You can select from two methods to generate transactional messages: templates and pre-assembled HTML messages.

Create a Transact email template

Create a template within Transact to deliver only the personalized elements for each dynamic field within the message. Submit a recipient data file and the content for each personalized field within the template, and your message is assembled and delivered.

Note: This type of message construction is best suited for receipts with consistent layouts and structures.

1. Go to Emails > Create > Email.
2. Click Email name and name your email.
3. Click Settings and complete the header and body settings for a send.
4. Select Subject line and enter %%SUBJECT%% for the subject of the incoming message to be reused as the subject of the out-going message. Enter a static subject to overwrite the subject line of the incoming message.
5. Select Address settings.
   1. In From name, enter %%FROM_NAME%% for the name to be pulled from the incoming message header.
   2. In From address, enter %%FROM_ADDRESS%% for the address to be pulled from the incoming message.
   3. In Reply to address, enter %%REPLY_ADDRESS%% to pull the address from the incoming message.
6. Click Contacts and select your Transact enabled database.
7. Select Email settings, disable Insert 'Click to view in browser' link at top of this email. Transact SMTP does not support this feature.
8. Click Save.

If you have complex business rules or existing in-house systems, you can deliver the entire, pre-assembled HTML body for each message. This type of message construction offers flexibility. You can use internal rule engines to assemble each message with as much personalization as you want.

Note: Pre-assembled message body transactional emails are most appropriate for itineraries that require completely personalized content for each message sent.

Limitations for Transact email templates

Keep in mind the following limitations when you add content to transactional emails:

• Multiple body types (MIME format) are not sent. Only the body type that is designated in the XML Submit document is sent.
• If you want to send text emails and HTML emails, you must create separate email templates and separate automated messages for the different types of emails. However, you can use the same database for either email type.
• To compose by using HTML, you can paste the HTML code into the form, or you can upload a file from your computer (click the Import HTML button). You can also include links in the form, if they are in proper HTML format.
• You can add links in the XML CDATA code. When you click Save, the links are converted to a Transact-compatible link. To edit the link, click the Hyperlinks tab to display the form for editing.
• You cannot use social network share data.
• You cannot use relational table data.

Create an Transact message group and assign the template

1. Go to Automation > Automated message groups in the Campaign menu.
2. On the View groups of automated messages page, click Create button.
3. Type in a name to your group and add notes (optional).
4. Add a contact source by clicking the Select button and choosing a database, contact list or query from the modal. Click Select to confirm.
5. In the Event trigger section, select Transact.
6. Click Save & activate or Save draft if you want to edit the automated message group later. You will be taken to an Active or Drafts tab on the View groups of automated messages page.

   Note: After you click Save & activate, it will not be possible to edit the automated message group in the future.

7. Go to Emails > Emails and templates and click your email template.
8. Click Automate on the upper right menu.
9. Check Assign email to existing group of automated messages and select your Transact message group from the drop-down list.
10. Under Upon assignment, save email, select Active.
11. Click Submit and then click Automate.
12. Return to your Message Group and confirm that it is active. If it's in the Pending tab, select the check box next to it and click Activate.

Change an email template in a Transact message group

You can assign a different email template to a transactional message group without creating a new transactional message group or database.

Note: Do not cancel the transactional message group or the database.

The benefit of assigning a different email template is that you can make temporary changes, such as temporarily adding a special notice, or using several forms of advertising, but with different vendors, without altering your organization system email.

Tip: To eliminate transactional message group downtime, create a new email or update the existing template and assign it as Pending. Then, in the Transactional Messages area, set the new one as Active.

To change to a different email template, first create a new email template. When your template is complete, do the following:

1. In the email template editor, click Automate.
2. If needed, edit header information or attach a suppression list.
3. Enable Assign email to existing group of automated messages.
4. Select your Transact group from the drop-down menu.
5. Assign the email as Pending.
6. Click Submit.
7. Review the Summary page.
8. Click Automate when done.
9. Return to your Transact group.
10. In the Active tab, check the box next to the email that is to be replaced and click Cancel.
11. In the Pending tab, check the box next to your replacement email and click Activate.

Your replacement email is now assigned to the Transact group and will deploy when triggered.

Update a template in an automated message group for use in Transact

When you make changes to an email template for a message group, the changes are not automatically applied. You need to cancel the existing message template, and then re-assign the template to the message group for the changes to become live.

To activate your changed template, complete the following steps.

1. Go to Automation > Automated messages groups > View groups of automated messages.
2. On the Active tab, select the automated message group where the template is located.
3. Select the template and click Cancel and then confirm your selection.
4. The template moves to the Completed/Canceled tab.
5. Return to your updated email template, and click Automate.
6. Check Assign email to existing group of automated messages and select your message group from the drop-down list.
7. To activate the template immediately, select Active in the Upon assignment, save email as field.
8. Click Submit and then Automate.
9. Return to your Message Group and confirm that it is active. If it's in the Pending tab, click the check box next to it and click Activate.

Customize transactional XML templates

The developer center that is dedicated to allowing developers to customize offerings. You can find the latest information in the transactional messaging developer center.

The following list is a few of the available resources:

• Tutorials with sample code
• Documentation to help you get started
• Events to keep you in the loop on the latest innovations
• Developer center answers to ask questions of experts

In the developer center, you can also share information, interact with developers, try code samples, ask questions, and provide feedback.

Transactional messages and dynamic content

Dynamic content that uses rulesets to show different content based on rules and database values is not available in transactional messaging.

Instead, you can use XML code to make your content dynamic. To dynamically change the content of each contact's email, place the message content in the XML Submit document CDATA. For standardized messages, put the message in the template and create multiple templates with multiple messages.