Advanced Email Editor

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Using the Advanced Editor

The Advanced Editor is a visual, drag-and-drop email designer. Instead of typing into a single text box (as you would in the Classic Editor), you build your message by dragging content blocks onto the canvas and arranging them into rows and columns. This lets you create polished, multi-column emails and newsletters with images, buttons, and dynamic content — no HTML knowledge required.

Getting to the Advanced Editor

From the Broadcast Messages list page, click New Advanced Message/Newsletter. After you fill in the basic details (From name/email, reply-to, subject) and choose a starting template, click Continue to launch the editor. The Advanced Editor must be enabled for your organization for this option to appear.

For more on choosing a starting layout, see the Broadcast Email Templates article; for organizing published newsletters, see Advanced Editor Categories.

The Editor Layout

The editor opens with a toolbar on the right side, and your message canvas beside it. You design your message by dragging content blocks (text, images, buttons, dividers, social icons, and more) into rows on the canvas, then editing each block in place. Clicking a block reveals its formatting options.

• Empty and pre-built rows — Start a row from scratch, or drop in a ready-made row structure and fill it with content.
• Custom fonts — In addition to the standard web-safe fonts, several custom fonts are available for styling your text.

Top Toolbar Buttons

• Back — Returns you to the Broadcast Messages list. You'll be warned first, because any unsaved changes will be lost.
• Preview — Opens a preview of your message so you can see how it will look to recipients, including on different screen sizes.
• Show/Hide Structure — Toggles an outline view of your rows and columns, which makes it easier to see and adjust your layout.
• Save as Template — Saves your current design as a reusable Advanced Editor Template, so you can start future messages from it. You'll be prompted to give the template a name.
• AI Text — Opens an assistant that can generate text for you (only available if AI features are enabled for your organization). See Using AI Text below.
• Save — Saves your work without leaving the editor.
• Save and Continue — Saves your work and moves on to the next step (choosing recipients).

Saving and Autosave

Your message saves automatically every 60 seconds, and a brief "Auto-saved!" notice appears when it does. You can also save manually at any time with the Save button.

⚠️ Important: Only edit a message in one browser tab at a time. Each open editor tab holds its own copy of the message and autosaves it every 60 seconds. If you leave the same message open in a second tab, that older tab can autosave its stale copy over the edits you just made in another tab — overwriting your newer work. Before opening a message in a new tab, close any other tab that has it open.

Note that the undo and history options in the bottom-left corner of the editor are limited to your current editing session — they won't reach back to changes made in an earlier session.

Personalizing Your Message (Merge Tags)

Merge tags let you insert information that is filled in individually for each recipient when the email is sent. You'll find them in the editor's merge-tag menu when editing a text block. Available tags include your organization's standard replacement keys, plus broadcast-specific tags such as:

• Salutation (e.g., "Dear ")
• Join/Renew Blurb — Inserts your configured join/renewal link block.
• Standard Footer — Inserts the standard system footer content.
• Preheader — Preview text shown after the subject line in many email clients (available when the preheader option is enabled).
• QR Code — Inserts a member-specific QR code.

Special Links

When adding a link to a button or text, the editor offers a set of special links in addition to ordinary web addresses, including:

• Unsubscribe — The recipient's unsubscribe link.
• Event Registration — A direct registration link for any of your active events.
• Calendar Invitations — Links to upcoming calendar events (where enabled).

Adding Dynamic Content (Rows by Query)

The Advanced Editor can pull in live content from your site so you don't have to copy it in by hand. When adding a row, look for the dynamic content options (including Add Rows by Query). Depending on your organization's features, these can automatically build rows from data such as:

• Upcoming calendar events (various date ranges and one- or two-column layouts)
• Event registrations
• Classified ads / job listings
• New and renewed members (optionally grouped by member type)
• News items and community posts

This content is generated from your current data at the time the row is added, so it reflects what's live on your site.

Using AI Text

If AI features are enabled for your organization, the AI Text button opens a dialog where you can describe what you want written and click Generate. When you're happy with the result, click Copy to Clipboard and Close, then paste (Ctrl+V) the text into a text block in your message. If AI is not enabled, the button will let you know and point you to more information.

The Required Footer Tag (Do Not Remove)

The standard templates include a special footer placeholder, ##CANSPAM_FOOTER_DO_NOT_REMOVE## , usually sitting in a small text block near the bottom of the message. As its name says, do not delete it.

When your message is sent, this tag is automatically replaced with your required footer content — the unsubscribe link, open-rate tracking, and sender information mandated by the CAN-SPAM Act. Although it looks like plain placeholder text in the editor, it becomes a complete, compliant footer for every recipient.

⚠️ Important: Your message must contain this footer. If you remove ##CANSPAM_FOOTER_DO_NOT_REMOVE## the system may block the message from being sent and show a compliance error. Leaving the footer in place keeps you compliant with the law and gives your emails the best chance of reaching the inbox rather than the spam folder.

Finishing Your Message

When your design is ready, click Save and Continue to move on to selecting recipients, reviewing, and sending. You can always return to the editor later to make further changes before the message is sent.