Can you update/replace an existing email template with new html while keeping original email content?

[John_Wallace]

Hi there,

After running some email preview testing, I noticed one of our older email templates does not render that well in older desktop Outlook versions.  I have since built some new email templates using Zurb for emails that look good on all email clients.  We have several nurture programs running that are using the older template.  My question is can I update the entire template but keep the same editable regions ID's names and keep all the current email copy intact or would I run the risk of email corruption?  Anyone try this successfully?  Thanks!

-John

[Dave_Roberts]

Hey John are you using EM 2.0 with the drag-n-drop modules?

If you are using EM 2.0 I'd expect that changes you made at the template level would not carry thru to the editable areas on your email asset. An easy way to think about what's going on with the modules inside an email is as-if you made a copy of the module in the sidebar when you drag-n-drop it into your page. Anything you change inside that module will not be impacted by any changes you make to the template html for that module -- those changes will be reflected in the module sidebar only for any new modules that are brought into the canvas (once the email template changes are approved and the email is also reapproved). 

For static content that's not not inside a module I'd expect a change at the template level would carry thru to each email asset - but that's all stuff that's not editable in the first place so maybe beside the point here.

If you're using the older version of the email editor (no modules) something like this might be possible. I've noticed in the past when making "foundational" edits like this that for one reason or another you don't want to change the id="" values of the editable areas when/if possible so I think there's some kind of association going on there. If I had to bet on it, I'd bet that you could get something like this to work in the old school email or landing page world by changing everything except the editable areas at the template level. 

Let me know which editor you're using, this is an interesting idea and I'd be happy to help test some things out to help if you've got the older setup or a similar issue w/ landing pages.

To be sure, here's how I'd go about testing it out:
Setup a new template w/ a few editable sections and use that to create a test email.

Change one of the editable areas content and leave the other in the default state. 

Make some modifications to the template - changing any/everything except the editable areas.
Check the EM asset for changes.

[John_Wallace]

Hey Dave,

Thanks for your response, I really appreciate it!  I am not sure which version of the email editor we are currently on but I do not see any drag and drop modules, so I am hoping that this could be possible.  I had the same idea as you as far as testing on a cloned template and creating an email from that.  Then going back and editing the entire template but keeping the original editable regions to see if the content remains the same in the email but the rest of the template changes.

I will let you know if this works and will attach a screenshot of our current email editor, I am pretty sure it is the older version.  Thanks again!

-John

[John_Wallace]

I just tested this with some cloned templates and it indeed worked I as expected.

[Dave_Roberts]

Good stuff! Thanks for following up here, I'll have to keep this one in mind for the future.