Drag and Drop Editor - Sections

Sections are the sub-divisions of an email template created in the Drag and Drop editor. Sections can be styled independently from one another and from the template as a whole, and can be cloned to easily duplicate a subsection of the template. Sections also house the Content blocks that are used to add specific content, such as text and images, to the email template.

Default Sections

The number of Sections included in the editor initially will vary depending upon which layout you choose. In this example, there are three Sections, with the second Section selected.

Here, the first and third sections are prepopulated with text blocks containing a view in browser link and an unsubscribe link respectively. These sections can be moved or removed as needed, and the links can be re-added to the template through the hyperlink manager if removed. To remove a Section, select the Section and click the "Delete Block" link at the bottom if the Section Settings in the right-side toolbar (See the Section Settings screenshot in the following section for reference.)

NOTE: The View in Browser feature is not currently available in the CAN Data Center.

Section Settings

Clicking within a Section, but not within the Content Blocks inside of it, will update the sidebar to display the Section Settings.

Number of Columns

Specify whether the Section should contain 1, 2, 3, or 4 columns. 

Columns Distribution

If you choose to include multiple columns within a section, you will also be presented with the option to change the widths of the columns in relation to one another. For example, if you choose three columns, the widths can be set to be equal to one another, or the left, center, or right column can be set to be wider than the other two columns.

Spacing Between Columns

If you choose to include multiple columns within a section, Spacing Between Columns allows you to indicate how much space should be included between each column.

Duplicate Section

Clicking Duplicate creates an exact duplicate of the Section immediately below it. Each section can be clicked on and moved up or down in the template body.

Save Section

Clicking the Save Section button allows you to save a copy of this particular Section as a Favorite. From within any NEW Drag and Drop Editor template, you will then be able to select that Section with all of its content already in place from your Favorites list and drag it into the template body. 

Once a Section is added to the Favorites list, it can be renamed to make it easily identifiable, or it can be deleted from the list.

Lock Section

Clicking the Lock icon will prevent the content of the Section from being modified unless the block is first unlocked.

NOTE: The Lock option will only be available to users who are assigned the ClickDimensions Lock Email Blocks security role in CRM.

Delete Section

Delete removes the Section from the template. Deleted Sections cannot be brought back.

Background

• Background Image: set a Background image for the Section. If both a background image and background color are set for the template, the background image will take precedence and be displayed.
• Background Color: Set a background color for the Section. If both a background image and background color are set for the template, and the template is sent to an email client that doesn't support background images, the background color will be displayed instead.

Padding

• Set the padding amount for the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the Section. Clicking the lock icon will prevent the padding values from changing.

Section Settings - Active Content Block

If you click a Content Block, its editing menu will be displayed in the sidebar. Below the specific settings for that Content Block, a Section Settings subsection will be available. Expanding this will show the same settings discussed above.

Adding Content Blocks to a Section

A Content Block can be added to a Section by clicking the desired block in the righthand sidebar and dragging it into the Section. Once a Content Block is in the section, it can be rearranged within the section at any time. A Section can contain as many Content Blocks as desired. Once a Content Block is added to the template, it is not locked into the initial Section in which its place. Content Blocks can be dragged from Section to Section as needed.

Adding New Sections

Select the Section item in the Elements tab of the sidebar and drag it into the template to add a new Section.