Email messages and templates#

The email subject and body on the Distribution step are built in the same pill editor as file names, so you can drop variable tokens into the wording. That makes a message dynamic: it fills in the period, recipient, or figures at send time, so you are not editing the subject line and body by hand every week or quarter. Save a message you will reuse as a message template, and reload it across jobs and campaigns.

Before you begin#

• You are on the Distribution step with the Email distributor added, and its message editor open.
• For contact tokens the job must burst to contacts or use contact mapping; for cell-value tokens the source workbook must contain the referenced cell or named range.

Write a dynamic subject and body#

1. In the Email message editor, type the fixed wording of the subject and body.
2. Insert variable tokens where a value should fill in at send time. The message body offers the fullest set, the same tokens as a file name plus the richer content tokens that only make sense in a message:

3. To link to something external rather than attach it, use Markdown link syntax in the body, [Link text](URL), and put a variable in the URL so the link is dynamic per recipient (for example a SharePoint link to that recipient's file).
4. Review the body, then save the job.

When to use dynamic tokens. The message goes out on a recurring schedule and its wording changes only by period, entity, or recipient. Tokenize those parts once and the weekly or quarterly edit disappears.

Recipients do not have to come from the address book#

The To, Cc, Bcc, and From fields are token fields too, so a job can address its mail without any address-book contacts at all. Insert a Cell Value token and the recipient address is read from a cell or named range in the source workbook at send time. Because the resolved value is split on semicolons, one cell can hold several addresses, for example ap@contoso.com; controller@contoso.com.

That makes the workbook itself the recipient list, which is useful when the routing already lives in the report, a distribution tab maintained by the business, or a lookup that derives the owner of each cost center. The cell resolves even when its worksheet is excluded from the output, so the routing tab never has to be delivered.

Use the Address Book when the same people receive many different reports and you want their destinations maintained in one place. Use a Cell Value token when the list is short-lived, owned by the report, or already computed in the workbook.

Link to the report#

Instead of, or alongside, attaching the output, you can drop a Report Information token that links the recipient straight to the report in Reportworq. Insert it in the body or in an address or subject field, the same way you add the Address Book token.

1. In the message editor, add the Report Information token where the link should go.
2. Set Field. Choose Report Name to insert the report's name, Report Description to insert the report's description (the text set in the report's properties), or Report Link to insert a link to its output. The rest of these steps apply to Report Link.
3. Choose the Link Action:
   • Download takes the recipient straight to the output file. When they click, they are asked to sign in to Reportworq first, and then the file downloads.
   • Open in viewer opens the report in the Reportworq report viewer, on the exact run and view you pinned.
4. Choose the Version:
   • This version links to the run that produced this email.
   • Latest version links to the most recent run the recipient can see when they click.
5. Optionally set a Format (for example pdf or xlsx) and a Variation to point the link at a specific output.
6. Choose how the link renders:
   • Link inserts a clickable link. Set the Link text to control the wording (for example "Download this month's report").
   • Text URL inserts the raw web address, so you can style or wrap it yourself.

Recipients must be able to sign in to Reportworq. Both link types open inside Reportworq behind the normal login, and only licensed users who can sign in and who are allowed to see that output can open it. An external recipient who does not have a Reportworq account cannot use these links, so attach the file instead when you are sending to people outside your Reportworq users.

If the output has been removed. An Open in viewer link that points at a run that has since been deleted or aged out shows a "This report output is no longer available" message in the viewer, and lets the recipient pick another run.

Behind a reverse proxy or load balancer (administrators). The links Reportworq puts in emails are built from the server's public address. If your install is reached through a proxy or load balancer on a different address, set External URL in Settings ▸ Configuration to the public address (for example https://reports.example.com) so the links resolve for recipients. Left blank, links use the Web App Host and port configured on the same screen.

Add an AI-generated insight to a message#

An AI-generated insight is not an output format and not a file. It is model-written narrative that you embed into the message body, so the recipient reads a short written explanation above the numbers they have been sent.

This needs at least one enabled AI provider connection. Without one, the AI Generated Insights section does not appear on the Distribution step.

1. On the Distribution step, open the AI Generated Insights section and choose Add to create a named prompt. Prompts appear as a tab strip you can rename or delete; names must be unique.
2. Set the AI Model to one of your enabled connections. Choosing a model applies that provider's default token limit to the prompt.
3. Open Settings to set Max Tokens (minimum 10, maximum 1,000,000, default 2048) and, if wanted, Include AI-Generated Footer, which appends a note that the content was AI-generated and names the model.
4. Write the prompt. It accepts free text and Reportworq variable tokens, so it can reference the same parameter and cell values that drive the report, for example "Summarize the largest month-over-month variances for the department below." Images are not allowed in a prompt.
5. In the message body, insert the AI Insight token and select the prompt by name. At send time the prompt runs and its narrative is written into the message at that point.

When to use it. A burst sends each department its own P&L and each recipient should get a short commentary written for their numbers, rather than one generic paragraph reused across every department. Because the prompt reads the job's own variables, the narrative is personalized per burst iteration with no manual writing.

Notes. The AI Insight token is available in the message body only, not in the subject line, the address fields, or the output file name. An AI Insight cannot be nested inside another prompt. The generated text is also recorded in Run History's per-output AI Insights section, so you can read what each recipient was sent. For provider setup and for the in-workbook alternative, see AI-generated insights in reports.

Save and reuse a message template#

A message template is a reusable subject, body, and category, stored per workspace, so a branded or standard message is written once and reloaded everywhere.

1. Compose the subject and body (with tokens and, if wanted, an embedded logo image for branding).
2. Choose Save Template and give it a name. Saving with an existing name overwrites that template with the current editor content.
3. On any other job or campaign, choose Select a Template to open the picker: templates are listed on the left with a live preview of the selected body on the right. Choosing one loads its subject and body into the editor.
4. Rename and Delete are available on the selected template in the picker.

When to use a template. The same, or nearly the same, message is sent across many jobs or campaigns, a branded cover email for every monthly pack, or a standard contributor notification. Write it once, reload it everywhere, and keep the wording consistent.

Use cases#

• Branded monthly pack email. A logo header, standard greeting, and a dynamic link to the report, saved as a template and reloaded for every monthly P&L and forecast.
• Dynamic subject line. Weekly P&L, [Store], [Timestamp] fills in the store and run date, so the subject never needs a manual edit.
• Figures in the body. A Cell Value token drops the headline variance into the email text as a formatted value or a small table.
• Narrated variance pack. An AI Insight token adds a per-department commentary to each bursted email.
• Routing held in the workbook. A Cell Value token in the To field addresses each output from a distribution tab the business maintains, with no address-book contacts involved.

Notes and limits#

• Templates are workspace-scoped. A template belongs to the workspace it was saved in.
• Address Book tokens need a resolved contact. They fill in only when the run associates a contact with the iteration, through burst sets or contact mapping.
• The richer body tokens are body only. Chart, Image, Screenshot, and AI Insight are offered in the message body, not in the subject or the address fields.
• Report links are for signed-in users. A Report Information link opens inside Reportworq behind the login, so only licensed users who can sign in and who may see the output can use it. Attach the file for recipients outside your Reportworq users.
• For a one-off message, edit the body inline without saving a template.

Going deeper. To combine several outputs into a single templated email per recipient, pair templates with combining. See Combine emails, collate, and zip.