# How to use templates, merge fields and spintax

Source: https://wassuply.com/docs/templates-and-spintax/
Updated: 2026-10-30 · Wassuply 1.0.4 for Windows and macOS

> Wassuply templates are reusable messages you save under Content → Templates and load into any broadcast campaign. Messages can use four merge fields, {name}, {phone}, {custom1} and {custom2}, plus spintax sets such as {Hi|Hey|Hello}, which Wassuply resolves at random for each contact. Templates are your own saved text, not WhatsApp Business API templates, so nothing needs Meta approval.

In the app: Sidebar → Content → Templates

## Key facts

- Wassuply supports four merge fields, {name}, {phone}, {custom1} and {custom2}, written with single braces and matched in any letter case.
- Wassuply fills merge fields first and then resolves each spintax set, picking one option at random separately for every message it sends.
- Wassuply spintax cannot be nested: a set placed inside another set leaves braces in the text the contact receives.
- Wassuply campaigns accept JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, MP4, MOV, PDF, DOC and DOCX attachments, and the Templates screen also accepts BMP.
- The ban-risk check in the Wassuply campaign editor runs on your computer without an API key and rates a message as Looks safe, Some risk or High ban risk.
- When a contact has no value for a merge field, Wassuply replaces the field with nothing rather than a fallback word.

## What are templates in Wassuply?

A template is a saved message, with an optional attachment, that you load into a campaign instead of typing it again. Templates live under **Content → Templates** on the **Broadcast Templates** screen and are stored on your computer. They are not WhatsApp Business API templates: nothing goes to Meta for approval and you can change them whenever you like.

Templates are listed by name with a search box. Each card shows the start of the text, an image preview or file name, and three buttons: **Copy** puts the text on your clipboard, **Edit** reopens it and **Delete** removes it.

## How do I create and reuse a template?

Click **New Template**, enter a name and a message body, optionally attach a file and click **Create**; the name and body are both required.

**How to create a message template in Wassuply**

1. **Start a template**: Go to **Content → Templates** and click **New Template**.
2. **Name it**: Enter a **Template Name**, for example Summer Sale Announcement.
3. **Write the body**: Type the **Message Body**. Click a chip to insert `{name}`, `{phone}`, `{custom1}`, `{custom2}` or a spintax set at the cursor. The counter turns amber at 300 characters and red at 500.
4. **Attach a file**: Optionally click **Attach Image / File** to add one image, video or document.
5. **Save**: Click **Create**, or **Save** when editing an existing template.

To reuse a template, open the campaign's **Message** step, click **Load Template** and pick it; its text replaces what is in the message box. Loading copies the text only, so add the template's file with **Attach File** in the same step. To keep the text you are writing, type a name under **Save as reusable Template** and click **Save**. Later edits to a template do not change campaigns already created.

> **Tip:** In a cold campaign the same controls read **Load Script** and **Save as reusable Script** and use your outreach Scripts instead. See [Cold outreach](https://wassuply.com/docs/cold-outreach/).

## Which merge fields can I use?

Wassuply has four merge fields, each in single braces: `{name}`, `{phone}`, `{custom1}` and `{custom2}`. Letter case does not matter, so `{NAME}` works too, and each field is filled separately for every recipient when the message is sent.

| Merge field | Filled from | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `{name}` | The name column of a CSV uploaded in the campaign, the second value of a pasted line, or the contact's name when added from Contacts or a segment | Priya |
| `{phone}` | The recipient's number as digits | 447700900123 |
| `{custom1}` | A custom1 column in the campaign's CSV, or the third value of a pasted line | Promo |
| `{custom2}` | A custom2 column in the campaign's CSV, or the fourth value of a pasted line | VIP |

In the campaign's **Upload File** tab, Wassuply reads columns headed phone (or mobile or number), name, custom1 and custom2, and uses the first column when there is no phone heading. In **Paste Numbers**, each line is phone,name,custom1,custom2. Saved contacts have no custom fields, so `{custom1}` and `{custom2}` stay empty for them; see [Contacts, lists and segments](https://wassuply.com/docs/contacts-lists-segments/).

> **Caution:** A field with no value becomes nothing: `Hi {name},` turns into Hi , for a contact without a name. Give every row a name or write the opener so it reads well without one.

### Tracked links

In the campaign editor, **Tracked Link** asks for a web address and inserts a tracked link placeholder. Each recipient gets their own wassuply.com/l/ link, and clicks appear per contact on the campaign's detail page. Creating the link uses Wassuply's cloud.

## How does spintax work?

Spintax lets one message produce many versions: put alternatives in braces separated by pipes, such as `{Hi|Hey|Hello}`, and Wassuply picks one option at random for each message it sends.

- `{Hi|Hey|Hello} {name}` gives three different openings.
- `{saw your store|came across your shop|found your page}` swaps a whole phrase.
- `{Thanks|Cheers|}` can also pick nothing, because an empty option is allowed.

Any braces containing at least one | are spintax; braces without a pipe, like `{name}`, are merge fields. Wassuply fills merge fields first, then resolves every set independently for each recipient, so two sets of three options give nine combinations. Spaces inside options are kept as typed. Choices are random, so with few options some contacts will get the same wording.

> **Caution:** Spintax cannot be nested. In `{Hi|{Hey|Hello}}` only the inner set is resolved and the contact receives braces such as {Hi|Hello}. Keep every set flat.

> **Tip:** Sequence and drip steps use the same merge fields and spintax rules. The [spintax glossary entry](https://wassuply.com/glossary/what-is-spintax/) has more examples.

## What does the ban-risk check look at?

The campaign editor scores your text with fixed rules that run on your computer, with no API key, and shows **Looks safe**, **Some risk** or **High ban risk** plus the number of issues; click the badge to list them.

| Check | Flagged when | Level |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Spam-trigger words | Words such as free, winner, click here, discount or crypto appear | Medium, or high with 3 or more |
| Links | Any web address or domain is in the text | High |
| Length | Over 400 characters, or over 600 | Low, or medium |
| Capitals | More than 40% of the letters are capitals, in texts with over 20 letters | Medium |
| Emojis | 6 or more emojis | Low |
| Urgency | Phrases such as call now, reply now, hurry or last chance | Medium |
| No name field | The text has no `{name}` | Low |
| No spintax | The text has no spintax set | Low |

High issues add 34 points, medium 18 and low 8, up to 100. Under 25 is **Looks safe**, 25 to 54 **Some risk** and 55 or more **High ban risk**. The check covers **Write message** only, not **AI-personalized** or **Voice note**, and it is not on the Templates screen. It is a guide, so pair it with sensible [sending limits](https://wassuply.com/docs/sending-safety/).

**Add spintax** rewrites the message into spintax using your AI provider (Claude, ChatGPT or DeepSeek) and is told to leave merge fields alone. **Improve** offers **Make it shorter**, **Warmer & friendlier**, **Less salesy / safer** and **Fix grammar & flow**. Both need your own key; see [AI features](https://wassuply.com/docs/ai-features/).

## Which attachments can I send?

Each campaign or template carries at most one attachment, an image, video or document, and the message text is sent with it as a caption.

| Type | Campaign Message step | Templates screen |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Images | JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP | JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP |
| Video | MP4, MOV | MP4, MOV |
| Documents | PDF, DOC, DOCX | PDF, DOC, DOCX |

- With a file attached, the text becomes an optional caption; with no caption the file is sent on its own.
- A **Voice note** cannot carry an attachment; choosing it removes the file. See [Voice notes](https://wassuply.com/docs/voice-notes/).
- Wassuply reads the file from your computer at each send, so keep it in the same folder until the campaign ends. A missing file makes that send fail.
- Wassuply adds no size limit of its own, but WhatsApp's limits still apply and large files slow every send.

## How do I preview and test a message?

The **Preview** box beside the message shows one resolved version for the first contact in the campaign. If that contact has no name, the preview shows John, while the real message would have nothing there. Before any contacts are added, merge fields are shown as typed.

Spintax is picked again as you type, so the preview is one example rather than the exact text each person gets. The counter under the message turns amber with getting long at 300 characters and red with very long at 500.

**How to send a test message**

1. **Open the panel**: At the bottom of the **Message** step, click **Send Test Message**.
2. **Choose sender and recipient**: Pick a connected number in **From account** and type your own number, with country code, in **To phone number**.
3. **Send**: Click **Send Now**. Merge fields are filled with Test User, Sample1 and Sample2 (and your number for `{phone}`), and spintax picks one option.

> **Tip:** A test is a real WhatsApp message from that number, so send it to a phone you own. Tests are not available for **AI-personalized** messages, which are written per contact at launch.

## Frequently asked questions

### Are Wassuply templates the same as WhatsApp Business API templates?

No. They are your own saved messages stored on your computer. Nothing is submitted to Meta, there is no approval step and no per-message fee.

### Can I use {first_name} or other contact fields?

No. Only {name}, {phone}, {custom1} and {custom2} are replaced. Anything else in braces without a pipe is sent exactly as typed.

### Does spintax make every message different?

Not always. Each set picks an option at random, so with few options some contacts get identical text; more sets and more options make repeats less likely.

### Why did a contact receive braces in my message?

Braces stay in when a merge field is misspelt, for example with a space inside, or when spintax is nested. Check the preview and send a test before launching.

### Does editing a template change campaigns that used it?

No. Loading a template copies its text into the campaign, so later edits only affect campaigns you build afterwards.

### Do I need an AI key to use spintax?

No. You can type spintax yourself for free. Only the **Add spintax** and **Improve** buttons need your own Claude, ChatGPT or DeepSeek key.

Wassuply is independent software. It is not made, endorsed or sponsored by WhatsApp or Meta.