Announcement Templates
An announcement template is an announcement form with pre-filled field values. The template name is the value specified in the Subject field of the Announcement body widget. Use templates to reduce the time spent filling out announcement form fields and updating their content. For example, if your organization has a standardized structure for certain types of announcements, save it as a template so that you can update or supplement it with only the necessary information.
- Applying a template will overwrite the form fields and existing translations of the announcement.
- Applying a template is only available in the Draft state.
- Announcements inherit all attachments from the applied templates. They will be available for download on the self-service portal after publishing.
Create a template
Roles required: announcement_manager or admin.
- Navigate to Service Announcements → Templates.
- Click New and fill in the fields.
- Click Save or Save and exit to apply the changes.
You can create announcement template translations for the languages available in the system. To do so, use the Announcement body widget, which functions identically to the widget on the announcement form. Template translations for different languages are also available in the Announcement Localization (announcement_localization) table. When you create an announcement from this template, the associated Announcement Localization records are created automatically. The Original announcement on those forms will point to the current record rather than the applied template.
You can also configure adding feedback on the portal announcements created from a template. To do so, select the via Portal and Enable feedback checkboxes on the template form. Then, specify the Feedback question and Feedback answer options. The workflow for configuring feedback on templates is the same as for individual announcements.
Announcement template form fields
| Field | Mandatory | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number | Y | The announcement template number is created automatically and consists of a prefix ANT and the record number in the table. For example, ANT0000001. |
| State | Y | The announcement template state. Available options:
|
| Type | Y | Select the type of announcement to apply the template. Available options:
|
| Service | Y | Specify the related IT service. |
| Recipient emails | N | Specify emails of the recipients of the announcements created from this template. You can enter multiple emails separated by commas. |
| Reviewer emails | N | Specify emails of the reviewers of the announcements created from this template. You can enter multiple emails separated by commas. |
| Subject | Y | Type the announcement template subject. This value is used as the template name in the list interface. |
| Content | N | Add the content using formatting and attachments. |
| Signature | N | Add a signature to appear in the announcements created from the template. See the Announcement Signature article to learn more. |
| Description | N | Add a short description of the template. For example, specify when this template must be used, or add some instructions on how to configure the final announcements created from this template. |
| via Email | N | Select this checkbox to send the announcements created from this template via email. |
| via Portal | N | Select this checkbox to display the announcements created from this template on the Self-Service Portal. |
| Enable feedback | N | Select this checkbox to add the feedback widget on the portal form of announcements created from this template. The checkbox is displayed only if the via Portal checkbox is selected. If the checkbox is selected, the Announcement body widget shows the Feedback question and Feedback answer options fields. Fill them in for the feedback widget to function. |
| Access criteria | N | Specify the criteria determining the availability of the template-based announcements to users on the specified Portals. If no criterion is specified, the announcements will be available to all authorized users. If a specified criterion is deactivated, it will still apply to the announcements it is related to provided that these announcements are already published. However, this criterion cannot be specified for new announcements. If a specified criterion is deleted, all the published announcements it is related to are hidden from the specified Portals. The field is displayed if the via Portal checkbox is selected. |
| Portals | N | Specify the portals the template-based announcements are to be displayed on according to the specified Access criteria. If the field is empty, the announcements are displayed on all the portals existing in the system. The field is displayed if the via Portal checkbox is selected. |
| Announcement body | N | A widget for adding announcement text and its translations, signature, as well as feedback questions and answers. The widget is identical to that on the announcement form. |
Create an announcement from a template
To use a template for a new announcement, follow the steps below:
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Navigate to Service Announcements → New announcement.
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Click Create from template in the top-left corner of the form.
cautionThe Create from template button is available when the announcement is in the Draft state. If the announcement fields are already filled in or translations have been added, selecting Create from template overwrites all fields and translations with the data from the selected template.
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In the modal window that opens, select a template name (the value specified in the Subject field of the template record) and click Create.
The created announcement record will contain fields completed with the values from the applied template and will be in the Draft state.
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Make any necessary changes to the announcement body and other fields, then continue working with it as usual.