> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.autocampaign.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Templates

> Build reusable SMS, email, and WhatsApp templates, design emails with drag-and-drop blocks, and manage the images and attachments your messages use.

## Overview

[Templates](/getting-started/glossary#template) are messages you write once and
reuse in campaigns, sequences, the Inbox, and join links. Find them under
**Marketing → Campaigns → Templates** in the sidebar (`/templates`). The page has
four tabs, each with its own URL.

<Tip>
  **In short:** 1) Write a text template with merge tags. 2) Design an email in
  the drag-and-drop builder. 3) Reuse them in campaigns, sequences, and the Inbox.
</Tip>

| Tab          | Route                 | What it holds                                                                                    |
| ------------ | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **SMS**      | `/templates/sms`      | Text templates with merge tags (placeholders that fill in contact details) and a segment counter |
| **Email**    | `/templates/email`    | Designed emails built in the drag-and-drop builder                                               |
| **WhatsApp** | `/templates/whatsapp` | Templates you submit for WhatsApp approval                                                       |
| **Library**  | `/templates/library`  | Curated starters — see [Template Library](/campaigns/template-library)                           |

<Info>
  **Time to complete:** \~15 minutes  ·  **Difficulty:** Beginner (SMS) to Intermediate (email builder)  ·  Each tab
  shows only if your role lets you view that template type. Opening
  `/templates` lands you on the **Library** tab when you can see it, otherwise SMS.
</Info>

<Note>
  Templates moved out of Settings. Old bookmarks to `/settings/templates` or
  `/settings/sms-templates` redirect to the new location.
</Note>

## Before you start

* To send test emails from the builder you need a verified sender (an email
  address you've proven you own) — see [Email senders](/providers/email-senders).
* You can draft WhatsApp templates any time, but submitting them for approval needs
  a connected WhatsApp channel — see [WhatsApp](/channels/whatsapp).
* Built-in **System** templates can't be changed directly. Editing one saves an
  editable copy to your workspace and leaves the original untouched.

## Create an SMS template

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the SMS tab" icon="message">
    Go to **Templates → SMS** and click **Create template**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the details" icon="pen">
    | Field             | Required | Notes                                                                           |
    | ----------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Template name** | Yes      | Up to 150 characters                                                            |
    | **Description**   | No       | Internal notes (up to 500 characters), never sent                               |
    | **Category**      | Yes      | Marketing, Transactional, Welcome, Reminder, Promotional, Notification, General |
    | **Tags**          | No       | Organize your library with [tags](/contacts/tags)                               |
    | **Message body**  | Yes      | Up to 1,600 characters, merge tags supported                                    |
  </Step>

  <Step title="Personalize with merge tags" icon="code">
    Click **Insert variable** to add a tag such as `{{first_name}}`. The footer shows
    **N variable(s) · N characters · N segment(s)**, and **Preview** shows the
    message with sample values, so you see what a recipient sees.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save" icon="floppy-disk">
    Click **Create template**. Your template appears in the grid, where you can search
    it or filter by **Category**, **Status**, and **Favorites only**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Available merge tags

Templates support 12 contact merge tags and 4 organization merge tags:

* **Contact:** `first_name`, `last_name`, `full_name`, `phone`, `email`,
  `street_address`, `address_line_2`, `city`, `state`, `postal_code`, `country`,
  `full_address`
* **Organization:** `organization_name`, `organization_phone`,
  `organization_email`, `organization_website`

<Tip>
  Add a fallback for empty values: `{{first_name|"there"}}` sends "there" when the
  contact has no first name.
</Tip>

### How the character and segment counter works

The counter knows how your text will be encoded (the technical format carriers
use). Plain text sends as GSM-7, which fits 160 characters in one segment, or 153
per segment when a longer message is split. One emoji or other special character
switches the whole message to UCS-2, which fits only 70 per segment (67 when
split). So a "short" message with an emoji can cost two segments.

### Manage SMS templates

From a template card's menu: **Edit**, **Duplicate**, **Preview**, **Use in
campaign**, **Use in Inbox**, **Archive** or **Restore**, and **Delete**. Templates
are **Active** or **Archived**. Deleting a template doesn't change campaigns that
already use it. Click the star to add a template to favorites.

## Create an email template

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a template" icon="envelope">
    Go to **Templates → Email** and click **New template**. Enter a **Template name**
    and pick a **Category** (Marketing, Newsletter, Promotional, Announcement,
    Transactional, Welcome, Event, General). Then choose **Start from**: **Blank**,
    **Template** (a starter gallery of system and active templates), **Copy
    existing**, or **From Library** (see [Template Library](/campaigns/template-library)).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Design in the builder" icon="pen-ruler">
    The builder opens at `/email-templates/:id/builder`. Add a layout first
    (**1 column**, **2 columns**, or **3 columns**). Then drag blocks from the
    **Blocks** panel: **Text**, **Heading**, **Image**, **Button**, **Divider**,
    **Spacer**, **Social**, **Header**, **Footer**, **Menu**, **Columns**, and
    **Custom HTML** (for web code your designer supplies). Presets (**Hero**,
    **Image + Text**, **3 Features**) drop in a ready-made section. Double-click
    text to edit it in place and use **Merge tags** to personalize. The **Theme**
    panel sets colors, font family, container width, and button style; the
    **Layers** tab shows the structure.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Preview and test" icon="eye">
    Click **Preview** to check **Desktop**, **Tablet**, and **Mobile** views, with
    a **Dark mode** toggle. Click **Send test**, choose **Send from** (a verified
    sender) and **Send to**, then **Send test** to email a copy to yourself or a
    teammate.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Publish" icon="paper-plane">
    Changes save automatically about 1.5 seconds after you stop editing (the top
    bar shows **Saved**, **Unsaved changes**, or **Saving…**). Click **Done** to
    return. New templates are **Draft**; choose **Publish** from the template's
    menu to make it **Active** — only Active templates appear in campaign pickers.
  </Step>
</Steps>

**Export HTML** copies or downloads the finished email code (HTML), built to
display correctly in email apps. Use **Undo** and **Redo** to step through edits.
A design can hold up to 60 rows and 200 blocks (30 per column).

<Note>
  The email builder needs a wide window. On small screens you can still manage
  templates from the list, but the canvas doesn't open.
</Note>

## WhatsApp templates

The **WhatsApp** tab lists your WhatsApp templates by status (**All**, **Approved**,
**Pending**, **Rejected**, **Draft**). Click **Create template** to walk through
**Purpose** → **Editor** → **Review**, then **Save draft** or **Submit for review**.
Use **Sync status** to pull the latest review decisions. **Personalize** inserts the
12 contact merge tags in the message body only — the header, footer, and buttons must
be fixed text. Only **Draft** and **Rejected** templates can be edited. See
[WhatsApp](/channels/whatsapp) for setup, approval, and sending rules.

## Use templates elsewhere

* **Campaigns** — click **Use in campaign** on an SMS template, or choose a designed
  email under **My templates** in the campaign composer. See
  [Campaigns](/campaigns/overview) and [Sequences](/campaigns/sequences).
* **Inbox** — click **Use in Inbox** on a card, or open **Templates** in the reply
  composer. For short, plain replies use [quick messages](/campaigns/quick-messages).
* **Join links** — the **SMS Template** people send and the **Welcome Template** they
  receive. See [Join links](/campaigns/join-links).
* **Workflows** — send-message steps. See [Workflow builder](/automation/workflow-builder).

## Media library

Images and attachments live in a workspace media library that you reach from the
places that use them — there's no separate media page.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add an image to an email" icon="image">
    In the builder, double-click an **Image** block (or click **Replace** in its
    settings, or set a **Header** logo). The **Media library** dialog opens with
    **Browse** and **Upload** tabs. Search images by file name or drag a file onto
    **Drag an image here, or click to browse**. PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WEBP up to 5 MB.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attach files to a text message" icon="paperclip">
    In SMS composers (campaigns, sequences, workflows, polls, Inbox) click **Attach
    file**. Attachments turn the message into MMS (a text with a picture or file
    attached). Each file must be under 600 KB — the size every phone carrier
    accepts — and a message carries at most 10 attachments. Images (JPEG, PNG,
    GIF), short MP4 or 3GP clips, MP3 or AMR audio, PDFs, and calendar files are
    accepted. **Attach contact card** adds your organization's vCard (a digital
    business card) from **Settings → Organization**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Every upload gets a permanent web link that can't be guessed. Email apps and phone
carriers load the file from that link when your message is delivered — even days
after you schedule it. Lead forms and the chat widget offer **Upload** or **Image
URL** for logos and backgrounds.

<Note>
  Uploads can't be deleted from the app today, and there's no alt-text or folder
  organization in the library — set **Alt text** on the email Image block itself.
</Note>

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I edit a System template?">
    Not directly. Open it and click **Save as copy** (SMS) or make your first edit in
    the builder (email). A copy named "… (copy)" is added to your library and the
    original stays unchanged.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why doesn't my email template show up in the campaign composer?">
    Only **Active** templates are listed. Publish the draft from its menu, or restore
    it if it's archived.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use custom fields in a template?">
    No — only the 16 merge tags above. See [Custom fields](/contacts/custom-fields).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why did WEBP work in email but not as an attachment?">
    WEBP is accepted in the email image library but carriers don't deliver it over
    MMS. Convert to PNG or JPEG for text messages.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why is Send test greyed out or showing 'No verified email senders'?">
    Add and verify a sender first. See [Email senders](/providers/email-senders).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does the builder say 'Template changed elsewhere'?">
    Someone else saved this template while you had it open. Click **Reload** to
    continue from the latest version.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why was my upload rejected when the file looked fine?">
    We check the file's actual contents, not just its name ending (such as .png).
    Re-export the file in a supported format and confirm it's under the size limit
    shown in the dialog.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Card title="Browse the Template Library" icon="store" href="/campaigns/template-library">
  Start from curated campaign, email, sequence, form, and automation templates.
</Card>