Getting Started - Templates

fmMMS allows you to create an unlimited number of Templates which can be used when sending Messages to save you having to type the same message multiple times. Templates can also contain an unlimited number of merge fields which can be drawn from the Contacts database (you can extend the list of Merge fields to other parts of your FileMaker solution when integrating if required).

To view the list of standard Templates that ship with fmMMS click the TEMPLATES button at the top of the screen and you should see the following list:

To view the details for one of the existing Templates click the green arrow button to the left:

Each Template has the following information:

Template #: each Template is automatically assigned a Template Number

Description: a summary to describe what type of Template this is

Characters: this is the count of the number of characters in the Template Body (if you Template Body includes Merge Fields the Character count will not be a true reflection of the final number of characters used for a Message as the Merge Fields will be replaced with data from the Contacts database when the Template is actually inserted into the Message before it is sent)

Notes: enter any required Notes for the Template

Template Subject: this is the text that will be inserted into the Message Subject field when you select the Template when sending a Message (not all Gateways support the use of a Message Subject)

Template Body: this is the text that will be inserted into the Message Body when you select the Template when sending a Message. The Template Body can contain Merge Fields as well as regular text

Merge Fields: this is a list of all available Merge Fields from the Contacts table in fmMMS. We are using the ExecuteSQL function to dynamically generate a list of fields from the Contacts table (excluding certain fields and those starting with an underscore or a z). To insert a Merge Field into the Template Body first select the Merge Field you wish to insert, then position the cursor at the location you wish the Merge Field to appear in the Template Body and click the Insert Merge Field button. If you add new fields to your Contacts table you can click the Update Merge Fields button.

We have a short video demonstrating the use of Templates on our fmMMS Videos page.

For details on how to select a Template when sending single or bulk messages please see the following related articles.