Parent Experience

Q: Where can I access the OpenApply demo site?

A: You can access the OpenApply demo site at: https://demo.openapply.com

You can use this site to test form editing, to see the parent view or to try out anything that you may not wish to edit on your own OpenApply site first.

Q: How do I edit the email, phone number and director name that are available in the legend of values in automatic emails and bulk messages?

A: The details that are used for the {{email}}, {{phone}} and {{director_name}} legends can be edited at Settings > School Settings > School Information under the Contact Information section. The {{signature}} legend always inserts 'Admissions Office at {{School Name}}'.

Please click here for more information on editing the school contact information

Q: When sending an e-mail to applicant or family, is it possible to add a signature template for each admissions member?

A: Unfortunately, this is not currently possible in the automated status & notification e-mails. In this case, it is possible to use the legend of values as mentioned above, or to edit each message as necessary, so for example the 'Applied' email has the details of the admissions office, but the 'Enrolled' email could have the details of the registrar. Otherwise, all emails could come from a general contact, such as 'Admissions Office'.

Please click here for more information on customising automated email messages.

For bulk message templates, each staff member could save their own templates, with their own signature.

Please click here for more information on creating a bulk message template.

Q: Is it possible to add a hyperlink into e-mails to parents?

A: Yes, hyperlinks can be included in automated emails and in bulk messages.

Please click here for more information on adding hyperlinks, images and documents to automated emails.

Please click here for more information on adding hyperlinks, images and documents to bulk messages.

Q: When adding an internal note, is it possible to add the note to all siblings in the family at the same time?

A: Unfortunately, this is not currently possible. However, there are two alternative solutions which may be of help here:

1. Add the note to the first child, then copy the note. Right click on each of the siblings on the right panel, and open each sibling in a new browser tab. Then paste the note as a new note into each of their profiles.

2. Make use of the BCC feature to BCC or FWD emails to OpenApply. Those emails will then be logged on the Latest Activity of all children of the parents whose original emails were used to BCC or FWD to OpenApply.

Please click here for more information on centralising correspondence in OpenApply.

Q: When would static text or instructions be used in a form?

A: Static text can be used if you wish to add plain text into the body of the form. For example, if you wish to add plain text to introduce a particular section of the form, or to explain some important information to parents.

Please click here for information on how to add static text to forms.

Field instructions are presented as a blue information box directly after the field to which they are attached. These can be useful for sharing information or requirements relating to a particular field. For example, if you wish to inform the parents of which type of file is required for a photo upload field.

Please click here for information on how to add instructions to a field.

This webinar was originally run on May 1, 2018.

Host: MacKenzie Hovermale, OpenApply Director
Presenter: Tom Kirby, OpenApply Support Associate