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    Creating an Email Template
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    Creating an Email Template

    • 5 Minutes to read
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    Article summary

    A task can be shared without defining a template. However, templates allow the organization to adopt a standard and are encouraged if the same type of task sharing is going to be repeated.

    To begin the process of creating an email template, click on the settings wheel on the top navigation bar, and choose the “Email Templates” item from the dropdown menu list.

    You will be brought to the Email Templates Gridview, a collection of email templates that can be created or modified from here.

    Click on the “New Template” button at the top right to bring up the New Template window dialog.

    The New Email Template dialog window contains these fields:

    FieldDescription
    NameThe name of the template.
    DescriptionCan be used to help describe information in more detail about the template.
    TemplateThis is the body of the email that will be sent to recipients when sharing a task. The “Available Fields” dropdown can be used to pick system, task, or custom form fields used as placeholders within the template body.

    The “Template” field is used for designing the email body of a shared Task. Basic formatting can be achieved using the familiar rich text editor and additional fine tuning or more complex formatting can be accomplished by using the “view HTML” button on the far right of the text editor action bar by editing HTML directly or pasting HTML from an external HTML editor.

    Please note that the HTML used in emails is much more restrictive than traditional web pages and many email clients strip common HTML tags from being displayed properly in an email. Basic formatting will generally work just fine in most email clients, but be aware of the nuances of HTML in email if you decide to edit HTML directly. Mailchimp has an excellent break-down of what HTML can and cannot be used in an email here.

    In addition to formatting for the email body, the editor also provides a way to insert field placeholders at the cursor position from the bottom of the editor. The “Available Fields” dropdown contains 3 groups of fields to choose from:

    System Fields

    System Fields are fields global to the system and not specific to the Task being shared.

    Placeholder FieldReplaced With
    Email Initiated ByReplaced with the full name of the person who initiated the share task email.
    Email Initiated OnReplaced with the date and time when the email was sent.
    Instance URLReplaced with the Agility Blue instance URL (https://agilityblue.com for the professional edition and https://[your_domain].agilityblue.com for the enterprise addition). Useful for generating dynamic URL links.
    OrganizationReplaced with the Organization name.
    RecipientReplaced with the Recipient first name, last name, full name, or email address.
    WorkspaceReplaced with the Workspace name or Workspace Id.

    Task Fields

    Task Fields are system fields that belong to every Task.

    Placeholder FieldReplaced With
    Actual HoursCurrently not implemented. Always blank.
    Assigned ByReplaced with the full name of the last person who assigned the Task.
    Assigned OnReplaced with the date and time when the last time the Task was assigned.
    Assigned ToReplaced with the full name of the person who the Task is currently assigned to.
    Client NameReplaced with the name of the Client the Task belongs to.
    Client ReferenceReplaced with the reference of the Client the Task belongs to.
    Completed ByReplaced with the full name of the last person who completed the Task.
    Completed OnReplaced with the date and time when the Task was last completed.
    Created ByReplaced with the full name of the person who created the Task.
    Created OnReplaced with the date and time when the Task was created.
    Due OnReplaced with the date and time when the Task is due.
    Estimated HoursCurrently not implemented. Always Blank.
    Matter NameReplaced with the name of the Matter the Task belongs to.
    Matter ReferenceReplaced with the reference of the Matter the Task belongs to.
    Number of AttachmentsReplaced with the number of Attachments the Task has.
    Number of Billing EntriesReplaced with the number of Billing Entries the Task has.
    Number of CommentsReplaced with the number of Comments the Task has.
    Number of Media Log EntriesReplaced with the number of Media Log Entries the Task has.
    Number of VolumesReplaced with the number of Volumes the Task has.
    Project DescriptionReplaced with the Project description the Task belongs to.
    Project Source TypeReplaced with the Project Source the Task belongs to. Sources are typically “Agility Blue”, “Email”, or “Project Portal”.
    Project TagsReplaced with the Project Tags, delimited by a semicolon between each Tag.
    Project TypeReplaced with the Project Type the Task belongs to. Types are typically “Normal”, “Draft”, or “Template”.
    Project Type DescriptionReplaced with the Project Type description the Task belongs to.
    Quality Check Performed ByCurrently not implemented. Always blank.
    Quality Check StatusCurrently not implemented. Always “Not Performed”.
    StatusReplaced with the Status of the Task. Status types include “New”, “In Progress”, “In Quality Control”, “Completed”, “On Hold”, and “Canceled”.
    Task NameReplaced with the name of the Task.

    Custom Task Fields

    Custom Fields are fields that are defined in Forms available to Tasks. The item in the dropdown list will indicate what Form the field belongs to.

    There are many “id” fields that were left out of the lists above that are present in the dropdown. These fields are useful in specific situations, particularly in creating direct hyperlinks to specific resources within your Workspace.

    Placeholder fields show up in the editor as a special label (a block of text with a blue background and white text). If you hover your mouse over these labels, you can see the underlying field token id that the notification manager uses when identifying fields to replace prior to sending the email.

    If a template references a field that is not present on the Task being shared, the email will end up showing the placeholder’s token id as the value.
    If a Task contains two or more of the same form that an email template references, only the values of the first form will be used for the field placeholder value.
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