# Message templates and e-mail accounts

Content management

Every e-mail GrandNode sends - order confirmation, shipment sent, password recovery, new review for the owner - comes from a **message template**. Templates are sent through an **e-mail account** (an SMTP server) and pass through the [message queue](https://grandnode.com/content-message-queue).

### E-mail accounts

Set up the account first: **Configuration → Email accounts**.

![The Email Accounts list with one account, its display name, host and the default switch](https://grandnode.com/Plugins/Theme.GrandNodeCom/Content/kb/content/email-accounts.webp)

Configuration → Email accounts.

| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Email address, Display name | The sender customers see. |
| Host, Port | Your SMTP server, for example your mail provider or a transactional e-mail service. |
| User name, Password | The SMTP credentials. |
| Secure socket options | TLS/SSL as your provider requires. |

Mark one account as the default. Use **Send Test Email** on the account page (after saving) to check the settings before you rely on them.

### Message templates

**Content → Message templates** lists every template by system name, with its subject and whether it is active. The name says who gets it: `OrderPlaced.CustomerNotification` goes to the customer, `OrderPlaced.StoreOwnerNotification` to you.

![The Message templates list with names such as AuctionEnded.CustomerNotificationWin and Customer.EmailValidationMessage, their subjects and active flags](https://grandnode.com/Plugins/Theme.GrandNodeCom/Content/kb/content/message-templates.webp)

Content → Message templates.

#### Edit a template

1. Open the template.
2. Set **Is active** - an inactive template sends nothing, which is how you turn off an e-mail.
3. Choose the **Email account**, and optionally a **BCC** address to receive a copy.
4. Edit the **Subject** and **Body**. Insert data with the **allowed message tokens** listed above the body: click a token to insert it.
5. Translate subject and body per language, and limit the template to stores if it should differ per store (use **Copy template** to start from the existing one).

![Editing OrderPlaced.CustomerNotification: is active, stores, BCC, subject with order number token, and the list of allowed tokens above the body](https://grandnode.com/Plugins/Theme.GrandNodeCom/Content/kb/content/message-template-edit.webp)

A template with its tokens.

### Tokens

Tokens are placeholders in the Liquid template language, written as a name in double curly braces - the store name, the order number, the customer's first name, the list of order items. They are replaced with real values when the e-mail is sent. Liquid also supports conditions and loops, so a template can, for example, show a block only when the order has a note. Only the tokens listed for a template are available in it.

### Attachments

A template can carry an **Attached static file** you upload, such as your terms. The PDF invoice is attached to order e-mails by the **Attach PDF invoice** settings in **Sales settings**.

### Tips and common mistakes

- After editing, place a test order or trigger the e-mail and read it in a real mail client.
- Keep the unsubscribe and account links in the templates that have them.

### Related

- [The message queue](https://grandnode.com/content-message-queue)
- [Newsletter, campaigns and the contact form](https://grandnode.com/marketing-newsletter-campaigns)

- [Web page](https://grandnode.com/content-message-templates)