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New Message Tool

Send an Email

  1. Launch the New Message Tool:
    • If you want to search for each individual to select as a recipient, go to your Home page, and click the My Messages tab.
    • If you want to select a group of people as recipients, go to the relevant page, and make your selection. Then, from the Actions menu, select Message.
    The New Message Tool opens.
Prepare your email:
  1. For Message Type, select Email.
    Note: If your system is not configured to send text messages through Twilio, you won't see the Message Type options. You will only be able to send an email.
  2. If you've set up personnel alternate emails and want to send this message to an alternate email type, select that type in the Send to drop-down list.
  3. If you haven't already selected your recipients, you can enter each person's name or click the magnifying glass icon to search for and select individuals. See Message Recipients for additional options.
  4. Click the Recipients drop-down list to review your options.
  5. To send the message to the the parents of the selected recipients (that is, any Head of Household who has a valid email address and is not inactive/deceased as well as any Non-Custodial Parent associated via Other Households), select Send to Parents.
  6. Enter a Subject Line. This is required to send the message.
  7. Enter the content of your message. For details, see Email - Message Tab.
    • Click the Insert menu to include any Templates, Snippets, or Fields.
    • Use the formatting options to add bold, italics, and so on.
    • Click the link icon to add an external hyperlink to the selected text.
    • Click the image icon to add an image from a URL.
  8. If needed, click the Attachments tab to upload files to attach to your message. For details, see Email - Attachments Tab.
Review your email:
  1. Read over your Subject Line and message content.
  2. To change the name in the From or Reply To fields, click the Advanced tab and select a name from the list. For details, see Email - Advanced Tab.
  3. If you need to save your message so you can return to it later, click Send > Save As Draft.
    The draft is saved under the My Drafts view on the My Messages tab of your Home page.
Send your email:
  1. To schedule your message to send at a later time, click the Advanced tab and enter the date and time for Schedule Send.
    Tip: This is useful if you have a large message or bulk messages that you want to send during non-peak hours. For more information on why this is important, see Manage Message Size.
  2. To send a copy of the message to yourself for review before sending it to your recipients, click Send > Send To Me.
    You'll receive a copy of the message. If you included any merge fields, they will be rendered using the first Recipient's information. Files added as Attachments are included, but files added as Links are not.
  3. When you're ready to send the message to the selected recipients, click Send > Send.

The Message sends within about five minutes after you click Send unless you scheduled it to send in the future.

Want to see who actually received your message? Go to Communications > Messages and check out the Action Status.

Email - Message Tab

Create and format what you want to say in your email.

New Message Tool with Message Type selected as Email showing all options available for emails

1 - Message Type
Select how you want to send your Message, either by email or text.
Note: If your system is not configured to send text messages through Twilio, you won't see the Email or Text Message options. You can only send an email.
2 - To
If launched from a selection, the selected records group here. You can click the search icon to select additional records. Each individual receives a unique email and can't see who received the same Message.
3 - Recipients
This list displays records related to Views for Sub-Pages associated with the selected Page. The selected View applies to the selection so you can further filter the records you send to. For more information, see Message Recipients.
4 - Send to Parents
Select this check box to send the Message to the parents of the Recipients. A "parent" is any household member with the Household Position of "Head of Household" with a valid email address that is not inactive or deceased. It also includes any Heads of Household associated through Other Households with the Household Type "Non-Custodial Parent" unless the relationship is end-dated. If the selected Recipient is a Head of Household, they will not receive an email, nor will the other Head in their Household.
Note: If the parent opted out of receiving bulk emails, they won't receive the Message. To include them, consider selecting the Include recipients who have opted out of bulk email option on the Advanced tab.
5 - Subject Line
The subject of the Message. You must have a subject line to send an email.
6 - Formatting Options
You can format the content of your message. This includes bold, italics, underline, strikethrough, numbered list, bullet list, indent, outdent, align left, align center, and align right. You can also create a link, remove a link, insert an image, toggle full screen, and view the HTML source of the message.
Note: If you view the HTML source, be sure to switch it back to the text before you send your Message. Otherwise, everyone receives the HTML version of your email, which might be challenging to read.
7 - Insert Menu
Click Insert to see the following options.
  • Templates: Select a Template as a starting place for your Message. This list is organized based on the Template's Pertains to Page and the Page of your Recipient list. Any edits you make to a Template in the New Message Tool only apply to this specific Message and do not update the Template record. Users with at least Read level permissions on the Templates page can use Templates. Users can see Templates they can access based on the Template User and Template User Group fields on the Template record. For more information on using Templates, see Templates.
  • Snippets: Include pre-written HTML text that you can reuse. For more information on using Snippets, see Snippets.
  • Fields: Include different types of merge fields in your Message.
    • With Contact Fields, you can personalize your Message for the Recipient. For example, the [Nickname] field automatically adds the Recipient's Nickname to the message.
    • The From User Fields are like Contact Fields but they merge in values related to the Sender (the current authenticated User or delegated User) rather than Recipient. For example, the [From_User_Nickname] field automatically adds the Sender's Nickname.
    • With Data Fields, you can add Page-specific data to a Message.

For more information on using these fields, see Contact, From User, and Data Fields.

8 - Send / Save
Click the Send menu to make the following options available:
  • Save as Draft: Saves a draft of your Message. To view drafts, go to Home > My Messages tab, and select the My Drafts view.
  • Send to Me: Sends you a copy of the Message to review before you send it to your Recipients. If you included merge fields, they use the first Recipient's information to give an accurate preview of what you're about to send. Files added as Attachments are included, but files added as Links are not included.
  • Send: Sends the Message to the selected Recipients. If the Message doesn't have Contact Fields or Data Fields, the system removes duplicate emails. The system calculates the Send count that displays before removing duplicates. For more on this, see Duplicate Messages.

Email - Attachments Tab

Add files to send with your email.

On the Attachments tab of the New Message Tool, you can attach, resize, and remove file attachments. MinistryPlatform allows files up to 20MB in size and accepts most standard file formats, such as PNG, JPG, BMP, GID, GIF, PDF, TXT, and CSV. We do not recommend you attach TIFF files. You can attach encrypted PDF files. You can attach fillable PDF files, but values don't display unless the viewer downloads the file. Additionally, the receiving systems (and possibly your sending system or SMTP server) may have smaller file size restrictions. If so, those restrictions may prevent your email from successfully sending.

When you attach a file, you can add it as an Attachment or Link. If you have multiple attachments, you can mix and match.
  • Attachment: Adds the file as an attachment to the Message. The file saves on the Message record.
  • Link: Adds a bulleted list of links (one link for each attachment) to the bottom of the Message body. You can't see these links on the Message record inside the tool, but the file saves on the Message record. The recipient can click the link to open the attachment in their browser. The link pulls the attachment from your MinistryPlatform server.

When you add at least one attachment, a count of attachments displays in the badge icon on the Attachments tab. This icon also displays a count if a selected Template contains attachments.

Attachments tab of the New Message Tool showing examples of files uploaded and added as attachments

Email - Advanced Tab

Manage details of your email or schedule it for later.

Advanced tab showing options for From, Reply To, Schedule Send, and Bulk Email

1 - From
Indicates who sends the Message. If a SPoC granted a User rights to send on behalf of someone else, the From drop-down list includes additional names. For details, see Change the From or Reply To.
Note: If there is a From Contact on a Template you use, the sender of the email must be a delegate for the system to use that value.
2 - Reply To
Indicates who receives replies to the Message. If a SPoC granted a User rights to indicate someone other than themselves, the Reply To drop-down list includes additional names. For details, see Change the From or Reply To.
Note: If there is a Reply To Contact on a Template you use, the sender of the email must be a delegate for the system to use that value. Because email clients often handle out-of-office messages differently than replies, these messages may return directly to the sender indicated in the From drop-down list.
3 - Schedule Send
Schedule the message to send at a future date or time according to the authenticated user's timezone. If the user's value isn't set, the system uses the Domain timezone. You can schedule messages to send within the next six months, based on the Message Archival schedule. For steps, see Schedule a Message.
4 - Bulk Email
If necessary, select this check box to include Recipients whose Contact records have Bulk Email Opt Out set to Yes. By default, this option is unselected and doesn't include these Recipients. For more information, see Opt Out of Messages.
CAUTION: We recommend you only use this for very important messages that those who opted out must see.
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Last updated: November 26, 2024