This feature allows the administrator to create standard email templates for email notification in situations where a standard response is warranted. For example, if your product team had a number of issues entered by the members of a beta test group, and they wanted to be able to send a standard confirmation to a group member whenever there was a resolution, this feature could be employed for this purpose. Another example is that a customer support representative could choose from one of several standard replies to a customer reporting a problem. These replies could be geared to acknowledging receipt of a problem, informing the customer of progress towards resolution of a problem or notifying the customer that a problem has been resolved. Custom email notifications may be sent from the edit screen of an issue, using the Email button on the menubar, or they may be sent using an automated process via a business rule. From the administration Operational Tasks menu, click the Email Templates button. The following screen appears:
Email Templates screen
To add a new email template, click the Add button. The following screen appears:
Add Email Template screen
Within the subject and the body of the mail, you may insert tokens that are replaced when the email is sent. These tokens represent the value associated with the field from the record that is currently displayed when the mail is being sent. For example, if you want to substitute the issue ID in the mail, you would use $$ID$$. To insert the issue status, you would use $$STATUS$$. Valid tokens are data dictionary field names, data dictionary UDF’s as well as the following:
$$SYSDATE$$ | The current date, including time |
$$SYSDAY$$ | The current date |
$$SITE_URL$$ | The URL of the site |
$$EXT_SITE_URL$$ | The external site URL. This provides a link within the email which can be used to access ExtraView from the email being generated. The most common purpose for this is to drill down to an issue using the $$ID$$ or $$ALT_ID$$ of the issue. |
It is possible to substitute the From User and Reply-To User values at runtime, by populating their values from fields on the underlying edit screen. The fields used to populate the template must have a display type of either TEXT FIELD or USER and must be single-valued. The template will contain $$FIELD_NAME$$ in the From User and/or Reply-To User fields. The $$FIELD_NAME$$ must exist on the edit screen. When the user enters data into the edit screen, they may either enter a valid User ID or an explicit email address.
An example email template body:
Dear $$CUSTOMER_NAME$$, We are in receipt of your issue, reported on $$DATE_CREATED$$, is receiving our prompt attention. Our records show that you reported the issue with the following description: $$DESCRIPTION$$ We will contact you as soon as we can provide a solution to your report. Thanks, $$OWNER$$ |
would produce email output similar to:
Dear Brian Jones, We are in receipt of your issue, reported on 12/11/2002, is receiving our prompt attention. Our records show that you reported the issue with the following description: I cannot access the top-level widget within the cabinet of the power supply, unless the power is turned off and the unit is disconnected from the power. I understood that changes like this could be achieved without powering down the equipment. Can you please provide a solution? We will contact you as soon as we can provide a solution to your report. Thanks, Tony Smith |
You may include image fields and document fields as part of a custom email. When you place an image field name into a custom email (e.g. $$MY_IMG_FIELD$$), the image will appear inline within the body of the email. If you place a document field (e.g. $$MY_DOC_FIELD$$), then the name of the document file is placed into the email body in place of the token, and the document is added as an attachment to the outgoing email notification.
As well as fields that you can refer to with the tokens surrounded with the $$ characters, there is a selection of inbuilt variables that you can refer to as tokens. This list is:
Once you click the Add button to save the template, it will appear in the template dropdown box for users when they click the Email button from a given issue’s Edit screen.
Note: A field named EMAIL_ADDRESS is available as a UDF field with a display type of Text. This field may be placed upon layouts. It serves a special purpose. When a user accesses the custom email function from the edit screen, to send an ad-hoc email, or an email created from a pre-defined template, this field will be used to automatically populate the email address to which the mail is to be sent. This simplifies communication to users who, for example, enter an email address when reporting an issue. The value stored in this field automatically gives a return address.