Hive Mail has four editors. They make the same kind of email and share one top bar, preview and test send. You pick one when you make a template or on the Content step of a campaign.
| Editor | Best for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Visual builder | Designed newsletters | Drag-and-drop blocks, columns, pictures, buttons. See The Visual builder. |
| Classic editor | Letters and updates | One column of formatted text in a Boxed, Centered or Letter layout. |
| Plain text editor | Personal, simple emails | Only words and links. |
| HTML editor | People with their own HTML | A code editor with a live preview. |
Merge tags work in all four. New to email design? Start with the Visual builder. The other three are on Classic, Plain text and HTML editors.
The top bar #
The editor opens full screen. From left to right:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Back link | Templates, Campaign, Flow or Connect a form. |
| Name field | Placeholder "Untitled". In a campaign, renaming here renames the campaign. |
| Save state | "Saved", "Saving…", "Unsaved changes", "Changed elsewhere", or "Not saved" with Try again. |
| Undo / Redo | Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Shift+Z. Keeps 100 steps. |
| Computer view / Phone view | Not in the Plain text editor. |
| Preview, Send test | See below. |
| Editor menu | Named after the current editor (for example Visual). Switch editor; Version history for templates. |
| Done | Saves and goes back. |
The email saves about 1.2 seconds after your last change; Ctrl or Cmd+S saves at once. If someone else saved the same template meanwhile, a bar offers Use their version or Keep my changes.
Preview shows the email as the server builds it, never tracked. Type two characters in Preview as a contact… to see a real contact's merge tags (needs the permission to see contacts), or click Use sample data.
Send test opens "Send a test email". Check Send to (your WordPress email is filled in) and click Send test email. Tests go out at once, are never tracked and use sample merge tag values. Templates have an optional Subject (optional); A/B campaigns let you choose Subject A or Subject B.
Switch editor #
Open the editor menu (the button named after the current editor), pick an editor, read "Switch to …?" and click Switch editor.
| From \ To | Visual | Classic | Plain text | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual | n/a | Only with no columns, Custom HTML or unknown blocks | Yes | Yes |
| Classic | Yes | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Plain text | Yes | Yes | n/a | Yes |
| HTML | No | No | Yes | n/a |
Warning: Plain text keeps words and link addresses only; pictures, colours, buttons and layout are lost. After switching to HTML you edit code from then on.
Version history (templates only) #
A template keeps its newest 20 earlier versions: one before every editor switch and restore, and at most one every 30 minutes while editing. Open the editor menu > Version history, click a version to preview it, then click Restore this version. The current version is saved first, so a restore can be undone. A campaign's own email has no history.
Check before sending notes #
Orange notes appear in the side panel, Preview and campaign checklist. They cannot be switched off.
| Note | What to do |
|---|---|
| "This email is large. Gmail cuts off messages over about 100 KB…" | Shows over about 90 KB. Use fewer blocks or less code. |
| "The email has no content yet." | The only note that blocks sending. |
| "A picture has no alt text. …" | Classic and HTML editors: add a description. |
| "There is no unsubscribe link … Hive Mail adds its standard footer…" | Fine. See The email footer. |
| "An image block has no picture yet; it is left out." | Visual builder: choose a picture. |
| "Line {n} is longer than 72 characters. …" | Plain text editor. |
| "Scripts, frames, forms and event handlers (onclick=…) are removed …" | HTML editor. Mail apps do not run them. |
Once a campaign is scheduled or sent, its email cannot be changed: unschedule it or duplicate it.
Next: Templates, Merge tags and fallbacks.
