Manage templates

Create, edit, assign, and delete reusable Info Hub announcement templates with placeholders for standardised institutional communications.

Announcement templates are reusable layouts for Info Hub posts. Each template stores a title pattern, rich-text body, optional placeholders (such as an event date or recipient name), default placeholder values, and visibility settings. Editors start from a template when creating a new announcement — filling in variable fields while keeping structure, tone, and legal boilerplate consistent across terms, faculties, or recurring events.

Why it matters

Universities repeat the same communication shapes every intake: welcome letters, exam conduct reminders, insurance registration steps, thesis submission checklists. Without templates, each author retypes structure from scratch — introducing inconsistent wording, missed sections, and slower turnaround. Templates encode institutional voice once, then scale across editors with create or edit access.

Placeholders add flexibility without breaking consistency: the body stays fixed while a cohort name or deadline date changes per use. That pattern mirrors mail-merge and document automation practices familiar from registrar and communications offices.

How it fits

Templates live on a dedicated Templates tab inside Info Hub, separate from the main announcement feed. They connect to the broader announcement workflow:

Key concepts

Open the Templates tab

The tab lists all templates in a table with title, placeholder count, created date, and actions.

Create a template

You can start a template in two ways:

From the Create menu

From the Templates tab

Click Create Template (when shown) to open the same template creation form.

Placeholder fields

Add placeholder fields in the content body using the template placeholder syntax shown in the editor. The Detected Placeholders sidebar lists every placeholder found in the content. Optional default values pre-fill the create form when someone uses the template.

Apply a template to a new announcement

Alternatively, on the blank create page, use Select Template (Optional) to pick a template without starting from the Assign button.

Every field remains editable before publish — templates are a starting point, not a lock on audience or priority.

Edit a template

Editing a template does not change announcements already created from it.

Plan template updates at quiet periods — communications teams often revise welcome templates between intakes rather than mid-term.

Delete templates

Select templates on the Templates tab and use Bulk Actions → Delete Selected, or delete from an individual template’s actions when available. Deletion is permanent; see Delete an announcement for parallel guidance on removing content.

Duplicate templates

Select templates and use Bulk Actions → Duplicate Templates to create draft copies. See Duplicate an announcement for the full duplication workflow.

Duplication is useful when a faculty needs a variant of a central template — copy, adjust placeholders, and assign a distinct title without overwriting the original.

Best practices

• One template per communication type, not per individual send — “Welcome — undergraduate” and “Welcome — postgraduate” rather than a new template for every student name.
• Set sensible default visibility on templates used for cohort-specific mailings, but always review audience on the create form before publish.
• Version through duplication when making large structural changes, so existing templates remain available until the new copy is approved.
• Align placeholders with data authors actually know at send time — if the deadline is always filled manually, a deadline placeholder is clearer than embedding stale default dates.
• Use templates with semantic search in mind: consistent titles and bodies help Similar Content detection spot duplicates.

Common pitfalls

FAQ

Related pages