How to use an alternative text when a tag value is empty

Question: Hi,

I've been reviewing the documentation on using tags and am a little confused.

How can I set it up so that if the firstname is not blank it uses it and if it's blank it uses something else?
ie.
If John is set then it's "Dear John" but if that field is empty it'd use "Dear Friend" ,

Regards,

Michele

Answer: There is a very easy way to achieve this without using conditional statements. You only need to use this format [Tag text|Alternative text]. For example, in your case, it would be: [Firstname|friend].

So, just add the [Firstname] tag to your message using the tag pull-down menu, insert a '|' character before the closing bracket, and finally type the alternative text right after.

By using this format, the tag processor will use the Firstname column data as usual however if no data is available, the alternative text will be used instead: