Message templates are a great way to create a re-usable "layout" that can then be the foundation for future messages, but also easily customized with single-use information, such as dates and locations. In this article, we'll take a look at managing your templates on the Templates page.

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To manage your templates:

1. Access the Admin interface.
2. Navigate to Messages > Templates.

TIP: On this page:
- Click a column header to sort on that column; click again to reverse the sort order.
- Click-and-drag a column divider in the list header to resize the width of the column; new widths will remain in effect until you change/re-size them.
- Click the columns count below the list to add and remove columns in the current view. Your displayed-column selections will remain in effect until you change them—even if you end the session and log in again.

NOTE: Template Names are hyperlinks. If you click a template Name, you will navigate away from this page, so consider the following options when managing your templates.

- Click a template Name to open the template's associated editor in the current browser window.
- Right-click a template Name and choose the "new tab" option to open the template's associated editor in a new browser tab (keeping the Templates list open in the current window).
- Click anywhere on the row other than the Name to select and manage the template as described in this article.

Create a template

1. Click the plus sign to the right of the page title.
2. Depending on your account, you may be able to choose from up to three template creation methods:

• Template Designer - This is the latest (and recommended) editor, known as Template Designer 2. See Template Designer 2.
• Standard and Advanced - These two methods are what you'll use if your organization is using the classic editor, known as Template Designer 1. See Create and Copy Templates (TD1).

The Preview Panel

Select a template to view and edit its details in the Preview Panel. (Click the template again to deselect it and close the Preview Panel.)

In the Preview Panel, you can:

• View the template Name, Friendly From, From, and Reply To fields. All fields with a dashed underline can be edited directly in the Preview Panel.
• Scroll down in the panel to see counts of "times used" and "unsubscribes" for the template.

NOTE: The Cancel and Save buttons will appear at the bottom of the panel if you make changes.

Manage templates

All of your templates are stored in folders.

• You can manage your template folders as described in Manage Your Folders.
• You can quickly access a list of your template folders and choose one to filter the list to display just that folder's templates.

To manage your templates:

Select a template to perform several management actions using the buttons above the list.

• Select a template and click Edit to make updates in the template's associated editor.
• Select a template and click Copy to make a copy of a template with a different name.
• Select a template and click More > Delete, and then confirm the deletion in the pop-up.
• Select a template and click More > Move, select which folder to move it to, and then click Move at the bottom of the dialog.

Template Designer 1 templates have a few additional options available in the More menu, each allowing to manage various aspects of the TD1 template.

Copy to Child (MD2)

NOTE: This functionality is unique to Message Designer (i.e., MD2) type templates. See Child Accounts Overview to learn more about Child Accounts.

You can copy templates from a parent account to any of its child accounts. To do so:

1. On the Messages > Templates page select a Message Designer type template.
2. Click More and select Copy to Child.

In the dialog, the name of the template is preceded by Copy of.

3. Accept this name or specify a different name for the template. (Required)
4. Check a box to select a child account; you can select more than one. (Required)
5. Click Copy.

A notification confirms whether the copy was successful.

Notes

Below are a few things to keep in mind when copying templates to a child account.

The Copy to Child option:

• will not display for accounts that do not have child accounts.

You cannot:

• copy template from a child account to its parent account.
• simultaneously copy multiple templates (i.e., no multi-select option).

The copy will retain all the formatting and configuration selections of the original template.

The copy will not retain:

• story-level targeting; this will have to be reconfigured in the copy.
• the following links; these will have to be re-linked in the copy:
• Unsubscribe Landing Pages
• Form Landing Pages
• Content-Only Landing Pages

Images in the template retain their reference to the images in the parent account's asset manager.

Search templates

Click the magnifying glass icon to expand a search field, allowing you to find specific messages. The list will automatically update with each typed character and display all records (visible and hidden) that contain a match against all list fields.

• The search field is not case-sensitive: You can type "news" to find "Newsletter" templates.
• Click the X to clear the field and restore the original list.

Template folders

You can organize your templates by grouping similar or related templates into folders. Because the Templates list displays all of your templates by default, organizing your templates into folders enables you to isolate a group of templates to more easily work with and manage those templates.

TIP: Create folders and organize your templates from the beginning; otherwise, it will be a more time consuming and difficult task doing so after dozens of templates have been created. When creating a template, you'll be able to select which folder to store it in.

NOTE: Learn more about using folders to manage your templates.

Export the list of templates

You can export the list of your organization's templates. The exported file will be in .csv format which you can then customize.

NOTE: The export action is specific to your current folder view. For example, if you're viewing the list of templates in your Newsletter folder, only those newsletter-based templates will be included in the export. To export a full list of all your templates, make sure you're in the All view.

1. Click the export icon.
2. On your operating system's "save" panel, give the file a memorable name, navigate to a save location, and complete the export.

NOTE: The exported file will include all of the columns on the Templates list page, irrespective of which columns are displayed when you generate the export.