Email Templates

Customize the emails that Deckyard sends to users.

Overview

Deckyard uses templates for all outgoing emails. You can customize these to match your brand and communication style.

Email settings page showing template editor with User Invitation selected, language tabs, and customizable Subject, Greeting, Body, Button Label, and Footer fields

Available Templates

These are the templates an admin can customize:

Template	Sent when
User Invitation	An admin invites a new user
Activation Reminder	A user has not yet activated their account
Collaborator Invitation	Someone shares a presentation with a collaborator
Guest Invitation	Someone invites a guest to view a presentation
Password Reset	A user asks to reset their password
Magic Link	A user signs in without a password
Comment Notification	Someone comments on a presentation
Guest Email Verification	A guest verifies their email address before commenting

Other emails, such as the weekly digest and the export-ready notice, use fixed templates.

Customizing Templates

Template Structure

Each template has five customizable fields:

Subject - Email subject line
Greeting - Opening line
Body - Main text
Button Label - Text on the action button
Footer - Closing text

Overrides and Defaults

Customizations are stored as overrides per template and language. A field you leave untouched uses the built-in default. Deckyard resolves each field in this order:

Your override for the recipient’s language
The built-in default for that language
The built-in English default

Template Placeholders

Placeholders are written in single braces, such as {name}, and are replaced when the email is sent. Values are HTML-escaped.

Template	Placeholders
User Invitation	`{name}`, `{inviter}`
Activation Reminder	`{name}`, `{inviter}`
Collaborator Invitation	`{name}`, `{inviter}`, `{presTitle}`, `{permission}`, `{accessLevel}`
Guest Invitation	`{name}`, `{inviter}`, `{presTitle}`
Password Reset	`{name}`
Magic Link	none
Comment Notification	`{commenterName}`, `{presTitle}`, `{commentBody}`
Guest Email Verification	`{name}`, `{presTitle}`

Localization

Templates support multiple languages:

Supported Locales

en / en-GB - English
nl - Dutch
de - German
fr - French
es - Spanish
And more…

Locale Selection

The email locale is determined by:

Recipient’s language preference (if known)
Default email locale setting
Fallback to English

Setting Default Locale

Configure the default email locale via app settings or environment:

EMAIL_DEFAULT_LOCALE=en

Editing Templates via Admin Panel

Email template editor with template selector, language tabs, and customizable subject, greeting, body, and button fields

Go to Admin > Email Templates
Select the template to edit
Choose the language
Edit the subject and body
Preview the changes
Save

Template Preview

The admin panel includes a preview feature:

See how the email will look
Test with sample data
Send a test email to yourself

HTML Email Best Practices

When customizing templates:

Use Inline Styles

Email clients have limited CSS support. Use inline styles:

<p style="color: #333; font-size: 16px;">Hello {name}</p>

Keep It Simple

Use table-based layouts for consistency
Avoid complex CSS (flexbox, grid)
Test in multiple email clients

Responsive Design

Use a single-column layout that works on mobile:

<table width="100%" style="max-width: 600px;">
  <tr>
    <td style="padding: 20px;">
      <!-- Content -->
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

Branding

Include your brand elements:

Logo (as hosted image)
Brand colors
Consistent typography