Can I personalise emails? What are merge fields?

Merge fields are system tags which pull information automatically from within the user profile and/or applications. Merge fields are a great way to populate notifications and more with personalised information like first and last names, application and category name, etc.

Merge fields are available in the following places in Good Grants:

• Action flow
• Broadcasts
• Certificates
• Contracts
• Notifications
• Packing slips

Some merge fields are essential to the successful management of your program. For example, the merge field used in the account confirmation notification - which is sent to new users when they register - contains an important link which allows those users to verify their email address. This step is required to complete registration.
This notification can be seen in the Manage workspace at Settings > Communications > Notifications. The body message for the account confirmation notification looks like this:

The curly brackets {} are merge fields. When the message is sent the merge fields are replaced with data. For example, the {confirmation_url} field will be replaced by a unique confirmation link for new users to click to confirm their account.

When merge fields are available, they will appear as clickable links.

To use the merge field all you need to do is click on the merge tag:

Custom merge fields

You can create custom merge fields from fields you’ve created by using the {application_field:abcd1234} and {user_field:abcd1234} merge fields.

For this option to work you’ll need to replace the abcd1234 with the slug for the field. The slug is the unique ID for each field which can be found in the form editor. To locate it it:

1. Open the Manage workspace and go to Applications
2. Click Edit form and, if multiple forms are configured, select your desired form from the drop-down
3. Locate the field within the form, hover your cursor over it, and select the settings icon
4. Open the 'Advanced' section of the configuration tray to view the slug

The slug is the unique ID that references that specific field. If it’s an application field, the merge field in this example will look like this: {application_field:YlegNDAo}

Default merge fields

Depending on what trigger you've selected, the available merge fields will change. Below you'll find a handful of common merge fields and the information that they pull.