Auto Email

Contents

• Overview
• Purpose and Description of the Auto Email Tool
• Auto Email vs. Bulk Email
• Where to Find the Auto Email Settings
• Auto Email Summary Page
  • Description of the Summary Page
  • Editing or Deleting Auto Emails
  • Sorting Auto Emails
• Creating a New Auto Email
  • Form Settings
  • Email Settings
  • Email Body Formatting Options
• Using Field References
  • Inserting Field References into the Email Body
  • Formatting Data in Field References
  • Showing or Hiding Data in Field References
• Enabling and Disabling Auto Emails

Overview

Auto Email is an essential communication feature in most Zengine workspaces. It enables administrators to set up standard emails that can be automatically sent to recipients based on certain triggers. These emails are sent to addresses stored in designated form fields and can be customized with information from the recipients’ set of linked records.

This article will discuss how to configure and activate auto emails in a given workspace. Auto emails can be triggered in two different ways: either by a folder movement on a specific form record, or relative to a date stored in a date field on a record. The former method is by far the most commonly used, and this article only discusses setting up auto emails that are triggered by folder movements.

If you are interested in learning more about setting up auto emails to send relative to a due date, please see the article Auto Email Due Date Feature.

Purpose and Description of the Auto Email Tool

The Auto Email plugin allows administrators to set up standard email templates that are sent automatically when a certain action is taken on a record: specifically, when the folder status of that record is changed, the email will be sent to the email address associated with that record. (The folder trigger, email address associated with the record, and the form containing the records are all defined as part of the configuration setup.)

This is very useful when a folder status change that a portal user should know about happens automatically. For example, when an application is submitted in a submission portal, the portal instructs the Zengine workspace to change the folder status of the application form record from “Intake” to “Submitted” (note that the folder names will vary by workspace). If an auto email is set up to send to the portal user’s email address when the Application record’s folder changes to “Submitted,” then the portal user will automatically receive a confirmation email upon submitting their application. 

However, because auto emails can be set up to send on any folder movement, administrators can also trigger auto emails by changing the folder status of a record manually. For example, an auto email can be created to notify the portal user that their application has been awarded, which can be triggered to send when an administrator changes the folder status of the awarded application record to “Awarded.” The manner in which a folder status is changed doesn’t matter for an auto email triggered by that folder - the email will be sent regardless.

When setting up an auto email, administrators must define:

• The name of the auto email configuration;
• The form that contains the records which will trigger an email to send;
• The field that contains the email address of the recipient;
• The folder that triggers the email to send (when a record’s status is changed to that folder);
• Email information, such as From Name, Reply-To address, CC & BCC emails, the Subject line, and so on; and
• The email body, which can be personalized with each recipient’s information.

For more information on these configuration options, see the section below Creating a New Auto Email. 

One of the main features of the Auto Email tool is the ability to personalize the auto email that is sent with information stored in the recipient’s linked forms. This is done with the use of field references, which insert the data stored in specific fields from the form records belonging to the recipient. For example, a standard auto email template can be made to look more personal by inserting information such as the recipient’s name, project title, or amount awarded. For more information about field references and how they work, see the section below Using Field References.

Return to Contents

Auto Email vs. Bulk Email

Auto Email is one of two communication tools in Zengine; the other is Bulk Email. Though both tools send emails to recipients and are configured in a similar fashion, they work differently and are ideal for different purposes.

Auto email will typically send an email to one recipient at a time, but will do so automatically, and based on an action or event (a folder change). Bulk Email, conversely, will send the same email to a group of recipients at one time; the group is defined by the Filter tool rather than actions that occur on specific records. (Both allow using field references to personalize standard emails.)

These differences mean that Auto Email is ideal for communication with recipients in response to actions or events that typically don’t occur at the same time as those for other recipients. For example, portal users completing an application package in a submission portal rarely submit their applications at the same time, so a confirmation email acknowledging the receipt of their application is best accomplished via Auto Email. 

Similarly, notifying recipients of certain administrator-directed actions that don’t occur at the same time - for example, when application packages have been awarded or denied in a program with year-round or always-open cycles - are easier to manage with Auto Email.

Conversely, Bulk Email is a better option when a large number of recipients should be notified of something at once, or when the group of recipients is determined by a status (such as the current folder/stage) rather than an action or event (such as a change in folder status). 

One common use-case for Bulk Email includes reminding portal users who have started, but not yet completed, their application packages to submit before an upcoming deadline. Because the deadline applies to everyone, and the recipients are defined by the status of their application packages, a single Bulk Email can be sent to everyone in this group at once.

Another example is to notify applicants of their award status in a program with clearly defined stages and deadlines, in which it is preferable to inform all applicants at the same time (usually at the conclusion of a review period).

For more information on Bulk Email, see the article Bulk Email.

Return to Contents

Where to Find the Auto Email Settings

Auto Emails can be set up, edited, or managed in the Auto Email Settings. Once they have been created, saved, and turned on, they will operate automatically, with no intervention needed unless the email content needs to be changed or auto emails should be disabled.

To access the Auto Email Settings:

1. Logged into a workspace as an administrator, navigate to the Settings & Tools page by selecting the Settings & Tools button in the upper-right corner of any Zengine screen.

2. On the lower part of the screen, under Plugin Settings, select the Auto Email tile. 

3. The Auto Email Summary Page will be displayed (see next section).

Please note that while the Auto Email tool is installed by default in most workspaces, if this tile does not appear on the Settings & Tools page, please contact the WizeHive Support Team to have it installed. 

Auto Email Summary Page

Upon selecting the Auto Email tile in Settings & Tools, administrators will be brought to the Auto Email Summary Page. 

Description of the Summary Page

The summary page will show you basic information about each auto email that has been set up. It also allows administrators to manually order the auto emails that have been set up, edit or delete auto emails, or create a new auto email.

The image below shows these different elements of a sample summary page with a few auto emails configured:

• A: Auto Email Summary Section
• B: Enable Manual Sorting - Select this button to manually change the order in which the auto email configurations appear in the Auto Email Summary Section. (See the section below Sorting Auto Emails. 
• C: + Add Email - Select this button to set up a new auto email. (See the section below Creating a New Auto Email).

The Auto Email Summary Section displays basic information about each auto email that has been configured.  Each row represents a different auto email configuration, while each column represents different information about each auto email:

• A: Title - the name given to the auto email configuration
• B: Form - the form containing the recipient records and trigger folder
• C: Folder - the name of the folder that triggers the auto email to send 
• D: Email Subject - the contents of the auto email Subject line
• E: Status - the Status column will show either Active or Inactive. Active means that the auto email is turned on, and an email will be sent to the designated recipient when a record is moved into the trigger folder. Inactive means that the auto email is turned off and no email will be sent when a record is changed to the trigger folder. (See the section below Enabling and Disabling Auto Emails for more information.)
• F: Actions - the buttons in this column allow administrators to edit or delete auto email configurations. (See the section below Editing or Deleting Auto Emails for more information.)

If the information under Folder (Column C in the image above) does not display the name of a folder, but instead says  “Relative to: before/ on / after due date” (see image below), then this auto email has been configured to send relative to a due date field. This feature of Auto Email is covered in the article Auto Email Due Date Feature. 

Note that if no auto emails have been set up, the auto email summary section will instead display an additional prompt to create a first auto email. 

Editing or Deleting Auto Emails

Under the Actions column on the right side of the Auto Email Summary section, administrators can select buttons to edit or delete auto emails.

To edit an auto email settings, subject line, or email body content:

1. Select the Edit button under the Actions column on the Auto Email Summary Page.

2. The Auto Email Configuration screen will appear, allowing administrators to change existing configuration settings, activate or deactivate the email, or edit the email settings and body content. (Note that the specific settings will vary by configuration and workspace; those shown in the image below are examples.)

— IMPORTANT —

Some email configuration settings, such as Recipients Form and Trigger Folder, cannot be changed once an auto email has been configured and saved. 

To delete an auto email that has been set up: 

1. Select the Delete button under the Actions column on the Auto Email Summary Page. 

2. A pop-up message will appear asking to confirm the auto email deletion. Select Yes to delete the email and all configuration settings, or Close to cancel. If the auto email is deleted, it cannot be recovered.

Sorting Auto Emails

On the Auto Email Summary Page, the order in which the auto email summary rows appear can be manually changed:

1. Select the blue button Enable Manual Sorting. 

The button will change color to green and will now display Manual Sorting Enabled. 

2. Select anywhere in one of the auto email summary rows to drag-and-drop the email summary row up or down the list. 

3. When sorting is finished and the auto email summary rows are in their desired order, select the green Manual  Sorting Enabled button again to turn off manual sorting. The button will revert to its original blue color and text. This can be useful to prevent accidentally reordering auto email summary rows. 

Return to Contents

Creating a New Auto Email

To create a new auto email from the Auto Email Summary Page, begin by selecting the green + Add Email button in the upper-right corner. 

The Auto Email Configuration screen will appear (with the heading Create New Auto Email at the top) containing empty configuration fields.  This screen is divided into two sections: Form Settings and Email Settings. 

Form Settings

The Form Settings section of the Auto Email Configuration page is where administrators can designate who will receive the email and what action should trigger it to send. 

• Title: Enter a title for the auto email. Descriptive titles (such as “Application Submitted”) are most useful.
• Recipients Form: Designate the workspace form that contains the intended recipients of this auto email. When the specified trigger conditions for a particular record on this form are met, an email will be sent to the address in the field designated as the Email Field (see below). If the email will be sent to a recipient when the folder status of a record is changed, then the Recipients Form should also include the folder that will be used. 
  • Note that only forms in the current workspace can be selected.
• Email Field: Select the field that contains the email address of the intended recipient.
  • The intended email field must be present on either the chosen Recipients Form or a linked parent form. The dropdown menu will display the name of the available email fields; if the field is from a linked parent form, the field name will be displayed followed by the text from related form [Form Name]. 

• • For more information on parent forms and form relationships, see the article Linking Forms (Form Relationships).
  • Only text fields that have validation options set to “Email Address” will be available to select as the Email Field. (For more information on form field validation options, see the article Form Builder Overview (Validation Options) and Field Advanced Options ). 
  • In addition, administrators can select Specific Email to configure the auto email to send to a static recipient. This can be useful if, for example, the same individual (usually a program administrator) should be notified whenever the same action is taken on a record, regardless of which record. Selecting Specific Email will display a second field (Email) where the specific email address can be entered.

•  

• • Finally, the auto email can be configured to send to more than one recipient, regardless of whether the recipient email address is drawn from a field or is a specific email.
    • Select the + button to the right of the email field to add additional Email Field recipients. As many can be added as necessary.

• • • Select the - button to remove additional Email Field rows after the first one.

• Trigger On: Folder will be selected by default; this means that the email will be automatically sent when a record on the Recipients Form is changed to the folder chosen in the Trigger Folder field (see below). 
  • Administrators can also select the dropdown and choose Relative Due Date to configure an auto email that will send relative to a date in a date field on a specific form record.
    • This option requires specific form configurations. To learn more about configuring auto emails to send relative to a due date, see the article Auto Email Due Date Feature.
• Trigger Folder: Select the folder from the Recipients Form that will trigger this email to send. When a record on the designated recipients form is placed in this folder, the email will be sent to the email address in the selected email field. (This option will not appear if Relative Due Date is selected for the Trigger On option.)
• Activation: Once all fields in both settings areas have been completed and the auto email configuration has been saved, the email can be activated or deactivated here. This button will remain gray and cannot be selected until then.

Email Settings

The Email Settings section of the Auto Email Configuration page allows administrators to customize the various components that affect the appearance of the email itself, including the subject line and email body.

• From Name: The “sender” name can be customized. What is entered here will display as the sender name when it arrives in the recipient’s email inbox. 
  • Please note that the email will always be sent from the address [e-mail], regardless of the From Name or Reply To settings; this cannot be changed.  
• Reply To: Enter the email address that recipients can send a reply email to. If program administrators do not wish to receive any replies to the auto email from recipients, a “no reply” email can be entered (for example, [e-mail]). 
• Subject: Enter what should appear as the subject line of the email.
• Copy to Recipients: Additional recipients can be added to the auto email as CC or BCC recipients. Note that any recipients added here will receive every auto email that is sent.
  • Select either the + Add CC or + Add BCC button to display a text field labeled CC or BCC. 

• • Enter in the email address of the recipient to receive a copy of the auto email. If more than one recipient should be added, enter in multiple email addresses separated by commas.

• • Email addresses added to the CC field will be visible to all other recipients when an email is sent. Those added to the BCC field will not be visible to other recipients.

• Email Body: Write the body of the email to be sent. 
  • While the same email will go out to each recipient, the email body can be personalized with field references that insert the data from specific fields from the recipient’s submitted information (see the section below Using Field References). 
  • In addition, the email can be formatted with limited options to customize the appearance of the email body (see the section below Email Body Formatting Options). 

Return to Contents

Email Body Formatting Options

The email body content of an Auto Email can be customized with basic text formatting options, which can be chosen by selecting various options at the top of the text editor. 

Select Formats to open a dropdown menu containing a variety of pre-formatted options:

• Headings: choose from six predefined headings ranging in font size and impact.
• Inline: Choose from a variety of formatting options for selected text, such as bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, superscript and subscript, and code (which appears as monospace Courier font). 
• Blocks: choose from four different formatting options for blocks of text.
• Alignment: choose the alignment of the selected text (Left, Center, Right, Justify). 

The email body text can be formatted in other ways (descriptions below each image):

• A: Font - Select the Font Family dropdown menu (the current font name will be displayed) to change the selected text to one of a variety of available options.
• B: Font Size - Select the Font Sizes dropdown menu (the current font size will be displayed) to change the font size.
• C: Bold & Italics - Although formatting options including Bold and Italics can be chosen from the Formats menu, shortcuts for these two common formatting options are available on the formatting toolbar.
• D: Text Color - Select the Text Color button to display a palette of different text colors to choose from. This option will change the color of the text itself.
• E: Text Background Color - Select the Background Color button to display a palette of different colors to choose from. This option will change the highlight background of selected text, but will leave the color of the actual text unaffected.

• F: Alignment - Shortcuts to align selected text to the Left, Center, Right, or Justified are available on the formatting toolbar. 
• G: Lists - Bullet Point Lists and Numbered Lists can be added by selecting either of these icons.
• H: Indent - paragraphs or text blocks can be indented to the right or left
• I: Horizontal Line - a horizontal line across the email body can be added, separating blocks of text or sections of the email.
• J: Insert/Edit Link - A URL link can be added in the body of the email, either as a standalone hyperlink or embedded in text. While a URL can be copied and pasted easily, embedding a link within text requires a few steps:
  1. 1. Select the Insert/Edit Link button.
     2. A pop-up will display titled Insert link. 

1. 1. 3. Copy and paste the destination link into the Url field. 
      4. If text in the email body was highlighted before selecting the Insert/Edit Link button, it will appear in Text to display. If not, enter text here if you wish to display something other than the web address in the email body. This field can also be left blank, which will result in the full link being displayed in the email body.
      5. Enter a title in the Title field if desired, though this can be left blank.
      6. By default, the Target dropdown field will be set to None; if New Window is selected instead, the destination URL will open in a new browser window when the link is clicked on by the email recipient.
      7. Email addresses can also be embedded as links in the email body. To do so, simply enter the email address in the URL field preceded by “mailto:” with no spaces. For example: mailto:[e-mail].
      8. Select Okay to confirm your link options, or Cancel to return to the Auto Email Configuration page without saving the URL link.

• K: Insert/Edit Image - Although images cannot be added to an auto email configuration by copy/pasting the image into the email body, nor by uploading an image from a local or cloud-based drive, images can be added if they are hosted on a web page by adding a link to that image in the email body itself: 
  1. 1. First, copy the image URL from an image to be added to the auto email by navigating to the webpage containing the image, right-clicking on the image, and selecting “Copy Image Address” from the options.

1. 1. 2. Return to the Auto Email Configuration page and select the Insert/Edit Image button on the Email Body formatting bar. This will bring up a pop-up box labeled Insert/edit image.

1. 1. 3. Paste the image address into the Source field.
      4. Add an Image description if desired; this is optional.
      5. The Dimensions field will populate once the Image Address is pasted into the Source field, reflecting the current image size (in pixels), but these can be changed to manually change the image size in the email body. Check the box next to Constrain proportions to maintain the aspect ratio of the image: if one of the dimensions is changed, the other will automatically update with a value that is appropriate for maintaining the image size ratio.

• L: Table - A table can be added to the email body, up to 10 rows by 10 columns (though  more can be added manually after the table is inserted). The table and cell appearances can be changed in ways such as border style and color, background color, cell spacing and padding, alignment, adding captions, and more by selecting Table Properties or Cell Properties from the Table dropdown menu.

• M: Find and Replace - Selecting the Find and Replace button will bring up an option to find and replace words or phrases in the body of the email.

• N: Full Screen - Selecting Full Screen will cause the email body text editor to take up the full Zengine screen. Selecting this icon again will return the screen to the previous configuration page.
• O: Source Code - Selecting Source Code will bring up a window displaying the HTML source code for the email body content and appearance. This code can be edited directly to affect the email body.

Return to Contents

Using Field References

Inserting field references is a feature of several Zengine tools, including Auto Email, Bulk Email, and Document Templates. Within the Auto Email tool, this feature allows administrators to customize emails using values entered into fields drawn from the form records belonging to the recipient (similar to how “mail merge” functions in other programs). For example, as a salutation, an email body could begin with “Dear {{First Name}}” (where “First Name” is a reference to the form field that contains the recipient’s first name), and the Auto Email tool will insert the value of that field belonging to the recipient when the email is triggered to send.

In Auto Email, field references can be inserted from the form designated as the Recipients Form (see the section Form Settings above) or any linked parent form. When a field reference is added to the email body, however, it will not display the name of the field - instead, it will display the field ID (and, if drawn from a parent form, the form ID) between pairs of handlebar brackets.

Inserting Field References into the Email Body

Above the email body text editor, administrators will see the phrase Insert values from your forms and the selectable options + This Form and + Parent Forms. Selecting one of these two options will expand a list of blue buttons containing field names from either the Recipients Form or any linked Parent Form, respectively. 

When a list of field references is expanded, the form options will change to display – This Form and – Parent Form. Select these options again to collapse the list of blue field buttons.

To add a field reference:

1. Place the cursor in the email body location where you want the field reference to be inserted.
2. Expand the +This Form or +Parent Form field button list, if not already done.
3. Select the blue button containing the field value to be inserted. The parent and field ID numbers will be added to the email body text editor where the cursor has been placed, contained with double handlebar-brackets. 

If two or more field references are added in succession, be sure to place a space between them - spaces are not added automatically in the Email Body text editor.

Please note the following items regarding field references: 

• Only the first 20 characters of the field name are displayed in each blue button. 
• Field types such as Headers and Presentational Text fields are also displayed in these lists; adding these to the email body, however, will have no effect on the email that is sent to a recipient, as these fields do not contain values that can be inserted.
• The field references inserted into the email body can be edited directly, but doing so incorrectly will invalidate the field reference (see the sections below Formatting Data in Field References and Showing or Hiding Data in Field References for more information on editing field references). In general, to avoid problems, be careful not to change or delete anything between the pairs of double-brackets that represent a field reference in the Email Body text editor.

Formatting Data in Field References

By default, the values inserted into an email body using field references will contain the same formatting rules as set by the field rules on the form which the reference draws from. For example, if a Number Field on a form is formatted as “currency,” the corresponding field reference added to an Auto Email will also display the number as a currency. 

In most cases, these formatting rules should be applied to the field itself, rather than by editing the field reference in the Auto Email body. (These field rules can be found in the Form Editor by selecting the field in question. For more information, see the article Form Builder Overview (Validation Options) and the article Field Advanced Options.)

However, in some cases, it can be useful to edit the field reference in the email body, particularly for dates and calculations. Here are a few helpful modifiers that can be added to field references to modify the default formatting (note that the form and field IDs should not be changed once inserted):

Modifier	Example	Description
prettifyDate	{{prettifyDate field123456}}	Formats a date in the format (MM/DD/YYYY).
properDate	{{properDate field123456}}	A more formal date format (January 1 2021).
capitalize	{{capitalize field123456}}	Capitalize the first letter of each word in that field.
todayDate	{{todayDate}}	Today's date (MM/DD/YYYY).
calc	{{calc field123456 8 '+' 'round'}}	You may pass a single field, followed by another number, the function ('+', '-', '*', or '/'), and a 'round' ('round' to the nearest, 'up' to round up, 'down' to round down, or 'false' if you do not want to round). In the example provided, the field reference will display the number value in the field + 8, rounded to the nearest integer.

Showing or Hiding Data in Field References

In addition, administrators can use “IF” statements added to a field reference to show or hide information based upon the data value in the referenced field. In this situation, if the value does not satisfy the modifier criteria, the value in the referenced field will not appear in the auto email body.

The modifier should be added at the beginning of the field reference (after the handlebar brackets) and a space should be added between the modifier and the field ID:

Modifier	Example	Description
#if	{{#if field123456}}	Content will show if field123456 has any value.
#if_eq	{{#if_eq field123456 ‘Coffee’}}	Content will show if field123456 has a value EQUAL to the text or numbers between single quotes.  In the example provided, the field reference will only display in the sent email if the value in field123456 is equal to Coffee.
#if_like	{{#if_like field123456 ‘Coffee’}}	Content will show if field123456 CONTAINS the value of the text or numbers between single quotes.  In the example provided, the field reference will only display in the sent email if field123456 contains the text string Coffee anywhere in the field value.

Return to Contents

Enabling and Disabling Auto Emails

Auto Emails can be enabled once all of the required configuration fields (Form Settings and Email Settings) have been completed. 

Administrators will first need to save the auto email configuration before enabling an auto email. To do so, select the blue Save button in the upper right corner of the configuration page.

Be sure to save any time a change is made to the Auto Email configuration.

Once it has been saved for the first time, administrators can enable an auto email by selecting the red Activate Email button located at the bottom of the Form Settings section. 

Upon doing so, the button will change to green and display Deactivate Email.

• Select this green Deactivate Email button to disable the auto email. This will prevent an auto email from sending even when the trigger condition is met, and can be useful if an auto email is no longer used, or if an administrator needs to change the folder of a record but does not want the recipient to receive an auto email. 

• The email Status on the Auto Email Summary page will update to show the current status (Active or Inactive). (See above for more information on the Auto Email Summary Page.)

Return to Contents

What did you think of this article? If you found this article helpful, let us know below! If you have suggestions for how to improve this article, please leave a comment. Your feedback helps us improve the experience for everyone.