Frequently Asked Questions About Notifications

Do users need special privileges to receive notifications?

Users must be able to view items to which notifications are related to receive e-mail notifications. For example, users who only have privileges to view items they submitted will not receive e-mail notifications related to items submitted by other users.

Most users can manage their subscriptions in their user profile in either Work Center or the SBM User Workspace. The exceptions are users who are not granted privileges to modify their user profile and users with External product access.

What if a notification does not get sent as I expected?

First, verify the following in SBM Application Administrator:

Are other notifications being sent as expected?
Is the rule correctly defined? For example, make sure the rule does not contain a condition that excludes the expected recipient from receiving a notification, such as "Not Submitter Is Equal To (Current User)."
Is the user subscribed to the notification?
Does the user have a valid e-mail address specified in his or her user profile?
Does the user have privileges to view the item from which the notification is generated?

If these steps do not solve the problem, contact an administrator who has access to the SBM Configurator and verify the following:

Is the Notification Server running?
Are there any errors in the log file, which can be opened from SBM Configurator?

How do I include information from items in e-mail notifications?

First, include the $FIELDS() tag to the e-mail template used by the notification, and then select the fields you want included on the Fields page for that notification. For details, refer to E-mail Field Settings and Notification Tags.

Can users view notifications outside of their e-mail client?

Yes. Work Center offers the My Notifications feature, which enables users to see their notifications, mark them as read, and delete them. Search and filtering features are provided. On-premise customers can use SBM Configurator to specify the number of days notifications are shown before they are purged.

How do I control which interface opens when users click an item link in an e-mail notification?

You can choose to open the SBM User Workspace or Work CenterSerena Work Center, for example. Select the applicable link type on the General tab for the notification. This option only applies to notifications that send broadcast channels or e-mail messages.

How do I send notifications based on time rather than on changes in the system?

Use delay parameters to send notifications based on values in a Date/Time field. For details, refer to Creating Delayed Notifications.

How do I prevent escalations from generating on holidays and weekends?

You can specify a business calendar as part of escalation parameters. Escalation time, such as delay and repeat periods, are calculated based on the calendar. For details, refer to About Calendars.

How do I add attachments to e-mail notifications?

Modify the e-mail template used by the notification and add the $ATTACHMENT() tag to include files attached to the primary or auxiliary item related to the notification. To include links to these attachments rather than the files themselves, use the $FILEATTACHMENTLINKS() tag. For details, refer to Notification Tags.

How do I include historical information about an item in an e-mail notification?

Use the $CHANGEACTION() template tag to return the action and user that caused the notification to be generated, along with the date and time the action occurred. Use the $CHANGES() template tag to return the change history for the item based on the action that caused the notification to be generated. For details, refer to Notification Tags.

How do I know if the Notification Server is configured and running?

The Notification Server is managed in the SBM Configurator. If you do not have access to the SBM Configurator, contact your system administrator.

Can users subscribe to notifications for individual items?

Yes. Item notifications allow users to receive e-mail notifications for individual primary and auxiliary items. For example, a user may be interested in following a particular item as it moves from state to state in the workflow. The user can subscribe to an "item changes state" notification and receive an e-mail message every time the item changes state in the workflow. To enable users to subscribe to individual notifications, make sure they are allowed to subscribe to the notifications, but are not actually subscribed to them. They can then select Add Item Notification from the Actions list on an item.

How do I generate notifications when notes are added to items?

Use the Rule object "Any Note" to send notifications when a note is added to or deleted from an item. To send a notification when a note changes, use the rule "Any Note Changes." To include the note in the e-mail notification that is generated, modify the template and include the $NOTES() tag. For details, refer to $NOTES().

If users are in multiple groups that are subscribed to a notification, do they receive multiple messages?

No. Users will only receive one e-mail message per notification per cycle.