--- title: "The template builder" description: "The block library, canvas and settings panel, plus undo, preview modes, naming and editing templates you have already sent." url: https://help.ampemail.com/en/articles/4-the-template-builder collection: "Building emails" updated: 2026-09-08 language: en --- # The template builder The block library, canvas and settings panel, plus undo, preview modes, naming and editing templates you have already sent. _Applies to: AMP Templates → create or edit a template_ The builder has three parts: the **block library** on the left, the **canvas** in the middle, and the **settings panel** on the right that shows the options for whatever you have selected. ## The block library Blocks are grouped into seven categories:

Category	What is in it
Block	Multi-purpose layouts — image with text, 2, 3 and 4-column arrangements
Header	Logo layouts, with social links, a slogan or a tagline
Image	Image layouts in 1, 2 and 3 columns, plus background-image heroes
Text	Text in 1–4 columns, heading-with-paragraph, and standalone paragraphs
CTA	Button blocks — one button, two buttons, or a full-width button
Footer	Six footers in light and dark, with social links, unsubscribe text or contact details
AMP	The interactive components — ratings, forms, carousels and the spin wheel

Drag a block onto the canvas to add it. See [Content blocks](https://help.ampemail.com/en/articles/5-content-blocks.md) for the static ones and [AMP interactive components](https://help.ampemail.com/en/articles/6-amp-interactive-components.md) for the AMP category. ## The canvas Click any block to select it; its settings appear on the right. Blocks can be reordered by dragging, and removed with the delete control on the block itself. Above the canvas you can switch between: - **Editor** — the working view, where blocks are selectable and editable. - **Preview** — how the email will look to a recipient, with editing controls hidden. There is also a **responsive preview** that shows the template at different screen widths, so you can check the mobile layout before sending. ## The settings panel What appears here depends on the block you have selected, but the common controls are: - **Text** — edit copy inline, with formatting (bold, size, colour, alignment). - **Images** — replace an image, set its link, and set alt text. Images can be cropped in-app, with aspect ratio presets of **Original, 3:2, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4 and 2:3**. - **Buttons** — label, destination URL, colours, and corner radius. Blocks with more than one button offer a "same style for all buttons" option so you only style once. - **Colours** — background, text and accent colours, each with a colour picker that accepts a hex value. - **Spacing** — padding around the block. - **Alignment** — left, centre or right for the block's contents. ### A note on links and images Every URL in an AMP email must be an absolute `https://` address. The builder will flag these as errors when you export: - a button or image with no URL at all - an `http://` URL (insecure) - a relative URL such as `/products` instead of `https://example.com/products` - a malformed URL Fixing them before export saves a round trip — see [Testing and exporting](https://help.ampemail.com/en/articles/8-testing-and-exporting.md). ## Undo, redo and saving - **Undo** — `Ctrl+Z` - **Redo** — `Ctrl+Y` - **Save** — saves the template to your account. Save before you leave the builder. Undo history belongs to the current editing session, so it is not a substitute for saving. ## Naming templates The template name is used in the templates list, in analytics, in exported filenames and as the campaign name when you push to Klaviyo. A name like `Spring Sale — spin wheel, May` will save you time later; `Untitled template 4` will not. ## Editing a template that has already been sent Opening a sent template for editing offers to work on a **copy**. Take it. Live AMP emails read parts of their content from your saved template every time a recipient opens them, so editing the original changes what people see in emails they have already received. That is occasionally useful — it is how you retire a spin wheel prize mid-campaign — but it is rarely what you want by accident. ## Duplicating and deleting From **AMP Templates** you can duplicate a template as the starting point for a new one, open its **Analytics**, or delete it. Deleting asks for confirmation and cannot be undone.