Schedule Messages

The System Messages page's Date and Time fields incorporate several unique features. Using these fields, you can:

• Issue special announcements of system events, such as periodic maintenance, backups and payroll calculations.
• Schedule routine notifications on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
• Set up messages for different times of day, for example, to wish users good morning or good afternoon when logging into the system.
• Combine several different broadcast and login messages in one display.
• Combine login and broadcast messages to reach current users immediately and notify everyone else as they log in.

This section explains how to set up and schedule messages for various purposes.

Schedule Standard Messages

The Date and Time settings for scheduling standard messages are fairly straightforward, though you need to be aware of a few things regarding the effects of these fields.

Broadcast Messages

• To issue a broadcast message immediately, leave the Start Date and Start Time fields blank. You can also achieve this by entering the current Date and Time.
• To prevent a broadcast message from running indefinitely, enter an End Date and End Time. Keep in mind that when the Date and Time settings of broadcast and login messages overlap, the system combines the two types messages, so that incoming users see the messages too.
• To prevent users from seeing a broadcast message one day and encountering it again when they log in the next day, enter the same date in the broadcast message's Start Date and End Date fields and use an End Time that is later than the end of a regular workday.

Login Messages

• To schedule the start of a login message, enter the appropriate Start Date and Start Time.
• To allow a login message to run indefinitely, leave the End Date and End Time fields blank.
• To replace an existing login message with a new message, set the existing message's End Date and End Time to coincide with the new message's Start Date and Stop Time. Because of time delays built into the system, there should be a one minute difference between the end time and start time.

Issue Special Announcements

Special announcements are broadcast messages that address unanticipated events, for example, early closings forced by inclement weather or system shutdowns required for emergency maintenance. These messages are usually issued immediately and have a limited time span; therefore, they do not require a Start Date or Time, but do need an End Date and Time.

Make note of the following settings in the Message section:

• Start Date and Start Time are blank so that the message will generate within 30 seconds of being saved. However, if today's date and the current time were entered, the effect would be the same.
• End Date and End Time are required in this case, so that the message will not display after the event being announced.
• Database is specified so that the message will display only for those currently using that database.
• Close Menu checkbox is not selected, because the shutdown will not start immediately. This field should be used with care, since you could lock out certain users unnecessarily. You could also lock out yourself, which will prevent you from logging in again. For details on this field, refer the Fields section in System Messages Page.

Note that the message was broken into two lines in the Message Text field by pressing <Enter> after the word "for." Otherwise, the message would have been a single line, and its display would have been nearly twice as wide.

Important

Broadcast messages combine with login messages when their Date and Time settings overlap. This ensures users will receive the broadcast message as soon as they log in. For details, refer to Combining Messages section below.

Schedule Login Messages

Following are two scheduling issues to consider when setting up login messages: replacing current login messages and setting up different login messages for different times of day.

Add a New Message to Replace Your Current Login Message

A login message does not need Date and Time settings if you want the message to take effect immediately and run indefinitely. However, if you are currently using a login message, you should include a Start Date and Start Time for the new message and add a corresponding End Date and End Time to the message it replaces. Based on these entries, the new message will start when the current message ends. This also prevents the two messages from combining, which happens when two or more messages have scheduling settings that overlap.

Set Up Different Login Messages for Different Times of Day

You can set up different login messages to greet users based on the time of day.
To create the afternoon greeting - for example, Good Afternoon - enter the same settings as those used for the morning message, except for the values in the following fields:

Note that the Start Time for the afternoon message would be one minute later than the End Time (11:59) for the morning message.

For the evening greeting - for example, Good Evening - enter the same settings as in the afternoon login, except in the Start Time, End Time, and Message Title fields:

Combine Messages

When the Date and Time settings of two or more messages overlap, the system combines the messages into a single page, inserting a line between them. The system's ability to combine messages applies to broadcast and login messages alike. You can combine broadcast messages, as well as login messages. You can also combine broadcast messages with login messages. The result all depends on the Start/End Time and Date fields.

Note

If a broadcast message is combined with a login message, the broadcast message will display again in its own display about 30 seconds after the login display is closed.