Create a weather forecast template
Weather forecast templates are the first step to build a customized weather email for your subscribers. Craft your template, then use your design in your weather forecast campaign mailing tag.
Weather conditions and icons
Weather forecast templates include 33 specific weather conditions. Icons for the weather conditions can be anything you choose up to 500KB per image. Icons that are the same height and width provide a more polished and consistent look in your template.
One icon can be reused for any number of weather conditions so you don't need to create 33 different images! If necessary, default icons are available in the weather forecast template.
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Create your weather forecast template
In your account, navigate to Templates and then select Weather Forecast from the left sidebar. You can create a new template by selecting the + New Template button.
Add a name in the Lorem ipsum dolor field at the top left. By default, your template Output shown in the Configuration pane on the right is selected for high-resolution image. If your images are already high-resolution, uncheck the box.
The weather forecast template builder starts with a default white background. You can adjust the size, change the background color, make it transparent with the checkbox selector, or upload a background image using controls in the Inspector tab in the right sidebar.
Next, you'll need to add the weather forecast icons you want to use for the various possible forecasts. Select the cloud icon tab in the right sidebar and choose the Customize icons button to upload your prepared weather forecast icon images.
In the upload window, use the Upload image button to select your images. You can select more than one at a time! Once all of your forecast images are uploaded, you can begin the mapping process. Use the radio button options to assign a weather type to each icon. You can include as many options for a single icon as you'd like! Select Save mapping in the lower right corner when you're done.
If after you've already saved your mapping you need to change your icons or mapping, simply use the Customize icons button on the Weather Icons tab to update.
Next, you'll start adding blocks to your template to pull in the icons and any other weather information you want to include. To add blocks to your forecast template, use the Add Block button in the left sidebar. Every new block starts as a text field. You will use various controls around the text box to make each element display the content you want and use other controls in the right side panel tabs to adjust size, location, and presentation options, as explained in more detail below.
Start with the blue link connect tool to the right of the text box to connect a source for the block element. Select the Content source radio button, then open each of the source tab triangles to expand the content options. If you want to pull in the weather icon you uploaded, select Icon near the bottom of all the available options - it's a long list! Select Done in the upper right corner of the pane to complete the source connection.
A default placeholder icon will appear in your canvas (you'll be able to see your own uploaded icons when you preview). Use the layout tools in the Inspector pane to adjust the size and position, as well as other attributes like background or border, of your weather icon.
Repeat the process of adding and adjusting elements of your weather forecast. Next, we added the weatherPrimary (translations available) option to our new block element to show the weather description. Use the formatting menu at the top to center the text, choose a font, and change the font size or color. You can continue to use the right sidebar menu controls to position the element.
NOTE: Other fonts can be uploaded to use in Litmus Personalize. Add and use custom fonts
You can include the forecast date using the dateTimeISO content source element. To format the date, select Date in the Type dropdown (available in the General tab menu options). The Output dropdown will then appear so you can select a version that fits your template's design.
Show a multi-day forecast
Once you have your initial forecast template created, you can add more days to your forecast presentation. Select the Configuration tab in the right sidebar. Use the Type dropdown to select Repeated, choose your display direction, and then how many forecast days you want to appear up to 14 repetitions.
