Email Template Customization

LearnDash Dashboard uses a WooCommerce-style email template system introduced in version 7.5.0. Templates support theme directory overrides, merge tags, and multiple filter hooks.

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How the System Works

1. ld<em>dashboard</em>send<em>email( $template</em>id, $email, $args ) is called.
2. LD<em>Dashboard</em>Email_Template locates the template file (theme override first).
3. The template file is rendered with output buffering.
4. Merge tags are replaced in the output.
5. The content is wrapped in email-header.php and email-footer.php.
6. Filters run on subject, content, headers, and recipient.
7. wp_mail() sends the email.

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Template Override via Theme

Copy any template from the plugin’s templates/emails/ directory to your active theme’s ld-dashboard/emails/ directory. The override takes precedence automatically.

Plugin template location:

wp-content/plugins/ld-dashboard/templates/emails/
├── email-header.php
├── email-footer.php
├── email-styles.php
├── instructor/
│   ├── application-admin-notification.php
│   ├── application-approved.php
│   └── application-rejected.php
├── student/
│   ├── course-email.php
│   ├── invitation.php
│   └── announcement-notification.php
├── withdrawal/
│   ├── request-admin-notification.php
│   ├── request-approved.php
│   └── request-rejected.php
└── messaging/
    └── new-message.php

Theme override location:

wp-content/themes/my-theme/ld-dashboard/emails/
└── instructor/
    └── application-approved.php    ← overrides plugin template

Template lookup order:

1. Child theme: {child-theme}/ld-dashboard/emails/{template-path}
2. Parent theme: {parent-theme}/ld-dashboard/emails/{template-path}
3. Plugin: {plugin}/templates/emails/{template-path}

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Available Merge Tags

Merge tags are replaced in both the email subject and body. They use curly brace syntax with an underscore-separated name.

Merge Tag	Default Value	Description
{site_name}	WordPress site title	Site name from get_bloginfo('name')
{site_url}	WordPress home URL	home_url()
{admin_email}	WordPress admin email	get<em>option('admin</em>email')
{admin_url}	WordPress admin URL	admin_url()
{user_name}	""	Recipient display name
{user_email}	""	Recipient email address
{instructor_name}	""	Instructor display name
{student_name}	""	Student display name
{course_name}	""	Course title
{amount}	""	Commission/payment amount
{date}	Current date	Formatted with site date format
{sender_name}	""	Message sender name (private messaging)
{message_url}	""	Direct link to the message thread
{announcement_title}	""	Announcement post title

Pass custom values via the $args array:

ld_dashboard_send_email(
    'instructor_approved',
    $user->user_email,
    array(
        'user_name'       => $user->display_name,
        'instructor_name' => $user->display_name,
        'site_name'       => get_bloginfo( 'name' ),
        'custom_field'    => 'My custom value', // Added via ld_dashboard_email_merge_tags
    )
);

---

Registered Email Types

Template ID	Subject	Template File
instructor<em>application</em>admin	New Instructor Registered – {user_name}	instructor/application-admin-notification.php
instructor_approved	Your Instructor Application Approved	instructor/application-approved.php
instructor_rejected	Your Instructor Application Status	instructor/application-rejected.php
student<em>course</em>email	Message from {instructor_name}	student/course-email.php
student_invitation	You’re Invited to {course_name}	student/invitation.php
withdrawal<em>request</em>admin	New Withdrawal Request from {instructor_name}	withdrawal/request-admin-notification.php
withdrawal_approved	Your Withdrawal Request Approved	withdrawal/request-approved.php
withdrawal_rejected	Your Withdrawal Request Status	withdrawal/request-rejected.php
new<em>message</em>notification	New message from {sender_name}	messaging/new-message.php
announcement_notification	New Announcement: {announcement_title}	student/announcement-notification.php

---

Filter Hooks

Subject Filters

// Filter subject for ALL emails
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_subject', function( $subject, $template_id, $args ) {
    return '[' . get_bloginfo( 'name' ) . '] ' . $subject;
}, 10, 3 );

// Filter subject for a specific template
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_subject_instructor_approved', function( $subject, $template_id, $args ) {
    return $subject . ' - ' . date( 'Y' );
}, 10, 3 );

Content Filters

// Filter content for ALL emails (before header/footer wrap)
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_content', function( $content, $template_id, $args ) {
    return $content . '<p style="font-size:11px;">Powered by My Site</p>';
}, 10, 3 );

// Filter content for a specific template
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_content_student_invitation', function( $content ) {
    return str_replace( '{custom_promo}', 'Use code WELCOME20 for 20% off', $content );
} );

Header and Footer Filters

// Replace the email header HTML
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_header', function( $header ) {
    return str_replace( 'class="ld-email-header"', 'class="ld-email-header my-custom-header"', $header );
} );

// Append to the email footer
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_footer', function( $footer ) {
    $unsubscribe = '<p><a href="' . esc_url( home_url( '/unsubscribe' ) ) . '">Unsubscribe</a></p>';
    return $unsubscribe . $footer;
} );

Header (SMTP) Filters

// Add CC header for admin approval emails
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_headers_instructor_approved', function( $headers ) {
    $headers[] = 'CC: compliance@example.com';
    return $headers;
} );

// Change From address globally
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_from_address', function( $email ) {
    return 'noreply@example.com';
} );

add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_from_name', function( $name ) {
    return get_bloginfo( 'name' ) . ' Notifications';
} );

Recipient Filter

// Redirect all plugin emails in staging environments
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_recipient', function( $to, $template_id, $args ) {
    if ( defined( 'WP_DEBUG' ) && WP_DEBUG ) {
        return 'dev@example.com';
    }
    return $to;
}, 10, 3 );

Merge Tag Filter

// Add custom merge tags
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_merge_tags', function( $tags, $content, $args ) {
    $tags['company_name']   = get_option( 'my_company_name', '' );
    $tags['support_email']  = 'support@example.com';
    $tags['current_year']   = date( 'Y' );
    return $tags;
}, 10, 3 );

Add a Custom Email Type

// Register a new email type
add_filter( 'ld_dashboard_email_types', function( $types ) {
    $types['course_completed'] = array(
        'title'    => __( 'Course Completed', 'my-plugin' ),
        'template' => 'student/course-completed.php',
        'subject'  => __( 'Congratulations! You completed {course_name}', 'my-plugin' ),
    );
    return $types;
} );

Then create the template at: my-theme/ld-dashboard/emails/student/course-completed.php

<?php
// $template_args is available — same as $args passed to ld_dashboard_send_email().
$user_name   = isset( $template_args['user_name'] ) ? $template_args['user_name'] : '';
$course_name = isset( $template_args['course_name'] ) ? $template_args['course_name'] : '';
?>
<h2>Well done, <?php echo esc_html( $user_name ); ?>!</h2>
<p>You have successfully completed <strong><?php echo esc_html( $course_name ); ?></strong>.</p>
<p><a href="{site_url}/my-dashboard/" style="background:#2067fa;color:#fff;padding:10px 20px;text-decoration:none;border-radius:4px;">View Your Dashboard</a></p>

Then send it:

ld_dashboard_send_email(
    'course_completed',
    $student->user_email,
    array(
        'user_name'   => $student->display_name,
        'course_name' => $course->post_title,
    )
);

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Email Queue System

The plugin uses a database-backed email queue for bulk sends (instructor email broadcasts). The queue is stored in {prefix}ld<em>dashboard</em>email_queue.

Queue table columns:

Column	Description
id	Auto-increment primary key
user_id	Sender user ID
recipient_email	Recipient email address
recipient_name	Recipient display name
email_subject	Email subject
email_message	Full HTML email body
headers	Serialized headers array
template_id	Template ID used to generate this email
status	pending, sent, or failed
attempts	Number of send attempts
max_attempts	Maximum retries (default: 3)
error_message	Last error message if failed
scheduled_at	When the email is scheduled to send
sent_at	Timestamp of successful send
created_at	Queue insertion timestamp

Processing:

A WordPress cron job processes the queue. Emails are processed in batches. Failed sends are retried up to max_attempts times with exponential backoff. The plugin also runs a daily cleanup cron to remove old sent and failed records.

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Header and Footer Customization

To customize the shared header and footer that wrap all emails, copy the files to your theme:

my-theme/ld-dashboard/emails/
├── email-header.php    ← wrap start, logo, background
└── email-footer.php    ← copyright, social links, wrap end

The header template receives $email_subject as a local variable (used for the HTML <title> tag).

Both header and footer templates are also filterable via ld<em>dashboard</em>email<em>header and ld</em>dashboard<em>email</em>footer filters (see above).

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Enrollment Notification Example

Customize the instructor-approved email to include a direct dashboard link:

1. Copy templates/emails/instructor/application-approved.php to: my-theme/ld-dashboard/emails/instructor/application-approved.php
2. Edit the template:

<?php
$user_name     = isset( $template_args['user_name'] ) ? $template_args['user_name'] : '';
$dashboard_url = Ld_Dashboard_Functions::instance()->ld_dashboard_get_url( 'dashboard' );
?>
<h2><?php printf( esc_html__( 'Welcome, %s!', 'ld-dashboard' ), esc_html( $user_name ) ); ?></h2>
<p><?php esc_html_e( 'Your instructor application has been approved.', 'ld-dashboard' ); ?></p>
<p><?php esc_html_e( 'You can now create courses and manage students from your dashboard.', 'ld-dashboard' ); ?></p>
<p style="text-align:center;margin-top:24px;">
    <a href="<?php echo esc_url( $dashboard_url ); ?>"
       style="background:#2067fa;color:#fff;padding:12px 28px;text-decoration:none;border-radius:4px;display:inline-block;">
        <?php esc_html_e( 'Go to Your Dashboard', 'ld-dashboard' ); ?>
    </a>
</p>

The override is detected automatically — no code changes required.