Message
The Message feature allows users to add, modify, or delete a message alert that can be issued to a
|
Expectations and Limitations Messaging in the Spruce application provides a one-way method of communication and is not meant to provide the same capabilities as email. Recipients cannot respond (reply) to messages and there is no attachment capability. To transmit email via the software, companies must have access to an SMTP server. This same server should provide the capability to define email accounts for employees. You can use free email applications, such as Google®'s gmail.com or Windows Live™ Mail, or a paid licensed application, such as Microsoft® Office Outlook® to retrieve and send messages using your existing server. Even if your company does not have access to an SMTP (mail) server, you can also consider using the many free on-line email resources; however, your company's control over such accounts would be limited in this case. |
Messages can be sent with a date/time range associated with them. This allows users to schedule a message for the future and to expire on a particular date. They can also be designated to repeat on a regular basis (the repeat feature only works when used with users and stations, not accounts).
Message Delivery
For user and station messages, several delivery choices are available. Messages can be designated to either (1) display immediately, (2) display at the next sign-on, or (3) be added to a notification queue (user messages only). Certain types of messages do not offer all choices and may require a specific delivery method (such as vendor and account type messages).
Display Immediately - Messages that display immediately open a message window at the user's PC or designated station when that user or station is logged in, and regardless of the user's/station's current activity. In most cases, message windows don't become the active window unless a user clicks on the message window using their mouse. This is done so messages won't interrupt a user's activity. System polling interval settings determine how often the application checks for messages, so there can be a delay before an "immediate" message appears.
Immediate messages change function somewhat when the "Must Acknowledge" option is used (currently only available with messages to an account).
@ Next Signon - Messages designated to appear at the next sign-on will only open a message window at the time the user or station is logged in, not while the user or station is being actively used.
Add to Notify Queue - The "notify queue" places a "mail" indicator at the bottom of the navigation pane (menu) to notify users of a message. This only works for "user" messages and not those sent to a station (or account). A count is displayed to indicate the number of total messages. No indicator is displayed when there are no messages.
Auto Purge - This check box designates whether the message should be purged automatically, or not. If set, this does not immediately purge messages after reading; however, it does make them eligible for automated purge processing (a service runs daily to purge messages that have expired and are set to purge automatically). A parameter determines the number of days after expiration when messages are purged.
Must Acknowledge - This setting is currently only used with "account" type messages. These messages are always "Display Immediately" by nature. Any "must acknowledge" messages must be displayed prior to the user closing the message popup window. If there are multiple "immediate" message queued and any of the "must acknowledge" messages haven't yet been displayed, the user won't be able to close the form until all "acknowledge" messages have been displayed. Attempts to close the window will result in the next message being displayed instead. A beep sound is also produced but is only audible if the computer has such sounds enabled.
When any of the "immediate" messages queued are "must acknowledge," some other aspects of the messages being displayed are changed as well. For example, the message pop-up is usually semi-transparent, but in this case the form is not transparent at all. In addition, instead of appearing near the tray (lower right-hand corner usually), the messages are shown in the center of the form modally. This prevents use of the main form until the messages have all been viewed.
Making Changes or Deleting an Existing Message
Use the "Previous Message" drop down selection button to choose an existing message for editing.
To just view Account type messages, choose the "Send to Account" radio button first. To view, modify, or delete a single customer's messages, enter the customer's account prior to choosing the "Previous Messages" drop down. Unless you are an "administrator" type user, you can only view and change previous messages if you were the sender.
Make changes if necessary and choose Modify (F5). To remove a message, select Delete (F6).
The alternate menu can also be used to select messages by subject or by account. To use these options, type in either the text or account (code, not name) to be searched for. don't press tab or enter. Instead, select the menu using your mouse's alternate menu button (the right-hand button on a right-hand configured mouse).
Sending a Message to a Customer
Messages to accounts (customers) will display in most Point of Sale activities (except Payments and Pay-outs) when the customer is selected for use. To send a message to an account, choose the radio button next to "Send To Account" and select or enter the account in question. Messages cannot be sent to specific jobs.
A message to an account appear as a separate window when the account is entered or selected. Message windows don't prevent or inhibit Point of Sale entry. A message window can be responded to or ignored indefinitely based on the user's preference. Message windows will appear semi-transparent until the user clicks on the message window. This prevents the message window from interfering too much with a recipient's current activity.
Message From... (to Account)
If the customer has multiple messages, the user can choose the "Next" button to view them.
Sending Messages to a User or User Group
Messages can be routed to one or more individuals, a message group, or a combination of the two. When sending messages to users, the form includes an area listing all the users and check boxes that determine whether (or not) they are to receive the message. Placing a check next to a user id, designates that the user should receive a copy of the message. User groups are used to quickly mark users in the selection area. After group selection is done, the check box listing can be edited to add or remove users before processing the message.
Use the Select All or Clear All buttons to either check or clear all of the users selected for receiving a message. Once the message heading and body text have been entered and the recipients selected, choose Process (F12) to send the message.
|
Using and Defining Message Groups If you are a system administrator type user, this area includes access to the maintenance form 
User Group Maintenance To add a new group, type the description for the list in the Group drop down, enter a description, and place a check next to any of the users who should belong in the group. Once selection is done, click on the Apply button. Choose Cancel to close the form without saving. Message groups can be modified later or deleted if desired. Delete a message group by selecting it from the drop down and then clicking on the menu marker |
used for creating message groups. Message groups are lists of users that can be used in place of a single user id in certain areas. Groups can be assigned to attachments limiting access to those attachments to members of the group, for one example.
and choosing "Delete User Group" (security permissions can prevent access to the use of menu markers).Sending Messages to a Station
This allows a message to be set to either a specific station (device), all stations, or all stations assigned to a particular branch (only applies to companies with more than one location).
Messages sent to a station can either be delivered either immediately or when the next sign-on is done for the station. Your system's polling interval determines how often the software checks for messages, so there can be a delay, based upon this setting, before an "immediate" message actually appears to users.
Send Messages to Vendor
Currently, vendor messages are displayed immediately upon vendor selection in the Order Entry transaction found in the Purchasing area and the Direct Ship transaction in Point of Sale. Vendor messages can only be displayed in cases where vendor selection is required.
Messages / Notifications
Message notifications are found at the bottom of the Navigation Menu. The user can click on the icon (as seen below) to retrieve any queued messages. Messages will remain in the queue until they expire or are deleted.
Reply / Reply All - It is possible to use the "Reply" or "Reply All" option to respond to messages by selecting a message and then clicking the "Reply" or "Reply All" button. The user cannot manually add addresses as the system automatically fills out the recipients list. If needed, you can type a message above the original message, select the recipients and click "Send".
Print - To print a message or messages, select the desired message(s) from the grid, and click on the "Print" button. You may also right right-click on the selected message(s) and select Print from the selection menu.
Forward - Messages can be forwarded by a user to another user or group. Select whether you will be forwarding to a single user or to a defined group. Using the drop-down list, select the desired recipient, and click the "Forward" button.
Delete Message(s) - Messages can be deleted directly from the grid after reading. Select the row in the grid containing the message and press the Delete key on your keyboard. You may also right-click on the selected message(s) and select Delete from the selection menu. For helpful tips on selecting multiple rows, please click here
Close - Click on the "Close" button to close the Notification Queue window.