Email merge fields upgrade

Email merge fields now support more flexible event date/time formatting and fallbacks when profile data is missing.

At a glance

• Who it affects: Event managers and stakeholders building or maintaining email templates

• Where to find it: Email builder → merge fields picker (event fields + user fields)

• Prerequisites: Email template access

Deployment status Publish/announce only once production deployment is confirmed.

What changed

• Event date/time merge fields support optional parameters (24h clock + custom formats).

• All merge fields support a fallback value when the primary field is empty.

• The email builder highlights which fields accept parameters (icons/tooltips).

Event date/time fields (with optional parameters)

Supported merge fields

• [event_date] — full date and time

• [event_date_text] — prefers live_at_text if set, otherwise formatted date/time

• [event_date_only] — date only

• [event_time_only] — start time only

• [event_end_time_only] — end time only

• [event_start_and_end_time] — time range

• [event_date_and_time] — date + start time

Parameters

• clock="24h" — use 24-hour time (omit for 12-hour with am/pm)

• format="..." — custom date format

Examples

• [event_date_only]

• [event_time_only clock="24h"]

• [event_time_only clock="24h" format="H:i T"]

• [event_start_and_end_time clock="24h"]

• [event_date_and_time clock="24h"]

Fallbacks (for missing data)

Syntax

[field_key fallback="fallback_field"]

Examples

• [ac_first_name fallback="first_name"]

• [custom_field_123 fallback="company"]

Screenshot placeholder

• Capture: Merge fields picker showing parameter-enabled fields with an info icon + tooltip

• Alt text: “Merge fields list with info icon indicating which event date/time fields support clock and format parameters.”

Notes (integrations, reporting, permissions)

• Fallbacks work across standard fields, Extra Fields, and content-specific fields.

• Backward compatible: existing merge fields continue to work as before.

Edge cases & limitations

• If you use custom formats, standardise them across templates to avoid inconsistent date/time displays.

• If an email relies on AC fields, add fallbacks so messages remain readable when AC fields aren’t populated.

FAQ

Do I have to update existing templates? No. Existing merge fields continue to work. Parameters and fallbacks are optional.

When should I use a fallback? Use fallbacks anywhere profile completeness varies (e.g., optional fields, recently introduced fields like AC fields).