Hallo Lynn, On Mon, 23 Sep 2002 09:54:24 -0700GMT (23-9-02, 18:54 +0200GMT, where I live), you wrote:
LT> After reading so many posts about the AB templates (but LT> without any real instructions), I decided to give them a LT> shot. OK, let's go for some instructions. There are four different sets of templates in TB and they're used in this priority: Address Book personal templates Address Book group templates Folder templates Account templates (Actually there's still another set, the Quick Templates, but those have a different functionality.) All of these templates can be found at the properties section of their level. AB personal templates can be found between the properties of the contact you want to apply them to and for the other sets it's likewise. How do you create them? That's different for the sets. Account templates are easy, they're created when you create a new account, you get the default set for the language that you've configured for TB's interface (at the moment you create the account). Folder templates are easy too. As soon as you create a folder a set of folder templates is dropped into the folder properties. They are the same as your account templates and they stay synchronized with those as long as you don't change them. That's to say that when you change the reply template for a folder that one stays fixed. When you edit the account reply template afterwards the folder reply template won't change with it. However if you change the account new message template, the folder new message template will synchronize neatly. (Unless you've edited that one too.) Folder templates can be very easy to work with, but they include one very big danger. That danger is when you put a %to or %cc macro in it. Suppose you filter all messages from the list tbudl to a folder tbudl, and you create a new message folder template with %to="[EMAIL PROTECTED]", that's real nice, next time you create a new message in the tbudl folder it goes straight to the list without you memorizing the address. Well, next time you open your address book and pick a close friend to send him a message, that's fine, but you forgot to check the highlighted folder and so the message goes to tbudl too, with all embarrassing juicy stories. Don't say it won't happen to you, it happens to all of them. So don't use a %to macro in a folder template without a fail safe like: %IF:"%TOLIST%CCLIST%BCCLIST"="":"%TO='[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" this macro checks whether there are any recipients and only if there aren't any a new recipient is created. Address book templates are created differently, they're not created when you create a new contact or group, but when you check the box the box at the properties that says 'Use a specific template for .....' This is the same for personal and group templates, their behavior is the same same too, so I'll call them in one sweep. When you create a reply template for a contact, you don't have to use a specific new message template or vice versa. They're all optional. The most frequent problem with address book templates is that you've created one and TB doesn't use it when you send a message. The reason that this happens is that you've created two (or more) entries in your address book for the same contact. TB will choose an entry (with the correct address) at random and check if that one has a personal template, a group template, whether there's a folder template involved and thanks to the demon Murphy the most embarrassing template will be used. So if you've got problems with address book templates, check for multiple entries. The same goes for contacts that belong to multiple groups with each group it's own group template. If you send a message to an address book group it's ok, TB will select the group template for all contacts. (Excepts for those addresses that have multiple entries, remember the demon Murphy.) When you send a message to one contact and he's a member of different groups each with their own templates, it's impossible to predict which template will be used. LT> However, I'm missing something, because I either get 2 LT> sets of templates on a given mail (where I built the AB LT> templates), or none at all ... (after dumping the base LT> and folder templates) ... Well, dumping account templates is not the most sensible thing to do. After all you need a template to correspond with one time contacts and so on. The most frequent problem with address book templates is 'multiple entries for one contact'. So check whether they occur and correct them, otherwise I wouldn't know. LT> So .. would someone clue me as to what I missed? I figure LT> it's a check box somewhere, but I can't find it. No, the only check boxes involved are those to be able to insert an address book template. Do you use more accounts each with a different address book? -- Groetjes, Roelof ________________________________________________ Current version is 1.61 | "Using TBUDL" information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
