This part of the application enables you to write and send emails to students, parents, teachers and other school members who are registered to receive communications by email. Schoolcomms will automatically list those members who need paper copies because they or their parents are not registered.

To open the 'Compose an email message' screen:

• Click the ‘Messaging’ button in the tool bar on the left hand side of the screen.
• Click the ‘Compose an email message’ button in the left hand side tool bar.
• The screen will display your most recent draft message. If you have no draft messages, the default template will be displayed.

Creating Email messages

• Open the screen. It will open at your most recent draft.
  
  
  
  
•  If you wish to continue with your latest draft, continue the composition.

Using Templates

• Alternatively use a template. The screen will open at your default template if you have no drafts.
• If you wish to use a different template, then click on the Templates button.
  
  
  
  
• Select the template that you wish to use from the list and click on Use Template. The template will open and you can prepare your message.
• The first listed template is the default template.
• To change the default template, select the one you want and click on Set as default. The new choice will move to the top of the list and be the default.
• Click New to create a new template. You can prepare a format that you like in Word or another program and then copy and paste it in.
• Give the template a name and click Save and close to save it.
  
  
  
  
• Click Edit to amend an existing template.
• If you wish to start with a blank message draft, use the template called Blank.

Composing your message:

• Type the Subject into the Subject line
• You can type directly into the text box or you can copy and paste from another document.
• Use the toolbar to format your message.
  
  
  
  
• You can choose the font type, font size and colour. You can also choose bold, italic, underline, set the justification and indent.
• Use the buttons or a right click on your mouse to cut copy and paste.
• Use the buttons towards the right of the toolbar to insert pictures and hyperlinks.
• Use the button or the right click on your mouse to insert the wild cards. The wild cards will be replaced in the messages by the students’ own names in order to personalise the messages.
• You can easily prepare complex formatting including tables in a word document and paste them in to the Schoolcomms email box.

NB: When copying content from other applications e.g. Microsoft Word, bear in mind that the conversion to html may corrupt some of the formatting and layout, and pictures will not be copied but have to be separately inserted (see below). To maintain the integrity of your original document you may wish to attach it to your email, either as a PDF file, Word etc. Always check the layout of your message using the preview button before sending.

• Inserting objects:
  • To insert a picture, place the cursor in the text box where you wish the picture to be placed.
  • Click on the insert picture button.
  • Browse to find the picture file that you wish to insert, highlight it and click on open. The picture will appear in the text box. The picture can be moved across the screen using the alignment buttons.
  • Picture files must not exceed 300Kb each.
  • To insert a hyperlink, place the cursor where you want the hyperlink to appear.
  • Click on the hyperlink button.
  • Type the name and address of the hyperlink in the box on the screen. Click OK. The hyperlink name will appear in the text of the email.

Attaching files:

• To attach a file (for instance a word or excel document, or a PDF file):
  • Consider the format that you wish to send the attachment as. PDF is an ideal format for attachments because it is universally readable. To save any file as PDF, download PDF995 for free by clicking on the icon below.
    
    
  • Click on the attach button in the top tool bar or on the screen button below the subject line. This screen will appear:
    
    
    
    
  • Click on the ‘Find file’ button. This will enable you to locate the file that you wish to attach. Remember to alter the ‘file type’ box to the type of file you want e.g. .doc for Word files. When you find the file you want, double click on it to select it.
  • Click Close when you have selected all the files you want to attach.
  • The names of the attached files will appear on the screen.
    
    
    
    
• To remove an attachment:
  • Click on the 'Attach' button or the 'Attach files' icon.
  • Highlight the file that you want to remove.
  • Click on ‘Remove file’ and it will tell you that the file has been removed.
  • Click Close and you are ready to select another attachment or return to the Compose email screen.

Spell checking a message:

• A spell check will automatically be carried out before you send an email but you can also choose to spell check your message at any point.
• Click the ‘Spell check’ button in the top tool bar.
• This spelling check box will appear:
  
  
  
  
• The incorrect spelling will be shown in the ‘Not in Dictionary’ box.
• Click ‘Ignore’ if the word shown is actually correct, a name for example.
• Click ‘Ignore All’ if the word is likely to occur elsewhere in the email, for example if it is a name you have used several times.
• Click ‘Add’ if the word shown is actually correct and is a word you will frequently use in your messages.
• The word will be added to the Schoolcomms dictionary.
• The ‘Suggestions’ box will show possible options for correct spellings.
• To choose an option from the ‘Suggestions’ box, click on the correct word.
• It will become highlighted in dark blue and will show in the ‘Not in Dictionary’ box.
• Click ‘Change’ to change just this occurrence of the error.
• Click ‘Change All’ to correct all occurrences of this error
• If you click ‘Cancel’ you will stop the spell check and any remaining text in the email will not be spell checked.

NB: Any attached files need to be checked for spelling separately in their native application.

Previewing a message:

• You can preview a composed message at any time before you send it.
• Click the ‘Preview’ button in the top toolbar.
• Your message will be shown on screen.
• Click Print to print the message.
• Click Close to return to the compose email message screen.

Selecting recipients:

• Click the ‘To parents of..’ or ‘To school members..’ button depending on whether the message is to go to the individuals and/or their parent. This screen will appear:
  
  
  
  
• If your message is to be sent to a group: 
  •  Type the group name or part of the name into the ‘Look for’ box at the top of the screen.
  • Click ‘Find now’.
  • Matching groups will be shown in the ‘Select groups and members’ box.
  • Click on the required group. It will be highlighted in dark blue.

• Your message can be sent to the students or their parents or both.
• Click ‘To parent of’ if you want to send the email to the parents of students in the chosen group.
• The names of the group members will be shown in the ‘To parent of’ box.
• Click ‘To school member’ if you want to send your email to the students of your chosen group.
• The names of the group members will be shown in the ‘To school members’ box.
• If you select an adult school member, the name can only be placed in the ‘To school member’ box.
• If all members of a group have been selected, you can remove individual names from the recipient list by selecting them in the right hand box and clicking on ‘Remove from list’.
• You can add and remove further groups or individuals from the recipient boxes using the ‘Add’ and ‘Remove’ buttons until you are happy with your selection.
• NB: By default, the 'Send to prime parents only' box will be ticked. If you want all linked parents to receive the message then untick the check box. If you want only the prime parents to receive the message leave the box ticked.
• If your message is to be sent to an individual:
  • Type the individual’s name into the ‘Look for’ box at the top of the screen.
  • Click ‘Find now’.
  • Any matching names will be shown in the ‘Select groups and members’ box.
  • Click on the required member’s name. It will become highlighted in dark blue.
  • Click the ‘To parent of’ button and/or the ‘To school member’ button
  • The member’s name will be added to the ‘To parent of’ and/or ‘To school member’ boxes
  • If you select an adult school member, the name can only be placed in the ‘To school member’ box.
  • NB: By default, the 'Send to prime parents only' box will be ticked. If you want all linked parents to receive the message then untick the check box. If you want only the prime parents to receive the message leave the box ticked.
• Click 'OK' to save your message distribution list.
• The recipients’ names will be shown in the ‘To parents of.’ and/or ‘To school members’ boxes on the main ‘Compose email message’ screen.
  
  
  
  
  
• If you click ‘Cancel’ your message distribution list will not be saved.
• NB: If you only want to send your email to the parents of the group members, then any teacher/staff member names included in the group will be shown in the ‘To school members’ box.
• NB: You can alter the distribution at any time before sending the message.

 

Shortcut! If you need to add several school members or groups to the distribution list use the shift or control keys so you can highlight them all at once. Then you only need to press the ‘To school member’ or ‘To parents of’ button once.

 

• To remove a school member’s name from the message distribution list: 
  • Click the ‘To parents of’ or ‘To school member’ button on the ‘Compose email message’ screen. The ‘Select message distribution list’ screen will appear.
  • Find the name you want to remove in the ‘To parents of’ and/or ‘To school member’ boxes.
  • Click on the name. It will become highlighted in dark blue.
  • Click the ‘Remove from list’ button that is to the left of the box in which the name is highlighted.
  • Click OK to save the recipient list.

Deleting a draft message:

• Click the ‘Delete draft’ button in the top toolbar.
• Schoolcomms will confirm that you wish to delete the message.
• Click ‘Yes’ if you want to delete the email.  Click ‘No’ if you do not want to delete the email. You will be returned to your email.

Saving a message:

• Click the ‘Save draft' button. Your message will be saved.

Managing draft messages:

• Both email and SMS text messages can be prepared and saved as drafts until you are ready to send or discard them.

Opening a draft message:

• To open an existing draft message, click the 'Open draft' button. Your draft messages will appear in the order in which they were last edited. The most recently edited draft message will appear at the top of the list. The drafts are identified by the date they were last edited and the first few words of the subject or message body.
  
  
  
  
• Select the draft message you wish to open and click 'Open'.
• Additionally, draft messages can be deleted by selecting them and clicking the 'Delete' button. Multiple drafts can be selected for deletion at once by holding down the 'Control' key whilst selecting the messages with the left mouse button
• To return to the 'Compose an email' screen without opening a draft, click 'Cancel'.

Sending a message:

• NB: All messages sent by Schoolcomms are transmitted securely between the school and the Schoolcomms server. However because someone else could read the email or SMS message, security cannot be guaranteed once the messages are dispatched from the Schoolcomms server to the recipients’ personal mobile phone or email address. Bear this in mind when sending messages.
• NB: Before sending a message, always check the preview to ensure that the content, layout and formatting are as expected. This is particularly important if you have pasted from another application. Remember that once the messages have been dispatched, they cannot be retrieved.
• You can choose to send the message immediately or to send it later at a chosen time.
• To send the message now, click the ‘Send Now’ button in the top tool bar.
• To send a message at a chosen later time, click the ‘Send Later’ button.
• Enter the required dispatch date and time in the screen by using the drop down calendar or by selecting the entry and overtyping your choice. You can schedule the send for up to one month ahead. The time and date are for UK local time.
  
  
  
  
• Note that the message will be sent to those people on the recipient list who are linked at the time of dispatch, not at the time that you prepare the message. There may have been changes to the linked people over this period.
• The message will be sent at the time set. If you wish to cancel the message, go to ‘Sent Items’, highlight the message and click on ‘Cancel Scheduled’.
• For those on the recipient list that don’t have email see ‘Creating printed copies of the message’ below. For a scheduled message you can find the paper list from the ‘Sent Items’ screen.

Creating printed copies of the message for school members and parents who do not use email:

• Creating printed copies of the message.

Economise on SMS credits by sending an SMS only to those without email:

Send your message by email, and then send an SMS only to those without a linked email address. This is useful for non urgent messages and minimising printing.

• Go to Messaging, Compose an email, select the recipients and prepare your message. Send the message. Some of the recipients may not be linked for email and will be on the alternative distribution list.
  
  
  
• Click on the bottom button.
  
  
  
  
• A simplified Send SMS box will appear with the recipients entered for you. This SMS message will ONLY be sent to the recipients that do not have an email address.
• The first 160 characters of the email will be shown in the text box.
• You can edit or replace this text as appropriate to give you a suitable message that fits in an SMS message.
• When you are ready, click Send message.
• You will be shown how many credits the message will use. Click OK.
• You will be shown the list of those recipients that are not linked for either email or SMS and still need to be contacted individually or by paper.
  
  
  
• The message will be shown as two separate items in the Sent Items list.
• The paper list for the email will show all those who did not receive the email
• The paper list for the SMS message will show all those who did not receive the SMS or email.
• The delivery or dispatch status for each message can be viewed by selecting it and clicking on Delivery/Dispatch status button.

• This feature can also be useful when sending a letter by email which you intend to send home by ‘pupil post’. You can use the follow up SMS message to remind the parents to expect a paper copy with their child.