Content Blocks are the most basic element of a Drag and Drop 2.0 Email Template. Content Blocks are added to Sections and are used to display specific types of content within the template, such as text or an image.
Table of Contents
The Sidebar - Universal Settings
Whenever you click on any Content Block in the editor, the right sidebar will update to show that block's settings and editing tools. Each block has unique settings, which will be discussed below, but each block also has a sidebar subsection called Block Settings. The options presented under Block Settings are the same regardless of which type of Content Block you are working with.
This menu allows you to set a background color or image for the block and adjust the padding around the content. Clicking the lock icons will prevent the padding values from being changed.
Saving Block Settings
You can save Block Settings as default so they are used in all blocks in your email. Set the padding or other settings for your block and click the Save as default settings button; you will see a confirmation message once these settings have been saved and any new blocks added to the email you are working on will use those default settings. Please note that the HTML block type will not have this option available to use or have saved settings from another block applied to it.
Text Block
Text Content Blocks can be added to a Section in the template in order to add text to that Section. Clicking on the block will display its editing menu containing options such as changing the font type, adding dynamic content, and adding hyperlinks.
Tables
Version 11.8 introduced the ability to add and paste in tables from Microsoft Word and websites and to edit and style these tables. To add a table, you will need to select a text block and click the Table icon underneath its Text Settings.
This will open a window where you can set the properties of your new table:
When copying tables from other places, you may need to be adjust the size to properly fit within the bounds of the email template (600px width). Also, any tables copied from a website may lose their styling when pasted into the editor and may need to have their style updated. We highly recommend testing your templates with copied tables prior to sending to verify that they appear as desired within your emails.
Web Fonts
Additional web fonts are included in the font selection dropdown. You can choose from Lato, Merriweather, Open Sans, or Roboto.
The Text Block editing pane also includes a Fetch Content from Web feature that allows you to specify a webpage URL and automatically pull text from the web page into the block by referencing the webpage's metadata.
NOTE: The URL used to Fetch Content from the Web must begin with http:// or https://
As of version 10.5, there is also an option to add custom fonts under Global Styles > Add Custom Fonts in the Typography section. Please see our article here for more details.
Do text blocks support text wrapping?
Yes! to enable text wrapping in a text block, insert an image into the block using the Insert Image button in the text block settings. Once the image has been inserted, right click it, choose Image Properties, then set Alignment to left or right depending on where the image should be positioned.
Hyperlink Manager
Clicking the link button will open the hyperlink manager. The hyperlink manager allows you to specify what type of link you are adding, the link URL, and the link text. A link can be one of the following types:
- Website URL: this is a standard link to a webpage.
- Phone: this is a phone link that will automatically use your default phone app or software to call the specified number.
- Email: this is a mailTo link.
- File: this opens the file manager, where you can upload attachments, such as excel files or PDFs and link to them.
- Unsubscribe: this allows you to add a global unsubscribe link or a link to a previously created Subscription Management Page.
- View in Browser: this allows you to re-add a view in browser link into the template if the default view in browser link is removed.
- Web Content: this option displays a list of existing Forms, Surveys, or Landing Pages in your environment and allows you to add a link to a selected record.
Image Block
Image Content Blocks are used to add an image into a Section. Clicking on the Select Image button in the block will open the image manager, which allows you to pick any image you have previously uploaded and place it into the Content Block.
NOTE: There is a 2 MB file size limit per image. The total amount of storage space available to store all images, documents, and layouts depends on your subscription with ClickDimensions.
When you click on a Content Block that already contains an image, the editing menu will display in the sidebar. This menu allows you to open the image editor, replace the image, make the image a hyperlink, allow the image to display at full width on mobile, or change the image alignment within the block.
Button Block
The Button block allows you to add a button into the Email Template.
Clicking inside the button will allow you to modify the button text. Clicking inside the block will also display the block editing menu in the sidebar.
The editing pane will allow you to set the button's hyperlink and also allow you to change the button color, border properties, and alignment.
Spacer Block
Spacer blocks allow you to add a divider or extra space between the content of other blocks or sections.
Clicking inside the Spacer block will display the editing menu in the sidebar.
The editing pane will allow you to set the thickness, color, and style of the divider.
Social Links Block
Social Links blocks allow you to add links to your social media accounts to your template. Out-of-the-box, we offer icons for Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Pinterest, Blogger, and YouTube, but you can add custom links to additional platforms as well.
Clicking inside the Social Links block will display the editing menu in the sidebar.
Edit Links will allow you to set the URLs for social links and add custom social links. You can either save the changes you make here for just this email or you can click the Save as default button so that all new Social Links blocks in your emails will use these settings.
Additional options allow you to set the link alignment in the block, set the shape of the icons, set the visual style of the icons, and set whether the icons should be listed vertically or horizontally.
Social Share Block
Social Share blocks allow you to add social links into a template that recipients can use to share the content of the email on their own social media account. There are social share links for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Clicking inside the Social Share block will display the editing menu in the sidebar. The editing menu includes options to set which social share links should be displayed, the alignment of the links within the block, the shape of the links, the visual style of the links, and whether the links should be displayed horizontally or vertically.
Starting in version 10.4, you can select a Web Content CNAME in the Social Share block to brand their links by selecting the "Edit Social Share Links" button and choosing a domain from the Link Domain drop-down menu.
HTML Block
HTML blocks allow you to add custom HTML content into the email template. We recommend that only users familiar with HTML use these blocks since adding custom code to the template can affect its rendering and responsiveness.
Clicking the HTML block will update the sidebar to allow you to write or paste in HTML using the Code Editor.
You can write your own HTML or paste in existing HTML in the code editor, then click Save Code to return to the email template.
Video Block
Video blocks allow you to add an URL to public YouTube or Vimeo videos that you want to include in your email. Selecting the Video block within the canvas will give you the option to add your desired URL, and the thumbnail for the video will then appear within the Video block.
These videos will not play directly within the email and will open the video in a new browser/tab when clicked on. For more details, please see our Video Block article here.
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.
| Feature Added: 8.13.0 |
| Feature Updated: 11.8.0 |
| ClickDimensions Version Need: 8.13.0 (9.6.0 for NEW branding) |