Custom Alert Template

Are your alert emails defaulting to the generic template (SPAlertTemplateType.GenericList) even after you’ve specifically updated the list to use a custom alert email template (using myList.AlertTemplate)?

Turns out that if you already have an existing alert setup on the list then even if you switch the list to use a different alert template, sharepoint sends you alert emails using the template that was assigned to the list when you ORIGINALLY setup the alert.

So the SOLUTION is to delete your existing alert and re-subscribe to the list.

If you would like to know more on how to customize the alert email templates in sharepoint then this is a great resource: Customizing Alert Notifications and Alert Templates in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0