Troubleshooting
What to do when a frame needs auto layout, when Sendra selected a different frame than you meant, when fonts or images look different, or when a limit is reached.
Each section below describes a situation you may be in and what to do.
Sendra says this frame needs auto layout
Section titled “Sendra says this frame needs auto layout”Press Shift + A with the named frame selected, or right-click it and choose Add auto layout. Sendra takes the email the moment it is added. The frame that holds your email needs auto layout, and the panel names the frame it means, with needs auto layout beside the name and Shift + A under it; the name is a button that selects the frame on the canvas.
If Sendra selected a different frame than you meant
Section titled “If Sendra selected a different frame than you meant”Click the first crumb at the top of the panel to open the menu Which frame is the email? and pick the frame you mean. Sendra remembers the pick on that frame, so it wins from then on.
Several emails inside one frame: pick your email once. From then on, clicking any email inside that frame selects that email, and clicking the outer frame keeps the one you are on.
The panel says Select your email
Section titled “The panel says Select your email”Click anywhere on your email. The panel shows Select your email with nothing selected, and when you select a Section, a group on its own, or a loose layer outside any email. With several layers selected it shows Select one layer to customize; options depend on the layer, so they apply to one at a time.
A font looks different in the preview or in the inbox
Section titled “A font looks different in the preview or in the inbox”Open the export window and choose a fallback for the font, or paste the URL of a font file you host. Email clients show a font only when it is available to them.
- Text set in a Google Font is linked automatically and shows in clients that load web fonts.
- The fallback is what clients show when your font is not available. Choose one with a similar width so lines wrap the same way.
- Some clients show a fallback regardless. Check the email in those clients with Send test.
Images are missing after copying the HTML
Section titled “Images are missing after copying the HTML”Turn on Host images online in the Images section, or choose Export package instead. Copy HTML links images from the web, so the images have to be online somewhere; the export window says Images may not load when they are not.
- Host images online uploads your images and uses those links in the HTML. The free plan includes 100 hosted images; Pro is unlimited.
- Or give each image an image URL in the Images section, pointing at a copy you host.
- Or choose Export package and upload the images folder along with the HTML to your email tool.
Part of the design exported as a single image
Section titled “Part of the design exported as a single image”Turn off Export as image in the Customize tab if it is on for that layer. Sendra also exports a layer as one image when it is rotated, when it is masked, when it clips content that spills past its edges, when vector shapes overlap each other with no text among them, or when a frame’s only visual is its image fill. Separate icons side by side stay separate images. Text in a frame without auto layout stays live.
- Straighten a rotated layer, or accept the image and give it alt text.
- Remove the mask or the clipping, or accept the image and give it alt text.
- Move text out of overlapping vector shapes so the text stays live and the artwork exports on its own.
Columns do not stack on phones
Section titled “Columns do not stack on phones”Open the Mobile preview and select the row in question. In the Customize tab, choose Stack on mobile. For a layer that should not appear on phones at all, set Show on to desktop.
Text is too small, or too tight, on phones
Section titled “Text is too small, or too tight, on phones”Select the text layer and, in the Customize tab, set a font size, line height, padding or gap for mobile. The Mobile preview updates as you change them.
The email looks different in one email client
Section titled “The email looks different in one email client”Use Send test to see the email in that client. Each email client renders HTML in its own way; Sendra’s output is tested in Gmail, Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail and AOL.
- Keep the design to auto layout, text and image fills, which every tested client shows well.
- For a section that has to look exactly as designed, turn on Export as image for it and give it alt text.
If the difference matters and the steps above do not resolve it, write to support@hellosendra.com with the name of the client and a description of what you see.
The free plan’s exports are used up
Section titled “The free plan’s exports are used up”To export again, activate a Pro plan: choose License from the panel’s menu and paste your license key. The free plan includes ten exports; previews are unlimited, so you can keep working on the design. Plans are described at hellosendra.com/pricing.
Send test says the limit is reached
Section titled “Send test says the limit is reached”Send again when the panel says you can, or send one test to five addresses at once for a wider check. You can send twenty test emails in any 24 hours, each to up to five addresses.
The license key is not accepted
Section titled “The license key is not accepted”- Paste the whole key. A key is a long string of letters, numbers and dashes.
- A key that is active on another device can be deactivated there, from the Your license screen, and then activated here.
- If the key still is not accepted, write to support@hellosendra.com with the email address you purchased with.
The preview did not generate
Section titled “The preview did not generate”Choose Try again in the preview. If it keeps happening, write to support@hellosendra.com with the name of your Figma file’s email frame and a description of the design.