This guide is intended for individuals that have experience in creating or editing user alerts, and are comfortable with the process.
All creation and editing must be done in the 4.1 Windows client, logged in with a” “Bureau System Administrator”account.
OVERVIEW: Set up the new action “Send User Alert” in VDX 4.1
The “Send User Alert” action is designed to trigger user alerts that impart free form, highly customizable information to patrons about their ILL requests. The “Send User Alert” action is available for any record, regardless of status, and is also available via Bulk Action. The free form or “ad hoc” note is input by ILL staff during the action, as in the example below.
In order to make this function correctly, the different UC locations (USB1, UD1, ULA1, etc) must develop individual user alerts that work in conjunction with this action, with campus or location specific information included in the message. Other than a bit of specific programming in the message format, the process is not much different than creating any other alert.
STEP 1: Creating the Message Format
Two specificfield value scripts must be employed in the message format:
- %s" _TRANSSTORE_iIllNo
This allows the system to recognize the specific records by ILL number when “Send User Alert” is used in bulk action.
- %sv" _TRANSSTORE_IllPatronNotes
This allows the Patron Note input during the action to be included in the email message.
Both of these field values can be inserted anywhere in the message format.
Example
Below is a message format that has been developed specifically for UCSB. This is why each location must develop a specific user alert for this action – so that the patron knows who sent it and where to send inquiries or additional information, etc.
The specialized field value scripts have (where the arrows indicate) been placed in the message format in appropriate areas. Please note that the symbol “%sv” must be used to indicate where the Patron Note will be placed, rather than the standard “%s” for other field values.
J"Your ILL Request"
S "For inquiries please email: "
B2
S "Dear: %s" Client Name
B1
S "Concerning your ILL request listed below:"
B1
S "ILL No.: %s" _TRANSSTORE_iIllNo
F"Title: %s" Title
F"Author: %s" Author
F"Publisher: %s" Publisher
F"Date: %s" Date
F"Article Author: %s" Article Author
F"Article Title: %s" Article Title
F"Volume: %s" Volume
F"Pages: %s" Pages
F"Part Pub. Date: %s" Part Pubdate
B2
S "Notes: %sv" _TRANSSTORE_IllPatronNotes
B2
S"If you have questions you may forward an e-mail inquiry to <> or phone us at 805-893-3436"
S"(Please do not reply to the sending email address). Holidays aside, we are available Monday-Friday from"
S"8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and are located on the 1st floor of the Davidson Library in room 1510.”
S”Information about Interlibrary Loan is also available at our Web site:
B 2
S"Interlibrary Loan Borrowing"
S"UCSB Davidson Library"
S""
S"Phone: 805-893-3436"
If you wish to “poach” this message and modify it to your location’s needs, an “easy to copy and paste” version has been included at the end of this document.
Please note that, as in any user alert, the line
“For inquiries please email: your email address”
must be included in the message format. T
This allows CDL to automatically forward any messages the patron sends to the VDX system instead of the ILL unit or any email bounces resulting in undelivered mail to the patron. This is for the benefit of CDL staff (in case of failed emails) as well as your patron.
Please also note
You should use the established scheme for naming your message format, i.e.,your location symbol followed by whatever you name the alert.
For instance, the above message format is named “USB1 Send User Alert”.
Once your new message format has been created and saved, you can attach it to an ILL Alert.
Step 2: Attaching the message format and creating the “Send User Alert”
In Windows, identify the ILL Alert to which the “Send User Alert” will be attached. This can be a pre-existing alert, or a new one can be created for this purpose (we will not go into creating a new ILL Alert here!)
Please note that the ILL Alert selected (or created) should be designed to send the user alerts directly to the email in the patron record.
To check this, once the ILL Alert has been opened, double click on your location name in the “Domain Links / Locations” field…
In the sub-window that opens (ILL Alert Location Links) the “E-Mail Address” field should be blank.
Attaching “Send User Alert” to your ILL Alert
Click on the “Edit” button (Toggle Modify Mode).
Next, click on the activated “Actions” button
In the “ILL Alert Actions” window that opens, select:
Alert Enabled: Yes
Is Alert Repeatable?: Yes(it is recommended that you select “Yes”. This will ensure that an alert can be sent for the same ILL record more than once).
Next, click on the “Action” button.
You will, unfortunately, get a multitude of hits. Click on “Yes”
You will next be presented with a list of this multitude of actions, most of them artifacts of the original British Library VDX developers. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, and highlight “Send User Alert”.
With “Send User Alert” highlighted, on the toolbar at the top of the screen click on the “Choose + Close” button.
The Action field will now be populated with “Send User Alert”.
Next, click on the “Authorisation” pull down menu and choose “Processed” (it is VERY important that you include “Processed” in the Authorisation field. If you do not, multiple identical email messages will be sent to the patron when the alert is actioned. Since “Send User Alert” is an action, the authorisation status of the record changes to “Processed” when submitted)
Next, click on the “Mail Format” pull down menu, and choose the “Send User Alert” message format that was created for your location (remember, your message format should have your location symbol at the beginning).
Once these 4 fields have been completed, click on the “Save + Close” green check icon in the upper left hand corner.
In the next screen, you will see “Send User Alert, Processed” in the Actions / Alert trigger column. Click on the “Save + Close” green check icon in the upper left hand corner.
Your “Send User Alert” is now ready for action!
STEP 3: Using the “Send User Alert” action to send messages to patrons
The “Send User Alert” action is available on all borrowing records, regardless of status:
It is also available via Bulk Action (i.e., the same message can be sent on multiple records):
When you are actioning “Send User Alert” on a single record, or via Bulk Action, input in the “Patron Note” field the “ad hoc” message that is to be emailed to the patron.
There is also the opportunity to add a “Private Note”, which will only be recorded in the record and seen only by borrowing staff.
You can also copy and paste the Patron Note into the Private Note field, so that the message sent to the patron is later viewable in the record itself.
Once the “Send” button is clicked, the “Send User Alert” message (or messages, if done in Bulk Action) will be launched.
For the message format example that is illustrated in this guide, the email that the patron will receive is shown below, with the “ad hoc” note in place:
“Send User Alert” is a very versatile patron messaging system. As the message sent to the patron is “ad hoc”, the potential variety is endless. Paired with a carefully worded generic message format, Send User Alert has the potential of replacing, for each location, many existing user alerts.
The “easily poached” message format, with special programming in place.
Send User Alert (Ad Hoc User Alert) – Set Up by Location in VDX 4.11