Training Course #2: Event Designing

1. Training Course #2: Event Designing Please view as slide show Page Down/Up or mouse click to navigate through the show

2. Events • An “event” consists of seven components: • The query(ies) that identify the conditions to check for • Whether to trigger the generation of Crystal Reports • The text of the alert messages • The “actions” to take when the event is triggered • Whom to send the alerts to • The means by which the alerts will be sent • How often to check for this event’s conditions (Note: In order to proceed with this training course, please be sure to have completed training course #1, “Query Designing.)

3. Tour Menu Please select the component of KnowledgeSync Event Designing that you would like to learn about next: Designing an Event (click here) Event Designing Helpful Hints (click here) Where to Go From Here (click here) Exit Presentation

4. How to Begin All event designing is done in the KnowledgeSync Event Manager. Log into that module (username “Admin”, no password). You will be presented with a window like the following:

5. We will design an event for the “Training” application. Click on the plus sign (+) next to the “Training” Application in orderto display the sub-branches beneath it. Return to Tour Menu

6. We’ll be working in the Events branch. Click on the Events branch to display a list of pre-defined events for the Training application. Return to Tour Menu

7. The key items you need to consider when • designing an event are: • What condition are you checking for • Should the event produce a related report • What do you want your alerts to say • Should the event trigger an update toapplication data • Who will be notified (and how) • How often do you wish to check forthis condition Return to Tour Menu

8. The list on the right shows examplesof the types of events that you can check for. • Click on the “New Event” button atthe top-left of this window to createa new event . . . • (Note that you can also cut-and-pasteto copy existing events) Return to Tour Menu

9. When designing an event, the first thing youdo is to specify the event’s name. Return to Tour Menu

10. The “Lookup Key” field is used when organizationswish to “call” a KnowledgeSync event from an external application. Since this event will be run only from within theKnowledgeSync application, we can leave thisfield blank. Return to Tour Menu

11. The “Priority” field comes into play if you have multiple events that are due to be submitted at the same time of day. (The event with the lowest numbered priority is submitted first.) It’s worth noting that KnowledgeSync uses a function called “multi-threading” to ensure that it can keep up with organizations that need to monitor and respond to millions of records per day. Return to Tour Menu

12. The “Active” checkbox indicates that this event is currently eligible to be checked by KnowledgeSync. Return to Tour Menu

13. 1) The “Repeat Notification” checkbox is very important. Let’s take an event that checks daily for clients whose balance is at least 90% of their credit limit. With “Repeat” OFF, a client who meets this criteria TODAY will cause an alert to be sent. If the client still meets this criteria TOMORROW, KnowledgeSync willnot send another alert. With “Repeat” ON, a client who meets this criteria TODAY and TOMORROW will cause an alert to be sent both days (and each day thereafter) until the client no longer meets this event’s criteria. 2) For the event we are working with, we want to send only one alert each time a client meets the event’s criteria. And so we’ll leave the “Repeat” field blank. Return to Tour Menu

14. Lastly, the “Keep Only Last Checked Record” box allows us to reduce the amount of audit trail history that KnowledgeSync retains for this event. Typically this field is checked ON. Return to Tour Menu

15. The first component of an event is the specificationof the query (or queries) that will be used to identifythe specific conditions that have to occur in order forthe event to be “triggered.” To select a query, click on the “Add Query” button. Return to Tour Menu

16. You are presented with a list of queries for thecorresponding application. Click on the query called“Accounts; Current Balance + Bal Forward > ‘x’ Percent of Credit Limit.” (Note also that you can select queries from other applications; more in “Designing Multi-Query Events.”) Return to Tour Menu

17. Notice how once we select a query, we are prompted to fillin the specific thresholds (or “Event Trigger Parameters”)that precisely determine the conditions that this event will check for. Since we want to check for clients at 90% (or greater) oftheir credit limit, we’ll enter “90” as the trigger parameter. Return to Tour Menu

18. Some queries require that you fill in other “trigger parameters”, such as a date range. The description of this event tells us that it should look at onlythose incidents that were closed “this week”. Go to the “Answer” field for the “Date Range Begins” triggerand click on the list button that appears there. Return to Tour Menu

19. 1) The field at the top of the List window lets us retrieve a list of valid incident dates from the underlying database. The “Available Substitution Variables” list lets us choose a date-related variable that will be replaced with an actual date when KnowledgeSync runs the event. 2) KnowledgeSync includes an extensive list of substitution variables, including last month start and end dates, next month start and end dates, last week’s dates, next week’s dates, today, tomorrow, and yesterday. Return to Tour Menu

20. You may also notice that you have the option to create an event that usesa VB/VBA script instead of a query to check for underlying data conditions. Scripts have the flexibility of checking for conditions outside of ODBCcompliant databases. See the section titled “Helpful Hints” for more detailson using scripts within events. Return to Tour Menu

21. 1) When an event is triggered, KnowledgeSync executes one or more “response actions” which can include sending alerts, updating applications, and delivering relevant Crystal reports. 2) These reports can be attached to (or embedded within) an e-mail message, they can be sent as a fax message, they can beFTP’d to a specific disk and directory, or they can be posted to aKnowledgeSync webcast page as a URL link. Click on the “Add Report” button to link a report to this event. Return to Tour Menu

22. Linking Crystal Reports to KnowledgeSync is simply aprocess of pointing KnowledgeSync to each Crystal“*.rpt” file that you wish to allow KnowledgeSync to run. Since the event that you’re working with is based on a client’s balance,click on the “AR; Customer Aged Balance Report” to link it to this event. Return to Tour Menu

23. Once you choose a report, you can also select its output format, including HTML, PDF, and Excel. Return to Tour Menu

24. Report Parameters are very important. When you design a Crystal Report, you can design it to accept“selection criteria” such as date ranges, customer IDs, part numbers, and so on. When you link a Crystal Report to KnowledgeSync, you can usedata from a triggered event as a report’s selection criteria. Thislets you ensure that your report includes only the data thatcorresponds to the records in the triggered event. Return to Tour Menu

25. In some cases, you may wish to attach a file (such as a document,spreadsheet, or graphic) to an outgoing message. Like a report, a file can be attached to an outgoing mail message,it can be included in a fax, FTP’d to a certain location, or posted to a KnowledgeSync webcast page via a URL link. This option is particularly useful for the automated distribution (either on a periodic basis or on an as-requested basis) ofProduct Brochures, Price Lists, Newsletters, or other such items. Return to Tour Menu

26. The “Copy” (FTP) tab allows you to indicate whether thereports and/or files associated with an event are availableto be copied to the desired locations of the event’s recipients. (As you’ll see later, you can indicate whether each recipientwishes to receive copied files and/or reports.) Return to Tour Menu

27. One of the major components of event designing is the creationof the alert messages. All alert messages – whether e-mail, fax,page, or webcast – are designed in the same manner. Return to Tour Menu

28. The top part of the tab displays a list of the fields of dataassociated with each triggered record. You can use thesefields in the message subject line as well as in the bodytext of the message. Return to Tour Menu

29. You can also use “date substitution variables” in yourmessage subject and text. (More on this shortly.) Return to Tour Menu

30. The “Email Account to Send From” field allows you to indicatewhich e-mail account KnowledgeSync will use when it sendsout an alert message via e-mail. (These e-mail “sending accounts” are configured in the KnowledgeSync Administrator’s module.) KnowledgeSync integrates with all e-mail systems, includingMicrosoft Exchange/Outlook, Internet/SMTP, and Lotus Notesmail systems. Return to Tour Menu

31. The “Email Reply Address” field allows you to dynamically control the “From Name” as well as the “Reply Address” that will appear in the alert message. This is very useful, for example, when using KnowledgeSync to send e-mail to customers, prospects, or partners. Instead of the Reply Address being “KnowledgeSync”, the event can be configured so that the reply address is the name (and address) of the salesrep associated with that client’s account. This way, if the recipient of the alert clicks on “Reply”, the ensuing message will go right back to the person responsible for that client or partner. Return to Tour Menu

32. Let’s start out by choosing an e-mail sending account,the e-mail reply address, and let’s also design the subject of the mail message. Return to Tour Menu

33. We’ve selected a mail account called “Corporate Alerts”as the sending account, and we’ve directed any e-mailreplies to go back to the client’s sales rep. Note how in the message Subject field we’re combiningthe customer’s name with some hard-coded text. Anything enclosed within curly braces “{}” will haveits actual value substituted in by KnowledgeSync. Return to Tour Menu

34. Now we can turn our attention to the message text. KnowledgeSync supports e-mail message text in bothascii (plain text) format and in HTML format. Return to Tour Menu

35. The best way to begin designing an alert message is totype in the text that you wish to appear in the message. Once you do this, you’re ready to start inserting thecorresponding data fields next to each field label. Return to Tour Menu

36. You start out by positioning your cursor next toa specific field label. Return to Tour Menu

37. You go up to the list of “Available values for use in message content,”click on the field that corresponds to the label in your message text,and click on the “Use selected value in Text” button. (Click on this button now.) Return to Tour Menu

38. The field value then appears next to your label inthe message text. You can then continue adding field values untilyou have finished your message text. Return to Tour Menu

39. You are now done designing this e-mail alert message. But what if instead of sending one alert message foreach triggered record, you wanted to send one alert message that contains the details of multiple triggeredrecords? Let’s take a look at a couple of other alert messageformats: Return to Tour Menu

40. This event shows how a single message can “repeat”the details of multiple triggered records. In this way, KnowledgeSync can send out one messagefor all triggered records, or one message per group oftriggered records, such as one message that containsall overdue invoices per customer. Return to Tour Menu

41. You can even create messages with column headings andformatted lists beneath them. (KnowledgeSync includes many field formatting optionsso that you can control field length, currency and numeric formatting, and so on.) Return to Tour Menu

42. You can even create alert messages that perfectlymirror an Order form or Invoice in your financialapplications. Return to Tour Menu

43. Since the KnowledgeSync supports HTML-formattedmessages, you also have the ability to create verysophisticated e-mail alerts that contain graphics,your company’s logo, web page links, and other formatting controls. Return to Tour Menu

44. Once you create your HTML message text using any HTML editor, you simply cut-and-paste the HTML“commands” into the KnowledgeSync “Message Text”field. You then place the command “BEGIN*HTML” at thestart of your message text and “END*HTML” at the end of your message. You can also combine HTML message text with the“Repeat” function discussed earlier. Return to Tour Menu

45. Let’s finish the “Email” tab by addressing the 3 checkboxesat the bottom of this window. The first checkbox lets us specify whether we wish to attachany Crystal reports that we’ve specified for this event to theoutgoing e-mail alert message. Because of many organization’s use of security and anti-spamsoftware, KnowledgeSync also gives you the option of takingthe content of an HTML Crystal Report and embedding thatcontent right within the body of the e-mail message itself. Return to Tour Menu

46. And the second checkbox asks you if you wish to include the files that you’ve specified for this event also as e-mail attachments. Return to Tour Menu

47. The final checkbox is applicable only if you are generatingCrystal reports for this event but have NOT chosen to attachthem to the outgoing e-mail alert message. This option is very useful for organizations that wish to usee-mail to notify recipients about the availability of one or more reports, but wish to deliver the reports via fax, FTP,or web browser. (This is also a very efficient way to deliver large numbers ofCrystal Reports to many recipients.) Return to Tour Menu

48. Once you have gone through the process of designing ane-mail alert message, designing a fax, pager, or webcastmessage will look remarkably familiar. KnowledgeSync embeds its own faxing technology, although you can also use existing fax software such as WinFax and FaxRush. All that KnowledgeSync requires isa modem that is reachable from the KnowledgeSync server. Designing a fax is identical to designing an e-mail exceptthat KnowledgeSync lets you designate the contents of afax cover page, and you can specify whether text-basedreports and files are to be included in the fax contents. Return to Tour Menu

49. KnowledgeSync also embeds its own paging softwarebut can also integrate with existing paging products.Like faxing, all KnowledgeSync needs is a modem thatis reachable from the KnowledgeSync server. The pager message is designed similar to e-mail,but usually in a much more condensed format. KnowledgeSync’s paging supports SMS. Return to Tour Menu

50. “Webcasting” is an alert method that is unique to KnowledgeSync. Before we explore the information on the webcasttab, let’s look at a sample webcast alert window . . . Return to Tour Menu