Communication Message Automation (Triggers)

You can designate time frames in which Communication Messages are sent to Users. This gives you greater control over when messages are sent out and allows you to provide better communication with Users. Your organization may have certain situations in which you want a particular Communication Message to be sent to Users during a certain time frame. For example, perhaps you want an Enrollment Communication Message to be sent to Users 7 days prior to the Enrollment start date. Seven days prior to the event is the trigger that causes the message to be sent.

You can set messages so that they are sent prior to, upon, or after certain triggers. You can set up time frames by number of days, weeks, or months. You can set up multiple rules for some Communication Message. For example, you may need to set up reminders for training based on the event start date. You can set up a message to be sent 7 days prior to the start date, and another to be sent 1 day before the start date. Some messages can be configured using triggers and some with multiple action dates.

Only some messages are configurable by time frame at this time. Additional configuration options will be made available in a future release.

For messages to be automated, the following must be in place:

• Your LearnCenter has email integration
• All User profiles have valid email addresses
• Communication messages are set up to be sent

You can set time frame options for the following types of messages:

The TaskExecute application has been modified to check the trigger information for communication messages. New communication messages are monitored every night.

Setting up Triggers for Communication Messages

You can work with triggers (view, modify, create, and remove them) for some messages in the Message Triggers section on the Edit Message page. On the ControlPanel:

1. Click   on the Communications menu to expand it.
2. Click Messages.
3. Use the Filters section to locate the message you want.

Notice the Triggers column. If no trigger is listed in this column next to a message, it indicates that the message is of a type that cannot be set up for triggers at this time.

4. Rest your pointer on the Communication Message you want in the Messages section, and then click . A new window opens displaying the message's details and editable fields. Use this page to view additional details for the message or to customize a standard message.
5. Scroll down if necessary to view the Message Triggers section.

Notice in the example above, the communication message will be sent when the date for the event was approved: the trigger is “Upon Approval Date.” You can modify this trigger, or create additional triggers based on your needs. Some messages enable you to set up more than one trigger, which is useful if you want to send more than one message. In the case of Enrollment Approval messages, you can set up two triggers to send the message out upon a user being approved for a message, and then a second X number of days/months/weeks before the Event Start date.

Only triggers types that are appropriate for a message type are available. For example, Upon and Before are the only trigger types that are appropriate for Enrollment Approval messages. Not all messages have multiple triggers available. Additional triggers will be made available in future software releases.

Modifying the Default Trigger

You can modify some communication message's default trigger. In the Message Triggers panel of the Modify Message page:

1. Select one of the following from the first drop-down list:

• Upon - to indicate you want the message sent upon an action you select.
• Before - to indicate you want the message sent x amount of time before an action you select.
• After - to indicate you want the message sent x amount of time after an action you select.
• Specific Date - to indicate you want the message sent on a specific date.

Messages with this trigger use the following rules: Messages are composed on the day they are scheduled to be sent. If any message is deactivated before the specific date occurs, it is not sent. If the action happens after the specific date, the message is not sent. You can specify more than one specific date trigger. All dates must be different.

Additional fields display to the left of the drop-down list.

2. Select one of the following from the drop-down list:

• Days - to indicate your time frame should be set in days.
• Weeks - to indicate your time frame should be set in weeks.
• Months - to indicate your time frame should be set in months.

3. Type a number in the numerical field to the left of the drop-down list to indicate the number of days/weeks/months for your time frame.
4. Select the action from the last drop-down list (far right).
5. Click Save to save your changes.

Adding a New Trigger for a Communication Message

You can create new triggers for certain communication messages. On the Edit Message page:

1. Click Add Trigger.
2. Select one of the following from the first drop-down list:

• Upon - to indicate you want the message sent upon an action you select.
• Before - to indicate you want the message sent x amount of time before an action you select.
• After - to indicate you want the message sent x amount of time after an action you select.
• Specific Date - to indicate you want the message sent on a specific date.

Messages with this trigger use the following rules: Messages are composed on the day they are scheduled to be sent. If any message is deactivated before the specific date occurs, it is not sent. If the action happens after the specific date, the message is not sent. You can specify more than one specific date trigger. All dates must be different.

The following is an example of a Specific Date message trigger.

3. Click the empty box next to the Specific Date drop-down list. A calendar window opens.
4. Select the date on which you want the message sent.

You must select a date from the calendar or you will receive an error message.

5. Select the action from the last drop-down list (far right).
6. (Optional) Click Create Trigger and create another date on which you want the message resent.
7. Repeat until all dates have been added. Messages that have more than 10 triggers display the first 10 messages and then “...” indicating there are more messages to follow.
8. Click Save. Each trigger you set up is displayed in the Triggers column on the Messages page. The TaskExecute application sends the messages on the date the trigger indicates.
9. Create additional triggers as needed by repeating the steps above.

Removing Triggers

You can remove some Communication Messages' triggers. On the Modify Message page, click next to the trigger you want to remove.

Each message must have one Upon trigger. Currently, you can remove all triggers for a message, but an error message displays if you do not leave one Upon trigger.

Copying Triggers for Messages to Other LearnCenter

You can copy your trigger settings and message customizations messages to other LearnCenters.

On the Modify Message page:

1. Scroll down to view the Select LearnCenter section.

2. Optional) Select one of the following for Save Customizations:

• Only this LearnCenter- to indicate the trigger customizations should affect only the current LearnCenter.
• Selected LearnCenters - to indicate the trigger customizations should affect the LearnCenters you select. Additional fields display. Select the LearnCenters you want to include in the left box, and then click Add to move the LearnCenters to the right box. You can also click to move all listed LearnCenters to the right box.

Your customizations only apply to the LearnCenters you select.

3. Click the Overwrite other customized messages checkbox if you want your changes to overwrite settings for this message in other LearnCenters.
   or
   Clear the checkbox if you do not want your changes to overwrite settings for this message in other LearnCenters. (Default)

If you click this checkbox, your customization overwrites any trigger or message customizations made in selected LearnCenters. If a selected LearnCenter does not currently have trigger or message customizations (uses the default), clicking this checkbox overwrites the default.

4. Click Save.

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