Creating and Editing Email Templates
Email templates are the reusable messages Aeon sends to researchers and staff — the confirmation that goes out when a request is approved, the notice that an appointment is scheduled, the activity reminder, and so on. Each template holds a subject line, addressing (To, CC, BCC, From, Reply-To), and a body, and any of those can pull live values out of your Aeon database using tags so a single template fits every message.
Most of the time you don't create templates from scratch. Aeon includes a set of system templates that cover the standard workflow, and day-to-day you'll just edit those — adjust the wording, swap in your library's signature, fix a From address. You only create a new template when you need a message Aeon doesn't already have one for, or when you want a variant of an existing one.
You manage all of this in the Customization Manager, under Integrations & Messaging → Email Templates (/customizations/email-templates).
- A standard message needs different wording, a new signature, or a corrected address — open the system template and edit it.
- You need a message Aeon doesn't ship — create a new template of the matching type.
- You want a near-copy of an existing template to tweak — copy it and save under a new name.
- You're retiring a message you created — delete the custom template.
The Email Templates screen
The screen has three regions:
| Region | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Left — template list | Two groups, System Templates and Custom Templates, each with a count badge. Click any template to open it. The New button sits at the top. |
| Center — editor | The selected template's details, addressing, body, and routing. Empty until you pick or start a template. |
| Right — Template Variables | The tags you can insert, grouped by category for the current template type. |
Every template has a Type: Transaction, User, Activity, or Appointment. The type controls which tags are available and which features show — for example, the Email Routing section only appears for Transaction templates. Choose the type that matches the kind of record the message is about.
Editing an existing template
- In the left list, click the template you want — say a Transaction template under System Templates. It opens in the center editor.
- Change whatever you need — the Subject, the Body, the addressing fields, the Description. When you've made an unsaved edit to the Body, its border turns amber so you can see at a glance that there's a change to save.
- To drop in a database value, place your cursor where you want it and insert a tag from the Template Variables panel (see Inserting tags below).
- Click Save in the editor's top-right corner. A confirmation toast reads Saved template "{name}".
Press Ctrl+S (Windows) or ⌘S (Mac) to save without reaching for the button. The Save button stays disabled until you've actually changed something, so you can't save an untouched template.
What you can and can't change on a system template
You can freely edit a system template's Description, Subject, addressing, and Body — that's the normal way to tailor Aeon's standard messages to your library. A few things are locked to protect the built-in set:
- The Name and Type can't be changed on a system template (the fields are read-only).
- A system template can't be deleted (the Delete action is disabled).
- The Email Routing queues are read-only on system templates — the section shows a Disabled badge with the note Routing settings are read-only for system templates.
The editor labels the open template under its title: System template (protected) or Custom template, so you always know which you're working with.
Copy it (below). The copy is a custom template, so its name, type, and routing are all editable and it can be deleted later.
Creating a new template
- Click New at the top of the left list. A short menu appears — Select template type — listing Transaction, User, Activity, and Appointment.
- Choose the type for your message. A blank editor opens, titled New Template.
- Fill in the Name (required, up to 50 characters) and complete the rest of the template:
- Description — an optional note describing the template's purpose (up to 255 characters).
- Subject — the email subject line.
- Recipient Name and Recipient Address — who the message goes to. These are usually filled with tags (for example, the researcher's name and email) rather than typed addresses.
- CC, BCC, From Address, Reply-To — additional addressing. New templates pre-fill From Address and Reply-To with your site's default sending address.
- Body — the message text, with tags wherever you want live data.
- For a Transaction template, optionally set Email Routing (see Email routing).
- Click Create. Aeon saves the template, shows Created template "{name}", and the new template appears under Custom Templates in the left list.
If you choose a name that already exists, Aeon refuses to create the template and tells you Email template '{name}' already exists. Pick a different name.
Copying a template
Copying is the fastest way to build a new template from one that's close to what you want — and the only way to get an editable, deletable version of a system template.
- Open the template you want to copy.
- Click the Actions menu (top-right of the editor) and choose Copy. You can also right-click the template in the left list and choose Copy.
- The editor switches to a new template named Copy of {original}, pre-filled with all the original's content. It's a custom template, so every field is editable.
- Change the Name to something meaningful, make your edits, and click Create.
Inserting database tags
Tags pull information straight from your Aeon database into the email so staff never have to type it by hand. A tag looks like <#Request.TransactionNumber> or <#User.FirstName> — when Aeon sends the message, it replaces the tag with the real value for that record. In the body, tags are shown in a distinct color so they're easy to spot.
To insert a tag:
- Click into the field or the Body where you want the value — the Template Variables panel inserts into whatever you last focused.
- In the Template Variables panel on the right, expand a category (for example, Request, User, Appointment, Billing) and find the tag you need.
- Click the tag to drop it at your cursor, or drag it onto the field. The panel's footer reminds you: Drag or click a tag to insert it into the focused field.
The categories you see depend on the template's Type. A few highlights:
- System and User tags are available to every template type.
- Request, Researcher, Queue, Photoduplication Queue, and Billing tags appear for Transaction templates.
- Activity tags appear for Activity templates; Appointment tags appear for Transaction and Appointment templates.
- If you've defined custom fields for users, requests, activities, or researchers, those appear in their own Custom Fields category.
The variable list is generated from your live database schema, so any custom fields you add show up automatically. If you've just added a field and don't see its tag, click the refresh icon at the top of the Template Variables panel to reload the list.
Email routing (Transaction templates only)
For Transaction templates, the Email Routing section lets a message double as a workflow step: when a request reaches a given status, Aeon can route it to a queue. Set the Transaction Queue and/or Photoduplication Queue here — each is a dropdown that defaults to [Select a Queue] (no routing). This section is hidden for non-Transaction types and read-only on system templates.
Deleting a template
You can delete templates you created. System templates can't be deleted.
- Open the custom template you want to remove.
- Click the Actions menu and choose Delete (or right-click the template in the left list and choose Delete).
- Aeon removes the template and confirms with Deleted template "{name}".
The Delete action is disabled for system templates. If you try to delete one anyway (for example, from the list's right-click menu), Aeon stops you with Cannot delete system templates. Copy it instead if you need a version you can remove.
Unsaved changes
If you've edited a template and then try to switch to a different one — or start a new one — without saving, Aeon protects your work with a Discard unsaved changes? dialog (You have unsaved changes. Switching templates will discard them.). Choose Stay here to go back and save, or Discard & continue to drop the edits and move on.
- Ctrl+S / ⌘S — save (or create) the current template.
- Alt+A — open the Actions menu (Copy, Delete).
- F6 / Shift+F6 — move focus between the three panels (list, editor, variables).
Anyone signed in can open the Email Templates screen and read templates. Creating, editing, copying, and deleting templates requires the Integrations & Messaging configuration permission in the Customization Manager. Without it, the save and delete operations are blocked at the server. Ask your Aeon administrator if you need access.
A few things an SME should confirm on this page:
- Permission wording: the code gates create/update/delete on the Integrations config capability group (shown in the Customization Manager as Integrations & Messaging). Confirm that's the right name to give customers, and whether the UI hides/disables the editor for users who lack it (the gate is enforced server-side; front-end behavior for read-only users wasn't verified here).
- "Email routing as a workflow step": confirm the framing — routing a Transaction template to a queue when a request hits a status. This is described from the field labels/help text; verify it matches how routing actually behaves end to end.
- Screenshots needed: (1) the full three-pane Email Templates screen; (2) the Template Variables panel expanded with a tag being inserted; (3) the Email Routing section on a Transaction template.
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