This article provides an overview of the text block in the legacy* editor and goes over how to add and format copy in your campaigns.
How to add text
To add a text block to your campaign, follow these steps:
- Navigate to your Campaigns tab.
- Open a saved legacy* draft or click on the Create new campaign button to choose a legacy* template.
- Click on the text block icon in the left panel and drag it over to your mailing.
- As you drag the block over to your campaign, you will see yellow sections appear labeled Drop here. These yellow drop spots will turn green as you hover over them, so you know where the content block will appear in the mailing.
- Once you release the block, it will appear in the place you designated.
Once you’ve added a text block to your campaign, click anywhere in the block to open the text toolbar at the top of the campaign. The toolbar is pinned at the top of the editor by default. You can unpin it to move it around while you work by clicking the pushpin icon on the right. After unpinning, use the four-way arrow at the top of the toolbar to move it wherever you’d like on the page. To add your text, simply begin typing within the text field or paste in plain, unformatted text from another source. It’s best to format your text using the text toolbar to ensure consistent rendering across various email clients. The campaign editor is designed to auto-save while you are using it, so there is no need to worry about saving your work or losing your work as you go.
How to format text
From left to right, here are the elements available in the text toolbar:
Element | Function |
Text style dropdown | Click on Paragraph to see the text style options: H1, H2, H3, H4, Paragraph, and Quote. |
Font style | Bold, italicize, or underline text. |
Lists | Insert an bulleted or numbered list. |
Indents | Indent or outdent text. |
Text alignment | Align text to the left, center, right, or justified. |
Font | Choose from a list of web-safe fonts. |
Font size | Choose a font size. Please note: Using these options will override any H1-H4 headers, so it’s best to choose one or the other. |
Text color | Change the color of the text. |
Highlight | Change the text background color. |
Remove formatting | Remove any formatting from the text. |
Line height | Change the line height. |
Link | Link to a website, email address, document, or survey. |
Insert | Insert an anchor, personalization, divider, special character, or table. |
Spellcheck | Check your spelling. |
Code | View the HTML code for the block and make small adjustments. |
How to use the Insert function
The Insert function in the text toolbar allows you to insert the following:
Element | Function |
Anchor | Place an anchor anywhere that you’d like to link to from another place in your mailing. Read more about creating anchor links here. |
Personalization | Place your cursor where you’d like to insert personalization, then select the member field from the picklist and add placeholder text. Read more about personalization here. |
Divider | Insert a divider inside your text block to add some visual space. |
Special character | Select from a menu of international characters and symbols. |
Table | Create a table to organize your content. Read more about tables here. |
How to use the different text styles
In addition to changing the font and size of any text, you can also assign styles from the text toolbar by accessing the Paragraph dropdown menu. Use this feature to apply consistently-styled headlines and subheadings or to create a quote block for any text that needs to stand out from the rest of your copy.
Copying and pasting
If you notice formatting issues in your preview, it could be because you copied and pasted the content. When you copy formatted text from other programs like Microsoft Word or Pages and just paste it into your campaign, it can cause unexpected results.
When text is copied and pasted like this, it can carry over styling from that program in the background that ultimately causes formatting issues when pasted into the editor. With this in mind, we recommend typing and formatting your text directly in the editor when possible to avoid the text bringing over styling from any other application that could cause formatting errors.
In the case that you do need to copy and paste text into the editor, we recommend first pasting that text into a plain text editor like editpad.org and then copying it from there to bring into the editor. Editpad.org is a tool that we use regularly to strip formatting from text. Taking these steps at the beginning and then formatting your text in the editor will help you to avoid any issues.
How to use the HTML code option
Each text block has its own HTML code set up. If you notice some formatting issues in your text box — like a font size that’s not quite right — you may want to view the HTML and make an adjustment.
To do this, click on the </> button in the toolbar to view the text block’s HTML code. However, you should only use this option for small code adjustments. Do not paste your own HTML code in here. If you’d like to add a section that features your own HTML code, simply add an HTML content block from the legacy editor to your campaign.
Additional resources
- How to use content blocks in the legacy* editor
- Tips for using the legacy* editor
- How to make text superscript or subscript
- How to use the Title, Paragraph, and List blocks
* In April 2022, our legacy editor was replaced with a new drag and drop editor. Accounts that existed prior to this change still have access to the legacy editor through their previously saved templates and campaigns, however new, from-scratch campaigns can only be created in the new drag and drop editor. Accounts that were created after this change only have access to the new drag and drop editor. Please refer to our new editor FAQ article for more information.