Setting up Collaborate Email Templates

Customise your Email Templates to easily share links to the New Collaborate site, allowing clients to view and upload documents. 

Note: Email Templates can only be created and maintained by an FYI Admin or a user in a User Group with Permissions enabled for Templates. Refer to Managing User Groups

Creating an Email Template

There are two types of Email Templates required for New Collaborate. Examples of these emails are provided below.

• Default Email Template - used when sharing documents as attachments. This is the email template that will be selected as the default in the New Collaborate settings during the setup of the site.
   
• Inviting clients - should be sent to the client when first adding them to the New Collaborate SharePoint site. Ensure the merge fields for the Site Link and Upload Folder are included in the template.

For instructions on creating Email Templates, refer to Creating Email Templates and Signatures.

To select the new Template as your default when sharing documents using New Collaborate, refer to Configuring your Client Collaborate Settings.

Merge Fields

To send links to documents and the client folders on New Collaborate sites, you'll need to add the following Merge Fields to your email templates.

The format used to display the links will depend on the Personalised Links option in the Collaborate app:

• Enabled - If the Personalised Links option is set to "Yes", a login hint will be appended to the end of the URL to automatically select the relevant user's account. For emails sent to multiple recipients, separate links will be displayed for each recipient listed in the To field.
• Disabled - If set to "No", a single link will be displayed for each document or folder for all recipients.

Refer to Including Merge Fields in Email Templates and Signatures.

The link will be created for either the default Client Collaborate site or the dedicated Client Secured Collaborate site as configured for the client.

Example Email Templates

To view examples of the Merge Fields used in email templates, and how the Merge Fields are displayed when sent to the client, click on the relevant section heading below.

Collaborate Site Link and Upload Link

The following example includes the Merge Fields for the Collaborate Site Link and Upload Folder Link, sent to a client when first introducing them to New Collaborate. 

The layout of the email will vary depending on whether the Personalised Links option has been enabled in the Collaborate app.

Personalised On Personalised Off

When the Personalised Link option is set to "Yes", links will be personalised for each recipient to automatically select the account when accessing the site. For emails sent to multiple recipients, separate links will be displayed for each recipient.

It's recommended to use separate templates for single and multiple recipients.

Note: Links will not be generated for users added as a CC on the email. 

Single Recipient

Below is an example Email Template used to send links to a single recipient.

When the email is sent, each Merge Field will be displayed as a single link:

Multiple Recipients

Below is an example Email Template used to send links to multiple recipients.

Each Merge Field will be displayed in a list with a separate link for each recipient. To access the site, each recipient should click on the links following their name. 

When the Personalised Link option is set to "No", links will not be personalised for each recipient. Merge Fields will be displayed as a single link in the email.

When the email is sent, Merge Fields will be displayed as links with the text "Click Here".

Document Attachment Links

The following example includes the Merge Field for Attachment Links, sent to a client when sharing documents using New Collaborate.

The layout of the email will vary depending on whether the Personalised Links option has been enabled in the Collaborate app.

Personalised On Personalised Off

When the Personalised Link option is set to "Yes", links will be personalised for each recipient to automatically select the account when accessing documents. 

For emails sent to multiple recipients, separate links will be displayed for each recipient. It's recommended to use separate templates for single and multiple recipients.

Note: Links will not be generated for users added as a CC on the email. 

Single Recipient

Below is an example Email Template used to send links to a single recipient.

When the email is sent, the URLs will be personalised to automatically select the recipient's account when logging in. 

Multiple Recipients

Below is an example Email Template used to send links to multiple recipients.

When the email is sent, separate attachment links will be created for each recipient. To access the files, recipients should click on the links following their name. 

When the Personalised Link option is set to "No", links will not be personalised for each recipient. 

When the email is sent, attachment links will be displayed in a single list.

Sample Email Templates

Individual Email Templates

We have drafted sample emails that outline the process for clients, which can be used as a draft for your client communication.

• Sample Email for Practices - Introducing Collaborate
• Sample Email for Practices - Introducing Shared Folders

This information can be set up as Email Templates or as a PDF to include as an attachment in the email that you send, either before or when you share a document. Refer to Creating Email Templates and Signatures

Note: If your practice has enabled the Retain Uploads option in the Collaborate - Client App settings, you will need to update the information in the sample email to advise that files will be moved to the Processed folder.

Collaborate Brochure

To send a bulk email invitation across multiple clients, we recommend first sharing a document to their client folder.

To assist with this process, we have created a Sample Brochure that you can use. This brochure has been created using Canva, a free-to-use online graphic design tool.

To view and copy the template to your own Canva account, click here.  For assistance on this process, refer to the Canva article Duplicating designs.

Please note, the FYI team does not provide support for creating or customising this flyer or using Canva. This document and design are provided as an optional resource only. Refer also to Bulk Email Invite Clients to Collaborate

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