This article describes how to create and manage Text Versions of messages in Message Designer 2 (MD2).
A look at plain-text messages
There is an abundance of information on the web about the pros and cons (and necessity) of "plain-text" messages. While that is beyond the scope of this article, Higher Logic believes that you should at least consider the following points about having a plain-text version of your message content.
Plain-text messages:
- are supported by all email programs, but
- they do not support:
- text formatting (bold, italic, colored fonts);
- displaying pictures in the message
Additionally, plain-text messages are:
- better suited to assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers);
- required by some government agencies; and
- less likely to have issues with many spam filters.
Overall, plain-text messages can improve your deliverability.
NOTE: At a minimum, if you want the design options that are available with HTML for your messages, then you should send messages that have both versions.
Auto-Save notes
When working in Message Designer, by default, messages are automatically saved every 60 seconds. This auto-save temporarily disables the Save button; it is re-enabled when subsequent changes are made.
- Any subsequent save actions (automatic or manual) overwrite the previously saved version.
- Any errors on the page that prevent a manual save also prevent the scheduled auto-save from occurring.
- If you click Save to do a manual save and there are errors, an error message displays.
Text Versions in Message Designer
You can manage the Text Version of a message in Message Designer when you:
- create a message and
- edit a message.
Note that there is not a distinct "create a Text Version" option. Rather, you create a Text Version of either a Message Designer message or a From HTML message.
You can also create a Text Version of any message that you can edit. Messages that are in the In Progress, Sent, and Review statuses are eligible.
Text Version and HTML Version notes
By design, the Text Version is supposed to be a simplified version of the HTML Version of the same message. Therefore:
- The two versions are independent of one another and they do not have to "match"; their matching is optional.
- Changes (i.e., text edits) that you make to the Text Version are exclusive to that version; they are not adopted by, nor can they be imported into, the HTML version.
- Conversely, changes made in the HTML Version are automatically adopted by the Text Version. This includes:
- the addition and removal of Message Designer Message Content Areas (MCAs), and
- changes to any of the message-based MCAs.
- Changes that you make in the Text Version editor remain in place unless there are changes in the HTML Version and Reset it is clicked. Refer to xxx, below, for more information on this action.
As you work in the Text Version editor, you can toggle back-&-forth to the HTML Version and visit other pages in the Admin interface; your edits will not be discarded.
Some of the content that displays in the Text Version preview is inherited from and managed exclusively in the Template. This content cannot be changed for this or any other message, except in the template.
Create a Text Version of a message
In this section, we'll edit an existing Message Designer message to create a text version of it.
To edit a Message Designer message:
- Access the Admin interface.
- Navigate to Messages > List.
TIPS: On list pages, click a column header to sort on that column; click again to reverse the sort order. Click the columns count below the list to add and remove columns in the current view.
- On the (In Progress, Sent, or Review) Messages list, locate the message for which you want to create a text version and either:
-
- click the hyperlinked name of the message or
- click elsewhere on the row to select the message and click Edit.
TIP: To keep the current list page open, right-click the hyperlinked name and open the message in a new tab or window.
The message opens on the Design tab of Message Designer.
- In the upper right of the design canvas, click the HTML Version dropdown and select Text Version.
The Text Version page has the following two sections; these are described in the sections below.
- the Editor, on the left, where you work with the message's text elements, and
- the Preview, on the right, where you review your work.
Preview section
The right side of the page offers a preview of the Text Version of the message. This is based on the current text in the text fields in the editor on the left side of the page. This is spotlighted in the following image.
NOTE: Other text in the preview is template-based content that cannot be managed in this editor.
As you make changes to the text in the editor, the preview automatically updates to reflect those changes.
TIP: To see a more accurate preview of how the Text Version renders as a message, refer to Text Version preview, below.
Editor section
This is where you can customize the text elements of the message for the Text Version.
Text elements include, for example, the optional Alt text for images. So, in addition to the typical text elements (e.g., Text and Text with Headline), text fields for other MCAs might display in this section.
Example
An Image text field displays if an image has been added to the HTML Version. In the text field, you can customize the Alt text of the image (not the image caption). The advantage of this is that, with the image not being visible, recipients of the Text Version might benefit from more descriptive alternative text.
If Alt text:
- has been provided, that text displays in the respective text field on this page. You can add to it or replace it with text for the Text Version of the message.
- has not been provided, the respective text field is blank. You can provide text for the Text Version of the message.
Edit the text
You can edit the text in any of the fields that display in this section.
- Click into a text field and make the necessary edits.
- Note that:
-
- The preview on the right refreshes and displays the changes.
- A "text has been modified" notification displays below the field:
This notification confirms that there are page-specific edits and it will continue to display until Reset it is clicked.
Understand and use 'Reset it'
When editing an existing message, the HTML Version is considered "authoritative," and any changes made in the Text Version are called out as "modifications" to that authoritative version.
If you make changes to the HTML Version text that populates the field and then want to revert the text, click Reset it.
- The text resets to align with the HTML Version.
- The preview on the right refreshes and displays the changes.
- The "text has been modified" notification disappears.
TIP: Reset it also resets the "auto-save" timer.
Plain-text editors
Each of the text fields on this page is a true "plain-text" editor and you should not introduce HTML tags in an attempt to apply formatting.
For example, in these fields, if you were to input the HTML tags <strong> and </strong> in order to apply bold to a word or phrase, it will not work.
- The Text Version of the message will display the HTML tags as text, exactly as you typed them, as shown in the Preview below.
Text Version preview
You can (and periodically, should) preview the Text Version of the message while you work on it.
To preview this version:
- Click the Review & Send tab.
- In the upper right, click the Desktop Version dropdown and select Text Version.
This is a great way to see what the message will look like when it is sent.
TIP: Remember, this is only a preview; you cannot edit the message here. Click the Design tab to return to the editable Text Version.
Related articles
The following articles describe other message-creation options.
- To learn how to create a message in Message Designer, see Create a Message (MD2).
- To learn how to create an HTML-based message that bypasses adding Message Content Areas in Message Designer, see Create a "From HTML" Message.
- To learn how to generate an HTML-based copy of an existing Message Designer message, see Save as HTML.
External resources
Below are a few "plain-text email messages" articles with information that you might find useful.
Why You Shouldn’t Dismiss Plain Text Emails (And How to Make Them Engaging)
Can a Plain Text Email be Better than HTML?