Email Script: Velocity and Alternating URLs in One Email Confirmation

[Allison_Isett]

Hello, 

I'm hoping to get some developer insight related to switching a confirmation email's URL content based on day/time

with Velocity. Note, that I am not a developer-

I was referencing @Sanford's blog: https://nation.marketo.com/community/product_and_support/blog/2017/11/28/velocitips-switch-email-con...

I am trying to put together a script that will use one parent engagement program confirmation email that can include a personalize webinar URL based on the date of the event. The 5 webinars are nested inside of an engagement program, where I was hoping to set the script at the parent program level and the confirmation email would also trigger from the parent engagement program. 

I am getting hung up on where I would need to set the webinar dates, and URLS display the URLs? Can I set the webinar dates and URLs directly in the script token, or do I have to use separate my.tokens to set them and reference them in the script?

If the calendar date is less than Webinar 1 date
Display my webinar url 1
If the calendar date is after Webinar 1 and before Webinar 3 date
Display my webinar url 2
If the calendar date is After Webinar 2 date and before the Webinar 4 date
Display my webinar url 3
If the calendar date is After Webinar 3 date and before Webinar 5 date
Display my webinar url 4
If the calendar date is after webinar 4
Display my webinar url 5

#set( $defaultTimeZone = $date.getTimeZone().getTimeZone("America/New_York") ) 
#set( $defaultLocale = $date.getLocale() )
#set( $calNow = $date.getCalendar() )
#set( $ret = $calNow.setTimeZone($defaultTimeZone) )
#set( $calConst = $field.in($calNow) ) 
#set( $ISO8601 = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss" ) 
#set( $ISO8601DateOnly = "yyyy-MM-dd" )


#if ($calNow.get($calConst.$date.getCalendar) <= {{my.webinar 1 DT}} )
#set ($mywebinardate= "{{my.webinar 1 DT}}")
#set ($mywebinarurl= "https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2021571/16048F8C9FD8F66DE96DBE1ECEE3DFEB")
#elseif ($calNow.get($calConst.$date.getCalendar) <= {{my.webinar 2 DT}} )
#set ($mywebinardate= "{{my.webinar 2 DT}}")
#set ($mywebinarurl= "https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2021573/51B046F601D036C3D8F47F3A80F4E779")
 
##print the myvalue
$mywebinardate
$mywebinarurl
#end>‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

[SanfordWhiteman]

I am getting hung up on where I would need to set the webinar dates, and URLS display the URLs? Can I set the webinar dates and URLs directly in the script token, or do I have to use separate my.tokens to set them and reference them in the script?

You can use another token, but another Velocity token, not a generic token.

If {{my.token1}} has

#set( $webinarDate = "2019-06-0712:00:00" )
#set( $webinarTZ = "America/New_York" )‍‍

and {{my.token2}} does the date processing, then you just to include {{my.token1}} before (that is, anywhere above) {{my.token2}} in the email.

{{my.token1}}{{my.token2}}‍

Splitting across different "data", "config", and "code" tokens is definitely a best practice for maintainability.

[Allison_Isett]

Thanks Sanford. 

So would I set the various webinar dates in 1 velocity token that is referenced in the date processing? Also, what about the various URLs? Would they also be in their own V-Token? 

This is what I have so far in my "Date processing token" and I'm getting stuck: 

#set( $defaultTimeZone = $date.getTimeZone().getTimeZone("America/New_York") )
#set( $defaultLocale = $date.getLocale() )
#set( $calNow = $date.getCalendar() )
#set( $ret = $calNow.setTimeZone($defaultTimeZone) )
#set( $calConst = $field.in($calNow) )
#set( $ISO8601 = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss" )
#set( $ISO8601DateOnly = "yyyy-MM-dd" )

#if( $calNow.get($calConst.$date.getCalendar) > {{my.webinar 1 DT}})
#set {{$mywebinardate= "{{my.webinar 1 DT}}")
#set {{$mywebinarurl= "https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2021571/16048F8C9FD8F66DE96DBE1ECEE3DFEB")

My confirmation email needs to have these two varying values, that are dependent on the date populated: 

Event Date and Time: {{my.webinardate}}

Link: {{my.webinarurl}}

But where would my data processing token go in this scenario? What am I getting wrong?

[SanfordWhiteman]

Can you highlight the code using the Advanced Editor's syntax highlighter so it's readable? (Use Java as it's closest to Velocity.) Then we'll continue.

I can already see you changed from the code I suggested. Don't do that! I wasn't just sketching out a concept, that was actual valid Velocity. When you change things with adding double curly braces and such, that's breaking the syntax.

[Allison_Isett]

I'm attempting to get the markdown to work -- hopefully, this works after I post. 

#set( $defaultTimeZone = $date.getTimeZone().getTimeZone("America/New_York") )
#set( $defaultLocale = $date.getLocale() )
#set( $calNow = $date.getCalendar() )
#set( $ret = $calNow.setTimeZone($defaultTimeZone) )
#set( $calConst = $field.in($calNow) ) 
#set( $ISO8601 = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss" ) 
#set( $ISO8601DateOnly = "yyyy-MM-dd" )``
#if ($calNow.get($calConst.$date.getCalendar) <= {{my.webinar 1 DT}} )
#set ($mywebinardate= "{{my.webinar 1 DT}}")
#set ($mywebinarurl= "https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2021571/16048F8C9FD8F66DE96DBE1ECEE3DFEB")
#elseif ($calNow.get($calConst.$date.getCalendar) <= {{my.webinar 2 DT}} )
#set ($mywebinardate= "{{my.webinar 2 DT}}")
#set ($mywebinarurl= "https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2021573/51B046F601D036C3D8F47F3A80F4E779")
 
##print the myvalue
$mywebinardate
$mywebinarurl
#end>‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

[SanfordWhiteman]

Feels like you need to read my blog post a lot more thoroughly. There are examples there that you aren't using, and you seem to be conceptualizing other methods that won't even compile (syntax errors).

• don't want to overload the <= operator to compare dates, use compareTo
• refer to Velocity variables from other tokens using the usual $name syntax, not {{my.token}} syntax w/curly braces (curly braces are not meaningful in Velocity)
• your #if/#elseif/#end and output doesn't look to be nested correctly
• other syntax weirdness

Maybe you need to get a Velocity developer involved?