(VTL Script to) Parse email ID stored in database and use it as URL query parameter in an email template? | Community
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KaranUpamanyu
Level 1
May 12, 2023
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(VTL Script to) Parse email ID stored in database and use it as URL query parameter in an email template?

  • May 12, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 2076 views

Hello there!

 

I've got a {{lead.Email}} in my database. We send out emails to our leads with an links, and the href for the anchor tags contain the email address as a URL query parameter like so-

... <a href="https://abc.domain.com/route?email={{lead.Email}}">My Cart</a> ...

 

We've observed a problem with this- some leads enter their email with a + sign, and this sign remains intact in the URL (it should ideally be parsed into a %2B in the URL). How can I do this?

 

I've tried writing VTL scripts for this-

 

Script (my.parsedEmail):

#set($email = ${lead.Email}) #if($email=="") #set($email = "null") #end $email.replace("+","%2B"))

 

Email:

... <a href="https://abc.domain.com/route?email={{my.parsedEmail}}">My Cart</a> ...

 

This approach resulted in the entire VTL script getting dumped into the URL.

https://abc.domain.com/route?email=&mkt_tok=long_string#set($email%20=%20${lead.Email})#if($email==%22%22)null#end#if($email!=%22%22)$email.replace(%22+%22,%22%2B%22))#end

 

Then, I learned that we're supposed to get the entire <a> tag out of the script in one piece, with the https:// protocol in the tag and the URL in a variable.

 

This is my latest script-

## Generate the right email address (replace + with %2B) #set($email = ${lead.Email}) #if($email=="") #set($email = "null") #end #set($email=$email.replace("+","%2B")) ## define button styles #set($styles="some_inline_button_styles") ## generate the link #set($url="abc.domain.com/route?referral=marketo&amp;email=$email") ## The line that gets injected into the email <a rel="noopener" style="$styles" target="_blank" href="https://$url">Complete My Application</a>

 

The link generated was the most ridiculous one yet-

 

https://%24url/?mkt_tok=long_string

 

I've been stuck for a couple of days, how do I get this to work?

Thanks in advance!

 

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Best answer by SanfordWhiteman

A native {{lead.token}} is not URL-safe and any such link needs to be emitted from Velocity.

 

But don’t roll your own URL-encoder, there’s one built into EscapeTool.

#set( $email = $lead.Email ) #if( $email.isEmpty() ) #set( $email = "null" ) #end ## define button styles #set( $styles="some_inline_button_styles" ) ## generate the link #set( $urlNoProto ="abc.example.com/route?referral=marketo&amp;email=${esc.url($email)}" ) ## The line that gets injected into the email <a rel="noopener" style="$styles" target="_blank" href="https://${urlNoProto}">Complete My Application</a>

 

Also remember not to use another company’s actual domain. In demo code use example.com.

1 reply

SanfordWhiteman
SanfordWhitemanAccepted solution
Level 10
May 12, 2023

A native {{lead.token}} is not URL-safe and any such link needs to be emitted from Velocity.

 

But don’t roll your own URL-encoder, there’s one built into EscapeTool.

#set( $email = $lead.Email ) #if( $email.isEmpty() ) #set( $email = "null" ) #end ## define button styles #set( $styles="some_inline_button_styles" ) ## generate the link #set( $urlNoProto ="abc.example.com/route?referral=marketo&amp;email=${esc.url($email)}" ) ## The line that gets injected into the email <a rel="noopener" style="$styles" target="_blank" href="https://${urlNoProto}">Complete My Application</a>

 

Also remember not to use another company’s actual domain. In demo code use example.com.

    K
    KaranUpamanyuAuthor
    Level 1
    May 13, 2023

    This works- thank you!

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