Kavi® Members Help

Chapter 129. Manage Email Schedule

Overview

Use the Manage Email Schedule tool to view and manage template-based, scheduled email for Kavi Members. View the current settings and click tool links to customize the message before sending or permanently edit the email template.

The scheduled email displayed through this tool doesn't include email managed by other applications that may be installed on the site, including Kavi® Billing and Kavi® Showcase.

The 'When' field, or how scheduling works

The schedule is based on events such as companies or user records being added or changed, or events in the membership workflow, such as memberships being added or expiring.

Once the base event has been selected, the email is scheduled in relation to this event, so that the email will be sent before, after or when the event happens. For example, notices are sent to moderators after an application enters the 'Pending Moderation' state of the membership workflow.

The 'When' field displays both the base event and the time set in relation to this event. For example, if the event is 'Company Membership is Expired', the 'When' field for an email scheduled to go out before this event might contain the value '30 Days Before Company Membership is Expired' and the 'When' field for an email scheduled to go out after the membership expires might contain the value '30 Days After Company Membership is Expired'.

How templates work

To view all available email templates, use the Manage Email Templates tool.

Email templates contain messages about an event that are aimed at a certain type of recipient. Variables in the template are replaced by actual text values when the email is sent. For example, the variable '$org_name' represents the name of the organization, and the variable '$c_name' represents the name of the company to which the email is sent. If an organization named 'Standards Organization' sends an email template to two companies that have just been added to the database, 'Company A' and 'Company B', the organization name 'Standards Organization' will be substituted for the variable '$org_name' in both email messages. 'Company A' will be substituted for '$c_name' in the message sent to Company A, and 'Company B' will be substituted for '$c_name' in the message sent to Company B.

For more information, see Kavi Members Email Template Variables.

When you view a scheduled email template through the Manage Email Schedule tool, it is displayed in preview mode, with values from the database substituted for variables.

Although email templates can be edited through the Manage Email Schedule tool, it's best to add a new template when adding a scheduled email. If multiple scheduled email use the same template, it would be possible to edit the template to suit one scheduled email and inadvertently make it less appropriate for other scheduled email.

What is the email about?

In Kavi Members, scheduled email is driven by events that affect a type of object, including: Company, User, Individual Membership, Company Membership or Company Representative. Each of these objects has its own table (or set of tables) in the Kavi Members database.

It can be difficult to determine which object is affected by an event, but a list is presented on the first step of the Add an Email Template tool. One of the most subtle examples is a notification sent to a company representative that their account is going to be deactivated because their company's membership is expiring. What actually changes in the database in this scenario is the value in the Status column in the user's record (which will be reset to 'inactive') so the correct choice is the User object.

The selection of the correct object is the first step in creating a scheduled email. Once the object is set, it cannot be changed. But if the wrong object is inadvertently selected, it quickly becomes apparent on the 'When' step as the event that triggers the message doesn't appear in the list of available events. If this happens, the Back button can be used to return to the first step and select an appropriate object. In rare cases where a scheduled email is based on the wrong object, a new scheduled email will have to be created to replace the misconfigured one.

Determining what email goes out when an event occurs

It isn't immediately obvious how many scheduled email messages may be sent out when an event occurs. The Manage Email Schedule may include multiple scheduled messages targeted at different recipients, and scheduled messages may be sent from other applications as well. New company membership are the best example of this. Different welcome messages are scheduled for the Primary Contact and regular company representatives, and Kavi Billing and Kavi Showcase send messages to the Billing Contact and Showcase Company Admin if these applications are installed.

Use the Manage Email Schedule tool to:

  • View all scheduled email, such as notices sent to welcome new members or company representatives, alert moderators of membership applications pending moderation, confirm changes to company or user records, and membership renewal reminders.

  • Access tools that allow you to schedule new email messages, or edit or delete existing scheduled email messages.

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How to use the Manage Email Schedule tool

View scheduled email managed through Kavi Members, including when it is sent, the recipients list, the email template and scheduled email status. You may narrow the displayed list by setting search criteria through the 'When:', 'Template Text:' or 'Recipient Type' search fields and pressing Search.

Select

Click the 'Manage' link for the scheduled email you wish to manage.

Manage

Click a link if there is an action you wish to perform on the scheduled email (i.e., 'Edit', 'Delete', 'Activate' or 'Deactivate').

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