> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.hflow.pro/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Communications

> Draft family update emails for a student group, track outreach in sessions, and copy messages to your mail app.

The **Communications Hub** helps teachers and coordinators prepare personalized family emails from hFlow assessment data. You work in three layers: a **student group** (who), a **session** (one outreach round), and **per-student drafts** (the message you copy and send outside hFlow).

> **Demo data notice**\
> Any names, student records, and examples in this section are fictitious sample data for demonstration and training only.

## Optional add-on

The **hFlow Communication Hub** is an **optional add-on** to your school’s hFlow subscription. Core hFlow (students, assessments, reports, and most configuration) is separate from this feature. When the Communication Hub add-on is enabled for your school, staff can draft family emails from assessment data and track outreach in sessions. Administrators can also manage wording and tokens under **Configuration → Email Templates**.

If the add-on is not enabled, **Communications** and **Email Templates** still appear in the menu so you can preview what the hub offers. Opening either page shows a message on top of a sample screen. Use **Close** to return to **Students**. To add the Communication Hub for your school, contact your hFlow administrator or your hFlow account representative.

## Before you start: student groups

Communications uses **custom groups** you create under **Students → Manage Groups** (or **Manage Groups** from the hub). Each group is tied to one **school year** and one **language**, and holds the roster you will email.

If you have no groups yet, create one first. See [Student groups](/hflow/students/groups). The hub only lists groups you own.

## Who can use Communications

* Your school must have the **Communication Hub optional add-on** enabled on its hFlow subscription.
* **Communications** in the header is available to teachers and administrators once the add-on is on.
* **Email templates** (wording and tokens) are managed under **Configuration → Email Templates** (typically administrators), and require the same add-on.

## How to open the Communications Hub

1. Sign in to hFlow.
2. In the header, click **Communications**.

You see **Select Group** and **Select Session** at the top, a progress summary on the left when a session is active, and the **Roster** on the right.

## How to pick a group and session

1. Open the **Select Group** dropdown and choose a group (name and language are shown).
2. Open **Select Session** and choose an existing session, or click **+ New Session**.
3. For a new session, enter a name (for example `BOY Updates`) and click **Create Session**.

A new session includes every student who is in the group **at creation time**. If you change the group roster later, students already in the session stay on that session’s roster; new group members are not added automatically to old sessions.

When a session is selected, the left panel shows a progress ring (**sent** vs still **draft**), plus group size, language, and when the session started.

## How to track progress on the roster

1. With a session selected, review the **Roster** cards.
2. Use the filter tabs **All**, **Sent**, and **Not Sent** to narrow the list.
3. Use **Sort** for **Status**, **Name**, or **Grade**.
4. **SENT** cards show the date marked sent; others show **DRAFT**.

Click a student card to open the draft screen for that person.

## How to draft a message for one student

The draft screen opens in focus mode with the student on the left and the composer on the right.

1. Confirm **Parent name**, **Parent email**, and **Teacher name** if your template uses those tokens.
2. Choose a **Template** from the dropdown. Templates are maintained under [Email templates](/hflow/configuration/email-templates).
3. Wait briefly while hFlow fills the **Preview** subject and body from the template and the student’s data. Edits auto-save; you may see **Saving…** then **Saved** near the preview title.
4. Adjust the preview text if needed. Chart images appear above the preview only when the template includes chart tokens and the student has data for them.
5. Use the arrows or the small roster chips at the top to move to the previous or next student in the group.
6. Click **Close** to return to the hub. Your group, session, and roster filter choices are preserved when possible.

### Which template is selected when you switch students

When you open another student in the same session (roster card, **Previous** / **Next**, or the chip row), hFlow chooses the **Template** dropdown and builds the preview as follows:

1. **Already marked sent**: The template tied to that student’s sent message is shown so you can review what went out. The preview reflects their saved subject and body.
2. **Still a draft**: hFlow pre-selects the **last template you chose** while drafting in Communications (including on another student in this session). The preview is rebuilt from that template with the **new** student’s assessment data and tokens. Any unsent draft you had saved for that student under a different template is replaced when the last-used template differs.
3. **First time in Communications**: If you have not picked a template yet in this browser, hFlow uses the first template in the list (system defaults, then your org’s custom templates).

Your last chosen template is remembered for your organization on this device, so a refresh or a later visit to Communications can continue with the same default until you pick a different one from the dropdown.

If you need the exact wording saved for one student (for example after heavy edits), finish or copy that message before switching away, or return to that student before changing the template for the rest of the group.

### Changing templates mid-draft

If you change the **Template** dropdown after editing the preview, hFlow asks **Replace your edits?** Choosing **Replace** rebuilds the preview from the new template and current student data. **Keep editing** leaves your current text.

## How to refresh a template

When someone saved a student draft and the template was later updated in **Configuration**, hFlow may show a banner: **A newer version of this template is available.** Use refresh when you need that newest saved wording, not for small typos you made only in the preview.

1. Click **Refresh** in the banner, or **Refresh Template** next to the template dropdown.
2. In **Refresh template?**, read that your preview will be rebuilt from the latest saved template and current student data. Some content already in the preview: manual edits, formatting, or chart layout, may be lost.
3. Click **Refresh** to continue, or **Keep editing** to cancel. **Not now** on the banner dismisses it until you refresh or return later.

After a refresh you can still edit the preview; auto-save continues as before.

## How to copy the email and mark sent

hFlow does not send email directly. You copy the message and send it from Outlook, Gmail, or another tool.

1. Click **Preview** to read the full subject and body in a modal.
2. Click **Copy** to place HTML and plain text on your clipboard.
3. Paste into your mail client, address the guardian, and send.
4. Back in hFlow, click **Mark Sent** so the session roster shows **SENT** for that student.

If you marked someone sent by mistake, click **Mark as Draft** to clear the sent status (the preview text is kept).

## Tokens and templates

Templates use placeholders such as `{{student_first_name}}` or `{{reading_fluency_boy}}`. hFlow replaces them with live values when the preview is built. To add or change tokens, edit templates in [Email templates](/hflow/configuration/email-templates), including **Show for period**, **Filter tokens…**, and the token categories on that page.

If a value is missing in hFlow (no assessment for that period, for example), the corresponding token may appear empty in the preview.

## Common issues

* **The hFlow Communication Hub is not included in your school’s plan**: Your school has not subscribed to the Communication Hub optional add-on. Contact your hFlow administrator or account representative to enable it.
* **No groups in the dropdown**: Create a group under [Student groups](/hflow/students/groups), then return to Communications.
* **No sessions**: Select a group and use **+ New Session** or **Create Session** in the left panel.
* **Refresh Template failed**: Check your connection, confirm the template still exists in Configuration, or pick another template.
* **Copy failed**: Use **Preview** and copy manually from the body field.
* **Charts missing**: Confirm assessments exist for that language/year and the template includes the right chart tokens.

## Related pages

* [Student groups](/hflow/students/groups): build and maintain rosters for Communications.
* [Email templates](/hflow/configuration/email-templates): template text, tokens, and filters.