Plain Text Generation

Render your templates as plain text (TXT) files. This is useful for email content, data exports, SMS messages, and any scenario where you need text without formatting.

Overview

Plain text output is ideal for:

• Email body content (before HTML formatting)
• SMS or notification messages
• Data exports and reports
• Integration with systems that only accept plain text
• Generating configuration files or scripts

How It Works

When you render a template as TXT:

1. All HTML elements are stripped
2. Text content is extracted in reading order
3. Variables are replaced with your data
4. The result is returned as a plain text file

Template Considerations

Keep It Simple

For best results with TXT output, use templates that focus on text content:

• Use Text elements for your content
• Avoid complex layouts (columns will be flattened)
• Tables will be converted to plain text (consider formatting)

Variables Work the Same

All your variables and Liquid templating work identically:

Hello {{customerName}},

Your order #{{orderNumber}} has been shipped.

Items:
{% for item in items %}
- {{item.name}} (Qty: {{item.quantity}})
{% endfor %}

Total: {{total}}

Thank you for your business!

Line Breaks

Use the Page Break element or multiple Text elements to control line spacing in your output.

API Integration

Generate TXT from Template

curl -X POST "https://api.templateto.com/render/txt/{templateId}" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"customerName": "Acme Corp", "orderNumber": "12345"}'

Response

Returns the text file directly with Content-Type: text/plain.

Async Rendering

For large documents or batch processing, use the async API:

curl -X POST "https://api.templateto.com/render/async/txt/{templateId}" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"customerName": "Acme Corp"}'

Use Cases

Email Templates

Create email body content that can be used with any email service:

Dear {{recipientName}},

{{emailBody}}

Best regards,
{{senderName}}
{{companyName}}

Order Confirmations

Generate order summaries for SMS or simple notifications:

Order {{orderNumber}} confirmed!
Total: {{total}}
Delivery: {{deliveryDate}}
Track at: {{trackingUrl}}

Data Reports

Export data in a readable text format:

Sales Report - {{reportDate}}
================================

Total Sales: {{totalSales}}
Orders: {{orderCount}}
Average Order: {{averageOrder}}

Top Products:
{% for product in topProducts %}
{{forloop.index}}. {{product.name}} - {{product.sales}}
{% endfor %}

Comparison with Other Formats

Feature	TXT	PDF	Image
File size	Smallest	Medium	Varies
Formatting	None	Full	Full
Universal compatibility	Highest	High	High
Email attachment friendly	Yes	Yes	Yes
Editable by recipient	Yes	Limited	No

Best Practices

1. Design for text first - If TXT is your primary output, keep templates simple
2. Test the output - Preview as TXT to see how formatting translates
3. Use consistent spacing - Control line breaks intentionally
4. Consider character limits - For SMS, keep content concise
5. Avoid special characters - Stick to ASCII for maximum compatibility

For complete API documentation, see the REST API Reference.