Custom Email Templates

Email templates are the HTML code used for emails that are sent from the Capacity system on behalf of the user’s organization from…

  1. The Helpdesk
  2. Automations 
  3. Workflows
  4. Guided Conversations

Custom email templates allow Admin role users to customize and edit the HTML of the emails sent from those parts of the platform. Users can define the Subject and HTML code of the email body via the template edit page. 


Users also have access to “variables” such as the content of an agent reply, an organization logo, or a project signature. Templates also have access to advanced “templating language” which allows for “conditional statements” and “for loops”. If some of these sound advanced or confusing, don’t worry, you can learn more about how to edit email templates in the article “How to edit Email Templates”.

Important Warnings

With great power comes great responsibility! Changing or overriding Default templates can have consequences beyond just the look and feel of emails sent from the Capacity platform. Know these consequences below before editing Default templates, or overriding them with Custom templates.

No Autosave!

Make sure to save copies of your templates manually! While “Default” templates can be restored to the Capacity default HTML, there is no autosave and no versioning for the template edit page at this time. Always keep a hard copy on your own machine.

The Helpdesk Subjects Matter for Threading Replies

“Threading” the replies of an email chain together is a complex process. One requirement for threading a reply is that the email subject of a reply is the same as all other emails on the thread. Editing the subject of Default or Custom template can cause replies to no longer thread on the same conversation.

Before changing the subject for a Default or Custom template, be aware it may impact active Helpdesk conversations and result in new tickets for mid-conversation threads.

Templating Language

The Default templates serve as an always available example of how email templates need to be built. That includes the “templating language” which can be found especially in Helpdesk 

Some “templating language” is required for emails to function like the line {%- autoescape false -%}.

If you have trouble understanding the templating language, or where it should be included, please reach out to your customer support representative.


Email Template Settings

The “Email Templates” settings page can be found under the “Email” section of the “Settings” page. The page consists of the Default Templates tab and Custom Templates tab. Selecting a row will let the user Copy, Edit, or for Custom Templates Delete the selected template.

Template Edit Page

The Template Edit page lets Admin role users edit the Subject, HTML code, and Plain Text Template of the Default or Custom email templates. To learn more about how to edit email templates in the “How to edit a Email Templates” article.

Template Types

There are two types of email templates:

  1. Default Templates - Default HTML email templates used for emails sent from the Capacity Platform
  2. Custom Templates - Custom HTML email templates users can create and assign in place of the default email templates.

These templates can be managed and edited by Admin role users from the Settings > Email Templates page. The link can be found under the “Email” section of the navigation pane.

Template Categories

At this time, there are two template categories:

  1. Helpdesk - Emails sent from the Helpdesk
  2. Global - Emails sent from Broadcast steps in Automations, Workflows, or Guided Conversations.

These categories are important because they have access to different “variables” which can be used to populate the body of the email when the email is sent. All email templates have access to “Global” category variables. Only "Helpdesk" category emails have access to Helpdesk related variables.

For example, an “Agent Reply” template email sent from the Helpdesk has access to variables like “reporter_name” and “ticket_reference_number”. When the Agent Reply email is sent, those variables referenced in the HTML code will be populated with information from the ticket.

Alternatively, if a “Global” or “Custom” email template has those variables referenced in the HTML code for the email, the variables will not be populated when sent.

You can read more about variables and how to use them in “How to edit a Email Templates”

Default Email Templates

Default email Templates are exactly what they sound like. They are the default HTML code for emails that are sent for the platform. Default templates include:

  1. Agent Reply - Replies sent from a ticket or a forward thread.
  2. Agent Forward - The initial forward email on an email thread.
  3. Simple Response - Automated simple responses to Helpesk emails received. 
  4. KB Suggestion - Automated Knowledge base suggestion responses to Helpdesk emails received. 
  5. Autopilot - Automated Autopilot email responses to Helpesk emails received.
  6. Broadcast - Emails sent from Broadcast steps in Automations, Workflows, and Guided Conversations

Simple Response, KB Suggestion, and Autopilot are options you can control from the individual inbox settings “Process Incoming Emails”.

Editing a Default Template

Default templates apply to all emails sent from all Helpdesk projects and all Broadcast steps used. Editing a Default template will change the email content for all emails for the entire organization. That’s why it’s important to know how to safely edit and test changes to email templates.

Restoring Default Template Code

While templates do not have “versioning”, edited Default templates can be “restored” to the original template code if necessary using the “Restore Default HTML” option.

Overriding a Helpdesk Default Template

Rather than editing a Default template, we recommend creating a Custom template, then “overriding” or “assigning” that Custom template from the “inbox settings” page under the “Inbox Email Template” section. 


Assigning a Custom template to one of the Inbox Email Templates dropdowns will override the Default template for that inbox only. Emails sent from the Project with that inbox assigned will use the Custom template instead of the Default, but other Projects and inboxes will continue to use the Default template.

Overriding a Broadcast Default Template

Unlike Helpdesk email template overrides which are controlled via a settings page, Broadcast template overrides are set on each individual Broadcast. Use the dropdown to select the desired template to use with the Broadcast step.


Custom Email Templates

Custom email templates are used to override Default email templates for either Helpdesk emails or Broadcast emails sent from the platform. If the goal is to change the HTML code of the email for all emails without manually overriding the email, then you should edit the Default templates instead.

Custom email templates are different from Default templates in a few ways.

  1. There is no “restore” option for custom templates, as there is no “default” template to restore. All saved changes are final, no versioning.
  2. The Template Name field can be changed.
  3. Custom templates have access to all variables, even if they may not be used depending on how it is assigned.
  4. The Plain Text Template section is available, even if it may not be used.

Variables in Custom Email Templates

Since Custom email templates can be used to override both Helpdesk and Global (Broadcast) emails, Custom templates have access to all variables. However, those variables will only work for emails sent from the correct category. Helpdesk variables will not populate for emails sent from a Broadcast step.


Plain Text Templates

The Plain Text Template field on the Default and Custom template edit pages lets the user define how plain text emails should look. Only Helpdesk category emails can make use of plain text templates via the Project settings option to send Helpdesk emails in plain text. Broadcast step emails will ignore and not use the plain text field.

Custom email templates include the plain text field because custom templates can optionally be used to override the Default template for Helpdesk sent emails. If the custom template will only be used for Global “Broadcast” templates, the field can be safely ignored.

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