Managing an Organization Account (admins only)
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      3. Managing an Organization Account (admins only)

      Creating and Managing Message Templates and Categories

      Note: Only admin users can create and update templates. If you are setting up your portal and need to input a large number of templates reach out to support@nextrequest.com and we can upload them for you.

      You can create templates for responses that your users will send on a regular basis. Templates are a digital version of a form letter and can help save you time when responding to requests. There are two categories of templates that you can create:

      • Response templates: these are templates for sending a message either to the requester or internally while the request is being worked on
      • Closure responses: these are templates for telling the requester why and how their request is being closed. The closure response template includes both the reason the response was closed and the text explaining this to the requester. You can include the closure reason in reports to track what percentage of requests are being closed for each reason.

      This document covers creating, updating, and deactivating both response templates and closure responses. Click on any of the links to jump to that section:

      For information about using a response template to respond to a request click here.

      For information about using a closure response when closing out a request click here.

      How to create a message template

      A message template can be created in the admin section or from a request response.

      Steps for creating a response template in the admin section

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click All Templates in the sub-header
      4. Click Message Templates
      5. Click the CREATE TEMPLATE button
      6. Enter the Name and Template Text for the template
        • Note: the text of a template that is selected (after any edits) will appear in the request timeline and will be visible to requesters and any staff who have access to the request. The name of the template is only visible in the template list and will not appear in the request timeline.
      7. Click the SAVE button

      Steps for creating a message template from a request response

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Open a request
      3. Click the envelope icon (envelope_icon.png) to create a new external message
      4. Click the Insert Template link at the bottom of the message window
      5. Select the +NEW option at the bottom of the list of templates
      6. Enter the Name and Template Text for the template
        • Note: the text of a template that is selected (after any edits) will appear in the request timeline and will be visible to requesters and any staff who have access to the request. The name of the template is only visible in the template list and will not appear in the request timeline.
      7. Click the SAVE button

      How to edit a message template

      A message template can be edited in the admin section or from a request response.

      Steps for editing a response template in the admin section

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click All Templates in the sub-header
      4. Click Message Templates
      5. Click the Edit icon () next to the template you want to edit
      6. Make any edits to the Name and Template text of the template
      7. Click the SAVE button

      Steps for editing a message template from a request response

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Open a request
      3. Click the envelope icon (envelope_icon.png) to create a new external message
      4. Click the Insert Template link at the bottom of the message window
      5. Select the EDIT option at the bottom of the list of templates
      6. Click the Edit icon () next to the template you want to edit
      7. Make any edits to the Name and Template text of the template
      8. Click the SAVE button

      How to deactivate a message template

      Steps for deactivating a response template

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click All Templates in the sub-header
      4. Click Message Templates
      5. Click the deactivate button () next to the template you want to deactivate
      6. Click OK

      Things to know:

      • To show deactivated templates, click the toggle right below the search field
      • A template that has been selected as the Initial Response template cannot be deactivated
      • Deactivated templates cannot be edited. If you need to edit a deactivated template (for example to free up the name), first reactivate the item, then deactivate it again when you are done editing

      How to create categories for your templates

      If your portal has a large amount of templates, categories will help you organize them into customizable groups. The best part is, categories are just the beginning of a larger project we're working on to allow you to see the categories when you select a template on a request and later will appear in reports.

      When you click on the Templates subheader, you'll now see two tabs - one for the templates and one for the categories.

      Steps for adding a category:

      1. Log into the portal
      2. Click the Admin tab
      3. Click the subheader for All Templates
      4. Click the Categories tab
      5. Click Create Category on the right
      6. Enter your category's name and (optional) description
      7. Select any pre-existing templates that you'd like to put into this category
      8. Click SAVE

      How to edit a category

      You can edit categories by clicking the pencil icon in line with the category.

      Steps for editing a category:

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click All Templates in the sub-header
      4. Click Message Templates
      5. Click the categories tab
      6. Click the Edit icon () next to the template category you want to edit
      7. Make any edits to the Name and text of the category
      8. Click the SAVE button

      How to delete a category:

      Unlike templates and other features in the admin panel, categories can be deleted instead of deactivated.

      Steps to delete a category:

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click All Templates in the sub-header
      4. Click Message Templates
      5. Click the Categories tab
      6. Click the trash can icon next to the edit icon
      7. Click the deactivate button next to the template you want to deactivate
      8. Click OK

      How to create an initial response template

      You can now add your own customized text to the email notifying the requester that their request was created. This initial response template can be used to inform the requester about when they can expect their documents, possible fees, or any other information you think is important.

      Steps for creating an initial response template

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click All Templates in the sub-header
      4. Click Message Templates
      5. Click the CREATE TEMPLATE button
      6. Enter the Name and Template Text for the initial response template
      7. Click SAVE
      8. Select the message template you wish to use for your initial response by clicking the radio button in the Initial Response column in the list of templates. (When you select the template you will have the option of sending an copy of the email to yourself to see how it looks. You can also click on a template name on the list at any point to pull up the template detail page where you can generate a preview email.)

      Important to note: If you don't want to include any custom text in the request created notification email, don't select any template in the Initial Contact column. If no template is selected then the regular request created email will be sent.

      How to create a closure response

      Steps for creating a closure response

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click the All Templates link in the sub-header
      4. Click Closure Responses
      5. Click the CREATE CLOSURE RESPONSE button
      6. Enter the Name and Closure Response Text for the closure response
        • Note: The text of a closure response that is added to a request (after any edits) will be visible to everyone who has access to the request. This means that if the request is public the closure response text will also be visible to the public. The name of the closure response will not appear on the request page, only in the internal list of closure responses. If you would like to display a summary title, it should be added at the beginning of the closure response text.
      7. Click the SAVE button

      How to edit a closure response

      Steps for editing a closure response

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click the All Templates link in the sub-header
      4. Click Closure Responses
      5. Click the Edit icon () next to the closure response you want to edit
      6. Make any edits to the Name and Closure Response Text of the closure response
      7. Click the SAVE button

      How to deactivate a closure response

      Steps for deactivating a closure response

      1. Sign in to your account
      2. Click the ADMIN link in the header
      3. Click the All Templates link in the sub-header
      4. Click Closure Responses
      5. Click the Archive icon () next to the closure response you want to delete
      6. Click OK