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Creating Simple Templates
Simple templates apply to replies in Siebel Email Response. You also use simple templates for the
Send Email, Send Fax, or Send Page, or Send Wireless Message commands. You access these
commands from the File application-level menu, from the communications toolbar, or by using
keyboard shortcuts. For information about the fields for the Templates list and the Simple form, see
“Fields for Templates” on page 117.
You can complete the procedure this topic to create a simple template. You can also create a simple
template by saving a message as a template. For more information, see “Saving Messages as
Templates” on page 254.
To create a simple template
1
Navigate to the Communications screen, then the My Templates view.
Administrators and other advanced users can navigate to the All Templates view of the
Communications screen.
2
In the Templates list, complete the following steps:
a
Add a new record. (Alternatively, you can add the record in the Simple form.)
b
Specify the name of the template for the new record.
c
Specify the channel type, such as Email, Fax, Pager, or Wireless Message.
d
Specify the language and locale that is applicable to the template.
e
Optionally, provide a short description for the template.
3
In the Simple form, complete the following steps:
a
Specify the name of the template if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
b
Specify the channel type for the template if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
c
Specify the template type, such as Greeting, Body, or Closing:
❏
When replying to an inbound email message using Siebel Email Response, users can
select templates with each type to insert into the reply.
❏
When using the Send Email, Send Fax, or Send Page, or Send Wireless Message
command, users can select templates with a Body template type to insert into the
message.
d
Specify the language and locale for the template if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
e
For an email or fax template, specify whether this template is an HTML template or a plain-text
template.
For a simple template, this setting determines if the template appears in the Body drop-down
list. Templates appear in the list only when they correspond to the user preference setting
for Default Message Format. For more information, see “Visibility and Access for Templates”
on page 98.
f
For a template that is intended for public use, select the Public check box when the template is
ready for publicly availability.
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g
Optionally, specify for Pick Available Substitutions the appropriate business object (Object) for
the recipient group of the template:
❏
The primary business component of the business object that you specify determines the
substitution fields that are available for the template text. The available business
components serve as the primary business component for a business object. For more
information, see “Substitution Fields in Templates” on page97.
❏
For the Send commands, the recipient group helps determine when users can specify the
template. For more information, see “Visibility and Access for Templates” on page98.
The actual recipients are determined when the using the template.
h
Specify a subject line for the template, as applicable for the channel type.
The subject line is overridden by any subject line the user specifies when using the template,
for example, when sending an email message in the Send Email window, or when replying to
an email message in Siebel Email Response.
i
Enter the template text.
As appropriate, copy and paste fields from the list of available field substitutions. Include the
brackets around the field names. The Text field allows you to use editing and formatting
controls. For an HTML email or fax template, formatting you apply is preserved. For a plain-
text template, formatting is eliminated when you save the template. For more information,
see “Editing and Formatting Controls for Text in Templates” on page105.
The Available Substitutions list is populated with field names. For more information, see
“Fields for Templates” on page 117 (for the Simple form).
4
Test the template to verify that it functions as required and that field substitution behavior works
correctly.
To test a template, send it in the intended usage context, for example, by using the applicable
Send command, or by specifying a test reply for Siebel Email Response. Perform this test before
you make a template publicly available.
Creating Advanced Templates
You specify advanced templates for outbound communication requests. You can manually specify
advanced temples, or a module like Siebel Workflow that can invoke business service methods can
specify them. For information about the fields for the Templates list and the Advanced form, see
“Fields for Templates” on page 117.
Advanced templates have the following characteristics that simple templates do not have:
■
You can associate a delivery profile with an advanced template.
■
You specify a recipient group for an advanced template. (You specify a business object is for a
simple template.)
■
You can specify to create activities for requests that use the advanced template.
■
You can specify to include a bookmark URL for the recipient source record.
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■
You can create template items for advanced template. For more information, see “Specifying
Template Items for Advanced Templates” on page 107.
NOTE: For an advanced template, a communications profile you specify as the delivery profile must
already exist before you can specify it for the template. For more information about creating profiles,
see “Process of Setting Up Communications Driver Profiles” on page50.
To create an advanced template
1
Navigate to the Communications screen, then the My Templates view.
Administrators and other advanced users can navigate to the All Templates view of the
Communications screen.
2
In the Templates list, complete the following steps:
a
Add a new record. (Alternatively, you can add the record in the Advanced form.)
b
Specify the name of the template for the new record.
c
Specify the channel type, such as Email, Fax, Pager, or Wireless Message.
d
Specify the language and locale that is applicable to the template.
e
Optionally, provide a short description for the template.
3
Click the Advanced view tab.
4
In the Advanced form, complete the following steps:
a
Specify the name of the template if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
b
Specify the channel type for the template if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
c
Specify the delivery profile for the template.
d
Specify the language and locale for the template if you did not already do so in the Templates list.
e
For an email or fax template, specify whether this template is an HTML template or a plain-text
template.
NOTE: The HTML Template setting affects the text you enter in the Text field. It does not
affect template items.
f
For a template that is intended for public use, select the Public check box when the template is
ready for public availability.
g
For an email template, specify whether to include a Siebel bookmark with the message.
h
Select the Create Activity check box if you want to set activity logging for any outbound
communication request that specifies this template.
i
Optionally, specify the recipient group, which determines the kind of recipients that the template
is sent to.
The recipient group you specify determines only the substitution fields that are available for
the template text. The actual recipients are determined when using the template for a
communication request.
j
Specify a subject line for the template, as applicable for the channel type.
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k
Optionally, enter the template text.
As appropriate, copy and paste fields from the list of available substitution fields. Include the
brackets around the field names. The Text field allows you to use editing and formatting
controls. For an HTML email or fax template, formatting you apply is preserved. For a plain-
text template, formatting is eliminated when you save the template. For more information,
see “Editing and Formatting Controls for Text in Templates” on page105.
The Available Fields list is populated with field names. For more information, see “Fields for
Templates” on page 117 (for the Advanced form).
A template that includes template items does not have to include template text.
5
Optionally, add template items to the template.
A template that does not include template text must generally include one or more template
items to provide content. You can combine template text and template items in the same
template. The template text appears in the message body before the content for the specified
template items. For more information, see “Specifying Template Items for Advanced Templates” on
page 107.
6
Test the template to verify that it functions as required and that field substitution behavior works
correctly.
To test a template, send it in the intended usage context, for example, by creating and submitting
an outbound communication request. Perform this test before you make a template publicly
available.
Editing and Formatting Controls for Text
in Templates
For email or fax templates, you can edit and format template text by using controls in an editing bar
that appears when you click in the Text field in the Simple form or Advanced form.
NOTE: HTML formatting does not apply to templates for channels other than email or fax, even if
the HTML Template check box is selected. Any formatting is eliminated when you use such a
template.
You can use the editing controls, such as controls for clipboard operations, without applying HTML
formatting.
For an HTML email or fax template, formatting you apply in the Text field is preserved when you save
the template. For a plain-text template, such formatting is eliminated when you save the template.
NOTE: If you change the setting of the HTML Template check box, then the change is not apparent
until you step off the record to display another template record and then reselect the record. If you
clear this check box, then the HTML formatting controls are still available, and formatted text is not
immediately converted to plain text. However, when you save the template, any formatting you
applied is removed.
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Managing Line Breaks for HTML and Plain-Text Templates
The following behavior regarding line breaks applies to both plain-text and HTML templates:
■
Pressing ENTER creates a new paragraph.
■
Pressing SHIFT+ENTER creates a new line.
Managing Links and HTML Elements from Other Sources
For email messages, you can directly enter URL or mailto links, and they are automatically converted
to links if the template is saved as HTML. (This behavior might not apply to email sent using third-
party email clients.) Examples of these links follow:
■
www.example.com
■
http://www.example.com
■
ftp://ftp.example.gov
■
mailto:user@example.com
You might select graphics or other tag-based elements that appear on Web pages, such as horizontal
rules or tables, by dragging the mouse pointer. In some cases, you can copy and paste such elements
into the template text.
NOTE: You cannot add content other than text or HTML tag elements directly to the template text.
For example, you cannot copy and paste graphics or other files into the template text. (For advanced
templates, you can specify graphics by using template items.)
Editing and Formatting Options
This topic lists the editing and formatting options for template text in the order in which they appear
from left to right in the user interface. The following editing and formatting options are available:
■
Find or Replace. Click the arrow to display the Find controls above the editing bar or to hide
these controls. When the Find controls appear above the editing bar, click the arrow on the left
to toggle between the Find controls and the Find and Replace controls. Enter text to find, or enter
replacement text, and then click Go. Find operations are not case-sensitive.
■
Cut. Click to cut selected text to the clipboard.
■
Copy. Click to copy selected text to the clipboard.
■
Paste. Click to paste text from the clipboard into the template text. Depending on the source,
the text you paste might include HTML formatting.
■
Font. Select a font from a drop-down list to apply to selected text. Available fonts include Arial
(the default), Verdana, Times New Roman, and Courier.
■
Size. Select a font size from a drop-down list to apply to selected text. Point sizes include 8 (the
default), 10, 12, 14, 18, 24, and 36.
■
Font Color. Click the arrow to display font colors above the editing bar, and then click to select
a color to apply to selected text.
■
Bold. Click to apply bold formatting to selected text or to remove bold formatting.
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■
Italic. Click to apply italic formatting to selected text or to remove italic formatting.
■
Underline. Click to apply underlining to selected text or to remove underlining.
■
Ordered List. Click to apply numbering to selected text or to remove numbering. Apply
numbering to make the text an ordered list.
■
Unordered List. Click to apply bullets to selected text or to remove bullets. Apply bullets to
make the text an unordered list. Bullets appear differently at different levels of indenting.
■
Indent. Click to increase indenting for selected paragraphs.
■
Outdent. Click to decrease indenting for selected paragraphs.
■
Left Align. Click to left-align selected paragraphs.
■
Center Align. Click to center selected paragraphs.
■
Right Align. Click to right-align selected paragraphs.
Specifying Template Items for Advanced
Templates
You can specify template items to construct templates in modular fashion by using literature items
or files. Also, you can use template items to use advanced field substitution (iteration child business
component), to specify content for both the message body and attachments, and to specify plain text
or HTML versions of the message body (for email only).
You can combine template text and template items in the same advanced template. A template that
does not include template text must include at least one template item. If you include template text,
then this text appears in the message body before any content for template items.
You must select either a literature item or a file to include for the template item.
Select the HTML Template check box for a template to specify that HTML text from template items
for the message body is sent as HTML. If the HTML Template check box is not selected, then the text
is converted to plain text before the message is sent. For more information about template item
fields, see “Fields for Template Items” on page125.
To specify template items for an advanced template
1
Navigate to the Communications screen, then the My Templates view.
Administrators and other advanced users can navigate to the All Templates view of the
Communications screen.
2
In the Templates list, select the advanced template for which you want to add template items.
3
For an HTML template, verify that the HTML Template check box is selected.
4
Click the Template Items view tab.
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5
In the Template Items list, add a new record for each template item.
■
To add a file, perform one of the following actions:
❏
Click New File (recommended), and choose a file from the Choose File dialog box. Go to
Step 6, then go to Step 9.
❏
Click New (or choose New Record from the menu). Go to Step6, then go to Step7.
■
To add a literature item, click New (or choose New Record from the menu). Go to Step6, then
go to Step8.
6
Specify a sequence integer number for the template item.
The default value is the lowest positive integer that is not assigned to an existing template item.
7
To finish adding the file (begun in Step5), complete the following steps:
a
Click the select button for the Attachment Name field.
b
In the Add Attachment dialog box, click Browse, specify a file from the operating system, then
click Add. Go to Step9.
8
To finish adding the literature item (begun in Step5), complete the following steps:
a
Click the select button for the Literature Name field.
b
In the Pick Literature dialog box, specify a literature item, then click OK.
9
To designate a template item as an attachment to an email or fax message, specify a label in the
Attachment Label field.
10
In the Template Item form, complete the following steps:
a
Optionally, specify an iteration child business component from which you can specify substitution
fields.
For more information, see “Fields for Template Items” on page125.
b
Select the Substitute Values check box if you want to use field substitution for the file or literature
item you specified for the template item in previous steps.
The Available Fields list is populated with field names.
c
Select the Message Body check box, as appropriate:
❏
For an email or fax template, select the Message Body check box to include the template
item content in the message body. Otherwise, the template item content is an
attachment to the email or fax message.
❏
For a wireless message or page template, select the Message Body check box to include
the template item in the message body. For a wireless message template, template item
content that you do not specify for the message body is ignored. For a page template,
the message fails if you do not specify any template item for the message body.
(Template items must be plain-text files or literature items.)
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Modifying Files for Template Items
You can modify a file you add to a template item.
To modify a file for a template item if the original operating system file still exists
1
Open the file in the operating system environment.
2
Modify the file, and save it to the operating system.
3
Delete the template item record to which you added the file.
4
Create a new template item record, and add the modified version of the file.
Nonexistent Original Operating Systems
If the original operating system file does not exist, then complete the procedure in this topic.
To modify a file for a template item if the original operating system file does not
exist
1
Open the file from the template item record by clicking the hyperlink in the Attachment Name
field.
2
Modify the file, and save it to the operating system.
3
Delete the template item record to which you added the file.
4
Create a new template item record and add the modified version of the file.
Copying or Deleting Templates and
Template Items
You can copy or delete a template, copy a template item in a template, or delete a template item
from a template.
Copying Templates and Template Items
When you copy a template, you must specify a new name for the new template. As appropriate, you
can modify existing settings such as the delivery profile, specify different template text, or add
template items. No template items are automatically associated with the new template.
When you copy a template item in a template, the copy is identical to the template item that you
copy, except that its sequence number is one higher than the highest sequence number for all the
other template items. As appropriate, you can modify existing settings. For example, you can specify
a different file or literature item, change whether the content in the template item appears in the
message body, or change the value-substitution settings.
NOTE: Copying a communications template created for use with one channel type and modifying the
template for use with another channel type might not always work as intended.
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Deleting Templates and Template Items
When you delete a template, its template items are also deleted. However, the files or literature
items for the template items are not deleted from the Siebel File System. When you delete a template
item, the file or literature item for the template item is not deleted from the Siebel File System.
Each user can delete any template that the user created, or delete template items from such a
template. A Siebel administrator can delete any template or template item.
Using Substitution Fields in Templates
for Siebel Email Response
Templates can include substitution fields that obtain data directly from your Siebel database, such
as a customer name or a service request status. You insert a substitution field by selecting it in the
Available Substitutions list, copying the substitution, and pasting it into the Template Text field where
you want the value to appear. In a template, you can use substitution fields from only one recipient
group.
Setting Up Workflow to Use Substitution Fields
Templates in Siebel Email Response can include substitution fields from any business component that
has a correctly configured relationship to the Comm Outbound Email business component. Business
components with this relationship include Account, Campaign, Contact, Opportunity, and Service
Request.
Before you attempt to set up templates that include substitution fields other than a default active
business component, you must modify the eMail Response - Response workflow.
To set up a workflow to use substitution fields
1
In the Siebel Tools Object Explorer, select the Workflow Processes object.
2
In the Workflow Processes list, query for a process name of eMail Response - Response Workflow.
3
In the Workflow Processes list, select eMail Response - Response Workflow, and click Revise.
4
In the Workflow Processes list, right-click eMail Response - Response Workflow and choose Edit
Workflow Process.
The Business Process Designer appears.
5
Right-click the Get Response Text business service step and choose Show Input Arguments.
6
In the Input Arguments list, add the input arguments in the following table.
Input Argument
Type
Value
Property Name
ActivityBusComp
Literal
Action
None
ActivityBusObj
Literal
Action
None
SourceId
Process Property
None
Object Id
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