Send List Report Data as a Message
Create a list report containing message data which you can use to send messages out to users in bulk, one message per row. The list report must be designed to have one column per field or option that one normally fills out when sending an individual message. The list report itself should be based on the types of information that the messages will focus on (e.g., student profiles and particular types of documents). If the report is based on documents, each message will be linked to the corresponding document.
The messages will appear to be sent by the PowerSchool Special Programs Background Service; recipients will not be able to reply to the message. The list report can also be scheduled to automatically send its messages nightly, but more care would need to be taken in the design of such a report so that it does not send out repetitive messages every night.
To send messages based on a list report, you must define the report to have specific columns and titles. These titles are recognized by the system and are used to build the messages. The list report can have additional columns for reference purposes, but must include the following columns:
| Column Title | Required? | Description |
|---|---|---|
| To Users | Required | The values in this column must be valid User IDs. Multiple IDs must be separated by commas. To include a calculation, for example, to send a message to the case manager, the formula would be "U" + Casemanager.ID. To send messages to the case manager and nurse, the formula would be "U" + Casemanager.ID +,"U" + Nurse.ID. |
| Subject | Required | The data to build the subject of the messages. Typically, the column value will be a formula such as "Annual Review for " + FirstName + " " + LastName + " Due: " + CHARACTER(AnnRevDueDate). |
| Body | Required | The data to build the body of the messages and can be constructed similarly as the Subject column. |
| CC | Optional | If defined, the column should contain carbon copy users defined in the same way as the To Users column. |
| BCC | Optional | If defined, the column should contain blind copy users defined in the same way as the To Users column. |
| High Priority | Optional | If defined, the column value should contain a true/false logical value to indicate which messages should have a high priority. If you want all messages to have a high priority, set "True" as the column value. |
Typically, the selection criteria will be based on an upcoming date of some kind, so a formula like the following is typical:
DueDate > CurrentDate() AND DueDate < ADDDAYS(40, CurrentDate())
Setup a Report to Send Messages
- Define a report with the required column titles for the message.
- Click Report Properties.
- Select Allow Send Data as Messages (via menu option) in the list of Output Options. If the option does not appear, then the report does not include the required To Users, Subject, and Body column titles.
- Click Accept.
Send Report Data as Messages
Although messages are not announcements, this functionality can send out many messages at once (one message per row). Therefore, users must have the Send Announcements permission to access the Send Report Data as Messages menu option.
- Open the report.
- Click More ..., and then select Send Report Data as Messages to perform a one-time manual sending of a message.
Setup a Report to Send Messages Nightly
You can set up the report to send out messages nightly. This option is only available for public list reports, not private list reports.
Typically, you will want to narrow your selection criteria to prevent too many duplicate messages from being sent nightly. For example, a formula such as DueDate = ADDDAYS(7, CurrentDate()) could be used to send a message exactly seven days in advance of a due date.
- Open the report, and then click Edit Report.
- Click Report Properties.
- Select the Auto Refresh System-Wide Report View Overnight and Auto-Send Report Data as Messages checkboxes.
- Click Accept.