Articles include an option which allows you to display a summary of your Article content and link to a full display of the body. This is done using a Microsite Viewer.
The Microsite Viewer gives you the freedom to create content using the platform content management system and a way to automatically display your content outside of email. It creates pages using your articles and templates completely dynamically and on demand.
The basic steps to use the Microsite Viewer are as follows:
Include the Article field content you wish to display in the Template (Title, Callout, Author Name) as well as the Article Body to display in the Microsite Viewer. The Callout field is useful to use as a summary to display in your main Template.
- Create a Template for your email message:
In your main Template, add the Article tags for the elements you would like to display in the main email message, such as Title and Callout.
- Insert a Microsite Viewer link to display the full body of the Article in a new browser window. You may add this to your Article Callout field or directly to your Template.
- Create a Template as envelope to display the full Article. Format it to match the style of your email messages, but include only the Article content you wish to display.
Microsite Viewer Link
The link to the Microsite Viewer must include the Article and the name of the realm in which it exists. The link can be anonymous, or contact specific, which allows for personalization and tracking.
Create the link as follows, where [siteURL] is the URL to access your server:
http:// [siteURL]/bin/msv?r=[realm_name]&aid=[article_id]&tid=[template_id]&u=%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%%
For example, in a Template you may want to include the Title of the Article linked to the Microsite Viewer:
<a href="http:// mysite.com/bin/msv?r=myrealm&a=myArticle&t=msvTemplate&u==%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%%">%%article "name=myArticle&type=title"%%</a>
Alternately, you can include the Microsite Viewer link in the Callout field of the Article and then use that field in the Template.
Article Callout:
Learn all you need to know about our product. href="http:// mysite.com/bin/msv?r=myrealm&a=myArticle&t=msvTemplate&u==%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%%">Read more…</a>
Template: %%article "name=myArticle&type=callout"%%
Personalized vs. Anonymous Links
In order for the Microsite Viewer to display personalized content per Contact, you must include the 'user' argument in the link. This argument passes the Contact's ID into the viewer, allowing it to fill any Contact specific data fields in the Article body, such as First Name or Email. Personalization only works for links sent as part of a Campaign message.
Microsite Viewer links that do not contain the 'user' argument are considered Anonymous. You may use Anonymous links outside of Campaigns, such as a link on your company website or Social Networking site.
Limitations
The Microsite Viewer can only display one Article at a time. If the Article does not exist, or there are errors in the URL, a default error page will display. The Microsite Viewer also does not support unsubscribe links or tags.
Microsite Viewer Template
By default, the Microsite Viewer will display the Article Title and Body in a new browser window. The default template uses the main style sheet from your system.
If you would like to customize the content of the Microsite Viewer and the formatting of the content, you can define a custom Template to use as an envelope. This Template allows the same formatting as a normal campaign Template, including the use of Article tags an Contact personalization.
For example, your envelope may be similar to the following:
<html>
<head>
<title>%%article "name=myArticle&type=title"%%</title>
<LINK rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mystyle.css" title="style1">
</head>
<body>
<h1>%%article "name=myArticle&type=title"%%</h1>
<h2>%%article "name=myArticle&type=deck"%%</h2>
<p>This article is personalized for you, %%$first%%</p>
%%article "name=myArticle&type=body"%%
<p>Written by: %%article "name=myArticle&type=author_name"%%</p>
</body>
</html>
Arguments
The Microsite Viewer requires the following arguments: Realm and Article.
http:// [siteURL]/bin/msv?r=myrealm&a=myarticle
The Microsite Viewer supports several additional arguments to tell it how and what to display:
Name |
Req? |
Description |
Argument |
Realm |
Yes |
Name of the realm to run the command. |
r=[realm_name] realm=[realm_name] |
Article |
Yes |
Identifier of the Article to display. You may use the Article Name or the Article ID. The name must match exactly, using %20 or + in place of space. Because the ID doesn't change, you may prefer to use it instead. |
a=[article_name] article=[article_name] article_name=[article_name] aid=[article_id] |
Template |
|
Identifier of the Template to use as an envelope to format your displayed Article. You may use the Template Name or the Template ID. The name must match exactly, using %20 or + in place of space. Because the ID doesn't change, you may prefer to use it instead. If no template is defined, the Article will be displayed in a default layout that matches the formatting of your system. |
t=[template_name] template=[template_name] template_name=[template_name] tid=[template_id] |
User |
|
The encoded identifier of the Contact who clicked to the site. This is required for tracking the clicks and to support personalization within the Microsite Viewer. |
id=%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%% u=%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%% user=%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%% |
Tracking |
|
In order to track click-throughs when a link is clicked in the Microsite Viewer, you must enable tracking and send the contact information in the msv link. This will only work when sending a Microsite Viewer link in a campaign message. The encoded Contact ID tag is generated when a campaign is created. It contains the information about the List, Campaign, and Contact to enable tracking. Links will not be tracked when the article is viewed via an anonymous link. |
tracking=[0,1] DEFAULT==0 |
Example
Using the Microsite Viewer with all commands and arguments (please note the command is wrapped for display purposes only):
http:// [siteURL]/bin/msv?realm=myrealm&article=myarticle&template=msvEnvelope&user=%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%%&tracking=1
To conceal the purpose of the arguments in your link, use the Article ID and Template ID instead of the full name, and the shortened version of each argument:
http:// [siteURL]/bin/msv?r=myrealm&aid=16&tid=42&u=%%SUBSCRIBER_ID_TAG%%&tracking=1
An anonymous link example:
http:// [siteURL]/bin/msv?r=myrealm&aid=16&tid=42