43 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
43 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
# Data Cleanup & Formatting Consistency for Email Delivery
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## Formatting Consistency Rule (Jul 10, 2026) — CRITICAL
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**Once the user approves a format, all subsequent versions of the same email MUST use that format.** Do not regress from HTML tables to plain text between iterations.
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**Violation pattern:** First Apex registration preview used an HTML table with zebra rows, green checkmarks (✓), and red X marks (✗). User said "Looks perfect. Please now send to contact@." Subsequent previews fell back to plain-text ASCII tables. User tried multiple times to get the HTML table back and couldn't — called out as frustrating.
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**Rule:** When iterating on an email based on user feedback:
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1. Start with HTML tables for structured data (registration lists, status reports, comparison tables)
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2. Use visual indicators: green checkmarks (✓) for completed/signed, red X (✗) for missing
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3. Use zebra striping (alternating row colors) for readability
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4. After each correction, re-send using the SAME HTML format — never downgrade
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5. The user's approval of a format is a contract — don't change it
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## Data Normalization Rules (from raw database to email)
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When pulling structured data from databases (WordPress WPForms, MariaDB) for email summaries:
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## Normalize names
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- Apply proper case: `name.title()` or `' '.join(w.capitalize() for w in name.split())`
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- Never send all-lowercase or all-uppercase names from raw database entries
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## Simplify labels
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- Convert raw package names to human-readable labels:
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- "NASA Registration w/ Upgraded Photo/Video Package - $2,332.00" → "Photo/Video"
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- "NASA Registration w/ Photo Package - $2,230.00" → "Photo"
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- "NASA Registration - $1,973.00" → "Basic"
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- Decode HTML entities: `$` → `$`
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## Consistent ASCII formatting
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- Fixed-width columns with ` | ` separators
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- `=` or `-` for section borders
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- Right-pad names to consistent widths for alignment
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## Filter test data
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- Exclude test transactions ($1.00 amounts, known test emails)
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- Filter by payment amount threshold ($1,973+ is real)
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## Preview before send
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- Always show Germaine the formatted preview
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- Let him correct formatting/columns/labels before the email goes out
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