Quick Start: Emailing Elements

Emailing Elements are used to add content to the body of your email.

Click on an element and drag it onto the canvas. You can drag elements in any order and drop them anywhere to create an emailing formatted exactly as you want. Not that we expect anyone to hit this, but there is a limit of 255 elements in an email.

Managing Elements

• To drag an element to a different position, click and hold the “Drag” icon on the left side of the title bar, move the element to the new position and drop it (release the mouse button.) An element may contain multiple panels; they will all be moved.
• To edit an element, click the pencil icon on the right side of the title bar. The various options you will see are described below.
• To copy an element, click the Clipboard icon on the right side of the title bar. A copy of the current element will be created below.
• To delete an element, click the trash can icon the right side of the title bar. You will be prompted to confirm this action. Once deleted, an element and its contents cannot be recovered.

Text Elements

When you edit a text element, you will see a simplified version of our advanced Content Editor.

It includes all the necessary functions to format text, including styles, font, size, emphasis (bold, italic, underline), font color and background color, alignment, lists, indenting, case, horizontal rules, and links. It does include functions that are also handled by other elements. Click Save to save your changes and return to the editing canvas, or Cancel to close the dialog without saving.

Text Elements:

• 1 Column Text
• 2 Columns Text
• 3 Columns Text
• 2 Columns Text Right of Image
• 2 Columns Image above Text
• 2 Columns Text Left of Image
• "Hero" Section (photo above text)

Image Elements

Within ClubExpress, images can come from two locations: Photos (which can be uploaded by members and admins for use in Photo Albums), and Images (website graphics are stored internally for use on the Home and Custom Pages).

• Selecting Insert Photo allows you search for a photo previously uploaded using various criteria.
• Selecting Insert Image allows you to search for an image previously uploaded, based on filename, title, and/or folder. You can also upload a new image by clicking the Upload New File button.

When you select an image, it is inserted and resized automatically so that it fits reasonably within the emailing. You can make it smaller but you cannot make it larger than the specified size.

Once an image has been inserted, clicking the Edit icon displays the Image Properties Menu. This allows you to control image alignment and top margin, as well as the size and color of any border. Click Apply to apply your changes, or Cancel to close the dialog without applying changes.

Image Elements:

• 2 Columns Text Right of Image
• 2 Columns Image above Text
• 2 Columns Text Left of Image
• "Hero" Section (photo above text)
• Image
• Image Group (2 images side by side)

Combined Elements

Some Elements contain two or more spaces for content pre-combined vertically and/or horizontally.

Combined Elements:

• 2 Columns Text
• 3 Columns Text
• 2 Columns Text Right of Image
• 2 Columns Image above Text
• 2 Columns Text Left of Image
• "Hero" Section (photo above text)
• Image Group (2 images side by side)

Other Elements

• Divider: Add a Horizontal line to visually separate your other elements.
• Link or Button: Use the standard link builder dialog to create a link. Select the link type and additional options will appear. Select the link display type then specify text or an image as appropriate. Click Save to save your changes into the link element, or Cancel to close the dialog without saving.
• Social Media Links: This uses the links specified in the Social Media settings in the Control Panel. When you insert a social media panel and click the Edit icon, you can specify the size and alignment of the links.
• HTML: When you drag in an HTML section and click the Edit icon, you will see the full content editor with almost all of its options. (Only options not supported in emails have been removed.) You also have the ability to switch into HTML mode to build something as complex as you want.

The HTML rendering engine in most email programs is significantly less powerful than in your browser. This is by design, to block an email in your Inbox from delivering a malicious package to your computer. When you use the other elements, we ensure that the content you create will render properly in an email viewer. When you use the HTML Section element, you can build a very complex page but it may not display properly when it’s delivered to your recipients’ inboxes. This is not something we can help with; solving problems in this element is beyond the scope of free support.

• File Attachment: Use the File element to add an attachment to your email.
  • When you select Attach New Document, you will see the Add Document dialog from the Document Library module. Complete this dialog and click Save to upload it to your Document Library and create a link to that document in your emailing.

     

  • When you select Attach Existing Document, you can select a Document Library folder and document then click Save to create a link to that document in your emailing.

The file is not physically attached to each email. Rather, we create a link to the file stored in your document repository. This makes each email smaller and more efficient for us to send (especially if we’re sending out thousands of them) and more efficient for recipients to download. Only those people who want to actually read the document need to download it and even then, it’s still just one click.

• • Once a document is attached, select Properties to specify the alignment and icon used for the attachment link.