ExactTarget TriggeredSend – Replace variable HTML__BODY?

Using the PHP Fuel SDK. I could have sworn that I saw somewhere that you can send HTML__BODY, HTML_Body, or something similar to replace the entire content of an Email with unlimited length – bypassing the 2k limit for account attributes and the 4k limit for DE fields. Am I crazy, or it this just another undocumented feature that is known by work of mouth?

Answers:

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Method 1

More information about HTML Attributes can be found at: http://help.exacttarget.com/en/technical_library/web_service_guide/triggered_email_scenario_guide_for_developers/

They are used when passing in HTML which exceeds 2000 characters, specifically for triggered sends.

A profile attribute will need to be created with the HTML__ prefix before it can be used with a triggered send. Also, an email will need to be created which references this profile attribute using standard substitution syntax. For example, if you call your profile attribute HTML__Body, then the email will need to contain:

%%HTML__Body%%

While it would be possible to pass the entire HTML for an email using this mechanism, I would recommend keeping as much content in the Email as possible then only passing over the pieces that are truly dynamic.

Another option would be to used a TriggeredSendDataExtension with a field that has the length removed. By default, it will put a length of 50 when creating a Text type field in the interface but that value can be removed to make the field accept larger values. When using a Data Extension field instead of a profile attribute, it isn’t necessary to prefix the name with HTML__.

Method 2

I just wanted to note here that the above workaround involving a profile attribute might no longer be possible in Enterprise 2.0 accounts. When I tried setting up a profile attribute as discussed in an enterprise 2.0 account, there wasn’t an option to not set a max limit. The only workaround I have found so far is to follow @Mac’s suggestion of not using a profile attribute but rather to only use a DataExtension field that has no limit set. Make sure to delete any profile attributes of the same name to avoid getting the following error.

TriggeredSendSubscriberProcessingError,errorDescri‌​ption=Error Code:10
- The subscriber is missing required attribute value for HTML__Body

Method 3

As indicated by @Mac in the comments, you can do an unlimited-length variable replacement by using a data extension.

1. Create a Data Extension using Standard Data Extension -> Creation Method: Create From Template -> TriggeredSendDataExtension.
2. When you are on the Fields tab, create a Text property and remove the Length amount.
3. Use this Data Extension when creating a Triggered Send in the interface or API.
4. Be sure to include the property name in your Email and/or Template.

I was able to successfully send a 960k-character text block to that data extension property.

All methods was sourced from stackoverflow.com or stackexchange.com, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.5, cc by-sa 3.0 and cc by-sa 4.0