This article includes merge fields that only staff within a school or district TalkingPoints partnership have access to.
Using merge fields, you can send one message to multiple people while personalizing it for each student and family, without any extra work.
What is a merge field?
A merge field is a feature that allows you to add specific information when writing a post. In TalkingPoints messages and message templates, there are words and phrases in brackets that personalize the message automatically for each family.
For example, [studentFirstName] automatically generates the student's first name for each family. This process eliminates the hassle of composing the same message to individual families while helping them feel like you are reaching out to them directly.
How do I insert a merge field into my message?
Step 1: Click on 'New message,' then select either an announcement or direct message. You can also open an existing message thread.
Step 2: Click on the brackets [ ] icon below the message box.
Step 3: Select the merge field you want to use.
Repeat the steps if you have more merge fields to insert, then send your message when you're ready. TalkingPoints will autofill the information if it's available.
How does it look for family contacts?
Family contacts do not see the bracket information since TalkingPoints auto-fills the information if available.
Here is the complete list of merge fields:
Fields are case-sensitive. If you are typing merge fields yourself, type the characters as they are in the table below. Feel free to copy and paste the fields from this article!
[teacherName] or [teacherFullName] | fills in your full name |
[teacherFirstName] | fills in your first name |
[teacherLastName] | fills in your last name |
[teacherDisplayName] | fills in your TalkingPoints display name that you set in the app |
[school] | fills in your school's name |
[district] | fills in your district's name |
[studentFirstName] | fills in a student's first name |
[studentLastName] | fills in a student's last name |
[contactFullName] | fills in a family contact's full name |
[contactFirstName] | fills in a family contact's first name |
[contactLanguage] | fills in a family contact's language name |