How to Set Dynamic Template for Recurring Email Delivery - ACS

[ian_liszewski]

I am trying to setup a dynamic template for an ACS recurring delivery workflow. To do this, I read an incoming CSV, use the reconcile step to; identify the profile id data from the file and like it to the profile id, and setup relation to link the delivery template Ids from incoming file to the delivery Id.

I know that in ACC, you can create a javscript step to identify an instance variable which can be used in the delivery to identify the template. However, I am not sure how I can do this in ACS and there doesn't seem to be any documentation on dynamic templates for ACS. Can someone explain how I can create a variable from my target data which can then be used to identify a delivery template id in the recurring delivery?

[ramon_bisswanger · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately you can't create a variable from the target data.

You only can define a variable using a Singal activity which is triggered either externally via a REST call or from another workflow (Though when calling you also can't reference target data).

[ian_liszewski]

Thank you, this is informative, and fits along the lines of where my current research has lead me. The issue is, per my requirements, I can't be triggering the workflow to start with a REST call. It needs to run from a scheduler, then read a file containing profiles to target along with the template they should be sent. The issue I have is with the signal activity. As you stated, creating a signal activity with parameters to trigger another workflow only allows the use of event variables to be used to set as parameters. The way I am thinking of creating a workaround is to have 2 workflows. The first workflow will read the file, create the audience, and then run an external API activity to trigger the second workflow. This external API will contain the theme of the email template to use. This is where I am stuck. It doesn't seem that I can run an External API workflow activity to trigger another workflow. Maybe there is a way to run the External API to Adobe IO and then from there trigger the workflow? 

[ramon_bisswanger]

Hi Ian,

yes, calling the signal via External API would require to use Adobe IO or something similar in between.

Though I got an idea and did try that and it seems to work:

• Define an "Update Data" activity in a parallel branch which is setting an option, e.g. OPTION_TEST (i.e. target schema = option)
• Inside the delivery activity you can then refer the delivery via $(options:OPTION_TEST)

You would just have to ensure that you don't have multiple workflows running in parallel accessing / modifying this option.
Else the workflows may overwrite the option and wrong mail may go out