Creating Templates in Thunderbird for Mac

These instructions describe how to configure Mozilla Thunderbird to send both HTML and plain text parts for messages, and how to create a template in Thunderbird using the HTML from the U's e-mail templates. You will need to use the basic, non-Lyris template for this, as the Lyris templates include links that will appear broken when sent using other software. Note: Lyris must be used when sending to alumni and donor audiences defined by University of Minnesota Foundation data.

Configure Thunderbird to compose messages in HTML format

1. In Thunderbird, go to the Tools menu and select Account Settings. A new window appears.
2. Locate your UMN e-mail account in the listing of accounts, on the left, and click Composition & Addressing.
3. Check the box for Compose messages in HTML format.*
4. Click OK.

* If Thunderbird is the client you use for your own e-mail, you may want to uncheck this box after you have saved your template so that subsequent messages aren't written in HTML format.

Configure Thunderbird to send HTML Messages with a plain text part

1. Go to the Thunderbird menu and select Preferences.
2. Switch to the Composition preference pane.
3. Switch to the General tab.
4. Click Send Options.
5. Change the When sending messages in HTML format… option to either "Ask me what to do" or "Send the message in both plain text and HTML."
6. Click OK.
7. Close the preferences window.

Note: selecting the "Ask me what to do" option may become an annoyance if you continue to compose messages in HTML format, as it will frequently prompt you when sending messages.

Create a template

1. Create a new message.
2. Enter a useful name for the template in the subject line field.
3. Click in the message body, so that the cursor flashes.
4. Go to the Insert menu and select HTML.
5. Copy the HTML source code from the appropriate e-mail template and paste into Thunderbird. (The e-mail template can be opened using Dreamweaver or a free text editor such as TextWrangler.)
6. Click Insert. Your rendered HTML should now appear in the message body.
7. Go to the File menu and select Save As->Template.
8. Close the new message window.

To create a new message using your template, open the Templates folder in your UMN e-mail account and double-click on the template.

If you prefer to compose most messages as text only, repeat the steps in the first section, above, unchecking the box in step three.

 

Other e-mail clients

The methods for creating multipart messages in e-mail clients other than Thunderbird will vary based on e-mail client. Thunderbird is supported by the University for both Windows and Macintosh. You will need to consult the appropriate manual to construct multipart messages with other clients.