Message Templates

Updated June 26, 2026 20:38

The Absorb LMS issues automatic emails and system notifications based on action triggers. These communications are referred to as Messages. For example, enrolling in a Course often triggers an automatic enrollment message to be sent to Learners. Message Templates can be customized; allowing you to configure text, images, and linked assets.

Message Templates Report

Message Templates can be found in the Message Templates Report. In this report, you can select the Message Template that you would like to edit.

Navigate to the Message Templates Report from the Setup tab on the left. From this page Admins can:

Edit a Message Template
Reset a Message Template
Add filters and columns in order to customize the report layout

Navigate to Message Templates Report.gif

Message Templates are all labelled in the Message Templates Report using their English name in the Type column. This is for consistency, so each Message has the same Type value in the report for all of the Languages in which it is available.

The Language a Learner receives a Message in is determined by a number of factors, and is based on a hierarchy. That hierarchy is defined below (1 being the highest priority, with 3 being the lowest):

If a Template is configured on the item itself (ex. Course -> Send Enrollment email -> Use Custom Template), enabled Messages on the course will be sent in the language that Custom Template is configured with.
If there is no Template configured on the Course level, the LMS will look for the following, in descending order by priority:
1. English (if customized)
2. Matches Course Language
3. Matches User Profile Language
4. Matches Portal Default Language
If no Custom Message Templates exist matching the above parameters, a Default Message Template provided by Absorb will be sent, in descending order by priority:
1. Matches Course Language
2. Matches User Profile Language
3. Matches Portal Default Language
4. English

Customized English Message Templates

When a default English Message Template is customized, it will take priority over other languages if those Message Templates are not customized, regardless of Course or Learner language. For this reason, ensure Message Templates are customized for additionally supported languages as needed.

Report Data Fields

You can customize this report to provide information on any of the data points listed below, with default columns marked by an asterisk (*). Be mindful that opening a report may also bring up a favorite Saved Layout, or a shared default organizational report layout.

Data Column	Description
Custom*	This column displays the binary answer of whether the default version of the Message Template has been edited and saved by an Admin.
ID	This column displays the unique identifier automatically generated by the LMS for the Message Template. This value distinguishes Message Templates from one another.
Language*	This column displays the Language that the Message Template has been composed in.
Send to Administrators	This column displays the binary answer of whether the Message Template is configured to be sent to portal Administrators (Admins). In this context, Administrators means all Users who have an Admin role, with permissions to view the designated User's Department or Group. If ON = The value will display as Yes. Administrators will receive this Message Template. If OFF = The value will display as No. Administrators will not receive this Message Template.
Send to Supervisor	This column displays the binary answer of whether or not the Message Template has been configured to be sent to a User's Supervisor. A Supervisor is a User who is populated in the designated User's Supervisor field in their User Profile. If ON = The value will display as Yes. Supervisors will receive this Message Template. If OFF = The value will display as No. Supervisors will not receive this Message Template.
Type*	This column displays the name of the Message Template.

Send to Administrators Toggle Consideration

When the Send to Administrators toggle is enabled, messaging will not be sent to Administrators with User Management permissions set to All.

Custom Attribute Tip

The Custom data column is useful to identify which Message Templates have been edited. We recommend creating a Saved Layout with the filter Custom = Yes in order to quickly administrate the Message Templates which your organization has customized.

Basic Message Template Customization

Each Message Template has its own default message which can be customized to match your organization's nomenclature and branding preferences. The Reset Template button provides a quick and easy way to return a Message Template to its default state.

Follow these steps to edit a Message Template:

Navigate to Edit Message Template.gif

Select Message Templates from the Setup tab on the left of the Admin Interface.
Filter the report as needed and select the Template that you would like to edit.
Select Edit Template from the Actions menu on the right. This will open the Edit Message Template menu.
Every Message Template has a default Subject and Body. You are able to edit the Message Template Subject and Body to customize them to your organization's preferences. Please see the example screenshot below of a customized New User Message Template:

Element	Description
Heading	Located at the top of the page, this portion of the Admin Interface lists both the name of the Message Template being edited, as well as the selected language.
Subject	This field populates the Subject line of the email.
Body	This section is Absorb's built-in text editor that the Admin can use to update the content of the Message Template. The text editor provides the ability to format the text, add images, add links and add tables. Tables can be useful when trying to organize the Message with both images and texts. The Admin can also use HTML by selecting the Source Code option, <>, in the section on the right of the text editor. When the 3 vertical dots are selected, the Source Code will be presented. In this section, there are options to undo what was last added to the message content, redo what was last removed from the Message content, and a list of all available shortcuts in the ? icon.
Fields	Fields are the expandable list of available data variables at the bottom of the text editor. The Admin can use these values to customize the message for the User. The fields will populate values that apply to the specific User receiving the email (refer to Message fields below). The field can be added to the Subject line or within the Body of the Message. Click and drag the field to where it should be placed within the Message. These fields can be easily deleted if the values are not relevant to your organization.
Send to Learner	This toggle determines whether or not emails created using the Message Template will be sent to a Learner or not. All Message Templates will be defaulted to On, but the Admin can choose to turn it to Off. This option is a great way to ensure Users never receive this Message Template type or a way to focus communication to just Supervisors and/or Administrators. On = The Learner will receive this Message Template in an email and as a Message within their Learner Interface. Off = The Learner will not receive this Message Template in an email and as a Message within their Learner Interface.
Send to Administrators	This toggle determines whether or not emails created using the Message Template will be sent to an Administrator or not. All Message Templates will be defaulted to Off, but the Admin can choose to turn it to On. Administrators are all Admins who have the ability to see the designated User's Department and/or Group. On = The Administrator will receive this Message Template. Off = The Administrator will not receive this Message Template.
Send to Supervisor	This toggle determines whether or not emails created using the Message Template will be sent to a Supervisor or not. All Message Templates will be defaulted to Off, but the Admin can choose to turn it to On. The Supervisor is the User who is populated in the designated User's Supervisor field of their User Profile. On = The Administrator will receive this Message Template. Off = The Administrator will not receive this Message Template.
Reset Template	This button will erase any previously saved changes made to the Message Template and restore it back to Absorb's default configuration (which the Admin will be prompted to confirm). Any changes made when creating the custom Message Template will permanently be removed from the Message Template (and the LMS). Once this is performed it cannot be recovered.

Advanced Message Template Customization

Several text fields in Absorb LMS allow for advanced text formatting by editing their HTML source directly. This includes things like Message Templates, Course descriptions, etc. Using inline styles you are able to change the color, font, size, and alignment of your text among other things.

It is important to note that while admins have access to the majority of the HTML in each Message Template, more advanced editing such as adding external CSS stylesheets, JavaScript, and other customization which require access to the full body are not available here.

How to Use the HTML Editor

Not all email coding is compatible with Absorb's Message Template editor. If an HTML error is received within an email, it could be that the content within the Message was created using bad HTML coding. Creating it within incorrect HTML code could cause the email to fail entirely. Absorb does validate HTML code on emails. We recommend using the WYSIWYG editor or someone that has experience with using HTML code.

Using the New User Message Template as an example, when editing your Message Template you will see the tool bar at the top of the Body text editor. First select the icon on the top right:
This will expand the text editor, select the first icon on the right, . This will allow you to edit the Message's HTML source. When you select this icon you will see the following:
In the HTML editor you have the ability to input inline HTML styles to format things like font type, color, size, etc. As you can see from the template shown above, a number of inline styles have been applied in order to utilize different fonts, colors, formatting, and images.

For more information about inline styles, we have found w3schools.com to be a fantastic resource.

HTML Best Practices

If you are customizing your Message Template with custom HTML, there is an additional set of considerations that may interact with email deliverability. The following article discusses best practices for editing the HTML of a Message Template, as well as approved attributes or tags:

HTML Message Templates Best Practices

Message Template Fields

It is possible to use Message Template Fields to modify a Message Template. More information about this process is available in this dedicated article on the topic:

Message Template Fields

Message Template Types

Message Templates can be customized in order to include information and branding which is important to your organization. Below please find a list of the most common Messages, a description of what information they provide, and which fields are available to be used in that Message.

Template Name	Description	Available Fields
Approval Denied	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when their enrollment to an Online Course, ILC, Course Bundle, or Curriculum is denied by the Approver. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Custom Fields
Approval Pending	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when they enroll into an Online Course, ILC, Course Bundle, or Curriculum is which requires Approval. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Custom Fields
Approval Request	This Message is automatically sent to the Approver when a Learner enrolls into an Online Course, ILC, Course Bundle, or Curriculum which requires Approval. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Course Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email LMS Name Date Department Approval Link Deny Link Learner First Name Learner Middle Name Learner Last Name Learner Email Address Learner Phone Number Learner Username Learner Department Custom Fields
Certificate Expiry	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner a month before their Certificate is set to expire. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin. Note: If a Certificate's expiration date is manually adjusted in-app, the email will still deploy a month before the the Certificate's original expiration date.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Certificate Expiry Custom Fields
Course Bundle Enrollment	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when they enroll or are enrolled in a Course Bundle. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Courses Course Name Enrolled Date Expiry Date Custom Fields Course URL
Course Due Date	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when the Due Date to complete an Online Course, Curriculum or Course Bundle has been reached. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Custom Fields Course URL
Course Nudge	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner based on the Nudge feature settings configured in an Online Course or Curriculum. Nudges are used to remind a Learner to complete an Online Course or Curriculum. The cadence of this Message is configured in Courses > Edit Course/Curriculum > Messages > Send Nudge Email. It can be configured at the Course level to begin sending Nudge Emails on a specific day or the Learner's enrollment date. This Message can be customized by Admin. Note: When a Course's due date lapses, Nudge Emails will continue to send on their set cadence until the configured number of Nudges has been reached, or the Course is completed.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Start Date Expiry Date Due Date Custom Fields Course URL
Curriculum Completed	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when all the completion requirements of a Curriculum are met. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Department Image Date Job Title Course Name Certificate Expiry Expiry Date Date Completed Curriculum ID Competencies Recommended Course List Custom Fields
Curriculum Enrolled	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when they enroll or are enrolled into a Curriculum. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Certificate Expiry Expiry Date Date Completed Curriculum ID Competencies Custom Fields
Enrollment Key	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when an Admin triggers it by selecting Send Enrollment Key Instructions in Users > Enrollment Keys. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	Key Name Courses Total Seats Used Seats Remaining Seats Company Name Company Phone Company Email LMS Name Date Department
Instructor Led Course Completed	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner they their attendance is marked for a Session, which completes the Instructor Led Course. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Certificate Expiry Competencies Custom Fields
Instructor Led Course Enrollment	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner they enroll or are enrolled into an Instructor Led Course. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Course ID Start Date Expiry Date Custom Fields Course URL
Instructor Led Course Failed	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when an Instructor or Admin marks a Learner as failed for an Instructor Led Course. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Custom Fields
Mandatory Course Digest Email	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when an Admin enables the Email Digest for a specific Learner, or a Group or Department that the Learner is in. This Message can be customized by Admin. Important Note: Due to Deep Link encoding requirements for IDP initiated SSO, clients using IDP SSO will need to have their Users already logged in to Absorb for links in this Message Template to work as expected.	First Name Last Name Digest Time Frame Digest Send Date Mandatory Courses List Company Name Company Email Cadence
Marked as Absent	This Message is automatically sent to Users when they're marked as Absent for a Session, if the Message is enabled at the Instructor Led Course level. This Message can be customized by an Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username LMS Link Admin LMS Link Company Name Company Phone Company Email Department Image Date Course Name Course URL Session Name Session Link Session Location Session Description Instructors Session Start Date Session Time Session End Date Classes Meeting Url Waitlist Expiry in Hours Custom Fields
New User	This Message is automatically sent to a new User, if that User has the Send New User Email checkbox selected when created. This Message can be customized by an Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email
New User Activation	This Message is automatically sent to a new User who signs up via Enrollment Key, if the New Users Are Required To Validate Their Email toggle is enabled under Portal Settings > Users. Note that when Users first access the LMS after activating their account from this Message, it's not counted towards the Login total in the Logins Report. This Message can be customized by an Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Department Image Date Job Title Set Password Link Custom Fields
Online Course Completed	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when all the completion requirements of a Online Course are met. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Department Image Date Job Title Course Name Exam Score Exam Attempts Certificate Expiry Date Completed Expiry Date Competencies Recommended Course List Custom Fields
Online Course Enrollment	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when they enroll or are enrolled into an Online Course. This Message can be customized by Admin. Note: This Message will not send if Users are enrolled into a Course before it's been made active, or if the message was not enabled at the Course level at the time of enrollment.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Start Date Expiry Date Due Date Course Id Custom Fields Course URL
Online Course Failed	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner they complete an Online Course but fail to meet the grade requirements. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Custom Fields
Password Reset	This Message is sent to any User when they select the Forgot Password link on the Login page of the Learner Interface. It is also sent when an Admin manually sends it through the Users Report. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Reset Password Link Custom Fields
Payment Approved	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when their E-Commerce transaction has been approved by the Payment Gateway. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Custom Fields
Receipt with Subscription	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when their transaction has been approved, and if they have Subscriptions enabled on their Portal. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Department Image Date Job Title Transaction ID Transaction Date Payment Type Billing First Name Billing Last Name Billing Address Billing City Billing Province/State Billing Country Billing Postal Code List of Purchased Courses Sub Total Discount Total Amount Currency Key Name Link Tax for Country Country Tax Tax for Province Province Tax Custom Fields
Session Enrollment	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when they enroll or are enrolled into an ILC Session. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Expiry Date Course Id Session Location Meeting URL Session Name Instructors Session Description Session Start Date Session Time Session End Date Classes Custom Fields Course URL
Session Full	This Message is automatically to a Learner when they're on a Waitlist for a Session that's about to start, and there were no available spots for the Learner. At this point, the enrollment is removed from the system as well. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Session Location Session Start Date Expiry Date Custom Fields Course URL
Session Reminder	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner to remind the Learner that they have an upcoming Class to attend. The cadence of this Message is configured at the Course level in Courses > Edit Instructor Led Course > Messages > Send Nudge Email. It can be configured at the Course level to begin sending Nudge Emails on a specific day or the Learner's enrollment date. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Certificate Expiry Expiry Date Session Name Session Location Meeting URL Session Description Session Start Date Session Time Session End Date Classes Custom Fields Course URL
Session Updated	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner when the date or time of an upcoming Class which they are enrolled into has been changed. This Message can be customized by Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Expiry Date Course Id Session Location Meeting URL Session Name Instructors Session Description Session Start Date Session Time Session End Date Classes Google Calendar Links Course URL
Task Notification	This Message will send to an Admin when a Learner indicates a Task is ready for review for a Course. The Admin who receives this message is determined by User Permissions relative to the Learner's Department. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Learner Username Learner First Name Learner Last Name Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link LMS Name
Waitlist	This Message is automatically sent to a Learner that has attempted to enroll into an ILC Session which has already reached max capacity and has a Waitlist enabled. This Message can only be customized by a System Admin.	First Name Last Name Middle Name Email Address Phone Username Department LMS Link Admin LMS Link Company Name Company Phone Company Email Date Job Title Course Name Session Location Session Start Date Expiry Date Custom Fields

Customizing Templates Per Department

All Message Templates include fields which will automatically populate with data from your LMS. The Company Name, Email Address, and Phone Number fields can be configured to be populated based on a Department, rather than your Portal Settings information.

While it is not currently possible in Absorb LMS to have the wording in individual message templates custom tailored for specific Departments, it is possible in this way to tailor your Messages based on Department information.

Follow these instructions to add specific field data to your Departments:

Enable Use Department Contact Details Toggle.gif

Navigate to Departments from the Users tab on the left, select the Department that you would like to edit, then select edit from Edit Department menu. The following steps are the same when creating a new Department.
Expanding the Department tab and toggle ON Use Department Contact Details. This will expand options below the toggle.
Enter the Department specific details for Company Name, Email Address, Phone Number.

The details entered here will be populated into the following three variables in a Message Template for any Users in this Department.
- {{CompanyName}}
- {{CompanyEmail}}
- {{CompanyPhone}}

Enable Use Department Contact Details Toggle Screenshot.png

Learner Facing Templates

Some Message Templates can be customized to send to Learners, Admins or Supervisors. The ability to select what User type messaging is sent to varies from Message Template to Message Template, and clients should check individual templates in question via the Message Templates Report to verify what options are available for it. It may be valuable when setting up your Portal, or implementing a new brand design that you update the Message Templates a Learner will be interacting with most often.

The following list contains Message Templates that are Learner facing:

Approval Denied
Approval Pending
Certificate Expiry
Course Bundle Enrollment
Course Comment Reply
Course Due Date
Course Nudge
Course Upload Approved/Declined
Curriculum Completed
Curriculum Enrollment
Enrollment Key
External Training Approved/Declined
Instructor Led Course Completed
Instructor Led Course Enrollment
Instructor Led Course Failed
New Learner Conversation Message
New User
New User Activation
Online Course Completed
Online Course Enrollment
Online Course Failed
Password Reset
Payment Approved
Receipt
Session Approval Pending
Session Approval Request
Session Enrollment
Session Full
Session Reminder
Session Updated
Waitlist

Related Admin Roles & Permissions

Below are the required role permissions Admins will need to view and/or modify Message Templates within the LMS and the suggested role permissions Admins may want to have in combination of what is required.

Please note that your environment may use customized roles, permissions, or a combination of both to perform these activities. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your local System Admin to review your current permissions.

Action	Description
Edit Template	This button will launch a workspace to view and edit the selected Message Template.
Reset to Default	This button will erase any previously saved changes made to the Message Template and restore it back to Absorb's default configuration. Any customization made to the Message Template will be removed. The Admin will be prompted to confirm that they would like to perform this action. This action cannot be reversed.
Deselect	This button will clear any Message Template selection made by the Admin in the Message Templates Report.

Role: Section Access	Permission(s) Needed
Manage > Message Templates	View or Modify permission

Role: Section Access	Permission(s) Needed
Courses > Instructor Led Courses	View or Modify permission
Courses > Online Courses	View or Modify permission
Courses > Course Bundles	View or Modify permission
Courses > Curricula	View or Modify permission
Courses > Messages	View or Modify permission

Message Templates Report