HOW TO: Save HTML files as email templates using NVU software

There are a variety of software applications available to the general public for creating professional looking HTML files. One application that works exceptionally well is NVU (pronounced "N-view," for a "new view"), which is published by Linspire, Inc. NVU is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, meaning that the visual way the HTML file appears in the program while editing is the same way it will appear upon saving the file.

The software is offered to users free of charge, provided "as is" and is free of malware or unwanted add-ons during the installation. I did not notice any odd terms in the license agreement that can sometimes be found in some “freeware” programs. I do however recommend downloading the software from the official website, as NVU is open source software, meaning users are allowed to edit the source code of the program and then re-distribute it… which could be hazardous to your computer if downloaded from the wrong source.

NVU runs properly on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The software requires 21.3 MB of free hard disk space. Other system requirements such as RAM were not readily available at the time of this review.

Installation of the software went very smooth for me, as I encountered no problems with the process. Custom installation options offer to install to defined directories, and place shortcuts to the start menu and desktop.

The NVU user interface is easy to use and mostly self-explanatory, especially for building email templates for an email marketing campaign. The one problem I encountered when building an HTML email for use in a campaign was where it truncated the source of embedded images (this is common in many HTML editing programs). Yet it was easily corrected by right clicking the images, selecting properties, then de-selecting “URL is relative to page location.”

Saving files as HTML email templates
To create an email message template for use in Email Marketing Director or Campaign Enterprise software, you must first save the file as an .html or .htm document.

Saving an email template for Email Marketing Director

1. Copy the file using the Ctrl + C key on your computer keyboard
2. Go to My Computer > C Drive > Program Files > Email Marketing Director > Templates folder
3. Use the Ctrl + V keys on your computer keyboard to paste the file into the Templates folder.
4. When you edit a campaign, click Edit HTML > Use Template and your file will be available in the list of templates. There will not be a preview of the file; you will need to remember the file name.
5. Set this template as the default, and each new campaign you create will automatically load this file into the edit screen.

Saving an email template for Campaign Enterprise

1. Copy the file using the Ctrl + C key on your computer keyboard
2. Go to My Computer > C Drive > Program Files > Campaign Enterprise > Templates folder
3. Use the Ctrl + V keys on your computer keyboard to paste the file into the Templates folder.
4. When you edit a campaign, click Email Templates and your file will be available in the list of templates. Select the file to preview the message.
5. To use this template for each new campaign, you will want to save this campaign as the Template Campaign in the Setup Campaign Tab. Each new campaign you create can be based on the campaign template, and will use the email message that is included in the template.

For creating quality HTML documents, overall I would rate NVU a 4 out of 5. The software is very reliable for creating great looking content. There has not been an official release of NVU since June of 2005; the unofficial bug-fixed release is called KompoZer and can be downloaded at http://www.kompozer.net If you experience problems with NVU (download at http://nvudev.com/download.php), downloading and using KompoZer may be an alternate plan; however, I prefer not to recommend products that are in beta testing until an official release becomes available.

I recommend this product for people that have minimal experience with HTML coding but need to build basic yet professional HTML files. The software is very user friendly and provides a wide variety of features for complete customization of your HTML files. -- Arial Software

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