Modula
Modula documentation
Creating and editing
Dynamic fields
A dynamic field is a gap in a SmartText, filled in at insertion time: a first name, a reference, a date, a choice from a list. A single SmartText then serves a hundred different situations.
Adding a field Basic
The field buttons are in the editor's toolbar: after the formatting buttons for a SmartText, below the title for a SmartMail. Each one opens the field panel on the right: its name, its settings and the result.
- Put the cursor where you want it in the content.
- Click the button of the field you want — text, list, date and time, selection, clipboard or cursor. They are icons: hover over them, their tooltip says what they add.
- Give it a name, set it up, then Insert.
The field appears in the text as a coloured chip, with its name. To edit it, click the chip: the panel opens again, and the button becomes Update. A second click on the same chip closes the panel.
| Colour | Fields |
|---|---|
| Blue | Date, time, time slot, date range |
| Purple | Text, list |
| Green | Selection, clipboard |
| Orange | Cursor |
In a SmartMail, the buttons act on the last field you clicked — recipient, copy, subject or body — outlined with a discreet border.
Text field Basic
The most common one: an input box in the insertion form. Give it a meaningful name — it's the label you'll see when filling it in.
“Hello [First name], your case [Reference] is being processed.” On insertion, the form asks for the first name and the reference, then inserts the complete sentence.
One line or several, case Advanced
Two settings in a Text field's panel:
- Allow several lines (ticked by default): the field is two lines high in the form, and Shift+Enter starts a new line in it. Unticked, the field fits on one line, and text pasted over several lines is joined up.
- Case: the text can come out As typed, in UPPERCASE, in lowercase, with the First letter capitalised or with Capitalise Each Word. The form keeps what you typed; only the inserted text changes.
The “Last name” field of a letter is set to UPPERCASE: Camille types “smith”, the letter shows “SMITH”.
List field Basic
A drop-down menu in the form, with the choices you plan. The round button in front of a choice makes it the default choice, already selected when the form opens; clicking it again unticks it.
“Deadline” list: 24 h, 48 h (default), 72 h. Most of the time, Enter is enough; when it's urgent, Camille picks 24 h.
A list has at least two choices. Enter in the last choice adds a new one.
Reordering the choices Advanced
Drag a choice by its handle, or use Alt+↑ and Alt+↓. Empty choices and duplicates (ignoring case and accents) are removed when you confirm.
Multiple-choice list Advanced
Tick Allow several choices in a list's panel: the form shows checkboxes instead of a menu, and the ticked choices are joined in the text, in the order of the list. Several choices can be ticked in advance.
“Documents to provide” list: ID, proof of address, bank details. Camille ticks the first two; the text says “Please send us: ID and proof of address.”
How multiple choices appear Expert
| How they appear in the text | Result |
|---|---|
| In the sentence | “A, B and C” — the Linking word (“and”, “or”…) can be set |
| Bulleted list | One bullet per choice — to be placed on its own line |
| One per line | One choice per line, without a bullet |
At least one choice (ticked by default) prevents confirming the form as long as nothing is ticked. Unticked, a list with no choice inserts nothing.
Date, time, date and time Basic
A date field is pre-filled with the present moment: Enter is enough for today's date, or correct it before inserting. Same principle for the time, and for date and time together.
“Call received on [Date] at [Time].” Camille triggers the SmartText, presses Enter: “Call received on 28/09/2026 at 14:30.”
A SmartText that contains only a date therefore opens the form too: that's intentional, so you can correct it.
A format of its own for a field Advanced
Dates follow the format chosen in Settings → Options, for your whole library. A field can have its own: in its panel, Date, Time or Date and time tab, choose a format, or Custom format.
For a formal letter, the “Date” field is set to the format that spells out the weekday: “Monday 28 September 2026”, while the rest of the library writes 28/09/2026.
Time slot and date range Advanced
The date and time button opens a panel with four tabs: Date, Time, Date and time and Special. The last one offers ready-made templates:
| Template | The form asks for | Example result |
|---|---|---|
| Time slot | a day, a start time, an end time | on 30/09/2026 from 14:00 to 15:30 |
| Date range | a start day, an end day | from 12/10/2026 to 16/10/2026 |
| Appointment | a day and a time | on 30/09/2026 at 14:00 |
Surrounding text, markers and your own templates Expert
In the Special tab, the Surrounding text assembles the values into a sentence. Each marker in square brackets is replaced by an entered value:
| Marker | Value |
|---|---|
[date] · [time] | the day · the time |
[start-date] · [start-time] | start date and time |
[end-date] · [end-time] | end date and time |
The form asks for exactly the values of the markers present: on [date] from [start-time] to [end-time] asks for a day and two times. The format sets how each value is written; the surrounding text, the sentence — its words are never transformed.
Surrounding text: from [start-date] at [start-time] to [end-date] at [end-time]. Result: “from 12/10/2026 at 09:00 to 16/10/2026 at 18:00”.
- Edit an existing template, then Save template — Restore original goes back to the supplied template.
- Or create your own with New template….
A template is only an editing shortcut: changing or deleting it doesn't change any field already inserted. A field that no template describes is shown as Custom.
Selection field Advanced
It takes the text you had selected on the page when you triggered the SmartText. If nothing was selected, it becomes an input box in the form, rather than leaving a gap.
“Regarding your message: “[Selection]”, here is our answer…” Camille selects the customer's question, triggers the SmartText: the quote is already in place.
To pick up several pieces from the page after the form has opened, use AutoCopy instead.
Case of the selection Expert
Like a Text field, the Selection field has a Case setting: a reference selected in lowercase can come out in UPPERCASE.
Clipboard field Advanced
It takes what you copied last. Modula only reads the clipboard if the SmartText contains this field, never otherwise; Chrome may ask for permission the first time.
Camille copies a tracking number on the carrier's website, then types !track in her reply: the number is already in the text.
Cursor field Expert
It isn't a field to fill in: it marks where the cursor will be placed after insertion, instead of going to the end of the text. You pick up typing exactly where something needs completing.
“Hello,
[Cursor]
Kind regards, Camille”. After insertion, the cursor waits between the greeting and the signature.
- Only one cursor per SmartText; SmartTexts only (not in a SmartMail or in copy mode).
- It has no panel: the button places it directly. Clicking its chip offers Information or Delete.
- In code editors (CodeMirror, Monaco) and CKEditor 5, a single Ctrl+Z undoes both the insertion and the cursor move.
Same name, same field Basic
Two fields with the same name are one field: a single entry fills them all, with the same settings. Handy for repeating a first name in several places in a message.
“Hello [First name], … See you soon [First name]!” The form asks for the first name only once.
When you type the name of an existing field in the panel, Modula says so and immediately takes over its settings.
Renaming or deleting a repeated field Expert
Editing a field that appears several times edits all its occurrences — a banner reminds you (“This field appears 3 times”). Two cases need your choice:
- Renaming: Modula asks whether to apply the new name to this field only — it then separates completely from the group — or to the N fields in the group. If the new name already exists, the fields join it: a single entry for all of them.
- Deleting: Delete this occurrence or Delete all N.
Two kinds for one name Expert
A name refers to a single field: you can't have a text “Delivery” and a date “Delivery” in the same SmartText. The panel refuses the name (“A field “Delivery” of another type already exists”): choose another one, such as “Delivery date”.
Settings not applied Basic
If you leave a field's panel without clicking Insert or Update — another chip, another button, Cancel, saving the item — Modula asks: Discard, Back to the field or Apply.