Email Templates in OJS: How to Edit, Add and Fix Journal Emails

OJS sends dozens of emails: submission acknowledgements, review invitations, reminders, decisions. All of them come from templates you can edit under Settings → Workflow → Emails. Good templates make your journal look professional and save editors from typing the same messages again and again.

Setup: signature and bounce address

• Signature: added to the end of every email. Include the journal name, the editor’s role and the journal’s web address.
• Bounce address: where undeliverable emails go, so you notice addresses that no longer work (your server must allow it).

Editing a template

1. Open the Templates tab and find the email, for example the review request.
2. Edit the subject and body. Keep the variables (words in curly brackets) that insert names, titles and links.
3. Save, then send yourself a test by running through the step in a test submission.

Variables such as {$recipientName}, {$submissionTitle} or {$reviewDueDate} are filled in automatically. The exact names differ between versions, so pick them from the list OJS shows next to the editor instead of typing them.

Adding your own templates

From OJS 3.4 you can keep several templates for the same email, for example different decision letters for regular and special issues, and choose one when you send. Name them clearly so editors pick the right one.

Templates worth reviewing first

• Submission acknowledgement (the first thing every author receives).
• Review request and its reminders.
• Decision emails: accept, revisions, decline.
• Publication notice.

Write in plain sentences and keep each email short. Long, formal templates are skimmed and missed, especially on phones.

When emails don’t arrive

Most delivery problems aren’t the templates: they’re the server’s mail setup (SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, or sending through a proper mail service). See OJS emails not sending and why journal emails go to spam.

Menu names move a little between OJS 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5, and some themes and plugins add their own options. If a setting isn’t where this guide says, check PKP’s Learning OJS guide for your version. This guide is independent and not endorsed by PKP.

Emails still failing? Our OJS support team fixes OJS mail setups.

Questions

Where are email templates in OJS?

Settings → Workflow → Emails, on the Templates tab.

Can I restore a default OJS email template?

Yes. Each template can be reset to the default text, and you can reset all of them at once.

Why do OJS emails go to spam?

Usually because the sending domain lacks SPF, DKIM or DMARC records, or the server sends mail directly. Sending through an authenticated mail service fixes most cases.