Schoolzine’s DIY eNewsletter Platform is a compact and intuitive system that allows you to build a high-quality online newsletter. Create Articles and link Events to create a content rich newsletter to engage and communicate with your community.

If you have any questions or wish to begin the setup for one of our other features, please don't hesitate to contact our Support Team and one of our members can assist you as soon as possible.

Click here to learn more

To begin building your DIY newsletter, you’ll first need to create it within the Control Centre.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the eNewsletters tab.
2. Click the New Newsletter button at the top of the page.
3. The Newsletter Title field should be populated by the name of the newsletter.
4. Click the Publication box and select the Publication for this newsletter.
   Note: This will likely be named School Newsletter.
5. Under Advanced Settings, Set the Publish Date and Time fields for your newsletter.
   Note: These fields will default to the current date and time if no action is taken.
6. Click Save.

Click here to view an example DIY Newsletter

The Schoolzine system allows you to easily create and share articles with your community. You can do this through outbound communications such as Newsflashes, SZapp Push notifications, Streams and DIY eNewsletters.

Articles can be linked to multiple Streams and Newsletters, as well as can be filtered and sorted via Tags. Time sensitive information such as School awards can have a delayed Publish Date, or you can set a Close Date for information that is no longer relevant.

Article Overview

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Content menu tab.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. You will be presented with an overview of the articles within your system. Here you can quickly review information about each article.

Field Description

Name: The name of your article.

Created: The creation date of the article.

Tags: The tag/s applied to your article.

Status: If your system allows for members of the public to submit articles, they will be marked as Unapproved until you review and approve the article. Any article created through the admin system will automatically be marked as Approved.

Source: Indicates whether or not the article is community submitted.

Bulk Actions

Bulk Actions allows you to quickly apply a specified action to multiple articles simultaneously, such as deleting, approving, adding or removing a tag and linking or unlinking publications.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Content menu tab.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. Search for the articles you would like to apply the action to.
   Note: You can filter articles by tags, approved/unapproved or publication.
4. If you only need to select certain articles, use the tick boxes on the left hand side to choose the articles you wish to action. If you want to use all the articles listed leave the tick boxes blank.
5. Under the Bulk Actions section, click the --Select Action-- drop down and select the action.
6. Select Go. When a popup window appears, follow the prompts.

Adding an Article

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select Content.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. Click the + New Article button.
4. Fill in the Title for your article.
   Note: If you are still working on your article and do not want it available to the public yet, you can unselect the Approved checkbox.
5. If you have a sizeable article you will be able to select the Expandable checkbox, which will place a ‘Read More’ button in the corner of your article.  This will also display a small preview of the content.
6. If required, a Tag can be applied to your article.
7. If you do not wish for your article to appear straight away, you can select a Publish Date. A Closing Date can be populated if you wish for an item to no longer display for the community.
   Note: You will not be able to preview this article until the publish date.
8. If you wish to add the article to an already created DIY Newsletter, you can select it from the Linked Newsletters dropdown.
9. You can apply a stream from the Linked Streams if you wish for the article to be applied to your News Stream.
10. You can apply Weighting to the article to adjust the position in the Noticeboard Section or when searching for it in your stream.
    Note: The higher the number assigned to the weighting field, the more important it is.
11. Compose your Article Content and apply styling using the toolbar menu to insert Images, Hyperlinks, Videos, Galleries and other content.
12. The Article Summary is only required if you would like to display a summarized version of your content (For display in the ‘Noticeboard’ section of your Newsletter).
13. Fill in any other Advanced fields from the dropdowns, including Contact Person details, Location Details, and Supporting Files such as images or flyers if required.
    Note: These are not mandatory.
14. Once you have populated your content, select Save.

Editing an Article

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select Content.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. Click on the Title of the article you would like to edit.
4. Select the Edit Article button.
5. Make the changes you require and select Save

Show Blocks

Sometimes multiple edits can result in extra code snippets being added to your article. By selecting ‘Show Blocks’ under the Tools drop down menu, you will be able to see each of the code elements within your article.

Tag Selector

At the bottom of your Editor you have access to a tool called the Tag Selector. This allows you to easily select code elements within your Article. Simply click the code element you wish to edit/remove to select it.

Deleting an Article

Deleting an article will also delete it from any Streams, Newsletters, and will affect any outbound communication that is referencing this article.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select Content.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. Click on the Title of the article you would like to Delete.
4. Select the Delete Article button.
5. Select OK from the prompt window.

Quick Adding Articles

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select eNewsletters.
2. Then click the Newsletter Name that you would like to add content to OR create a New Newsletter
3. Click the Quick Add Article button.
4. Populate your Article Title into the prompt window, and select a Publish Date if you do not wish for your article to appear straight away.
5. If you have a sizeable article you will be able to select the Expandable checkbox which will place a ‘Read More’ button in the corner of your article, whilst displaying a small preview of the content.
6. If required, a Tag can be applied to your article.
7. Compose your Article Content and apply styling using the toolbar menu to insert Images, Hyperlinks, Videos, Galleries and other content.
8. Once you have populated your content, select Save.

Copying an Article

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Content menu tab.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. Click Name of the Article you would like to copy.
4. Select the Copy button to create a duplicate of this Article.
5. You will be redirected to the duplicate article where you can amend the content and link it to relevant Newsletters and Streams.

Linked Newsletters

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Content menu tab.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. Click Name of the Article you would like to view.
4. The Linked Newsletters field will list the Newsletters your article is linked to.
   Note: You can click on the name of the newsletter to go to that newsletter in your account.

Linking an Article to a Newsletter

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select eNewsletters.
2. Then click the Newsletter Name that you would like to add content to OR create a New Newsletter
3. Under the Newsletter Content Section, use the Link Article button and select the item from your content library.

Warning

If you make any changes to Articles linked to more than one newsletter, it will adjust in all linked newsletters. If you want to make changes to one instance of the article you can copy the article and link the duplicate, See Copying an Article.

Filtering by Author

When linking an article, you can filter by the author of the article. Using the My Articles checkbox you can quickly see all articles you have created. You can also untick the box searching through all articles, or filter by any other authors in your account.

Unlinking an Article via a Newsletter

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select eNewsletters.
2. Then click the Newsletter Name that you would like to unlink content from.
3. Under the Newsletter Content Section, use the chain icon from the Unlink column to remove the article from the Newsletter. The article will remain your content library.

Unlinking an Article from a Stream

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select Streams.
2. Then click the Stream Name that you would like to unlink content from.
3. Under the Linked Content Section, use the chain icon from the Unlink column to remove the article from the Stream. The article will remain your content library.

This guide will give you an overview of the different menu items and how to style your content or insert special elements and media items.

If you are copying content directly from an email or web page, to avoid errors it is recommended to clean the text. If you are copying pre-formatted content, such as from a Microsoft Word document, some formatting may be copied across from your document however it is still recommended to be cleaned first.

The easiest way to clean your content, is to paste the content into Notepad, and from Notepad into the Article Content box.

For Mac users, you are able to use TextEdit for this.

If you have cleaned your content you can then begin to format your content using the toolbar included within the Schoolzine Control Centre.

Please click on the relevant tab below for more information:

• Edit & Insert Menu
• Table Menu
• Tools, Links & Formatting Menu
• Wildcards Menu

Edit Menu

Through this tab, you’ll be able to Undo (Ctrl+Z) and Redo changes (Ctrl+Y), Select All (Ctrl+A), and Find and replace text (Ctrl+F).

You will be able to access options such as Cut, Copy & Paste via the common keyboard shortcuts:

1. Cut (Ctrl+X) or (CMD+X for Mac)
2. Copy (Ctrl+C) or (CMD+C for Mac)
3. Paste (Ctrl+V) or (CMD + V for Mac)

Insert Menu

Images

After selecting the Images option, you will either be able to Select From System to choose an existing image from the system, or Upload New to add a new image from your files.

Please note: It is Important that you have reSZized images prior to uploading them into the Schoolzine System.

Click here for a guide on the Schoolzine Image ReSZizer https://www.schoolzineplus.com/newsletter/article/85

Select From System

1. Select the browse button to the right of the Source box.
2. Click the image you wish to add or use the search bar to filter.
3. You can alter the image size by changing the values in the ‘Dimensions’
   Note: To maintain good image quality, we recommend that you don’t upscale your images.
4. For images that have a white or transparent background we advise the use of no styling. Simply change the Image Style to No Styling.
5. Click Ok to add the image to the article.

Upload New

1. Select the Choose File icon on right of the Source box.
2. Navigate to where the file is saved on your computer.
3. Double click the file or click Open to add it to the article.

Click on the video below for a run through of this process:

Gallery

After selecting the Gallery option, you will either be able to search and then Insert to choose an existing gallery folder from the system, or Create New to add a new gallery from your files.

Please note: It is Important that you have reSZized images prior to uploading them into the Schoolzine System.

Click here for a guide on the Schoolzine Image ReSZizer https://www.schoolzineplus.com/newsletter/article/85

Select From System

If your gallery has already been uploaded into the Media Downloads section of your Control Centre then you will be able to use this popup to browse for the folder.

1. Select the browse button to the right of the Gallery Id box. Please note: There are only two file types that you'll be able to use: JPGs and PNGs.
2. Use the drop down box to select the folder.
3. Click Select.
4. Click Insert to add the gallery to your article.

Create New

If you have not yet uploaded the gallery, you can do so now by selecting the Create New button.

1. Add the Folder Name.
2. Drag and Drop your files into the drag and drop box.
   As an alternative, you can also browse for the files by clicking Choose Files, navigating to where the files are saved on your computer, highlighting all images within the folder, and clicking Open.
   Note: you can repeat this process as many times as necessary.
3. When all file names are displaying, click the Create Gallery
4. Once the gallery has finished uploading, the system will supply you with an Id. Click Insert to add it to the article.

Video

After selecting the Video option, you will either be able to use the prompt window to insert a Youtube/Vimeo video, or pick the Embed Code tab to insert content from another source.

Youtube/Vimeo

The following steps can be used to insert a Youtube or Vimeo video:

1. Copy the video URL (web address) or ID from the source of Youtube or Vimeo and place it into the Video URL or Id section.
2. Adjust the size of the video if you would like the video to appear smaller (550 can be left as the default size for most content).
3. You can adjust any of the the other options in the content window if required, or just leave them as default, and then select OK to insert the video into your content.

Embed Code

If you have been given an embed code for a video, such as a WISTIA video, this can be added into the content area through the Embed Code tab, and then selecting the OK button. It is also recommended if you are able to customise the sizing of your content that it matches around the 550px width in order to maintain correct size and ratios for your Schoolzine Content.

NOTE: Some videos that are embedded from other sources such as Facebook or Panopto, will not render correctly in your PDF print version so may need to be hidden from your content. For more information on hiding elements of content from your print version, see the PDF Formatting Options section of this Knowledge Base Article.

For an overview of inserting a video, see the video below:

PDF Flyer

This option is used to add a PDF file to your newsletter.

1. Select your file by using the Upload or Search buttons.
2. Create the title for the button.
   EG: ‘Click here to download the Canteen Menu’
3. If you are wanting the pdf to be embedded in your newsletter, make sure the Show Flyer checkbox is ticked.
4. If you are wanting to hide the URL (web address) of the file, make sure the Show Download Link checkbox is unticked.

For a video guide on this process see below:

Link Button

This option is used to create an interactive button within your content to link to website pages, or download files.

1. Place your URL (web address) link in the URL field.
   Please note: You can use this option to also link through to a PDF by using the upload or search buttons to the right of the window.
2. Select a Name for the button.
   NOTE: We always recommend having a call to action for buttons, EG: ‘Click here to view the School Website’
3. If you would like to not display the URL (web address), make sure the Hide URL checkbox is checked.
4. You can select an icon for your button that will be displayed on the right hand side via the Icon drop down box.

Special Elements

Special elements can be inserted into your content to either draw emphasis to certain elements of content, or can also be used to make certain minor formatting adjustments for the printable PDF version of your DIY eNewsletters.

Border Box

A Border Box is used to create a coloured border around your content.

We suggest using these sparingly to draw attention to certain elements of your content you want your viewers to see.

Colour Box

A Color Box is used to create colour filled box around your content.

We suggest using these sparingly to draw attention to certain elements of your content you want your viewers to see.

Line Break

A Line Break is used to create a divider line between content.

PDF Formatting Options

There are a few different ways you can format the printed view of your Newsletter. The options available are outlined below:

PDF Break
PDF Break is used to move all content underneath the Element to the next Column.

PDF Hide
PDF Hide is used to hide a piece of content from the Print view of the newsletter.

PDF Only
PDF Only is used to show a piece of content only in the Print view of the newsletter.

Clear

This option is used to stop content such as floated images or buttons from effecting the content beneath them. They can be placed directly below content to avoid any overlap.

1. Select the blank line where you would like to insert the clear.
2. Select Clear and you will see the content becomes spaced out by a red styled rectangle in the content. This will indicate where the content will be pushed down for you.

Table Menu

You can add a table to your content by using the Table menu option. Tables are a great way to space out and organise your content (rather than using the 'Tab' key). Please note: it's not recommended to copy and paste tables from somewhere straight into your articles.

• Select Table from the drop down menu and select how many columns and rows you would like to include. Click with your mouse to add the desired table to your content.
• Once you have inserted your table, you are able to apply to begin adding in your content. You can also add a colour to either your entire table or specific cells. Simply just select the cell or entire table and navigate to Cell or Table colour.
• The Style classes option allows you to do things such as remove the table borders and padding.

When you click on your table, a little toolbar pops up which allows you to quickly make changes to your table. E.g. Adding in an additional rows and columns.

Adjusting Column and Row Widths

You are able to adjust the size of your columns and rows by using Table Properties within Table from the drop down menu.

You are then able to apply the appropriate Width and Height to your table. You can also alter the Cell spacing and padding here.

Applying Table or Cell Background

Simply have your cursor placed within one of the cells, navigate to Table in the menu and then Table colour. Once you have clicked on your chosen colour, it should be applied to your table.

Merging Cells

If you would like to merge multiple cells together:

1. Select the cells you would like to merge.
2. Select Cell under the Table Menu option.
3. Select Merge Cells.

Alternative Table Options

• If the table you are wanting to create is quite complex and is hard to recreate within your Schoolzine account. We recommend creating the table in a word document, saving it as a PDF and inserting it as a 'PDF Flyer'.
• The table can also be included as a jpeg or PNG. Once the table has been created in word, take a screenshot using snipping tool and then insert it as an 'Image'. See below image:

Tools Menu

Spellcheck

By selecting this Tool you will turn on spellcheck for your content, allowing the Schoolzine System to show any spelling errors that may be found within your content.

Paste as Text

If you have copied content that has both text and images, if you have this Tool active it will only paste the text based content.

Show Blocks

Show Blocks will be used to show your content in blocks of formatting such as Headings and Paragraph styles, and can also be used to track down content that is carrying unwanted styles.

Link Icon - from the toolbar

You can use this option to hyperlink text within your content.

Link to Document

If you are wishing to link your text to a PDF file you will be able to use this option.

1. Place your URL (web address) link in the URL field.
   Please note: You can use this option to also link through to a PDF by using the upload or search buttons.
2. Place the text that you are going to link the document to in the Text to display. 
   EG: ‘Click here to download the Canteen Menu’
3. Select how the link will be opened, either in the Same Window or in a New Window.
4. Applied Classes: This is an optional field to allow extra styling to be applied to the text. You will be able to leave this.

Link to URL (web address)

If you are wishing to link your text to a URL (web address) you will be able to use this option.

1. Place the web address in the URL Field.
2. Place the text you are wanting to hyperlink in the ‘Text to display’
   EG: ‘Click here to view the School’s Website’
3. Select how the link will be opened, either in the Same Window or in a New Window.
4. Applied Classes: This is an optional field to allow extra styling to be applied to the text. You will be able to leave this blank.

Link to Form

If you are wanting to link a Webform that has been created in the Control Centre, you will be able to use this option.

1. Select the Web Form you are wanting to use by pressing the button on the right of the Form URL.
   If you have the URL (web address) for the webform already, you will be able to place it directly into the Form URL field
2. Place the text you are wanting to link the Web Form to in the ‘Text to display’ field.
   EG: ‘Click here to complete the Camp Permission form’
3. Select how the link will be opened, either in the Same Window or in a New Window.
4. Applied Classes: This is an optional field to allow extra styling to be applied to the text. You will be able to leave this blank.

Link to Email

1. Populate the ‘Email’ field with an email address.
2. Place the text you are wanting hyperlink in the ‘Text to display’ field.
3. Applied Classes: This is an optional field to allow extra styling to be applied to the text. You will be able to leave this blank.

Please note: If you have an email within your content, placing your cursor at the end of the email and pressing the Space Bar will automatically link the text to the email.

Format Menu - from the toolbar

By default the formatting menu will display with the words Paragraph as this is the default style for your content.

Content Formatting

• Paragraph Style
  • This Style is the default style applied to the content of your article. Any thing that is not made into a heading should be tagged as ‘Paragraph’ Style. This will be selected by default.
• Heading 1 - used to indicate any main headings. The Title of your article/event will be styled using this style.
• Heading 2 - used for sub headings within your content. This is the most common heading style used while building newsletter content.
• Heading 3 - used for a sub-sub heading, to be used under a Heading 2.
• Heading 4 - used for even more headings segregation, however is very simmilar to Heading 3.

Please note that you will not need to apply colours to your headings, and this will be automatically added based on your account colours.

Text Based Formatting

These options allow you to change the styling applied to your text. From left to right these options are:

• Font Size - increase or decrease the size of the font within your newsletter.
• Text Colour - change the colour of your font.
• Bold, Italic, & Underline - This will apply the relevant styles as it would in your word processing program.  
• Strikethrough - This option will apply a Strikethrough to your content.
• Clear Formatting - This option will clear any formatting selected. This is used to remove unwanted styling.
• Alignment - adjust the alignment of your content. The options available are Left, Centre, Right and Justified

It is important to note that the Alignment options are not limited to text based content. They can also be used to adjust the alignment of images to create floated images.

Lists

• • The left option is used to create a Bulleted list.
  • The right option is used to create a Numbered list.

Wildcard Menu

The Wildcard menu will automatically and quickly populate with details from other areas of your account. If using wildcards, then you update in these other locations, this will automatically update system wide. This is commonly used for populating items like phone numbers, addresses, or even Principal’s names.

Depending on the location in your account, the Wildcard menu will be separated into different sections; Contacts, Campaign, Date, Settings and Account.

When inserting a Wildcard to your content this will show as a value such as %%__ VALUE HERE __%% and will render upon previewing or sending a test email (if placed into an EDM).

It is important to note that certain wildcards will only work in certain sections. For example, the ‘Contact First Name’ will only be populated if you are sending EDM’s and will not populate correctly if someone is viewing an Article.

Once your newsletter has been created, you’re ready to add your articles and content. There are two ways to do this:

• The Quick Add Article button will allow you to create the article, format your content, and link the article to the newsletter.
  Note: Make sure the Publish Date is set to a time in the past to ensure you’ll be able to preview it online.
• Similarly, you can add articles by navigating to the Content side menu item, selecting Articles and clicking New Article. This will take you to a more complete version of the same page as the above method.

The latter is a more indirect way of adding articles, and as such, there are a few more steps.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Content tab.
2. Once expanded, select Articles.
3. Click the New Article button at the top of the page.
4. The Title field will display as the main heading for your article.
5. Set the Publish Date to a time in the past to ensure you’ll be able to preview it online.
   Note: If applicable, set the Closing Date to when you would like the article to disappear from the newsletter.
6. Click the Linked Newsletters box and select the newsletter issue relevant to your article.
7. Click the Linked Streams box and select the Stream for this newsletter.
   Note: This will likely be named School Newsletter.

For additional information on how to format your content and add media such as galleries and videos using the content window and toolbar, please click see the guide below.

Click here for Information on Navigating the Toolbar & Content Window

If there's an event created in your Calendar that you'd like your community to be more aware of, you have the option of linking that event to your newsletter to display in the content.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the eNewsletters menu tab.
2. Click on the Name of the newsletter you wish to edit.
3. Click the Link Event button and search for the event/s you’d like to add.
   Note: You can search for the event by typing the event name in the search bar, or searching by tag. You also have the option to Link All.
4. Select the event/s by clicking in the tick box.
5. Click Link.

For a more comprehensive guide for creating Events in the control centre, see the guide below:

Click here for the Events Tutorial

Have you been provided with a PDF that you want your community to see without having to download the file? PDF Flyer functionality has been added to Articles to allow you to easily include these files.

Adding a PDF Flyer to an Article

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Content menu tab.
2. Select Articles, click the New Article button and populate the Title Field.
3. Apply a Tag if relevant, select a Publish Date if you do not want your article to appear straight away and select the relevant options for your Linked Newsletters or Linked Streams. (Relevant only to DIY Newsletter subscriptions)
4. You can add a PDF Flyer via one of the following options:
   - Select the Insert tab located in the top menu ribbon and click the PDF Flyer
   - Select the PDF Flyer icon located on the left side of the top menu ribbon.
   - Right Click in the content window and select the PDF Flyer option.
5. From the prompt window, upload a file using the Upload Icon or search for an existing file using the Search Icon.
   
   
6. Adjust fields as desired. ‘Title’ will display atop the PDF Flyer. The ‘Show Flyer’ tickbox is responsible for the visual display of the file. It is recommended to leave this enabled. The ‘Download Link’ tickbox will apply a ribbon at the top of the PDF which allows users to download the file.
7. Once adjusted click ‘Ok’ to insert the PDF Flyer.

You can also update a PDF Flyer by clicking the Edit Icon or remove it using the Delete Icon.

When viewing an article, a PDF Flyer will show as follows:

If you are intending to print a number of copies of the online newsletter then you can do so using the printable 'PDF Print Version' of the newsletter. This is an automatically generated file that is constructed using the content of the online newsletter. We have included some tools that will allow you to make minor formatting changes to this file.

Viewing the Print Version

Once you have constructed your Newsletter, by attaching your Articles and Events, you can view the Print version using the icon shown below. 

This will open another window containing a PDF version of the newsletter as seen below.

Formatting the Print Version

Schoolzine has implemented tools to allow you to format your PDF version, as well as hiding or showing content for the PDF version:

• PDF Hide will hide the entire Article/Event from the PDF Version
• PDF Only will show the entire Article/Event in the PDF Version only
• PDF Break will push the entire next Article/Event to the next column or page.

Formatting Article/Event Content

If required, you can push content within your Article/Event to the next column of the PDF by applying a 'PDF Break' within your Article.

You can also Show/Hide Article/Event content using the 'PDF Hide' or 'PDF Only' styles. This is useful for hiding things such as Polls, or electronic Web Forms, where these would not be shown in your printed copy. 

If you have received content from others you may have received this from a number of different means such as email, or even multiple word documents. It is important that this content is cleaned prior to being brought into the Schoolzine Control Centre as this will often carry existing styling, fonts etc that may affect the way your content is displaying, or accessed by the community.

How To Clean Email Content

1. Select all of the content within your email that you have received by clicking and dragging over the content to ‘highlight’ it (you may wish to leave out the email signatures or other miscellaneous content).
2. Copy this content to your clipboard on your computer. (CTRL + C for a PC, and CMD + C for MAC).
3. Paste this content into a plain text editor such as Notepad, Wordpad or TextEdit for mac users (paste content using CTRL + V for a PC, and CMD + V for MAC).
4. Select all of the content you have pasted into the text editor (CTRL + A for a PC, and CMD + A for MAC).
5. You can then copy this content from the plain text editor to your clipboard again before being used within the Schoolzine Control Centre.

Note: You will need to apply Schoolzine styles for headings, bolds, italics, and hyperlinks etc that may have been included in your original content.

How To Clean Word Document Content

1. Select all of the content within your email that you have received by clicking and dragging over the content to ‘highlight’ it (you may wish to leave out the email signatures or other miscellaneous content).
   NOTE: Alternatively if you require all of the content from the word document you will be able to select this all using the keyboard shortcuts (CTRL + A for a PC, and CMD + A for MAC).
2. Copy this content to your clipboard on your computer. (CTRL + C for a PC, and CMD + C for MAC).
3. Paste this content into a plain text editor such as Notepad, Wordpad or TextEdit for mac users (paste content using CTRL + V for a PC, and CMD + V for MAC).
4. Select all of the content you have pasted into the text editor (CTRL + A for a PC, and CMD + A for MAC).
5. You can then copy this content from the plain text editor to your clipboard again before being used within the Schoolzine Control Centre.

Note: You will need to apply Schoolzine styles for headings, bolds, italics, and hyperlinks etc that may have been included in your original content.

Updated Aug 2021

Before uploading your newsletter content, we recommend first reducing the file size of your images by processing them through the Schoolzine Image ReSZizer. This will cut down on the time it takes to upload your files.

You will also be able to adjust the height and width of your images to fit various other features within the Control Centre, such as Side Panels, Emails, Websites and SZapp Notifications.

This software is free and allows you to resize all of your images at the same time.

Installing the ReSZizer

You can install the program by clicking one of the links below. Once downloaded, launch the file and follow the installation steps.

Click on the video below to view a video tutorial for installing the Schoolzine Image ReSZizer:

Smart Screen Warning

This should only occur for Windows 10 users, however, upon running the ReSZizer installer, you may be greeted with a "Smart Screen" prompt (see image below). If this occurs, just click more information (if applicable), followed by "Run".

Processing Your Images

Click on the video below to view a video tutorial on using the Schoolzine Image ReSZizer:

Before you get started, make sure your Images folder contains all relevant image files and galleries.

1. Open the ReSZizer application.
2. Click and Drag your Images folder into the box labeled Drag and drop images here.
   Note: You can also choose the files you wish to resize by clicking the Load File or Load Folder button at the top of the ReSZizer and navigating to your Images folder, then clicking Open.
3. To resize a single image, or to select images individually, click the Load File button at the top of the ReSZizer.
4. Set the Profile to the appropriate setting.
   Note: If you're unsure, set the profile to Image Centre. This is the default setting and perfect for resizing images for your newsletter content.
5. Click Resize.

Processing Your PDFs

This function is the easiest way to create image files from your PDFs and is perfect for if you'd like a visual to accompany your downloadable file.

1. Open the ReSZizer application.
2. Select the PDF tab.
3. Click and Drag your PDFs into the box labeled Drag and drop PDF's here.
   Note: You can also select your PDFs by clicking the Load File or Load Folder button at the top of the ReSZizer and navigating to your Attachments folder, then clicking Open.
4. Set the Profile to Convert to JPG (Default width).
5. Click Resize.

Profiles

You are able to control what dimensions your images are sized to by assigning a Profile before you click Resize.

Image Profiles

• Profile Photo - 125px width, commonly used for staff photos.
• Logo - 150px width.
• Image Float– 200px width, commonly used for images placed beside text.
• Side Panel – 220px width.
  Note: This is the Profile you will set if you are resizing images to fit into the Side Panel of your newsletter.
• Image x2 Center - 265px width, commonly used for two landscape images side-by-side.
• Portrait - 400px width, commonly use for portrait orientation images that will be centered.
• Newsflash – 500px width.
  Note: This is the Profile you will set if you are resizing images to fit into an Email Newsflash.
• Image Center– 550px width.
  Note: This is the Profile that you will set if you are resizing images to fit into the content of your newsletter.
• Gallery – 600px height.
• Design – 2000px width, can be used to compress files before sending to the Design Team.

PDF Profiles

• Convert to Jpeg (Default Width) – Converts the document to an image using the dimensions of the PDF
• Convert to Jpeg (600px Width) – Converts the document to an image and then scales it to Flyer size

For more information on the best profiles to apply to your images for resizing, see the guide below:

Images Showing as Wrong Orientation

Images contain certain background information known as Meta-Data that control varying aspects of the image, such as Size, Rotation, Preview Text, etc. Both your Desktop Computer and online platforms such as the Schoolzine Control Centre can interpret this background Meta-Data in different ways. This can lead to images being the correct orientation on your desktop computer but display incorrectly once uploaded online.

How can I resolve this?

You can use the Schoolzine Image Resizer to reset the Meta-Data of your images. Simply make sure they are the correct orientation on your Desktop Computer, then run them through the Schoolzine Image Resizer. Even if your images have been resized previously, this will reset the Meta-Data to the correct Orientation.

I have used the Schoolzine Resizer to reset the Meta-Data, but the images are still the wrong orientation.

Occasionally the Meta-Data can be locked onto the image and the Schoolzine Image Resizer is unable to reset it correctly. To resolve this you can follow the below steps:

• Add the image into some sort of image editing software
  (ie Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Paint, etc)
• Rotate the image to the incorrect orientation
• Save the image
• Rotate the image back to the correct orientation
• Save the image

This should Hard Reset the Meta-Data on the Image and set the Orientation to the Correct Orientation.

Before uploading your newsletter content, we recommend first reducing the file size of your images by processing them through the Schoolzine Image ReSZizer. This will cut down on the time it takes to upload your files.

You will also be able to adjust the height and width of your images to fit various other features within the Control Centre, such as Side Panels, Emails, Websites and SZapp Notifications.

This software is free and allows you to resize all of your images at the same time.

Installing the ReSZizer

You can install the application in the Desktop App Store by searching for ReSZizer, or by clicking the link below:

Click here to install the ReSZizer

Processing Your Images

Click on the video below to view a video tutorial on using the Schoolzine Image ReSZizer:

Before you get started, make sure your Images folder contains all relevant image files and galleries.

The ReSZizer will save the resized images over the top of the original files, so if you think you will need the original images later, save a copy of these files to another folder.

1. Open the ReSZizer application.
2. Choose the files you wish to resize by clicking the Folder button at the top of the ReSZizer and navigating to your Images folder, then click Open.
   Note: You can also Click and Drag your Images folder into the box labeled ‘Drag Images Here’.
3. To resize a single image, or to select images individually, click the File button at the top of the ReSZizer.
4. Set the Profile.
   Note: Standard is the default setting and perfect for resizing images for your newsletter content.
5. Click Process.

Profiles

You are able to control what dimensions your images are sized to by assigning a Profile before you click Process.

• Standard – 600px width.
  Note: This is the Profile that you will set if you are resizing images to fit into the content of your newsletter.
• Gallery – 600px height.
• Side Panel – 220px width.
  Note: This is the Profile you will set if you are resizing images to fit into the Side Panel of your newsletter.
• Design – 2000px width.
• Newsflash – 500px width.
  Note: This is the Profile you will set if you are resizing images to fit into an Email Newsflash.

For more information on the best profiles to apply to your images for resizing, see the guide below:

Images Showing as Wrong Orientation

Images contain certain background information known as Meta-Data that control varying aspects of the image, such as Size, Rotation, Preview Text, etc. Both your Desktop Computer and online platforms such as the Schoolzine Control Centre can interpret this background Meta-Data in different ways. This can lead to images being the correct orientation on your desktop computer but display incorrectly once uploaded online.

How can I resolve this?

You can use the Schoolzine Image Resizer to reset the Meta-Data of your images. Simply make sure they are the correct orientation on your Desktop Computer, then run them through the Schoolzine Image Resizer. Even if your images have been resized previously, this will reset the Meta-Data to the correct Orientation.

I have used the Schoolzine Resizer to reset the Meta-Data, but the images are still the wrong orientation.

Occasionally the Meta-Data can be locked onto the image and the Schoolzine Image Resizer is unable to reset it correctly. To resolve this you can follow the below steps:

• Add the image into some sort of image editing software
  (ie Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Paint, etc)
• Rotate the image to the incorrect orientation
• Save the image
• Rotate the image back to the correct orientation
• Save the image

This should Hard Reset the Meta-Data on the Image and set the Orientation to the Correct Orientation.

The Send Proof functionality allows you to send through a digital copy of your newsletter for review to other staff members, prior to publishing and distributing to your community. The URL (web address) is unique and not public allowing you to have other staff members give the final signoff without needing access to the Control Centre.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the eNewsletters Tab.
2. Click on the DIY Newsletter that you would like to send the proof from.
3. Select Send Proof from the ribbon and a popup window will appear.
4. Type in the email, or multiple emails separated by a comma, that you would like to send the proof to and click Send.
5. The recipient will receive a newsletter link to their email, allowing them to proof the newsletter, without your content being fully published and visible to your community.

Once your newsletter is ready to send to your community, you can login to your Control Centre and approve and distribute your newsletter all in one place.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the eNewsletters menu tab.
2. Click the Newsletter Name of the issue you'd like to distribute.
3. Select the Publish button.

• If you'd like to preview the finished newsletter before distributing it, select Publish newsletter without distributing.
  Note: Doing this will enable the option to select the Preview button seen in the image above.
• If you're ready for the newsletter to be sent, choose the Archive Date and Time, and select Approve Newsletter.
  Note: If the newsletter has already been published, select the Unpublish button, and then re-select the Publish button to display the below popup.

Publishing your Newsletter

Once your newsletter is ready to send to your community, you can login to your Control Centre and approve and distribute your newsletter all in one place.

• Log into the Control Centre: Begin by accessing the Control Centre, where you'll log in using your designated credentials. This is your starting point for managing your newsletters and ensuring they reach their intended recipients.
• Access eNewsletters: Once you're logged in, navigate to the "eNewsletters" section, conveniently located in the left-hand side menu. This is where you'll find all your newsletters, ready for distribution.

• Choose the Desired Newsletter: From the list of newsletters available, select the one you intend to distribute. This step ensures that you're working with the correct newsletter.
• Publish the Newsletter: Select the "Publish" Button to start the Approval Process. From the Pop Up, Select your Desired Date and Time for Archiving the Newsletter, and then click the "Approve Newsletter" Button

Internal Newsletter Distribution

If you are not using the Schoolzine Control Centre to Distribute your Newsletter, and instead are using another external platform, you are still able to distribute your newsletter by adding the URL to the messages that you send. To make this process seamless, follow these easy steps:

• Preview the Newsletter: Before sharing it, it's always a good practice to preview the newsletter. By clicking the "Preview" button, you'll load the online version of your newsletter, allowing you to double-check its content and appearance.
• Copy the Newsletter Link: In your web browser's address bar, you'll find the unique URL for your newsletter. Copy this link to your clipboard, as you'll need it for the next step.
  Please note that you will need to get the Newsletter URL from the Preview Link in the above step

• Utilize External Distribution Methods: Now that you have the newsletter link, it's time to share it. Paste the newsletter link into any external distribution method you are using. This step ensures that your newsletter is accessible to the right audience, whether it's through emails, messaging apps, or any other communication channel.

By following these straightforward steps, you can easily distribute your newsletter internally, ensuring that vital information is efficiently delivered to your school community.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select eNewsletters.
2. Click the Name of the Newsletter issue you would like to copy.
3. Select the Copy button to create a duplicate of this newsletter.
   Note: This will create a duplicate of all Articles created in this newsletter. Editing of the Articles linked to this newsletter will not alter prior issues.
4. Select the Edit button to alter the details of your newsletter
   Note: Duplication of your newsletter will default to the current date and time for Publish Date and Time.
5. Select Save and adjust the content of your newsletter as required.

Schoolzine has two types of Newsletter Advertising Subscriptions you can choose from. Sponsored being Schoolzine sourced advertising and Platinum being school sourced advertising or you can have no advertising at all.

Please note not all regions are eligible for the Sponsored Newsletter Subscription.

For further information on both subscriptions, please see below.

Sponsored Subscription

The Sponsored Newsletter Subscription will have advertising that is sourced by our team but has a reduced subscription cost compared to the Platinum Newsletter Subscription.

There are specific zones setup on your newsletter where the advertising will appear.

• Up to 7 zones in the left-hand newsletter side panel
• 1 Banner within the first 3 articles of your newsletter

Filler ads will be added to the respective zones in your newsletter till the zone has been sold.

For more information on the Schoolzine Advertising Zones, please see the page below.

Platinum Subscription

The Platinum Newsletter Subscription costs slightly more but will give you full control to source and add your own advertising to your Schoolzine Newsletter. This subscription will also allow you to remove advertising entirely from your newsletter.

You can add the advertising to your newsletter however you wish. Some suggestions are below for your reference:

• Collective page of sponsor logos
• A full article created for individual advertisers
• Adding logos to your newsletter side panel

Schoolzine Advertising Contact Details

If you receive any advertising inquires or have any questions about your advertising subscription, please see the contact details below to contact us.

Email: Advertising@schoolzine.com
Phone: 07 5414 2361

Contact Us Form

If you have a question regarding advertising with Schoolzine, please feel free to submit your query to us using the form below. One of our friendly staff will be in communication to discuss further:

The following guide will outline the steps required for submitting content for use in the School Newsletter or Stream.

Submitting content can be done via the Submit Content page located in the Top Menu, Side menu, or SZapp Tile.

You will be presented with the option for submitting your content as either an Article or Event.

Submit Article:

Example: Use Submit Article for content that is not date specific, or an event that has already occurred.

1. Click the Submit Content button.

3. Populate a Title for your article and apply any relevant Tags.

4. Upload a Featured Image for use as a thumbnail on your Article (if desired).

5. Upload a PDF Document (such as a Flyer or Results) applicable to your Article.

6. Populate your Content using the supplied window, as well as inserting any images, text formatting etc via the toolbar.

7. Populate the Contact Details with the First Name (and any other desired information) of the person submitting the Article.

8. You can also populate your own details, should they be different from the Article’s contact details, using the checkbox. This will assist should Administration need to contact you regarding your Article.

9. If relevant, populate the Address fields by checking the Show Address Details checkbox.

10. Populate any additional Notes to Administrator or simply push Submit. This section allows you to relay any messages you would like to notify the administrator.

Example: Please do not publish this article until January 25th. 

Submit Event:

Example: Use the Submit Event for date driven content. Alerting the community of future events, whilst allowing them to sync directly to their device and calendars to make the information readily available.

1. Click the Submit Content button.

2. Select Submit Event.

3. Populate a Title for your article, and apply any relevant Tags.

4. Populate the Event Start Date and Event End Date.

5. If your event does not run All Day, simply untick the checkbox and populate your Start Time and End Time.

Note: if your event doesn’t have a specified End Time, you may wish to just populate a start time as part of your Title.

6. Upload a Featured Image for use as a thumbnail on your Article (if desired).

7. Upload a PDF Document (such as a Flyer or Results) applicable to your Event.

8. Populate your Content using the supplied window as well as inserting any images, text formatting etc via the toolbar.

9. Populate the Contact Details with the First Name (and any other desired information) of the person submitting the Article.

10. You can also populate your own details, should they be different from the Event’s contact details, using the checkbox. This will assist should Administration need to contact you regarding your Event.

11. Populate any additional Notes to Administrator or simply push Submit. This section allows you to relay any messages you would like to notify the administrator.

Example: Please do not publish this event until January 25th. 

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Tickbox icon (shown right) from the top menu ribbon.
2. From the list, select the Name of the Article or Event you would like to review.
   Note: you can also review the Notes to Administrator, if your community has supplied you this content, by hovering on the speech bubble icon.
3. When viewing the Article/Event you can either View or Edit. If you wish to approve the content you can do so from the list view. If you wish to edit the publish date of the article, select the Edit button, then adjust the date as required (The publish date is relevant to the order in which feed articles display).

Note: You can also review at any time who has Approved or Rejected content within your Control Centre.

Approving/Rejecting Submitted Content

If you have scheduled a Campaign through the Schoolzine System and have found that you require changes to be made to it prior to it being sent, you have the ability to Pause Campaign, Set as Draft or even Delete if no longer required. These options will only be available if the campaign is still in the Scheduled status.

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the Communicate menu tab.
2. Click on the Message Name of the Scheduled Campaign, which will take you through to the Overview of the message.
   
3. Select Pause Campaign to stop the campaign from entering the processing status.
   
4. Once Paused, you will be given the option for Resume Campaign, Set to Draft, Resend, Export Recipients and Archive.
   
   

• Resume Campaign - will allow the campaign to go back to its scheduled status and begin processing at the set time. 
• Set to Draft - will allow the campaign to go back into draft status so changes can be made. You can also delete the campaign from there if no longer required. 
• Resend - will create a duplicate of the campaign that can then be sent again if going to different groups for example and wanting to monitor open rates.
• Export Recipients - is used to export the list of contacts that this campaign has been sent to.
• Archive - Archiving the message will not delete the message but hides it from the 'View Messages' overview.

Schoolzine Accounts who have linked social media accounts for Facebook or Twitter, can now share single articles straight from the Control Centre.

1. Log into your Control Centre and navigate to your chosen article.
2. Click on the Content menu tab, once expanded, select Articles.
   
3. Search for the article you wish to share in the search bar at the top.
4. Click on the article you are wanting to share.
5. Select the Share button.
   
6. You are then able to amend the message if needed and select the Social Media channels you are wanting, before clicking send.
   

Once your social media account/s have been linked, you will be able to share your newsletter from the Schoolzine Control Centre. You can share it straight away, or put in a custom message if you need.

Sharing a SZ Newsletter

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the eNewsletters menu tab.
2. Then select View SZ Newsletters.
3. Find the newsletter you would like to send out and click on the Newsletter Name to open that newsletter issue.
4. Select the Share button to the right of the page.
5. In the pop-up window, type in your own message or leave it as the default message. Make sure you leave in the link to your selected newsletter, which will populate automatically.
   Note: Your message cannot exceed 140 characters and must not contain any special characters or symbols.
6. Any linked account/s will automatically be selected.
7. Select the send button, to send your status or tweet to your account/s.
8. Once the message has been sent you will see a confirmation pop-up. This will allow you to view the message on your Facebook or Twitter account.

Sharing a DIY Newsletter

1. Log in to your Control Centre and select the eNewsletters menu tab.
2. Find the newsletter you would like to send out and click on the Newsletter Name to open that newsletter issue.
3. Select the Share button to the right of the page.
4. In the pop-up window, type in your own message or leave it as the default message. Make sure you leave in the link to your selected newsletter, which will populate automatically.
   Note: Your message cannot exceed 140 characters and must not contain any special characters or symbols.
5. Any linked account/s will automatically be selected.
6. Select the send button, to send your status or tweet to your account/s.
7. Once the message has been sent you will see a confirmation pop-up. This will allow you to view the message on your Facebook or Twitter account.

Click here to view the Linking your Social Media Accounts Tutorial

A list of commonly asked questions and answers are listed below.

If you can't find what you're looking for, please Contact Support.

I've just previewed my DIY newsletter but I can't see any of my articles?

When you create a new article it will default to the current date when creating the article. Usually if you can't see any articles when you preview your newsletter. It's because the 'Publish Date' of your article has been set to a future date. Please note: The 'Publish Date' is simply just the date that you are entering the article into your Schoolzine account.

How do I change my header image at the top of my DIY newsletter?

The header image at the top of your newsletter needs to be changed by our Support Team here at Schoolzine. You are able to contact our Support Team here. Our Support Team are able to change your header image free of charge once a term. Please note: The Support Team usually require 2-3 business days to get a proof back to you.

Why would I use the 'Hide Archive' tick box?

The 'Hide Archive' tick box could be used when a special newsletter has been created. E.g. Christmas Edition or Staff Only Edition. This means that the newsletter isn't able to be previewed via your Archive page.

When I click on the 'Publish' button does it automatically distribute my newsletter?

The newsletter won't be distributed automatically via the 'Publish' button, so you don't have to worry about accidentally sending it out. You'll notice once you click on the 'Publish' button that a box will pop up where you can select a nomiated date and time. 

How do I get someone to proof my newsletter?

The best way to get people to proof your newsletter is by using the 'Send Proof' button. You can then either provide access to people to make their own changes or they can forward the changes through to you to make. You are able to manage your system users by following this guide: Managing System Users.

Is it possible to create a template for my newsletter?

Yes. To save yourself time, try creating a DIY newsletter called 'Template', then go in and create your articles with the headings that will commonly reoccur throughout your newsletters. You'll then be able to use the 'Copy' button to copy this template over, instead of starting from scratch every single time.

Simply copy this template before you're wanting to start each newsletter.

Can I make changes after publishing my DIY newsletter?

Yes. Your DIY newsletter is live, which means that changes can be made at anytime, without having to resend anything.

How can I change the order of my articles?

Your articles don't need to be added in the exact order that you want them to show in. Simply click on the reorder button next to the article you're wanting to move, and drag the article where you are wanting it to show in the list of your articles.

I'm ready to publish my DIY newsletter. How do I do this?

Publishing your DIY newsletter is very simple. Once you click on 'Publish', you'll see there's a green button at the top for you to 'Publish newsletter without distributing'. This means that you can get the newsletter published without it being sent to your contacts list.

'Send Date' and 'Send Time' allows you to select a nominated date and time for your newsletter to be distributed at.

You've then got the option of 'Auto send without review' or 'Review before distribution'. 

'Auto send without review' will send the newsletter out straight away if you haven't nominated a specific send date/time OR it will schedule the newsletter at your chosen date and time. Please note: You are able to add custom content if you wish. See below information on 'Review before distribution'.

'Review before distribution' allows you to double check your email message/who you are sending the newsletter to before clicking the final 'Complete & Send' button.

How do I change what the email says?

Updating the email message that includes your newsletter link is able to be done once you've clicked on 'Review before distribution'. You'll need to navigate back to 'Message Content' and then click on the 'Email Content' tab. You'll then be able to go in and adjust the wording. 
Please note: Try to avoid removing any Wildcards e.g. '%%__email_subject__%%', '%%first_name%%' or '%%__sz_newsletter__%%'. As this is popluating information from other places within your Schoolzine account.