Applying Template Updates

Occasionally, updates will be made to templates in the email design library to ensure alignment with university brand guidelines or to improve user experience across devices and email clients. 

Marketing Cloud users will be notified of minor changes via the Enterprise CRM Chatter service. Major changes will be communicated via email. 

When templates are updated, it is important that Marketing Cloud users start using the updated versions of the templates. Using out-of-date templates may result in improper email rendering in email clients, accessibility issues, or non-compliance with university brand guidelines. 

To ensure you are using the most up-to-date version of the email design library templates, follow the steps below.

Apply template updates to existing emails 

1. Open the email to update in Email Studio > Content Builder and click ‘Edit’ then ‘Edit Content.’
2. In the editor on the left, select the ‘Design’ tab. An orange caution symbol will appear when template updates are available. See the image below for reference.
   
3. Any content blocks included in your email that were overridden by the template changes will appear in the editor on the left. Drag any content blocks you want to keep back into the email on the right.
   
4. When finished adding content blocks back, click ‘Next’ at the top right.
5. Review your email, ensuring you have added any content blocks you want to keep back to the email. Any content blocks not dragged back into the email will be lost.
6. Click ‘Save’ at the top right. 

Recreate or create new emails using updated templates 

All new template-based emails will automatically leverage the most up-to-date version of the templates. To create a new template-based email, follow the instructions in Creating a new email in Marketing Cloud. 

Journey Builder Sends 

Emails in running Journeys can be updated or replaced without creating a new Journey version. For significant content changes, we recommend creating a new Journey version. 

To edit an email in a running Journey: 

1. Open the Journey and click on the Journey Activity (Email) you want to update.
2. On the menu that appears on the left, switch the ‘Email Analytics’ drop-down to ‘Activity Summary.’
3. Under Message Definition, click the drop-down menu next to Preview & Test and click ‘Edit Message’ to apply template updates.
4. To apply template updates, follow the steps above and then click ‘Save and Exit’ in the email editor.
5. Back on the Activity Summary screen, click ‘Done’ to save your changes. Changes will not be applied if you do not click ‘Done’ at this step. 

Alternatively, apply template updates using the steps above in Email Studio and then publish the changes to the running Journey. 

To publish email changes to a running Journey: 

1. In Email Studio, open Interactions > Triggered Emails
2. Under Messages on the left, expand the Journey Builder Sends folder and locate the Journey that contains the email you want to publish changes for.
3. Select the email you updated and click ‘Pause’
4. Select the email you updated again and click ‘Publish Changes’
5. Select the email you updated a final time and click ‘Start/Restart’ to make your changes live 

To replace an email in a running Journey: 

1. Open the Journey and click on the Journey Activity (Email) you want to replace.
2. On the menu that appears on the left, switch the ‘Email Analytics’ drop-down to ‘Activity Summary.’
3. Under Message Definition, click the drop-down menu next to Preview & Test and click ‘Select Different Message’ or ‘Create Message’ to replace the email with a new template-based email.
4. To replace the email with a new template-based email, select the new email from your content library and then click ‘Summary’ or follow the steps in Creating a new email in Marketing Cloud to create a new template-based email in the Journey email editor.
5. Back on the Activity Summary screen, click ‘Done’ to save your changes. Changes will not be applied if you do not click ‘Done’ at this step. 

Email Studio Scheduled Sends 

To apply template updates to scheduled sends, the scheduled send must be canceled and then rescheduled after updates are applied or a new template-based email has been created. 

To cancel a scheduled send: 

1. Open Email Studio > Tracking > Sends
2. Select the job for the scheduled send you would like to cancel and click ‘Cancel Send’