Create and manage email notifications

With OrchestraCMS, you can deliver content to users by email based on their preferences. Email publications and email notifications are different ways of delivering content to users:  

• Publication. A publication is a recurring compilation of content that can be published to your site and delivered by email. A single instance of a publication can be thought of as an issue of the publication. Creating an issue of a publication is similar to creating a page for your site, except you can also create an email version. Publications are sent manually after a new issue is created.
• Notification. When a user subscribes to a specific category of content, an email notification with relevant content is automatically sent to the user on a regular basis. Notifications are sent either immediately when new content is added or on a regular schedule—this is based on the options you provide and the preference of the user.

Create and manage email notifications

When a user subscribes to a specific category of content, an email notification with content associated with that category is sent to the user on a regular basis. Notifications are sent to users automatically, either immediately when new content is added or on a regular schedule—this is based on the options you provide and the preference of the user.

Build a taxonomy for email notifications

A taxonomy for email notifications can use any meaningful structure to categorize topics that users can subscribe to. Whether users can subscribe to all categories or only the leaf categories (lowest-level child categories) is determined by the Subscription Type property in the taxonomy. Here is an example of a multilevel taxonomy for notifications:

• Notifications

Computers

• Desktops
• Laptops
• Tablets

• Home Theatre
  • Televisions
  • Audio
  • Stands
• Cell Phones
  • Phones
  • Cases
  • Chargers

The first step in building a taxonomy is to create a taxonomy content item. The Taxonomy Menu content template must be associated with the content item; the content editor for this template is where you add and manage taxonomy categories.

To create a taxonomy content item

1. In OrchestraCMS, select the Content tab.
2. In the Actions panel, select Add New Content.
3. In the Create New Content dialog, do the following:
   • From the Select Content Type menu, select Taxonomy.
   • From the Select Content Template menu, select Taxonomy Menu.
   • In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the taxonomy.  
4. Click Finish to save and close the content item, or click Finish and Edit to go directly to the content editor.

The next step is to add categories to your taxonomy.

To add categories to a taxonomy

1. Open the taxonomy content item in the content editor. If you see a message that states that the current content template doesn’t have any content or template properties to configure, then you do not have the Taxonomy Menu content template loaded, and you can select it from the Templates menu in the Actions panel.
2. In the category pane, click on the arrow to the right of the category that you want to add child categories to, and then click Add. If this is the first time you have added categories, your only option is to add categories to the top-level category.
3. In the Add Categories dialog, type the names of the categories that you want to add to that level of the hierarchy by typing each category name on a separate line. You can add, reorder, or remove categories later.
4. Click OK.

After the taxonomy is created, you can add more categories, remove categories, and reorder categories by clicking the arrow next to the category name. You can’t move categories to a different parent category.

Set taxonomy properties for email notifications

When you use a taxonomy for email publications or notifications, there are additional properties that must be set in the content editor for the Taxonomy Menu content template. For notifications, the subscription type and subscription model must be defined.

To set taxonomy properties for a publications taxonomy

1. Open the taxonomy content item in the content editor. Select the Taxonomy Subscription content template from the Templates menu in the Actions panel.
2. In the Actions panel, under More Actions, select View All Properties.
   • For the Notification Type property, select either All or Leaf. The option All means that users can subscribe to all nodes in the taxonomy. The option Leaf means that users can subscribe to only the lowest level of child categories.
   • For the Notification Model property, select Email Alert Model.
     
3. In the Actions panel, click Save.

Create email notification pages

The content for email notifications is automatically compiled and delivered based on set schedules. Each schedule must be associated with its own email notification page. These pages are placeholders for content that is automatically added based on the taxonomy category that users are subscribed to.  

To create an email notification page

1. Create a page as you normally would and open it in the page editor.
2. In the Actions panel, under More Actions, select Email Editor.
   
3. Click in a droppable area and click Add New Content.
4. In the Add New Content dialog
   • in the Select Content Type menu, select Utility. 
   • in the Select Content Template menu, select Content List
5. Enter a name for the content item that acts as a placeholder for the dynamic email notification content.
6. You do not need to configure this content item unless you are using the Document Style 1 content template to display content items and you want to have content titles link to a page on your site. Optionally, in the page editor, add any other static content that will always be included in the email notification.
7. Click Finish and Edit.
8. In the Actions panel, click Publish.
9. In the Publish Page dialog, make sure that the Content List content item is also selected for publication, and then click Yes.

The Content List content item dynamically renders content that is associated with the relevant category that users are subscribed to. In the email notification, content items are listed from most recent to least recent in terms of the time they were published.

Link notification content titles to a page on your site

If you use the Document Style 1 content template to display content in your email notifications, you can use the Target Page field in the Content List content template (included on your email notification page) to link the title of the content to a page on your site. This page should contain a content item that uses the Content View content template to dynamically display the piece of content that a user clicks on in the email.

Typically, the Content View content template is configured to display content using a different content template than the email. For example, the Document Style 1 content template can render the content as a summary in the email, and the Content View item can specify that another template, such as Small Block With Image, be used to render the full content on the site page.

The first step is to create the page that will be associated with the Target Page property.

To create a page to associate with the Target Page property

1. Create a page as you normally would and open it in the page editor.
2. Click in the droppable area that you want content to appear, and click Add New Content (or if you have already created a content item using the Content View content template, you can click Add Existing Content, select this content item, and skip to step 7).  
3. In the Create New Content dialog, do the following:
   • From the Content Type list, select Utility.
   • From the Select Content Template list, select Content View.
   • In the Name field, enter a name for the content item that allows you to recognize it as a placeholder for content that will be dynamically loaded when a user clicks on a content title in an email notification (you can use the same content item for the same purpose for email publications).
4. Click Finish to save and close the content item.
5. Return to the page editor, and click on the page-specific properties icon for the Content View content item you just created.
   
6. In the Page-specific Properties dialog, select the content type and content template that you want to use to display content. This should be the same content type as the Document Style 1 content template that you are using to display content in the email notification, but it can be a different content template if that template is also associated with the content items contained in the email notifications.
   
7. Click Save.
8. In the Actions panel, click Publish.
9. In the Publish Page dialog, make sure that the Content View content item is also selected for publication, and then click Yes.

After the page is created, you can associate it with the Content List content item on your email notification page.

To populate the Target Page field for the Content List content template

1. Open your email notification page in the page editor.
2. Locate the content item that uses the Content List content template, and click the edit icon to open it in the content editor.
   
3. In the content editor, click in the Target Page box.
4. In the Select Link dialog, from the Link To list, select A page in this CMS.
5. Click in the Page box, and enter or select the page created in the previous procedure that contains a Content View content item.
   
6. Click Select.
7. Click Save.

After this is completed, any content rendered with the Document Style 1 content template in the email notification will have its title linked to the page specified in the Target Page field of the Content List content item.

Create automatic email schedules

Email notifications require automatic email schedules to be configured in OrchestraCMS Setup by an OrchestraCMS System Administrator or Site Administrator. You can have multiple automatic email schedules, and users who subscribe to notifications have the option to select the schedule they prefer (e.g., immediate notifications when new content is published, daily notifications, weekly notifications).

An automatic email schedule only sends emails if new content associated with the appropriate taxonomy category has been published since the last run of the scheduler. The new content must also be associated with one of the content types and content templates associated with the schedule for it to be included in the notification.  

Before you can create an automatic email schedule in OrchestraCMS, you must have at least one organization-wide email address defined in Salesforce.

To set the organization-wide default email in Salesforce

1. In Salesforce Setup, expand Email Administration, and then click Organization-Wide Addresses.
2. On the Organization-Wide Email Addresses page, click Add.
3. In the Display Name field, enter the name you want displayed as the sender of your email publications (e.g., your company name or a specific person who is recognized by the recipients).
4. In the Email Address field, enter the email address that the publications will be sent from; keep in mind that if the address accepts incoming email, recipients will be able to respond to their publication emails.
5. Choose one of the following options:
   • Allow All Profiles to use this From Address. We recommend this option if users from many or all profiles need to access OrchestraCMS and send email publications.
   • Allow Only Selected Profiles to use the From Address. We recommend this option if only one or a few profiles need to access OrchestraCMS and send email publications. The users who are distributing email publications from OrchestraCMS must have access to the organization-wide email address that you want to use for publications.
6. Click Save.
   

A verification request is sent to the email address after the record is created. Check the email account and verify the email address before proceeding.

An automatic email schedule is associated with the notification page, and the schedule defines when and how often notification emails are sent. After the schedule is created, you must also specify the content types and content templates that are included in the notification. Only one content template per content type can be included, and only content types that will render properly in the email can be added.

To create an automatic email schedule for notifications

1. In OrchestraCMS Setup, click Scheduler.
2. On the Scheduler page, under Schedules, click New.
3. In the New Schedule dialog, in the Name field, enter a name for the schedule that site users will see as one of the options for the frequency and timing of their email notifications (e.g., “Daily Update”).
4. From the Type list, select Automatic Mail-out.
5. From the Email From Address list, choose the organization-wide email address that you want to use for notifications.
6. Click in the Email Page box, and in the Select Page dialog, enter or select the email notification page that was created and published for this email schedule.
7. From the Recurs list, select one of the following options:
   • Immediately. There are no additional properties to set for this option. When a user selects this option in their subscription preferences, he or she will receive email notifications as soon as new content is published that is associated with the subscribed taxonomy category; the notification will be queued immediately and distributed the next time the scheduler runs.
   • Daily. If this option is selected, you need to set the time and frequency of the email notifications. From the Time list, select a specific hour of the day for the email notifications to be queued; they will be sent the next time the scheduler runs within the hour. Select either Every weekday or Every x day(s); for the latter option, enter how many days between emails. The first email is sent at the first applicable time from the time the schedule is created; for example, if a daily schedule is set to run every three days at 3pm, and the schedule is created at 10am, the schedule will run for the first time at 3pm the same day, and then every three days after that.
   • Weekly. If this option is selected, you need to set time and frequency of the email notifications. From the Time list, select a specific hour of the day for the email notifications to be sent. Set the frequency of emails by entering a number of weeks in Recurs every x week(s) on, and select one or more days that emails are sent on. The first email is sent at the first applicable time from the time the schedule is created; for example, if a weekly schedule is set to run every four weeks on Monday at 3pm, and the schedule is created on a Wednesday, the schedule will run for the first time the following Monday at 3pm, and then every four weeks after that.
8. Click Save.
9. Click to select the check box beside an automatic email schedule, and then click Edit Options.
   
10. Under the Content Type column, select a content type that you want included in the email notifications for that schedule.
11. Under the Content Template column, select a content template that you want included in the email notifications for that schedule.
    
12. Repeat steps 10–12 to add more content types and content templates. You can only add one content template per content type.
13. Click Close.

You can create as many automatic email schedules as required to provide users with a variety of options for when and how frequent they want to receive notifications.

After a schedule is created, it can be deleted. When you delete a schedule, users who have selected that schedule will no longer receive email notifications.

To delete a schedule

1. In OrchestraCMS Setup, select Scheduler.
2. On the Scheduler page, under Schedules, click to select the check box beside the schedule you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the Delete Schedule dialog, click Yes.

Create and prepare content to be included in email notifications

For a content item to be included in an email notification, it must meet the following conditions:

• It must be assigned a taxonomy category that users can subscribe to.
• It must be associated with a content type and content template that is included in the email notification schedules.
• It must be published.

To create and prepare a content item to be included in an email notification

1. Create a new content item and select a content type and content template that is associated with automatic email schedules; you can add more content templates, but at least one of them must be included in the schedules.
2. Open the content item in the content editor and create content as you normally would.
3. In the content editor, in the Actions panel, click Taxonomy, and select the taxonomy you use for email notifications.
   
4. In the Select Category dialog, in the Available pane, expand the taxonomy to locate a category that relates to the content, and click the plus symbol to add the taxonomy category to the content item; once added, the category appears in the Selected pane.
   
5. Repeat step 4 as necessary to assign additional taxonomy categories.
6. Click OK.
7. In the content editor, in the Actions panel, click Publish when your content is complete.
8. In the Publish dialog, click Yes.