4. Publishing a template letter

Before you publish the template letter, you should proofread it for errors and test it works as expected.

You can preview the letter by using the following link in a new tab and adding the slug from the template letter entry at the end:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/p/template-letters/paste-slug-here

For example, https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/p/template-letters/Problems-with-goods-letter-before-court-action

Proofreading and testing checklist

These checks will help make sure your template letter is ready to publish.

Check the example letter

Open the letter with the preview link.

You should check:

1. ‘Your details’ placeholder answers are at the top right of the letter, starting with name and address: Sam Hoolin 8 Park Avenue Arlton AL1 4CA

2. Email address is below this: sam123@mail.com

3. Telephone number is next: 01632 960001

4. Recipient’s details are at the top left of the letter in the order: Giltham Traders 24 Station Road Giltham GT16 3LP

5. Today’s date is on the right, below the recipient’s details 

6. The letter is addressed ‘To whom it may concern,’ including the comma

7. There are no spelling or grammar mistakes

8. All of the placeholder text is in the right place

9. No sentences or paragraphs are repeated

Check the form

Click ‘Edit letter’ to check the form.

To check error text, don’t fill in the form and scroll straight to the bottom. Select ‘Preview letter’ and it will flag all of the questions with error text. 

You should check:

1. All questions have error text - unless they’re marked '(optional)'

2. Error text starts with ‘Enter’ or ‘Select’

3. Error text doesn’t end with a full stop

Now refresh the page and start filling in the form using your own or made up information.

You should check:

1. Sections and questions are in the correct order

2. Hint text ends with a full stop

Check the letter preview

Click ‘Preview letter’.

You should check:

1. The letter begins ‘Dear’ if you entered a specific person's name - otherwise, it says ‘To whom it may concern,’

2. Letter ends ‘Yours faithfully,’ then your full name

3. All of your answers make sense when embedded in the letter

4. The letter changes in the correct way when you edit the form - test all variations. This includes selecting different radio buttons and either filling in or leaving blank any questions marked '(optional)'

5. The ‘Copy to clipboard’ button copies all of the letter in plain text

6. The ‘Download letter (Rich Text Format)’ button downloads the letter as an .rtf file and you can open it 

Once you have checked everything, you can publish the template letter.

Publish all entries

Make sure you publish all of the entries. You can publish everything at once by using the ‘References’ tab.

Select all entries by ticking ‘All’ at the top. You can then click the green ‘Publish all’ button.

If you get a validation error

You might get an error if any of the entries aren’t published. You’ll need to make sure they are all published. You'll see the warning below if there are unpublished entries.

If you publish a letter with archived entries

If you have an archived entry within your template letter, the letter won’t work.

Make sure any archived entries are removed before publishing.

You can remove an archived entry by clicking the 3 dots at the right and selecting 'Remove'.

View the published letter

You can view the letter by using the following link in a new tab and adding the slug for the letter at the end:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/template-letters/paste-slug-here

For example, https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/template-letters/Problems-with-goods-letter-before-court-action