Using advanced features on the AR System Email Message form - Documentation for AR System 21.3

For outgoing messages, you can include advanced options like replacing variables. You can also view information and error messages of the outgoing message.

To display advanced options

  • Create an outgoing message.
  • Select Yes in the Display Advanced Options field of the AR System Email Message form.
  • Select one of the advanced option tabs:
    • Advanced Options
    • Message Information
    • Errors
  • Advanced Options tab

    The Advanced Options tab lets you replace templates, add variables, or use alternative attachments by using the following tabs:

    • Templates—Enables you to include a content, header, or footer template with your outgoing email:
      • Content templates replace the body of the email so that you do not have to enter anything in the body tab of the AR System Email Message form.
        The content can be associated with a specific form and contain the fields and their corresponding values relating to a specific record. You can create these templates in a text editor or export them using BMC Remedy Developer Studio.
        You can also specify actions to be performed when the Email Engine  parses contents of the email. The content template can also contain formatting instructions.
      • Header and footer templates are used to place lines of text or graphics on an outgoing message. If header and footer templates are specified in content templates as a label/value pair, they will be applied to the email reply.

      All the templates you use here must be previously stored in the AR System Email Templates form.

      If you leave Template fields blank, the system uses the default templates for the mailbox in the Mailbox Name field, or it uses the default mailbox and its settings if no Mailbox Name is entered. The template specified here will override those configured for the specified mailbox, or the default mailbox.

      For information about configuring your outgoing mailbox, see Configuring outgoing mailboxes.

    • Variable Replacement—Enables you to replace any variables in the template with a value at the time of execution. This applies only to the specific outgoing email and the templates specified in the Templates tab.
    • Attachments—Enables you to add the content of your email as a plain text or HTML attachment, instead of typing it into the Body field in the Message tab. The contents of the attachment appear in the body of the email.

    To add templates to outgoing email

  • In the outgoing message, display the advanced options.
  • Click the Advanced Options tab, and then click the Templates tab.
  • Select templates from the relevant menu lists, or enter the name of a template as defined in the AR System Email Templates form.
    The AR System Email Messages form — Advanced Options, Templates tab
  • To replace a field value using a variable replacement

  • Create an outgoing message.
  • Fill in header information.
  • Enter Yes in the Display Advanced Options field.
  • Click the Advanced Options tab.
  • Click the Templates tab.
  • Select a content template.
    For example, this content template (which modifies an entry) uses the following label/value pairs:

    *Server: polycarp Login: Password: Key: Action: Modify Form: TestSecurityForm Request ID: \[$$#$$Request ID$$#$$\] Submitter !2!: Short description !8!:

    This template includes a variable value for the Request ID field by replacing the Request ID: 00000000001 label/value pair with Request ID:[HTMLUATarsadministering1030:$$#$$Request ID$$#$$].

  • Click the Variable Replacement tab.

    You can use the Field Values field or the Qualification field with a particular form to retrieve required data and substitute it in the email.

  • Enter a value for a variable in the template in the Field Values field, as shown in the following figure.
    For example, with the following variable in your template:

    Short Description !8!: #$$Short Description$$#

    you would enter in the Field Valuesfield:

    !Short Description!: Create entry for new hire.

    This value will then be substituted for the variable when the outgoing email is sent.
    When an entry is created in the Email Messages form for the outgoing message, the Field Values field of the Variable Replacement tab is populated with the database name of the field and its value in the entry. This database name is matched with the database name that is specified within #$$...$$# in the content template, and a substitution is made accordingly. So, make sure to use the exact database name in the content template delimited by #$$...$$#.
    If you create an outgoing email from the Email Messages form instead of using a notification or escalation, then you can use the field ID in the Field Values field of the Variable Replacement tab. In the same tab, you can specify the form name and qualification criteria. As a result, when the outgoing email is sent, the qualification criteria is evaluated, entries that match the criteria are retrieved, and the values of the entries are substituted for the field IDs in the Field Values field.
    If a template is specified in the Templates tab and the template contains field IDs, then those field IDs are substituted with the values of field IDs in the field value of the Variable Replacement tab of the Email Messages form.

  • Enter the name of the server on which the form resides.
  • Enter the name of the AR System  form to which these values apply.
  • Enter any access information necessary in the AR System Server TCP Port field and the AR System Server RPC Number field.
  • Enter a qualification in the Qualification field to search for the Request ID of a record on which you want to perform an action (the following figure).
    This action will be specified in a Content template.
  • Send the outgoing email.
    The Email Engine  searches the specified form for the record, and then it substitutes the Request ID parameter in the Content template with the Request ID value (00000000001) found with the query (the following figure).

    You can also make this static in the Content template by specifying Request ID: 00000000001 instead of the variable Request ID: [HTMLUATarsadministering1030:$$#$$Request ID$$#$$], but using the Variable Replacement feature allows more flexibility.
  • To add an attachment alternative

  • Create an outgoing message.
  • Fill in header information.
  • Enter Yes in the Display Advanced options.
  • Click the Advanced Options tab.
  • Click the Attachment Alternatives tab.
  • In the attachment pool, perform the following tasks:
  • Right-click an attachment field corresponding to the contents of the attachment.
  • Select Add to open the Add Attachment dialog box.
  • Select a file.
  • Select an encoding for the attachment or leave the field empty to use the system default.
    The system needs to be able to read and parse the contents of these attachments when it creates the outgoing email. You can attach only one of each type of alternative attachment to a message form. These attachments are stored as part of the message in the message form.
  • Send the outgoing email.
  • Message Information tab

    The Message Information tab records status information about the email, such as the Message ID, the dates sent and received, and if there is any delay in sending the message.

    Errors tab

    The Errors tab enables users to view error messages if an email is not sent correctly. For example, if the To field has an invalid character like a space, an error is generated and is viewable in the Errors tab.

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