Steps for Configuring E-mail Alerts

About E-mail Alerts in XFRACAS

In XFRACAS, a variety of settings on the Preferences page (Admin > Configure > Preferences) allow admin users to specify not only the conditions for sending e-mail alerts but also the contents of these e-mails. In general, XFRACAS can be configured to send e-mails when:

  • An incident, problem, project, action, failure analysis (FA) or customer support (CSI) record is created or closed.
  • An incident or problem is assigned a new owner.
  • An action is created or closed.
  • An action has an approaching or past due date.
  • A status is updated.
  • A user selects a drop-down list option that’s configured to trigger an alert.
  • A problem resolution step requires signoff, or has been signed off, by a failure review board (FRB) member.
  • A user wants to notify a specified recipient about certain events related to FAs or the processing of failed parts.

Steps for Configuring E-mails

To configure e-mail settings, you’ll need to have the “Manage System-Wide Preferences” and “Manage Entity Preferences” permissions.

  1. Configure your implementation to send and receive e-mails.
    • In the System-Wide Preferences section of the Preferences page, specify an SMTP server, port and connection timeout. (See System-Wide Preferences, Implementation Guide.)
    • In Admin > Configure > Security > Users, make sure each user account that will send or receive e-mails has a valid e-mail address. (See Managing Users.)

Tip: You can use the "Manage User - E-mail Suffix Used for Auto Build" preference to define the suffix (e.g., @company.com) to be used for e-mail addresses that are automatically generated for new users if the "Manage User - E-mail/Login Auto Build" Boolean preference is True.

  1. Set the applicable preferences in the Boolean Preferences section of the Preferences page to True.
  2. Configure the applicable e-mail “formats” (content) in the String Preferences section using the variables defined in the following help topics:

To determine which formats apply for each preference, follow the applicable links in Conditions for Triggering E-mail Alerts.

Note: If you enable a preference but leave its corresponding format blank, your organization’s SMTP server may prevent those e-mails from being sent.

  1. Optional: In the E-mail Preferences section of the Preferences page, specify the following:
    • E-mail - Single From Address - defines the default “from” address for all e-mails
    • E-mail - Default New Incident From - defines the default “from” address for new incidents

If you leave these preferences blank, the sender will be the user who initiates the e-mail — i.e., the user who creates the new incident, closes an action, etc.

  1. To send copies of e-mails containing data from incident, problem, project, FA or CSI records / reports to an administrator for your organization, do the following:
    • Set E-mail - BCC Administrator on XFRACAS Data Sent to True in the Boolean Preferences section.
    • Specify an address for the Administrator E-mail in the E-mail Preferences section.

These settings apply to e-mails that are triggered whenever a user selects the Printer Friendly View option in the Send E-mail utility. (See Send E-mail Utility in the user help). They create an audit trail and allow an administrator to monitor outbound e-mails to ensure compliance with ITAR and other security requirements.

  1. If you plan to send reminder e-mails based on calendar date, do the following: