Siebel Communications Server Administration Guide > Configuring Communications Templates > Fields for Template Items >

Template Item Form

The following options are specified in the Template Item form.

Template Item Commands

The following fields are grouped under Template Item Commands:

• Substitute Values. Check this option to enable value substitution for the template item. For more information, see the descriptions for the Available Fields list and for the Iteration Child Business Component field.
• Message Body. Check this option to specify that the template item's content should be used in the message body of the template's message.

  Multiple plain-text or HTML template items marked for the message body will be concatenated into a single message body for each of these types, in the sequence determined by their sequence numbers. See also the description for the Sequence field, earlier in this section.

  NOTE:  For a fax template, specify HTML template items as attachments only. Do not specify HTML template items for the message body.

  If a template item is used as part of the message body, it must be either a plain-text or HTML file. Communications Outbound Manager uses the file extension to distinguish whether a template item's file is in HTML format. Any file with an extension containing "htm" (such as .htm, .html, or .shtml) is treated as an HTML file.

  The setting of the HTML Template check box also determines how HTML template items are handled. For details, see Fields for Templates.

  A file or literature item, for which values will be substituted using business component fields, can be specified for the message body or specified as an attachment. (When specified for the message body, files or literature items can be plain-text or HTML files only; other file types are not supported and may produce unacceptable results.)

  If Message Body is not checked, the current template item will be an attachment to the message, using the label you specify in the Attachment Label field.

  For templates of channel type Fax, any template items not specified for the message body are subject to what is supported by the sending fax server. Some fax servers support certain types of attachments only; some may not support any attachments.

  For templates of channel type Wireless Messaging, any template items not specified for the message body are ignored.

  For templates of channel type Pager, any template that has one or more template items that are not specified for the message body will not be sent.

Pick Available Substitutions

The following fields are grouped under Pick Available Substitutions:

• Iteration Child Business Component. Select the name of a business component from which you want to include record data.

  The available business components you can specify are direct children of the recipient source business object that was specified by the Recipient Group.

  NOTE:  Within the source business object, any business component that you want to be able to specify in the Iteration Child Business Component field must have a link in which the parent business component is the primary business component on the business object.

  If Substitute Values is checked and you specify a child business component, the template item is appended to the message body or attachment once for each record in the child business component, in iterative fashion. Business component field values are substituted for each record.

  A template item can include fields from the child business component for which values will be substituted. The Template Item form displays the available substitutions.

  For example, if you are targeting a template to Account Team Members, and you want to include a list of opportunities for the account, you can choose Opportunity as the iteration child business component for a template item.

  If the file or literature item for this template item includes any of the field names shown in the Available Fields list, then values for these fields, for all opportunities that are children of the account, are included in the message body or attachment. In this example, values for opportunity name and expected revenue figures may be substituted.

• Available Fields. Displays the business component fields that are valid for substitution. You can use the Available Fields list for reference, or copy and paste such fields into a template file or literature item that you use for the template item.

  The fields in the Available Fields list are from one of the following:

  • The recipient business component specified by the Recipient Group (such as Contact, for Account Contacts), or the primary business component in the recipient source business object (such as Account, for Account Contacts). Fields for the primary business component are prefaced by the business component name, followed by a period. These business component fields are displayed in the Available Fields list if the Iteration Child Business Component field is empty.
  • The business component specified in the Iteration Child Business Component field representing a child (such as Account Note) of the recipient source business object (such as Account). Fields for the iteration child business component are prefaced by the business component name, followed by a period.

    All substitution fields must be enclosed within brackets ([ ]) in the template item's file or literature item.

    For example:

  • Available substitution fields for the Account recipient group (for a simple template) include [Account.Name], [Account.Last Name], [Account.Location], and so on, from the Account business component, which is the primary business component for the Account business object.
  • Available substitution fields for the Account Contacts recipient group (advanced template) include:
    • [Last Name], [City] and so on, from the Contact business component
    • [Account.Name], [Account.Last Name], [Account.Location], and so on, from the Account business component
  • Available substitution fields for the Account Note iteration child business component include [Note], [Note Type], and so on, from the Note business component.

    NOTE:  For an HTML template (HTML text in the Text field) or an HTML template item, make sure that the enclosing brackets and text of any substitution field text do not include any tagging changes. For example, do not change from bold to regular text within the enclosing brackets of a substitution field. Doing so may prevent proper data substitution.

    If your template must contain a literal bracket character ([ or ]), insert a backslash character (\) before the bracket to "escape" the bracket character, so it will be correctly interpreted.

    NOTE:  If a substitution field is not enclosed in brackets, or if some other notation is used, such as enclosing the field name within percentage characters (%), then Communications Outbound Manager cannot perform substitution for the field.