e-template Instructions

Transcription

1 e-template Instructions Quick Start It s easy to load an e-template into Outlook. Aside from one difference, it s just like attaching a file to an message. Here s a quick start. More detailed instructions are provided in Section III below. To get started with the templates right away: Detailed Instructions These instructions will get you started with the Purdue Extension e-templates. These instructions include the following sections: I. Downloading the Templates II. Setting up Outlook III. Loading the Templates I Downloading the Templates To download the Outlook templates: 1. Go to the Purdue Extension Communication and Marketing Resources site (www. ag.purdue.edu/extension/communication). 2. Go to the Downloads section, select Templates,, and then For Outlook. 3. Click on link for the template you want. 4. In your browser menu, go the the file menu and select Save As. 5. Name the template something you will remember. 6. Under Save as type: select Web Page, HTML only (*.htm, *.html) (see Figure 1). 1. Create a new message. 2. Click on the Insert tab and select Attach File (just like you would normally do to attach any file). 3. Find the e-template file on your computer and select it. 4. In the dialogue box, click on the arrow next to the Insert button and select Insert as Text, and then hit your RETURN or ENTER key (Figure 4). IV. Customizing Templates V. Adding Links for and Websites VI. Saving, Printing, and Sending VII. Adding Space for More Articles (e-newsletter Template) VIII. Adding Graphics Figure 1. Save the template as an HTML file.

2 II Setting up Outlook Before starting your first invitation, you must set up Outlook to send s in HTML format. To do this, you can: Start a new message, click on the Options tab, and select HTML. If you select this option, it may only apply to the current message (Figure 2). OR 1. Go to the Tools tab and select Options to open the Options dialogue box. 2. Click on the Mail Format tab. 3. Select HTML where it says, Compose in this message format: (Figure 3). 4. Click OK. By doing this, you will send all future messages in HTML format. Figure 2 (Above). Select HTML in the Options tab. Figure 3. Select HTML in the Options dialogue box. III Loading the Templates Once you re ready to use one of the e-templates, you ll need to load it into a new message. To do this: 1. Create a new message. Remember, select HTML on the Options tab. 2. Click on the Insert tab and select Attach File (just like you would normally do to attach any file). 3. Find the e-template file you saved on your computer. 4. In the dialogue box, click on the arrow next to the Insert button and select Insert as Text (Figure 4). Note: You must select Insert as Text or the template will not appear in your message (instead, it will just be an attached file). Note: If you are working offline, you may not see the graphics that come with the template. Don t panic, those graphics are online, not on your computer. When you send your message, the recipients automatically download the graphics from the Purdue Extension website. Figure 4. Select Insert as Text to make sure the template appears in the body of your message. If you don t, the template file will just attach to your like any other file.

3 IV Customizing the Templates Once you ve loaded the template, customize it to suit your needs. You can update the fields provided in the templates or create your own. Remember, once you customize a template, you can save that template so that you don t have to add your county-specific information each time you load the template. See Section VI below. To add your own content, simply type in your new text or copy and paste it from another file. Tip: When you copy and paste text, the pasted text often has the same formatting as your source document. But you can keep the formatting of the message by using the Paste Special command: 1. Copy the text from your source document (such as a Word file). 2. On the Message tab, click on the arrow under the Paste button and select Paste Special (Figure 5). 3. In the dialogue box, select Unformatted Text (Figure 6). The text you pasted should retain the formatting of the original message. Of course, this doesn t always work exactly as planned the software sometimes refuses to comply, so make sure to double-check. V Adding Links for and Websites You can modify your templates so readers can click on a link that will allow them to send or visit a website for more information. To create a link for an address or website, follow the instructions below. To add links: 1. Highlight the address in your invitation. 2. Right click your mouse and select Hyperlink to bring up the Edit Hyperlink dialogue box (Figure 7). 3. Click on the Address button. 4. Type in the address exactly as it should appear in the Text to Display and Address boxes. Figure 5. Select Paste Special from the Paste button. Figure 6. Select Unformatted Text to retain the formatting in the message. Note: It s a good rule of thumb to display the actual address (purdue@purdue. edu) rather than just a person s name (John Purdue). Why? Not all your recipients allow HTML s. If you display the actual address, the information still comes through in your . But if the displayed text is John Purdue, then the reader won t see his address. 5. In the Subject: box, you can type in the subject line for the that the reader will send. For example, type in Forage Workshop RSVP so that the recipient will know what the is about. 6. Click OK.

4 V Adding Links for and Web Sites (continued) To add a we site link: 1. Highlight the website address in your invitation. 2. Right click you mouse and select Hyperlink to bring up the Edit Hyperlink dialogue box (Figure 8). 3. Click on the Existing File or Web Page button. 4. Type in the exact URL for the website in the Text to display: and Address boxes. Note: Like the address, it s a good idea to display the actual website address in case your recipient doesn t accept HTML s. 5. Click OK. Figure 7 (Above). Adding links. Figure 8. Adding website links. VI Saving, Printing, and Sending Before sending your message, it is a good idea to save it first. You can load the saved version to make changes or to send again another time. Saving Your Changes 1. Click on the Office button in your message and select Save As (Figure 9). 2. Select the folder where you want to save the invitation. 3. Name the file. Note: Be certain to give file a different name than the generic template. 4. Where it says, Save as type: select HTML only (*.htm, *.html). 5. Click Save. To load the saved invitation in the future, just follow the steps from Section III. Printing Your Message To print, click on the Office button and select Print. Figure 9. Click on the Office button (that s the Office symbol in the top left corner) and select Save As. If you want to print your message, select Print from this menu.

5 VI Saving, Printing, and Sending (continued) Sending Your Message It s a good idea to test your message by mailing it to yourself or someone else you work with first. That way, you can catch any errors before sending it to all your recipients. If you save the message first, you can just reload and resend once you ve made any corrections. Sending the messages is just like sending any 1. Enter your recipients addresses in the BCC: line by adding the addresses to this line, you prevent the recipients from seeing the entire list of people who received this invitation. 2. Provide an appropriate entry on the Subject: line. 3. Click on the Send button. VII Adding Space for More Articles (e-newsletter Template) The e-newsletter template comes with space for five dummy articles. If you don t use all five dummy articles, simply delete the ones you don t use. If you have to add space for more articles, just copy and paste one of the dummy articles. VIII Adding Graphics This section offers guidelines for adding photos and graphics to e-newsletters, shows you how to add graphics to the templates, and shows you how to modify graphics in the template. Photo Guidelines Adding graphics to your e-newsletter can enhance its appearance. But large or illegible graphics can make it a burden for readers or an embarrassment to you. Before inserting graphics, consider the following: Keep photos to a minimum. Many users block or refuse to open messages with images. Optimize your images with a photo editor like PhotoShop first. Save images in JPG format. Keep image resolution at 72 dpi. Higher resolutions make for much larger file sizes and slower download times. Keep images small. Few people can read, and even fewer will wait to download, an 8 X 10 photo. Don t just resize images. The size of the image you are going to send in your newsletter should be the size of the image you load into it. In other words, don t just resize a large photo in Outlook the actual image file will still be large. So if you want a 2 X 2 image in your newsletter, make sure the file you load into Outlook begins at 2 X 2. If you want a lot of photos, consider posting them to your website and providing a link to the page in your message. For more advice on images, see the Purdue Extension Communication and Marketing Resources site.

6 VIII Adding Graphics (continued) Adding Graphics To add graphics to your message: 1. Place the cursor in the spot where you want to insert the photo. 2. On the Insert tab, select Picture. 3. Find the photo on your computer, click on the arrow next to the Insert button, and select Insert and Link (Figure 10). It s important to Insert and Link here, otherwise your photo will not be sent properly. Modifying Graphics To modify graphics in your e-newsletter, simply select the photo and click on the Format tab in your message (Figure 11). Figure 10. Select Insert and Link to make sure your photo will appear in your message. Figure 11. The Format tab in your message allows you to modify various aspects of your photo or graphic.