Overview

Note: This feature is only available in NetResults Tracker Enterprise Edition.

Alerts are a form of email notification messages that can be triggered based on date field in a record (e.g. to remind a user about a record at a certain date and time such as "2 days after the 'Date Reported'") or triggered by a lack of change in a record's state within a certain time period (e.g. a record should not stay within a particular state for longer than 2 days. If it does stay in the state longer than 2 days, alerts are triggered).

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 be configured based on the form that was used to submit the record, based on a selection made in a certain field or based on the workflow transition used to process the record. With the necessary privileges, users can override these alert settings during the Add or Task operations.

When configuring alerts, a fixed date and time can be entered or a date and time relative to 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
You must enter a license key into the License Manager in order to use the Alerts feature.

Enable Alerts in the General Preferences section

1. Login to the workgroup as Admin.
2. Click on the Admin icon in the top button bar.
3. Click on the General Preferences link.
4. In the "General Options" section, set Enable Alerts Function to "Yes".
5. Click OK to save this change.

Create a Scheduled Task for the Alerts Feature

The steps below are to be used when Tracker is installed on Windows 2000. If Tracker is installed on Windows Server 2003, please use the steps in this Knowledge Base article instead: http://kb.nrtracker.com/Item.asp?id=64#2003

Alerts must be configured in the Scheduled Tasks section of the Control Panel on your Tracker server. To create this scheduled task, perform the following steps:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel on the machine where Tracker 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 Tracker files during the installation. By default, this location is C:\Program Files\NetResults\Tracker.
5. Select the file called PTAlerts.jse, then click on the Open button.
6. Enter a name for the scheduled task such as "Tracker 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 User ID 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 Task tab. In the Run field, enter the following:

    CScript.exe "<PTAlerts.jse file path>" //B //H:CScript

    where <PTAlerts.jse file path> is the path where the PTAlerts.jse file resides. As mentioned above, by default, this path is C:\Program Files\NetResults\Tracker. Using the default path as an example, the Run field should have the following entered:

    CScript.exe "C:\Program Files\NetResults\Tracker\PTAlerts.jse" //B //H:CScript

    Please note that the PTAlerts.jse file path should be enclosed with double quotes.

11. Click on the Schedule tab, then click on the Advanced button.
    

12. Check the box next to Repeat task, then for Every select a length of time. We recommend using a minimum of 10 minutes. This time dictates how frequently you wish to run the Alerts Scheduled Task to check for new alerts. You can specify any repeat time you wish, but make sure that it is more than 10 minutes. For Until select the radio button next to "Duration". Enter "24 hours" for the "Duration". Click OK.
    

13. Click on the Settings tab. Check the box for the option Stop the task if it runs for:, then enter "0" for hours and "30" for minutes. Click Apply, then click OK to save these changes and dismiss the Properties for the Scheduled Task.

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 User Accounts section (if the Tracker Administrator has the appropriate privileges to edit user profile information) or in the User 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 Accounts section. These privileges will only be displayed in the Privileges page if Alerts has been enabled using the steps in the section above.

• Edit Alert Settings
  Members of user groups with this privilege can edit the alert settings for a record

• Edit Own Alert Settings
  Members of user groups with this privilege can edit the alert settings for a record in which they are the Assignee.

• View Alert Settings
  Members of user groups with this privilege can view the alert settings for a record

Configuring Alerts Settings during Add Operation

Alert settings for the Add operation can be configured per form. You can also configure alert settings based on the option menu item selected in a particular field on the form (e.g. Based on Product, Priority, Severity or any other pulldown you have defined). The alert settings you configure for each form can be applied automatically as records are added to the system or you can allow the end users to see and change the alert settings when they are adding a record to the system.

Alert settings for forms can be configured in the Workflows section.

Configuring Default Alert Settings for Transitions

Alert settings can be configured for each workflow transition. Alert settings can be configured for each transition such that these settings will be applied to any record processed with the transition. It is also possible to allow users to be prompted to configure the Alert settings during the Task operation.

Alert settings for transitions can be configured in the Workflow Transitions section.

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 user group 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: