Newsletter texts

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Learn how to create newsletter text items in the Wise staff client.

Newsletter texts are created in the Wise staff client via Branch management > Newsletter > Newsletter texts. The texts are inserted into newsletters via Newsletter and can be sent to customers. From this menu, you can also view and edit existing texts.

Text items screen

From the Text items screen, you can see all text items that have been created. Items that are expired display in grey and cannot be used in newly created newsletters. The screen displays the following information for the text items:

Title
Valid until
Network
Status
(Newsletter) Type
(Item) Type
Profiles

Click on a header to change the sort order of the text items. Check the Also show expired items box to include text items that are no longer valid in the list.

Use the buttons along the bottom of the screen:

New - create a new text item
Edit - edit the selected text item
Copy - copy the selected text item
Filter - enter a filter term to filter the list of text items displayed (not case sensitive, the filter searches both title and content)
Remove - remove the selected text item
Compose - compile a newsletter
Quit - close the Text items screen

Create a new text item

To create a new text item:

Open the Newsletter texts window by going to Branch management > Newsletter > Newsletter texts.
Click New at the bottom of the screen. The New text item screen opens.

Enter details for the new text item:

Field	Description
Network	Indicate at which level this text will be available for use: 0000 System - the text is shared so that all locations can use the text item. Ixxx Institution - the text is shared at the institution level, only locations within your institution can use the text item. When composing a newsletter, only the text items that can be used by your branch are available to select.
Item type	Select the text item type: Agenda - calendar of events (or any other sidebar list information) Banner - top of the newsletter text Header - section header Standard - standard text Teaser - by default, three teaser items appear in a group
Newsletter type	Select a newsletter type. These can be used to filter the list of texts when creating a new newsletter. Newsletter types can be added to via the Wise configuration manager in SystemWise > Marketing > Newsletter types. A Newsletter type must be selected in order for the text to appear for selection when you Create a newsletter.
Title	Title of the text item.
Link for item (Add/Remove)	A link can be created for each text item. When a link is added, a Read more button is automatically created. The link can be added to the title of the item or to an inserted image and to the Read more button. If Remove link is selected, no links will be included in this text item. For more information, see Add links to a text item.
Text	Enter item text here. Text can be formatted using the buttons at the top of the box (Bold, Italic or Underlined). The text in the text box displays as HTML code. Click Show example to preview the text.
Valid until (mm/dd/yyyy)	Date to when a text item can be used. If no date is entered, the text can be used indefinitely. Do not set a validity date too soon. A message containing an expired text item will not be sent. When composing a newsletter, expired text items display in gray and cannot be selected. The Valid until date can be changed (and made valid again) once it has expired. Text items display in order of Valid until date.
Formatting	A text item can have its own color. For example, a specific color can be selected for a specific group of customers (youth, outreach, etc). These colors are configured in the Wise configuration manager. See System configuration for Newsletters for more information.
Image	An image can be included with a text item. Click Yes to open a file list from which you can select a related image. Text items support .jpg, .gif, and .png file formats. If the image does not fit the default image size for the text item, the cropper outline displays on the image. Move the cropper to select which portion of the image will display.

Click Save to save the text item.

Edit existing text items

To change an existing text item:

In the staff client, go to Branch management > Newsletter > Newsletter texts to open the Newsletter texts window.
Select the line of the Newsletter text you want to edit.
Click the Edit button at the bottom of the screen. The Newsletter text details screen opens.
Make changes to the text.
Click Save to save the text item.

Copy existing text items

To make a copy of an existing text item:

In the staff client, go to Branch management > Newsletter > Newsletter texts to open the Newsletter texts window.
Select the line of the Newsletter text you want to copy.
Click the Copy button at the bottom of the screen. The selected text line is copied and added to the table with the Title "Copy<original text item title>".
(Optional) Edit the copied text.

Add links to a text item

Tagged hyperlinks can be added to text items. These special links allow your library to track how many times the included links are clicked on from the newsletter. Each link that is created is given its own unique code, so multiple links to the same URL can be created and tracked independently.

To add a link to a text item:

Insert a link: A confirmation message appears: Add a link in this text?
- Click the Link button above the Text box
- Right-click in the Text box and select Insert: Link
Click Yes. The Link selection window opens.
Select a predefined link from the list, or to create a new link:
1. Click New. The New link window opens.
2. Select the network level at which this link will be available for selection for future use.
3. Select which type of link to create:
  - Through link formats
  - Through manual link
4. Click Save. The New link window closes and the newly created link appears in the Link selection list.
Select the link to insert and click OK. The link is added to the Text box.

New link through link formats

When Through link formats is selected, users can choose a predefined link. These are created in the Wise configuration manager. For more information, see Newsletter link formats.

Field 1 (Structure): Example: http://bicat.nobb.nl/cgi-bin/bx.pl?e...l..vestnr=1000
The first part of the above link is extracted from what has been entered in the Wise configuration manager. The second part ensures that the title detail is requested in the catalog. Which title is determined by the % q%
Parameter: When a title code or title ID is entered in the Parameter field, this % q% in the link is replaced by the title code/title ID. Title code numbers can be found in the catalog in title information. The resulting code of the link looks something like this: [REDIRECT id="e41757e85df69c95f91eadcb4bd07050" kenmerk="OCLC home"] OCLC home[/REDIRECT]
The entire link is converted to an ID generated by the system with a series of numbers. The code can be queried in the query browser using this string:
SELECT*FROM newsletter_links n;
Description: When using a format, the Description field is automatically filled with a general description from the Wise configuration manager. This is not clear in the text item, so an improved description can be added in this field.

New link Through manual link

When Through manual link is selected, the user can create a new link immediately. The system will automatically add [REDIRECT] [/REDIRECT] tags so that the clicks can be counted.

Caution: The URL must include http:// otherwise the link will not work!

[REDIRECT] [/REDIRECT] links

Track newsletter

At least one image in the newsletter, generally the logo at the top of the page, is attached to a link, which is used to track whether or not the newsletter is opened. The structure of the image link should look like this:

http://<yourlibrary>.com/cgi-bin/bx.pl?dli=f55fbb2630c19031030cb93aa9b8ea32&event=dl&vestnr=1600&sid=999&img=http://hka10.bicat.com/images/logo.png

Herein f55fbb2630c19031030cb93aa9b8ea32 is the uuid of the link with function NBF.
The URL of the picture can also be 'relative'.

Hyperlinks in the newsletter

All click-links run via CGI (redirect) so that Wise can recognize when the link is clicked. In a click-through link, there is a reference to message_id and item_id. All hyperlinks included in text items are surrounded by [REDIRECT]...[/REDIRECT] in the XML. The uuid therein of the link. the hyperlink in the HTML is structured as follows:

All hyperlinks in the text items are surrounded by [REDIRECT] ... [/ REDIRECT] in the XML. The uuid therein is the uuid of the LINK. The hyperlink in the HTML is structured as follows:

http://hka10.bicat.com/cgi-bin/bx.pl...5-e83935322a2c

Herein is 7d225df5-66f6-11e2-97e5-e83935322a2c the uuid of the LINK, and f55fbb2630c19031030cb93aa9b8ea32 the uid of the link with function NBF.

Newsletter cancelation link

At the bottom of the newsletter, there is a hyperlink with the function "AFM", built as follows:

http://hka10.bicat.com/cgi-bin/bx.pl...r=1600&sid=999

Herein is f55fbb2630c19031030cb93aa9b8ea32 the uuid of the link with function AFM.

Email address

An email address can be created as a trackable link, using a different structure. To create an email address link, follow the steps above to Create text items.

Enter the path under Via manual link. An email address is structured as:

mailto:name@domain.org subject = Your subject text

Section	Definition
mailto:	Always precedes an email address.
name@domain.org	The email address.
subject=	The text that follows this will appear in the subject line of the message.
Your subject here	The text that appears in the subject line.

This email address can be searched in the query browser to count the number of clicks it receives in an email address. The email link displays in the Text box as [MAILTO id = "mailto:name@domain.org? Subject:Your%20Subject%20here"].

Cancelation or Manage account links

A text item can include links for the customer to cancel or manage their newsletter subscription settings.

Link format

By default, links are not underlined in text items. The format of links can be changed using variables in the style sheet. To change the format so that links are underlined, edit this variable:

<xsl:variable name="underline" select="text-decoration:none;"/>

by replacing none with underline

<xsl:variable name="underline" select="text-decoration:underline;"/>

Open links in a new window

By default, newsletter links open in a new window to prevent the customer from navigating away from and losing the newsletter.

Add images to a text item

An image can be included in a text item by selecting Yes for Image in the Newsletter item screen when creating a new text item. When Yes is selected, a file browser window opens and an image can be selected from the computer. Only .jpg, .gif, and .png file types can be used in newsletter items.

The style sheets take into account image formats. If an image does not meet the defined format, a cropper frame appears on the image so that it can be cropped to the correct size. Once a selection is made, click OK to crop the image, or click Cancel to close the image without adding and saving it.

The header image in the newsletter is also used to track whether or not a newsletter is opened.

Write permission

When cropping an image, the cropped version is saved in a temporary file. Unused images are deleted once the client is closed. If an image is included in a newsletter text, the image is stored locally in the home/bxmas/resources/NEWSLETTER IMAGES folder once the text item is saved. This folder must be created and the user must have access to the folder. If you have trouble saving images or accessing this file, contact your system administrator.

Attach profiles

Profiles can be attached to a text item to identify specific audiences to whom the text item will apply. For more information, see Use profiles with newsletters.