A new feature was developed to allow administrators to send alerts with personalized messages tailored for each recipient of the alert. The personalized messages can be customized across multiple channels, including Email, SMS, and Voice.
Important Notes
This feature must be activated by your Account Manager and is only available for certain product packages.
Cannot use the Voice channel if using an Adhoc message.
Cannot customize the "add public link" message.
Variable Sources
Administrators can pull variables from multiple data sources:
The alert context itself (such as sender Name, Sender email, location, and facility name)
Contact information (such as recipient name or location)
Uploaded CSV files (for processing with custom recipient data)
Survey responses (to incorporate sender-provided information)
User Interface Improvements
The Send Alert interface was updated with the following enhancements:
A display listing all available variables the admin can use
Instructions explaining how to properly format and insert variables
A preview function allowing administrators to see how the alert will appear to a specific contact before sending
Warning messages that appear when invalid variables are detected in any message field
Allow Substitution of Alert Variables
Administrators can use variables to create dynamic message content. The available variables come from an alert request.
The following variables can be used from the Alert
Alert Type
Default
Location: Latitude/Longitude
Requires the Location Alert Form field
Facilities
Facility Name
No Facilities
Message Priority
Emergency
Non Emergency
Not Specified
Sender Account Name
Sender Display Name
Sender Email
Incident Events
Requires Incident Events V2 to be enabled
Available fields
Incident Event Name
Incident Event Category
Incident Event Type
Incident Event Classification
All channels support Alert variables
Composing an Alert with Alert Variables
Click Use Message Personalization on the Send Alert form’s Message card
Click View Available Templates to see a list of possible variables
Begin typing text in the Subject field. To see a list of possible variables, type two opening brackets {{. A list of variables will be displayed. Select an option. The variable will be automatically added to the Subject line.
A sample value can be displayed by clicking on the eye symbol on the right side of the Subject text box, and then selecting Use Sample Value. All variables will have a sample value.
Add message variables to the Message Body by typing two open brackets {{ and selecting message variables.
Click Preview. The message variables will be validated, and an error message will be returned if anything is invalid. The variables will be replaced in the alert at send time.
Allow Substitution of Contact Variables
Administrators can use variables to create dynamic message content. The available variables come from Alert Contacts. The following variables can be used from Contacts:
First Name
Last Name
Email
Cell Phone
Home Phone
Business Phone
Pager Phone
User Type
Email and Text are the channel types that support the use of contact variables. All other channels result in an error that must be resolved to send the alert. Public content links cannot be added when contact variables are used.
Instructions
Click Use Message Personalization on the Send Alert form’s Message card
Click View Available Templates to see a list of possible variables
Start typing text in the Subject field. Enter two opening brackets {{. A list of variables will be displayed. Select an option. The variable will be automatically added to the Subject line.
A sample value can be displayed by clicking on the eye symbol on the right side of the Subject text box, and then selecting Use Sample Value. All variables will have a sample value.
Text can be added to the Message Body by typing two open brackets {{ and selecting message variables.
Click Preview. The message variables will be validated, and an error message will be returned if anything is invalid. The variables will be replaced in the alert at send time.
Allow Substitution of Variables from a CSV File
Administrators can use variables to create dynamic message content. The available variables are dynamically created using the CSV file column header names.
Important Note:
If you choose to upload a CSV file for custom variables, you will not be able to save an alert template with the Ad Hoc list on the form. Variables will be added with a "contact_variable_name" as an example. If you are adding a MaintenanceType for instance, the template can be created ahead of time by adding contact_maintenance_type to the form. When you upload the CSV, it will replace those fields appropriately as long as the variable names are the same on the uploaded spreadsheet.
All variables can be used from the CSV file. Examples include:
First Name
Last Name
Email
Cell Phone
Home Phone
Business Phone
Pager Phone
UserID: Will be matched with an existing user in the system. If one is not found, the row will be removed from the alert and marked as an error.
ExternalId: Will be matched with an existing user in the system. If one is not found, the row will be removed from the alert and marked as an error.
First and Last Name are required
At least one contact method is required: Cell Phone, Home Phone, Business Phone, or Email.
Additional columns can be added that can also be used as variables in an alert.
CSV Ad-Hoc contact lists have these restrictions:
Max rows: 2,000
Max Column Count: 30
Max Column name length: 50 characters
Max Column value length: 200 characters
Only $ and _ are allowed in a column name. All other characters will be removed.
Only Email and Text channel selections are allowed. All other selections will result in an error message.
Instructions
Who Can Use this Feature?
Admin needs “Ad Hoc Permission”
Add a CSV file to the alert
Click Use Message Personalization on the Send Alert form’s Message card
Click View Available Templates to see a list of possible variables
Start typing text in the Subject field. Enter two opening brackets {{. A list of variables will be displayed. Select an option. The variable will be automatically added to the Subject line.
A sample value can be displayed by clicking on the eye symbol on the right side of the Subject text box, and then selecting Use Sample Value. All variables will have a sample value.
Text can be added to the Message Body by typing two open brackets {{ and select message variables.
Click Preview. The message variables will be validated, and an error message will be returned if anything is invalid. The variables will be replaced in the alert at send time.
Allow Substitution of Variables from a Custom Form (Sender Assessment)
Administrators can use variables to create dynamic message content. The available variables can come from an Assessment.
Any field can be used from an Assessment
All channel types are allowed with Assessment variables
Instructions
Create a sender Survey
Add the Assessment field to an alert template
Fill out the Assessment
Click Use Message Personalization on the Send Alert form’s Message card
Click View Available Templates to see a list of possible variables
Start typing text in the Subject field. Enter two opening brackets {{. A list of variables will be displayed. Select an option. The variable will be automatically added to the Subject line.
A sample value can be displayed by clicking on the eye symbol on the right side of the Subject text box, and then selecting Use Sample Value. All variables will have a sample value.
Text can be added to the Message Body by typing two open brackets {{ and selecting message variables.
Click Preview. The message variables will be validated, and an error message will be returned if anything is invalid. The variables will be replaced in the alert at send time.
Possible Errors
Unclosed double curly braces detected: Curley braces need to have a double opening and closing brackets
"InvalidPlaceHolder" is not a valid placeholder: Placeholders must come from Alert, Contact, CSV, or Survey
Invalid message: Unresolved variables '{0}': Returned if one of the message variables in a message is invalid. Placeholders must come from Alert, Contact, CSV, or Survey
Contact-specific placeholders are not supported for the mobile app delivery method: Contact variables are only supported with Email and Text channels
Invalid placeholder: placeholder is empty: One of the placeholders is an empty string
Invalid message: message is empty: Message cannot be empty
Must provide one or more Message Variables or Message Templates: Returned if the request to ResolveMessageVariables is empty
Invalid CsvFile. Distribution List '123456ABC' does not exist, or does not have message variables: Returned in a CSV distribution list doesn’t exist, or if there are no message variables in the list