Create, edit, and delete alert rules

Create an alert rule to send a message immediately

This rule is the typically the most common rule. When an action happens, the alert rule triggers an immediate response.

Example: You might want to send an alert to a department manager immediately when someone opens an item with a priority of “1.”

To send a message immediately

From the Administrationmenu, select Communication manager > Alert rule.
Select New.

Complete the following fields:

Field	Action
Name	(Required) Enter the name of the alert rule.
Type	(Required) Select Alert message.
Description	Enter a description of what the alert rule does. Example: You can describe the condition that initiates alert, such as “Service Request Closed,” or describe the kind of alert rule, such as “Close Request Alert.”
Enabled	(Required) Select Yes to enable the alert rule, making it available to apply to alerts. Note: Disabling rules enables you to inactivate them without deleting them from Civic Platform.

Define one or more conditions of the alert rule. For each condition, enter information in the appropriate field.

Condition	Action
Open parenthesis	Use the open and closed parentheses to group rule conditions together.
Literal value	Enter a literal value to compare the object property against. Example: Enter 1 to have the alert rule condition evaluate only objects with a priority (property) of 1. Note: Literal values must match exactly with the values your agency uses.
Object	Select the object you want to associate with the trigger. Example: Select Service request if you plan to associate a service request’s attribute with an alert. Civic Platform populates the Property list menu with values that correspond with the object you select.
Property	Select a property for the object you selected in the Object list menu. Example: If you plan to apply this rule to an alert that notifies building supervisors of records opened on a specific date, select “Opened Date” from the Property list menu. Your agency admin defines the items in this list menu. For a list of properties, see Alert rule object properties.
Relational operator	Select a relational operator to compare the object property against. For more information about your choices, see Filters and queries.
Close parenthesis	Use the open and closed parentheses to group sets of rule conditions.
Logical operator	If the alert rule uses more than one expression, Civic Platform displays a logical operator drop-down. Select the desired operator to combine the expressions. For more information about your choices, see Filters and queries.

To add an additional condition, selectNew item and complete the fields.
(Optional) Select Show expression to review the expression used to evaluate the condition.
Select Submit.

Civic Platform adds the alert rule to the list and enables the Associated objects tab.

Note: To review a list of any associated objects, such as Alerts, select the Associated objects tab. For more information on associating an alert rule to an alert, see Apply and remove alert rule associations.

Send a message after meeting rule conditions

You might want to send an alert to a resident one hour after you close an item, to allow for a delay in case you reopen the item for some reason. You can also create time alerts that trigger if an event does not occur.

Example: You can alert the manager of a department if items do not experience any activity with the No activity property.

To send an alert upon completion of rule conditions

From the Administrationmenu, select Communication manager > Alert rule.>
Select New.

Complete the following fields:

Field	Action
Name	(Required) Enter the name of the alert rule.
Type	(Required) Select Time alert.
Description	Enter a description of what the alert rule does. Example: You can describe the condition that initiates the alert, such as “Service Request Closed,” or describe the kind of alert rule, such “Close Request Alert.”
Enabled	(Required) Select Yes to enable the alert rule, making it available to apply to alerts. Note: Disabling rules enables you to inactivate them without deleting them from Civic Platform.

Define the condition rule items:

Note: This additional rule item specifies the time limit that Civic Platform waits for completion of rule conditions before sending an alert message.

Condition	Action
Open parenthesis	Leave this field blank.
Object	Select the option for the desired item, such as, “Service Request,” “Record,” or “Inspection.” Civic Platform populates the Property list menu with the object’s properties.
Property	Select the after (hour) menu option.
Operator	Select the equal (=) menu option.
Literal value	Enter the time, in hours, after completion of alert rule conditions that you want Civic Platform to send the alert. You can use decimals to indicate fractions of an hour. Example: 0.25 is equal to fifteen minutes, 0.50 is equal to thirty minutes, and 0.75 is equal to forty-five minutes.
Close parenthesis	Leave this field blank.
Logical operator	If you are creating a Time alert, choose And from the list menu and add a condition with parameters.

If you want to add an additional condition, select New item and complete the fields.
(Optional) Select Show expression to view the expression used to evaluate the condition.
Select Submit.

Civic Platform adds the alert rule to the list and enables the Associated objects tab.

Note: To review a list of any associated objects, such as Alerts, select the Associated objects tab. For more information on associating an alert rule to an alert, see Apply and remove alert rule associations.

Edit an existing alert rule

When you edit an existing alert rule, you automatically affect objects, such as alerts, associated with the alert rule. You do not need to update associated objects individually.

Example: If you decide that you want to send alerts for a different service request type, you can simply edit the alert rule, and automatically update all alerts associated with the alert rule.

To edit an alert rule

From the Administrationmenu, select Communication manager > Alert rule.
Select the alert rule you want to edit.
Make any desired changes to the Name, Description, Type, or Enabled fields.
Edit or add alert rule conditions. Either:
- Update or remove existing alert rule conditions.
  
  Note: If you want to delete a condition, select the check box next to the condition and select Delete item.
  
  or
- Select New Item and complete the alert rule conditions fields.
  
  For field descriptions, see Create, edit, and delete alert rules above.
(Optional) Select Show expression to view the expression used to evaluate the condition.
Select Submit.

Note: To review a list of any associated objects, such as Alerts, select the Associated objects tab. For more information on associating an alert rule to an alert, see Apply and remove alert rule associations.

Delete an alert rule

You can remove an alert rule from Civic Platform. Be sure to review any associated objects in the Associated objects tab before deleting an alert rule.

To delete an alert rule

From the Administrationmenu, select Communication manager > Alert rule.
Select the check box next to each rule you want to remove.

Note: Use caution when deleting alert rules. After an alert rule is deleted, you can only replicate that alert rule by creating a new one. See Create, edit, and delete alert rules for more information.
Select Delete.