NetResults ProblemTracker
Customizing Alerts (Enterprise Edition Only)

Overview

Note: This feature is only available in ProblemTracker Enterprise Edition.

Alerts are a form of email notification messages that can be triggered by a lack of change in a record's state within a certain time period. For example, a problem record should not stay within a particular state for longer than 2 days. An alert can be sent if the record is still within the same state after a period of 2 days has passed. Alerts can also be used to remind a user about a record at a later date and time.

Alerts can be configured per record. Each record can have different alert settings including when, how, how often, and to whom the alerts should be sent.

Alerts can also be configured for each transition in the workflow. With the necessary privileges, users can override these alert settings when moving a record to another state using the task operation.

When specifying when to send an alert either for a given record or a transition, a fixed date and time can be entered or a date and time based on a date field within the record can be used. In addition, alerts can be sent once or configured to repeat periodically. Any combination of users and / or user groups can receive alerts for a particular record.

Enabling the Alerts Feature

Performing the following steps will allow you to enable the Alerts feature in your workgroup:

Enter the Alerts license key in the License Manager
A license key is required to present in the License Manager in order to use the Alerts feature.

Enable Alerts in the General Preferences section
Login to the workgroup as Admin, then click on the Admin icon in the top button bar. Click on the General Preferences button, then in the "General Options" section set "Enable Alerts Function" to "Yes". Click OK to save this change

Create a Scheduled Task for the Alerts Feature
Alerts must be configured in the Scheduled Tasks section of the Control Panel on your ProblemTracker server. To create this scheduled task, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel on the machine where ProblemTracker is installed
  2. Double click on Scheduled Tasks
  3. Double click on "Add Scheduled Task", then click Next
  4. Click on the Browse button, then navigate to the location you selected to for the ProblemTracker files during the installation. By default, this location is C:\Program Files\NetResults\ProblemTracker 5
  5. Select the file called PTAlerts.jse, then click on the Open button
  6. Enter a name for the scheduled task such as "ProblemTracker Alerts", then for the option "Perform this task:" select the radio button next to "Daily". Click Next to proceed.

  7. The current time will be displayed as "Start Time". For the "Perform this task:" option, select "Every Day". The current date will be displayed as "Start Date". Click Next to continue.

  8. Enter the username of an Administrator user (it is recommended that you use the local Administrator user). Enter and confirm the password of this user. Click Next.
  9. The values you entered will be displayed. Check the box next to the option "Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish", then click on the Finish button.

  10. The Advanced properties will be displayed. Click on the Schedule tab, then click on the Advanced button.

  11. Check the box next to "Repeat task", then for "Every" select "10 minutes". For "Until" select the radio button next to "Duration". Enter "24 hours" for the "Duration". Click OK, then click OK again to save the changes.

Configure SMTP Mail Server for use with Alerts
An SMTP mail server is required to generate the alert notification messages. This can be configured in the Email Configuration section.

Ensure an email address is entered for the users that will receive alerts
A valid email address is required for a user to receive alerts. Email addresses are entered in a user's profile in the Workgroup Management System.

After enabling the Alerts feature using the steps above, configure the user group privileges and default settings for Alerts as described below.

Alerts User Group Privileges

The following are the user group privileges related to the Alerts feature. These privileges can be set in the User Group Privileges page of the User Administration section. These privileges will only be displayed in the Privileges page if Alerts has been enabled using the steps in the section above.

Configuring Default Alerts Settings per Product

Default alert settings can be configured per product. These default settings will be used when a record is added to ProblemTracker. To configure default alert settings per product:

  1. Login to the workgroup as Admin
  2. Click on the Admin icon in the top button bar
  3. Click on the Define Workflow button
  4. Select a product in the pulldown at the top of the page
  5. Click on the Alerts button
  6. Make selections for the fields described below, then click OK save the changes

    • Set Alert
      Selecting Yes indicates an alert should be generated for a newly added record which has the current product selected
    • Show Alert settings during the Add operation
      Selecting Yes indicates that the user should be prompted to select alert settings on the Add page when creating a new record
    • Groups / Users that can edit alert settings during the Add operation
      Click on the groups and / or users that should be allowed to edit the alert settings on the Add page when creating a new record. To select multiple users and / or groups, hold down the "CTRL" button on your keyboard while clicking on each user and group you would like to select.
    • Send Alert
      The period of time that should pass before the alert is sent. You can enter a number from 1 - 99, select the interval (hour, day, week, or month), select "before" or "after" as the point of reference for the alert, and a starting point for the time period. The starting point can be "<Now>", or can be based on any of the date fields in the record. Example 1: By entering "1 day after <Now>", the alert will be sent 1 day after the record is added. Example 2: By entering "1 day before <Date Field>", the alert will be sent 1 day before the date entered in the date field selected.

      If a date field is selected as the date to generate an alert and this date field has no value in a record, an alert will not be generated. If a date field is selected as the date to generate an alert and this date field is later removed from the record (moved from the "In Use" to "Not In Use" column in the Define Record section, then <Now> will be set as the date to generate an alert (to replace the date field that was removed).

    • Repeat options
      Check the box to allow the alert to be sent multiple times after the initial time period (in Send Alert field above) has passed. Select the repeat period by entering a number from 1 - 99 and the interval (hour, day, week, month). Then, select how many times the alert should be repeated. Select either "Stop after X alerts" where X is a number from 1 - 10 or "Repeat forever". "Repeat forever" will continue to repeat the alert periodically until the state of the record is changed.
    • Send Alerts To
      Click on the groups and / or users who should receive the alert message if the record's state has not changed when the configured time period has passed. To select multiple users and / or groups, hold down the "CTRL" button on your keyboard while clicking on each user and group you would like to select.
  7. After clicking OK to save the changes, select another product from the pulldown on the Define Workflow page, then click on the Default Alert Settings button to configure the alert information for another product.

Configuring Default Alert Settings for Transitions

Default alert settings can be configured for each transition in your workflow. These default settings will be used when a record is added to ProblemTracker. To configure default alert settings for a transition:

  1. Login to the workgroup as Admin
  2. Click on the Admin icon in the top button bar
  3. Click on the Define Workflow button
  4. Click on the Transitions button for a state
  5. Click on the Alerts button for a transition
  6. Make selections for the fields described below, then click OK save the changes

    • Set Alert
      Selecting "Yes" indicates an alert should be generated for a record that has been tasked using this transition and using the alerts settings below. By selecting this option, the user will not be prompted to Set the Alert Settings when selecting this transition. Selecting "No" indicates that no alert should be sent when this transition is selected for a record. Selecting "Leave Current Values" indicates that an alert should be generated for a record that has been tasked using this transition, but the existing alert settings in the record should be used instead of the settings for this transition. The existing alert settings are those that were set during the Add operation or by the transition selected the last time a task operation was performed on the record.
    • Show Alert settings during the Task operation
      Selecting Yes indicates that the user should be prompted to select alert settings when this transition is selected during the Task operation. If a transition is configured for "fast-tasking" (the transition has no task fields and history comment is set to "do not display"), then the alert settings will not be displayed during the Task operation.
    • Groups / Users that can edit alert settings during the Task operation
      Click on the groups and / or users that should be allowed to edit the alert settings during the Task operation when selecting this transition. To select multiple users and / or groups, hold down the "CTRL" button on your keyboard while clicking on each user and group you would like to select.
    • Send Alert
      The period of time that should pass before the alert is sent. You can enter a number from 1 - 99, select the interval (hour, day, week, or month), select "before" or "after" as the point of reference for the alert, and a starting point for the time period. The starting point can be "<Now>", or can be based on any of the date fields in the record. Example 1: By entering "1 day after <Now>", the alert will be sent 1 day after the record is added. Example 2: By entering "1 day before <Date Field>", the alert will be sent 1 day before the date entered in the date field selected.

      If a date field is selected as the date to generate an alert and this date field has no value in a record, an alert will not be generated. If a date field is selected as the date to generate an alert and this date field is later removed from the record (moved from the "In Use" to "Not In Use" column in the Define Record section, then <Task Date> will be set as the date to generate an alert (to replace the date field that was removed).

    • Repeat options
      Check the box to allow the alert to be sent multiple times after the initial time period (in Send Alert field above) has passed. Select the repeat period by entering a number from 1 - 99 and the interval (hour, day, week, month). Then, select how many times the alert should be repeated. Select either "Stop after X alerts" where X is a number from 1 - 10 or "Repeat forever". "Repeat forever" will continue to repeat the alert periodically until the state of the record is changed.
    • Send Alerts To
      Click on the groups and / or users who should receive the alert message if the record's state has not changed when the configured time period has passed. To select multiple users and / or groups, hold down the "CTRL" button on your keyboard while clicking on each user and group you would like to select.
  7. After clicking OK to save the changes, click on the Alerts button for another transition to configure the default alerts settings.

Configuring Alert Settings during Add Operation

When a record is added, the reporter may be prompted to configure alert settings depending on the default alert settings for the product selected in the record (setting the default alert settings for a product are defined in the Configure Default Alert Settings per Product section above.

In order for the user to view the alert settings when adding a new record, the product selected in the record must have "Show Alert Settings during Add Operation" set to "Yes" and the user must be a member of a group with the privilege "View Alerts Settings". On the Add page, the user meeting the criteria mentioned above will see the "Set Alert" field with a check box. Checking the box will allow the user to view the alert settings. When the user clicks OK to add a new record, the alert settings will be displayed, but cannot be modified. The "Additional Information" field can be modified to add a note or other information to be included in the alert notification message. Click OK to save the information entered.

For a user to edit the alert settings when adding a new record, the product selected in the record must have "Show Alert Settings during Add Operation" set to "Yes" and the user (or a group of which the user is a member) must be specified in "Groups / Users that can edit Alert Settings during the Add operation". On the Add page, the user meeting the criteria mentioned above will see the "Set Alert" field with a check box. Checking the box will allow the user to edit the alert settings. When the user clicks "Add" or "Add & Copy" to add a new record, the alert settings will be displayed. The user can modify the following settings with respect to alerts. By default, the values displayed here will be the values selected in the Default Alert Settings for the product selected in the record.

Configuring Alert Settings during Task Operation

When the task operation is performed on a record, the user may be prompted to configure alert settings depending on the default alert settings for the transition selected (setting the default alert settings for a transition are defined in the Configure Default Alert Settings per Transition section above.

In order for the user to view the alert settings when performing the task operation for a record, the transition selected must have "Show Alert Settings during Task Operation" set to "Yes" and the user must be a member of a group with the privilege "View Alerts Settings". After selecting a transition during the task operation, the user meeting the criteria mentioned above will be able to see the alert settings section, but cannot modify the values. The "Additional Information" field can be modified to add a note or other information to be included in the alert notification message. Click OK to complete the task operation.

For a user to edit the alert settings during the task operation, the transition selected must have "Show Alert Settings during Task Operation" set to "Yes" and the user (or a group of which the user is a member) must be specified in "Groups / Users that can edit Alert Settings during the Task operation". After selecting a transition, the user meeting the criteria mentioned above will see the alert settings section. The user can modify the following alert settings. By default, the values displayed here will be the values selected in the Default Alert Settings for the transition selected.

Editing Alert Settings

A user can edit the alert settings for a record if they have the required privileges. If a user is a member of a group with the "Edit Own Alerts" privilege, the user can modify the alert settings for a record in which they are the Assignee. If a user is a member of a group with the "Edit Alert Settings" privilege, the user can modify the alert settings for any record.

A user meeting the criteria mentioned above can edit the alert settings for a record by clicking on the Edit icon in the top button bar and entering a record number or by clicking on the Edit icon next to a record number in a report on the Query or Home page. Clicking on the Edit Alerts button will display the following alert settings for the record: