTML Content-Type section; the content will be automatically copied into the abstract text area.

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Attachments – Use the [Browse...] button to find your file on a local drive. Click the [Attach] button to attach your file to your outgoing message. The attachment will be listed in a table beneath the Attachments field. To delete an attachment, simply click the [Delete] button associated with that particular item in this table.

Notes: Each list can have its own rules for accepting or rejecting messages with attachments. The [Browse...] and [Attach] buttons will function regardless of individual list settings. As a result, your newsletter may be rejected or stripped of its attachment by the list. Be sure to check with the list owner if you have any questions.

In the Plain Text Content-Type section, you can edit the plain text for the newsletter. Any changes you make in this section are not automatically made in the HTML section. Therefore, if you want these changes in the HTML section as well, you will need to manually enter them.

In the HTML Content-Type section, you can edit the HTML part of the newsletter. Any changes you make in this section are not automatically made in the Plain Text section. Therefore, if you want these changes in the Plain Text section as well, you will need to manually enter them.

If you have JavaScript enabled, then the [HTML Editor Mode] button will be available. This button opens a WYSIWYG-style editor in place of the HTML source code text box.

Note: If you have already entered HTML code into the text box before you launch the editor, the editor will parse and rewrite the existing HTML code, which may introduce changes to the code. To return to the HTML source code text box, click the [Source Code Mode] button.

To preview your HTML newsletter, click on the Preview icon on the HTML Editor toolbar. The message will open in a new window, letting you preview the finished product.

If you have started working on a newsletter and want to continue at a later time, you can click the [Save Draft] button to save a draft of the message. The subject line, the text part, and the HTML part are all stored. However, advanced options, such as attachments and RSS abstracts are not stored with the draft. The drafts, which are identified by their subject lines and shown with a timestamp, will be listed in the Newsletter Drafts section. When you return to the Newsletter Template wizard, you can just click on the subject line to retrieve the draft. To delete existing drafts, just click on the Recycling Bin icon next to the draft that you want to delete. Existing drafts are deleted automatically when you have posted them to the list.

Important: The draft you save on the Fine Tune tab will not be the same draft you may have saved on a previous tab. Therefore, you may want to change the subject to reflect the version you are saving.

When constructing a newsletter and before sending it to a list, you can send a test message to make sure that the results are satisfactory. This kind of test delivery can be particularly useful when creating HTML newsletters because email clients vary in their degree of HTML support. Sending a test message allows you to double-check that the newsletter is rendered as you intended. If necessary, you can make adjustments to your newsletter before posting it to the list.

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•	Subject – The subject line for the newsletter.

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Schedule Delivery – Select whether you want the newsletter to be delivered immediately or at a specific time and date. The input format of the Delivery Date field is yyyy-mm-dd. The input format of the Delivery Time field is hh:mm:ss, using the 24-hour clock. The time zone used is that of the LISTSERV server. If you enter a delivery date or time that has already passed, then the newsletter will be delivered immediately.

•	Test Addresses – Enter the email addresses of those who will be receiving the test. Make sure to include your email address so you can view the newsletter as well. If you had entered delivery test email addresses in your Newsletter Profile, then these addresses will appear here.

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Content Analysis – If your LISTSERV license includes technical support, then you can use this button to check your message and evaluate the likelihood that it will be deemed to be spam by recipient mail systems. LISTSERV will connect to a hosted service at L-Soft, which runs the email message through SpamAssassin. The results will be shown on the screen. If necessary, you can then make adjustments and run the test again.

•	Send Tests – Use this button to send a test message to the test addresses.

•	Back – Click this button if you want to navigate back and make changes.

•	Send – Click this button to send the newsletter once you are done testing it and are satisfied with its content and appearance.

To select a side-wide default template, click on the Server Administration menu, select Customization, and then select Mail Templates. The Mail Template Editor opens.

To select a default template for a list, click on the List Management menu, select Customization, and then select Mail Templates. The Mail Template Editor opens. Click the Select List drop-down menu, and then select the list to define the default template for. The Mail Template Editor refreshes with the HTML Mail Template Gallery displayed.

In the HTML Mail Template Gallery, select an HTML mail template by clicking the [Select] button associated with the template you want to use. The screen will refresh with the selected template displayed in the Mail Template Style box.

To edit a template, click the Easel icon. The Edit HTML Mail Template screen opens, which is where you can make any changes necessary. If you have made changes to a default template and would like to undo those changes, click the Revert icon associated with that template.

To create a new template based on a default template, simply edit that template and change the template name before clicking the [Save] button. The template will now be saved with the new name.

To create a new template from scratch, click on the Create HTML Mail Template option. The Create HTML Mail Template screen opens, which is where you will enter the content for the new template. See the special documentation on that screen to learn more about the format of the HTML mail templates.

Tips: When creating new templates, make sure that the template name starts with HTMLMAIL- and it will be automatically included in the list of available HTML mail templates within the editor.

If you are creating a newsletter template, you are required to have both an HTMLMAIL- and a TEXTMAIL- template (for the alternative text part). If you do not want the alternative text to be part of your newsletter you can always leave the TEXTMAIL- template blank and delete it on the Fine Tune tab when using the Newsletter Templates wizard.