Related Articles

• Variables for Customizing Email Templates
• Advanced Email Template Configuration

Introduction

Octopus can send automated emails to keep the users, internal and external assignees, and more informed of different situations. Therefore it is important that the information communicated be pertinent. But as most companies have their own terms and procedures we allow the configuration of most templates.

How to Configure Email Templates

1. From the Tools > Options menu, go to the Email format section and validate that the Rich Text box is selected. For now "Plain Text" is still available, but it will be discontinued soon
2. Click the link "Edit message..." beside the message you wish to configure.

 

Configuration in Normal Mode

You can write text directly in the window in normal mode using your choice of font, colour, etc.

Adding variables helps to customize the Octopus email templates. When the email is sent, the system replaces the variables with the real values.
To add a variable in an email template, position your cursor where you want the variable to be added in the text and press F3 to bring up then selection window from which you can select the field to include in your template.

Additional Variables

There are special variables available that you cannot get with F3, because they do not correspond to the name of a field. 

Some are only valid in certain types of notifications, so make sure that you test them in the context they will be used to validate your results.
For find out more about the special variables, you can consult the article Variables for Customizing Email Templates

Example of an Additional Variable

An example of a variable that can be used to make emails more personal is the  #Greeting.FirstName which when added to a template will add the person's first name under the following conditions: 

• Octopus knows the person's first name because their email is associated with only one user record.
• The email is sent to only one person

In the event that there is more than one person receiving the email, because we used the option Send single email to all recipients, then the variable will remain empty.

Then an email sent to Mike Brown which begins with Hello #Greeting.FirstName ... becomes Hello Mike... 

Configuration in HTML Mode

If you are familiar with HTML, you can configure your message directly in the window or use a tool like Notepad++ and paste your code directly in the window.

Improve your Email Templates

We believe the quality of email communications to users is very important and offers many benefits: 

• Improves the image of the Team or Department
• Allow you to send information about how to proceed, reminders, etc.

To improve existing models and make them available to all your customers, the Octopus specialist team has developed models in a .HTML format that can be edited and reproduced in Octopus. User-friendly, they facilitate communications with users. 

Below you will find email templates for: 

• Octopus Automated Emails
• Approvals
• Access Management

They are built in .html and can be edited with Notepad++. Once displayed in a Web browser, you only need to copy / paste the results in the email model window.

Octopus General Emails

There are six Octopus general email templates; to view them, click on the following links: 
 

• Send a confirmation upon incident/SR creation
• Send a confirmation upon beginning of work on an incident/SR
• Send a confirmation upon incident/SR resolution
• Allow to send activities via email
• Automatic return for requests which have already been closed or cancelled
• Allow to send activities via email for supplier

To make changes, you can download the .htm files by clicking the following link:

 Octopus General Emails.

Approval Emails

For those using the automated approval solution, here are the email templates offered: 

• Approval Request (Basic template configured with Octopus)
  • ​Responding by email requires to have MailIntegration configured
• ​Approval Request using links
  • The use of the  tags are required for this method
  • See the exemplale in the templates a bit further
• Request approved
• Request refused
• Confirmation of Approval by Email
  • ​Works with the approval response by email and the links method. 
• Approver required
• Approval taken in charge

The system will generate a recurring reminder every two (2) days to a group of approvers or to an approver who fails to take charge or execute the approval task. 

• REMINDER - Approver required
• REMINDER - Approval pending

To make changes, you can download the .htm files by clicking the following link:

 Approval Email Templates. 

We invite you to read the Automated approval - Reference Document wiki article for more information about the Octopus Automated Approval Solution.

Access Management

Access Management used two emails templates. They are generated when a connection is established between a HR external system and Octopus. 

• New employee
• Employee departure

There are two templates in the Octopus Options, located in the Emails to technician section. These can be customized without our help. They are: 

• New task received by one of the groups to which the technician belongs
• Task assigned to a technician

To make changes, you can download the .htm files by clicking the following link:

 Access Management Email Templates. 

We invite you to read the Automated Access Management Solution - Reference Document wiki article for more information about the Octopus Automated Access Management Solution.

Insert a Logo in Email Templates

The HTML text editor makes it easy to add images to email templates.

To add your logo, simply use the editor's features to insert it. 

For more information, see the Image Processing section of the HTML Tool in Octopus wiki. 

Add Decorative Formating to Variables Contained in Email Templates

Octopus allows you to force a decorative format to text or a Web link.

Permited values are;

• upper: transforms the value of the varialbe in UPPER CASE
• lower:  transforms the value of the varialbe in lower case
• hyperlink:  transforms the value of the varialbe into a hyperlink

To do this, add the vertical bar "|" (pipe) caractere without the quotes, with no space between the token and the decorator.

As an exemple, using this variable wiht the fowllowing variable @Incident.BriefDescription|upper would transform the value of @Incident.BriefDescription in upper case. The title of the request (@incident.BriefDescription) would be sen in the email in upper case.

In the case of a hyperlink ( |hyperlink ), if the value is not empty, the result will have the  HTML tag "a". ex: www.google.com becomes <a href="www.google.com">www.google.com</a>