The Skinny on Blackbaud CRM Custom Email Alerts
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In my last blog post, I explained how to set up Standard Email Alerts in Blackbaud CRM. Today, I'll give you the skinny on Custom Email Alerts (for those pathologically averse to reading a user guide).
Custom Email Alerts allow your organisation flexibility with regards to alerting your users when changes have been made to records in the database that they may need action or have an awareness of.
Ok, get on with it, what are the essentials?
Done that, why’s it not working?
It’s still not working, what now?
Maybe you should read the User Guide after all….
Custom Email Alerts allow your organisation flexibility with regards to alerting your users when changes have been made to records in the database that they may need action or have an awareness of.
Ok, get on with it, what are the essentials?
- SSMS DatabaseMail must be configured with an account and profile that will be used by Blackbaud CRM.
- Email alerts must be enabled and configured in Blackbaud CRM.
- Creation of query based User Defined Data List(s) containing the criteria driving the alert.
- Construction of Email Alert.
- User assignment of Email Alert.
- Scheduling of Email Alert.
Done that, why’s it not working?
- Make sure the application users have an email address associated with their record.
- Make sure that the roles for the users that will be assigned the Custom Email Alert are granted rights to the Datalist(s).
- Make sure “Allow this datalist to be used for feed alerts” is set on the Alert options tab of the data list and in the Publication date field, ensure the output field date information to associate with the email alert as the publication date is entered.
- When a new feed alert is added, it is stamped with a time (begin time) of the date it was added. When the alert is processed it generates a time (end time) and it queries the datalist for all records that fall between the begin time and end time; so if records exist prior to running the feed alert it will not pick them up. After the feed alert processes, it updates the begin time with the end time used in the process so that the next time the alert is run it will not pick up the old duplicate records.
- Confirm DatabaseMail is working by sending a test email from it.
- In order to send DatabaseMail the Blackbaud CRM user (by default <machinename>$) must be a member of the DatabaseMailUserRole in the MSDB database. If you would like further information about SQL Server DatabaseMail, refer to the MSDN topic: Database Mail.
It’s still not working, what now?
Maybe you should read the User Guide after all….
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Blackbaud CRM™ and Blackbaud Internet Solutions™ Blog
03/28/2013 7:47am EDT
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Thank you for the post. Let me preface my comments/questions with I am not an expert on this subject, so I need some clarity.
First, the information you provide here is not in the user guide with this level of detail or explanation, unless the user guide has been reissued since I read it. So are the user guide comments tongue in cheek? ;)
Questions:
- Can you expand on the statement, "Make sure that the roles for the users that will be assigned the Custom Email Alert are granted rights to the Datalist(s)."?
If what you are saying is true, then are you suggesting that only IT support and not development officers can receive these alerts? Is it a common use case for DOs to build their own datalists?
- What are some of the use cases that blackbaud has for the custom email alert functionality?
Your blog confirms my understanding of the custom email alerts and I cannot understand what they are for. Am I correct in understanding that we would have to build a datalist and email alert for each development officer based upon the change date of the chosen mechanism? E.g. 1 data list, 1 alert for 1 prospect manager who wanted to know if any prospects changed their email address in the past week? The alternative being that every DO loses their alert in an email full of alerts concerning every other DO's prospects?
- Is there a way to assign the custom email alerts to people based upon the data list written?
This would avoid writing so many queries and a lot of the set-up every time you hire a new development officer.
- What happens with the time stamp if one wanted to save time and increase efficiency by copy and editing data lists? E.g. query prospect manager's prospects for email address or phone changes in past week and just copy that over an over while switching out the prospect manager?
- In general this seems like a lot of set-up on the back end for an email alert, unless I have overlooked a use-case. Any thoughts on that?
Thank you in advance for your consideration of my questions.