A template is a reply you save once and send in a tap, with each customer's details filled in for you. This covers writing them, organising them, attaching files, and where each one can be sent from.
Templates are created in the Syncdo panel inside WhatsApp Web, so you need the extension installed and connected. If you have not done that, start here.
Open the Templates tab in the panel and create one. A template has a name, a category, the message itself, and any files you want to send with it. The name is what you will search for later.
Two kinds of placeholder go in the message, and they behave differently:
{{name}} and the other merge fields are filled in automatically from the lead.___ is a blank you fill in yourself each time, for a price, a date or a quantity. Syncdo leaves it alone.These are all of them. There is one renderer behind the preview and the send, so what you are shown is what goes out.
| Field | Fills in with |
|---|---|
{{name}} | The lead's name |
{{phone}} | Their phone number |
{{company}} | Their company |
{{city}} | Their city |
{{state}} | Their state |
{{email}} | Their email |
{{stage}} | Their current lead stage |
{{business_name}} | Your business name, the same for everyone |
{{your_name}} | Your own name, the same for everyone |
{{custom:key}} | One of your own custom fields, by its key |
{{appointment_date}} | The appointment date, on a message scheduled around one |
{{appointment_time}} | The appointment time, likewise |
For {{custom:key}}you need the key, not the label. You will find both in the dashboard under Settings, then Lead Fields. A field labelled “GST Number” might have the key gst_number, and that is what goes in the template.
The two appointment fields only work on a message scheduled around an appointment. Anywhere else there is nothing for them to fill in, and Syncdo will not send a message with a missing time in the middle of a sentence.
Templates are grouped into categories, shown as a row of chips above the list. The gear opens Manage categories, where you create one by typing its name, and can rename, reorder and remove them.
Removing a category moves its templates rather than losing them. You choose where they go, and the default is a general catch-all.
Renaming a category to a name that already exists merges the two, and you cannot undo it. Both the panel and the dashboard tell you the target name and how many templates will move before anything happens.
There is also a search box, and it looks at both the template name and the message text. That is usually faster than browsing: if you want the message with your bank details, type part of the account detail rather than guessing the category.
Any template can carry files, like a catalogue PDF, product photos or a price list. You can attach up to 10 attachments per template, and each file can be up to 10MB.
Sent from the panel, a template with files arrives as one WhatsApp message. The files go with the template text as the caption on the first file.
Four places send templates, and they do not all handle files. This table answers most “why can’t I send this one?” questions.
| Where you are | Files? | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| The panel, in WhatsApp Web | Yes, file and text as one message | Every plan |
| Bulk send | Yes | Essentials and up |
| Cadences and sequences | Yes | Essentials and up |
| The dashboard on your phone | No, text only | Every plan |
Sending from your phone works differently. The dashboard has no connection to your WhatsApp session there, so it hands the message to WhatsApp through a link. A link can carry text. It cannot carry a file.
So a template with a file attached appears in the list on your phone, dimmed and not selectable, with the reason on it:
Unavailable — sends a file, which a link cannot carry
It is shown rather than hidden so you know it is still there. Search finds these templates too, for the same reason. The template itself is fine: send it from the panel in WhatsApp Web, or from a bulk send or a cadence, and the files go with it.
The phone flow has two steps, and the middle one is the point of it:
You always see the real message before WhatsApp opens. Nothing sends straight from a tap.
On the free plan, messages sent through Syncdo have a short line added at the end. It stops on any paid plan. See what each plan includes.
{{company}}. Write sentences that still read correctly when a field is empty.Email us and a real person will reply.
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