The SchoolWise Parent Alert System can send out formatted email with hyperlinks (which can open external PDF files as a good alternative to attaching documents), but you must first do some work to prepare the HTML text.
Create your message in a Word document formatted the way you want it. Keep the document open.
Open the HTML editor: http://www.html.am/html-editors/online-html-editor.cfm
- Click within the body of the HTML editor to place your cursor, and select all text for deletion by holding down either the Command ⌘ (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) key and then the A key. Then hit Delete or Backspace to erase the text.
- Within your Word doc, use Command-A or Ctrl+A again to select all text to be copied. Then copy it using Command-C or Ctrl+C.
- Return to the HTML editor page and paste your info with Command-V or Ctrl+V.
If your message to send has a link that you would like to make clickable, do the following:
- In the body of your doc in the HTML editor, highlight your link. Then click on the Link button in the editor, which looks like a horizontal numeral 8 (∞).
- Clicking on the Link button will open the following dialog box.
- Set your Link Type to URL (the default).
- Set the Protocol to: http, https or whatever your link indicates.
- Paste your link into the URL box. Make sure you take out the protocol (e.g. http://) so that your URL begins with “www.”
- Click OK.
If you are adding an email address link that you will want people to be able to respond to, do the following:
- Highlight and copy (Command/Ctrl+C) the email address. As above, click on the Link button (∞).
- Set your Link Type to E-mail.
- Paste the email address into the E-mail Address box (Command-V/Ctrl-V).
- Click OK.
Once you are finished and ready to send your message, click on the Source button in the HTML editor. This is in the upper left-hand corner of the editor program.
The text is now in source mode:
- Select all the source-mode text with Command/Ctrl+A and copy with Command/Ctrl+C.
- Open the SchoolWise™ Alert System.
- Select the Email Newsletters tab and click on New Email Newsletter.
The form below is displayed:
Paste the formatted HTML text from the HTML editor into the Full Message Text area.
Once you’ve filled in the rest of your info – you are ready to send!
Best Practice Put the alert system in Practice and send the email to yourself until it is perfect then send it out to everyone else.