Configure notification templates

You can configure notification templates to quickly construct the body of a message sent to predefined users.

Overview of notification templates

Notification templates are preconfigured notifications that you can use to quickly construct the body of a message. You can use notification templates with the following PPM entities:

  • Tasks

  • Projects

  • Requests

  • Packages

  • Releases

  • Workflows

  • Reports

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Configure notification templates

You can create, edit, copy, and delete notification templates from the PPM Workbench.

To create a new notification template:

  1. From the PPM menu, click Open > Administration > Open Workbench.

  2. On the shortcut bar, click Configuration > Notification Templates.

  3. Click New Notification Template.

  4. In the Template Name field, enter a name for the template.

  5. To indicate the range of use for this new notification, from the Notification Scope list, select a PPM product area.

    Note: The default notification scope is Packages. Selecting a different scope changes the notification template format.

  6. From the Notification Format list, specify the message format:

    • Select Plain text or HTML if the notifications are to be sent via email.

    • Select YAML if the notifications are to be sent by PPM Chatbot.

      Note: For Chatbot to send notifications, you should enable PPM Chatbot. For details, see PPM Chatbot.

  7. To make this template available in PPM, select Yes for the Enabled option.

  8. To make this template the default notification template for PPM, select Yes for the Default option.

  9. Specify the email address from which the notification is sent:

    1. In the From row, click Choose.

    2. From the list at the top of the Email Header Field window, select the sender category.

      The context-sensitive required field is dynamically updated to gather the necessary information for that category. For example, if you select Enter an Email Address from the list, then it is necessary to specify an email address. If you select User Defined Token, click Tokens to select a token from the list or enter a specific token in the field.

    3. Complete the required field.

    4. If you select User Defined Token, select the token type that corresponds to the evaluated token value.

    5. In the Email Header Field window, click OK.

  10. In the Notification Template window, provide a reply-to address:

    1. Next to From, click Choose.

    2. In the Email Header Field window, select the recipient category.

      The context-sensitive required field is dynamically updated to gather the necessary information for that category. For example, if you select Enter an Email Address, then you should provide an email address. If you select User Defined Token, click Tokens to select a token from the list or provide a specific token in the field. .

    3. Complete the required fields.

    4. If User Defined Token is specified, select the token type that corresponds with the evaluated token value.

    5. In the Email Header Field window, click OK.

  11. In the Body field, type the notification content.

    Ensure that the message body format is the same as that specified in Notification Format.

    Note: If you use HTML as the notification format, make sure the there is only one dot (.) in the front of each css class, so that PPM email client can follow the RFC.

  12. In the Body field, add tokens to the body of the text:

    1. Click Tokens.

    2. In the Token Builder window, select a token.

    3. In the Token field, copy the token name and then paste it in the Body field.

    4. Click Close.

  13. Configure the ownership of the notification template.

    For detailed information about how to configure the ownership of the notification template, see Configure ownership for notification templates.

  14. Click OK.

To edit, copy, or delete a notification template:

  1. Open the PPM Workbench.
  2. On the shortcut bar, click Configuration > Notification Templates.

  3. Select the target notification template and perform the following actions:

    • To edit the notification template, click Open and make required changes.
    • To copy the notification template, click Copy and provide a name for the template.

    • To delete the notification template, click Remove and click Yes in the confirmation dialog box.

      Note: You cannot delete notification templates that are referenced from an existing notification. To delete such a notification template, you must first remove these references. For information about how to check if a notification template is referenced, see Check notification template usage.

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Configure ownership for notification templates

You can configure ownership for custom notification templates, and not for the preconfigured templates.

To configure the ownership for a custom notification template:

  1. On the PPM Workbench shortcut bar, click Configuration > Notification Templates.

  2. Open a custom notification template from the Notification Template Workbench.

  3. At the bottom of the Notification Template window, click Ownership.

  4. In the Ownership window, select one of the following ownership options:

    • All users with the Edit Notification Template Access Grant

    • Only groups listed below that have the Edit Notification Template Access Grant

  5. If you select Only groups listed below that have the Edit Notification Template Access Grant, do the following:

    1. Click Add.

    2. In the Add Security Groups window, use the Security Groups auto-complete to select one or more security groups.

    3. Click OK.

      The Ownership tab lists the selected security groups.

  6. Click OK.

    The changes to the notification template are saved.

Ownership groups are defined by adding security groups to the Ownership window. If no ownership groups are associated with a particular notification template, the template is considered global and any user who has the edit access grant for the template can edit, copy, or delete it. For detailed information about access grants, see the Security Model Guide and Reference.

If a security group is disabled or loses the edit access grant, members of that group can no longer edit the entity.

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Configure notification intervals

You can configure how long it lasts before another notification is sent.

To configure notification intervals:

  1. Open the PPM Workbench.

  2. On the PPM Workbench shortcut bar, click Configuration > Notification Templates > Intervals.

  3. In the Notification Intervals window, click New.

    The Notification Interval: New window opens to the Interval tab.

  4. Provide the information described in the following table.

    Field Name

    (*Required)

    Description

    *Interval Name

    Name of the interval.

    Description

    (Optional) Description of the interval.

    *Interval Type

    For internal use. This is always set to Periodic, unless Immediate Interval is used.

    *Start Time

    Time to start sending out notifications and to start counting down the time interval until the next batch.

    *End Time

    Time to stop sending out notifications.

    *Time Interval (Hours)

    Number of hours to wait after the start time or the last batch sent, before sending out the next batch of notifications.

    *Days

    Select on which days the interval is to execute.

    *Enabled

    Click Yes to enable the interval or No to disable the interval.

  5. Click OK.

  6. Click Close.

The new notification interval can now be used in any workflow step notification.

If notifications are sent at an hourly or daily interval, there are sometimes several notifications pending for a particular user. In this case, all notifications are grouped together in one email message. The subject of each notification is displayed in the Summary section at the top of the message.

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Check notification template usage

You can check the usage of a notification template.

To check the usage of a notification template:

  1. On the PPM Workbench shortcut bar, click Configuration > Notification Templates.

  2. Open the target notification template.

  3. Click Used By.

    The Used By window opens and lists all references to the notification template.

  4. Click OK.

  5. In the Notification Template window, click OK.

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