Configure Notifications in Form Management

Table of Contents

A Notification is a workflow item that is configured on a form. This deploys an email to a specific user and/or role when the notification on the form is triggered. The Notifications Card in the Form Manager is used to configure notifications.

Common usages for notifications include:

  • Notifying a user that a record requires their attention or approval

  • Updating a user on the status of a record

  • Providing information to another user about a record

Notifications are configured in two separate locations: using the clevr Form Editor to create the notification element that users interact with, and the Form Management module to define the recipients, subject, and body of the email along with a few other optional settings. This document will outline the Form Management configuration. Information on the clevr Form Editor configuration can be found here.

To start the process, navigate to the form management page for the specific form being worked on.

Configuring the Notification

In the “Notifications” section, click “Add”

This will bring up the notification configuration modal for a new notification.

1 “Notification Name” is the name the notification has on the form. This is the “NOTIFICATION NAME” in the notification templates. This can not be modified after having been saved. To modify the name of a notification, you must make a copy of the notification, then input the new notification name. This will allow you to create an identical notification without having to input all the options again.
2 Description is a hidden field that can be used to provide information and context about the notification. It is not displayed anywhere else in clevr.
Use the description to provide information and context about when and how the notification is used. It is best practice to include notes about any specific workflow information and the location of the form that the notification is triggered.
3 If #3 is selected (the checkbox), the recipient will not receive an email but will receive a notification in clevr’s notification board.
4 The “Email from name” option is the name of the sender that is used in the notification email. This option is automatically populated with “clevr Support”, and should not be changed without prior knowledge of how it may affect email deliverability.
5 The reply email option is the email address of the sender that is used in the notification email. This option is automatically populated with “notifications@weareclevr.com”, and should not be changed without prior knowledge of how it may affect email deliverability.
6 This is the subject line of the email.
When specifying the subject line it is important that identifying details in the subject line should come before the cut-off to prevent the appearance of multiple similar emails. You should also consider any privacy concerns when creating a subject line, as it is possible for a user to inadvertently share the details of their inbox and create a breach of privacy.
7

This is the body of the email. There are multiple pre-defined variables that can be used in the email body, as well as the ability to refer to specified fields on the form.

  • {teacherName} – The name of the user who sent the notification.

  • {studentName} – The name of the subject of the record the notification was sent from.

  • {formName} – The name of the form.

  • {locationName} – This variable will contain the name of the location passed to the notification on the form. This is the “schoolName” or the element assosciate with the “schoolID” in the notification templates. If no location name was specified in the javascript on the form, then the value will return -1. It is best practice to always pass the notification a location, to prevent the above issue.

  • {elementId###} – Replacing ### with the elementId of an element on the form will output the value of that element in the email. Checkboxes will output either true or false. Elements within repeaters are not supported.
8 The Users option is the list of email addresses of the users that will receive the notification. Multiple addresses can be specified in a single notification by separating them with a comma.
If a notification is only intended to be used with an override, you must specify an email address to save the notification. The best practice is to use a “catch-all” email address that you can use to identify when an override might be malfunctioning and won’t cause a breach of privacy should a notification go to that address. Please ensure that the “catch-all” email address complies with your local privacy laws.
9

The roles option a list of all roles available within clevr. All users that meet the following criteria will receive a notification:

  • They are assigned one of the roles checked.

  • They are assigned to the location specified when the notification was triggered.

  • They have access to the form at the location specified when the notification was triggered.

If you are providing clevr with a Staff Supervisor textfile, a specialized role will appear exclusively in the Notification Editor. You will be able to specify the “Direct Supervisor” role, which will go to the supervisors of the subject of the form. When this role is used, no other roles and no locations should be selected.
10 The locations option is a list of all locations available within clevr. When a notification is sent and the location specified isn’t selected in this option, the notification will not be sent. You can click on the checkbox beside the “Locations” row to select all locations available.

Editing Notifications

The Notification Editor contains all available settings and actions for each notification. To begin editing a notification, within the notifications card click on the name of the notification that is to be edited.

With the notification open, you can trigger the following actions:

  • Save/Update: The Save/Update button in the bottom right of the editor will save a new notification or update an existing notification, then close the editor. No changes will be made to the notification unless they are saved to the server, so always remember to Save/Update before closing the editor or navigating away from the Form Management module.

  • Create Copy: The Create Copy button in the top right of the editor will close the editor for the current notification without updating, and open the editor for a new notification, copying all data currently in the editor except for “Notification Name”. This new notification is not created until the Save button is clicked in the bottom right of the editor. Leaving the editor before Saving will cause the copied notification to be discarded.

  • Audit Log: The Audit Log button in the top right of the editor will display the Audit Log modal for the current notification. The Audit Log will display a list of edits to the notification, along with who made the changes and when the changes were made.

Considerations

  • If the notification is user-based, then the locations section in the notification modal should be left blank. If any locations are selected on a user-based notification, the notification will fail to send the email.

  • If the notification is role-based and the locations section is left blank, then by default users at any location will be able to receive the email.

  • Automatic URL Login – Automatic URL Login indicates whether or not this notification utilizes a feature to include a link in the email that provides no credential access to the record where the notification was deployed. This option has significant security implications, we strongly suggest not using this feature.