Do you have an excellent Standard template but need to populate multiple content areas when you create a mailing with it? Remember, Standard templates can only have one content area. The best way to do this is to convert your Standard template to an Advanced Template. While this requires some work on your part, it's still easier and faster than creating an Advanced template from scratch.

Conversion Steps

Step 1 - Copy Styles

1. Navigate to Mailings > Templates > View.
2. Hover over the menu icon for your Standard template and select Style.

3. On the resulting page, note the Table of Contents and Data styles.

4. Navigate to Mailings > Templates > Styles.
5. Click Add Style.
6. Enter a name in the Style Name field.
7. Scroll to bottom and enter the styles you noted in Step 3 above in the corresponding Table of Contents and Data areas. This ensures that the new style contains all the data from the original style.
8. Click Update.

Step 2 - Create the Advanced Template

1. Navigate to Mailings > Templates > View.
2. Click Create.
3. In the resulting window, click the menu and select Advanced.

4. Save your template with your desired parameters and return to the Template list page.

Step 3 - Copy Standard Template HTML

1. To edit the template you wish to copy, hover over its menu icon and select HTML.

2. Click the Source Code icon in the HTML Editor toolbar.

3. Select and copy (Ctrl + C on the keyboard) the code in the Source Code window.

Step 4 - Paste Standard Content into Advanced Template

1. Return to the Advanced template from above and click the Source Code icon in the HTML Editor toolbar.
2. Delete any existing text and then paste (Ctrl + V on the keyboard) into the Source Code window.
3. Click Update. The template should now appear like the original Standard template.
4. Click the Content Codes icon to insert any additional content codes.
5. Click Next to save your content and to generate the Text version of the template. Click Next again.
6. Lastly, click the Style menu and select the style you created earlier. This applies the style to any relevant content locations.

Final Thoughts

If your Standard template didn’t use tables, take the time to make sure that your Advanced template does. This helps your rendering immensely. Additionally, it’s often wise to use two different browser tabs so that you can easily toggle between the Standard and Advanced templates, especially if you're making small tweaks and adjustments here and there.