Welcome New Users

Though it is possible to implement and activate Email Continuity without introducing it to users through the welcome process, welcoming users is strongly encouraged because:

• Introducing users to the service before an emergency helps them understand that system usage is a shared responsibility. It can also be reassuring for users to know that safeguards are in place for them should they ever be needed.
• Capturing notification information prior to Email Continuity activation allows the system to handle notification of users automatically. This is especially beneficial during a disaster because it frees the IT staff to recover the primary mail system. Similarly, the information captured by the service is often needed by Human Resources during an emergency, and, depending on the type of disaster, it may not be readily available.
• Manually setting users’ passwords is tedious work. As part of sending the welcome message, temporary passwords are set automatically for the message recipients, so that at the time of activation the IT staff can focus on recovery of the primary mail system. Note that separate Email Continuity passwords are not required if the Windows Authentication feature is enabled.
• Capturing notification information prior to activation allows the system to handle notification of users automatically when the primary mail system has been recovered. Even if they have not used the webmail system, the automatic notification alerts them to the fact that their primary system is again available.
• Providing a notification email address allows users to take advantage of the Forgot Password link if they ever need it.

The welcome message:

• Informs users about Email Continuity.
• Provides users with their username and a temporary password.
• Can be sent automatically once a week to any users who have not yet been sent one.

The service tracks different categories of users so that you can send the welcome message to users who:

• Have not yet been sent a welcome message.
• Have been welcomed, but did not respond to the message. A user is considered responded when they have logged in to the service and provided notification data.
• Do not yet have a permanent password for the service. These users either have not been sent a welcome message, or have not yet changed the temporary password provided in the welcome message.

Further information on the welcome process:

• Status for Users Can Be Reset

If you need to reset the status for multiple users in the system, use the Reset flags for multiple users feature. See Change Status for Multiple Users.

• Audit Report Available For Manual Welcome Process Actions

See Notification Reports for audit information on changes to notification settings and users welcomed. These reports show changes made from the AMS Admin Console.

Best Practices for Welcoming for Users

• Plan to welcome users in stages, rather than welcoming the entire organization at one time. Particularly if your organization has several thousand mailboxes, welcome users in groups of 500 or fewer to minimize impact on your incoming gateway.
• A day or two before sending a welcome message, send an explanatory memo to the users introducing Email Continuity and urging them to respond promptly when they receive the welcome message.
• A couple of days after sending the welcome message, send a reminder to users who have been welcomed, but who have not responded. By this time, an average user response is about 50%; a good goal is 80%.
• Continue to send reminders until the target response goal is reached. If you are having difficulty getting users to respond, you may want to change the From address in the message to a department leader, or change the subject line of the message to Action required or Second Notice.

Welcome Message Variables

The service provides default text for the welcome message. As you customize the message, note that it uses variables that are filled in when the message is sent:

• %__username% — the recipient's Email Continuity username
• %__tempPassword% — temporary password generated by Email Continuity for the recipient
• %__autologinUrl% — the URL to access Email Continuity (with the username and password embedded)

Send Welcome Message to New Users

This option sends a Welcome Message to users who have not yet received a welcome message.

The user-picker in the steps includes only users who have not received a message. If a mailing list is selected, the welcome message will be sent to users within that mailing list who have not yet received a welcome message.

To re-send a message to any user, see Re-send Welcome Message to Any User(s)

All welcome messages may contain the individual's username, temporary password, and URL to access the service.

Send a welcome message to users not yet welcomed:

1. In the AMS Admin Console, click Notification.
2. Click Welcome New Users.
3. Click Welcome users who have not been sent an initial welcome message....

• To see a list of the users who have not yet been welcomed, click the Show users... link above the Welcome users who have not been sent an initial welcome message... link.

The Edit Message screen appears.

4. In the From box, type an email address, being sure you enter an alias within your organization so that any users who reply with questions are directed to an administrator or Help Desk user.
5. In the Subject box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
6. In the Message Text box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
7. Click Next.

The Select Recipient screen appears.

8. Click the appropriate tab to identify recipients by User Set, Mailing List, Server, or individually by User.

This user-picker in the steps includes only users who have not received a message. If a larger grouping is selected, such as a mailing list, the welcome message will be sent to users within that mailing list who have not yet received a welcome message.

1. If you select the Mailing Lists or Users tab, in the Search box type an email address or name (or part using % as a wildcard) and search for the results. Then click the listed mailing list or user to select.
2. If you select the User Sets or Servers tab, click a checkbox to select it.

9. Click Add to copy the selected items to the right-hand pane.
10. Continue selecting users until all intended recipients are listed in the selected users list.
11. Click Next. The Confirm screen appears.
12. To see a list of recipients, click Show Affected Users. Review the message text.
13. Click Send.

Re-send Welcome Message to Any User(s)

This option re-sends a Welcome Message to the user(s) selected.

To re-send a message to users who have not yet received a welcome message, see Send Welcome Message to New Users

All welcome messages may contain the individual's username, temporary password, and URL to access the service.

Re-send a welcome message to any user:

1. In the AMS Admin Console, click Notification.
2. Click Welcome New Users.
3. Click Re-send welcome message to any user(s)....

The Edit Message screen appears.

4. In the From box, type an email address, being sure you enter an alias within your organization so that any users who reply with questions are directed to an administrator or Help Desk user.
5. In the Subject box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
6. In the Message Text box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
7. Click Next. The Select Recipient screen appears.
8. Click the appropriate tab to identify recipients by User Sets, Servers, Mailing Lists, or individually by User.

This user-picker contains all users in the system.

1. If you select the Mailing Lists or Users tab, in the Search box type an email address or name (or part using % as a wildcard) and search for the results. Then click the listed mailing list or user to select.
2. If you select the User Sets or Servers tab, click a checkbox to select it.

9. Click Add to copy the selected items to the right-hand pane.
10. Continue selecting users until all intended recipients are listed in the selected users list.
11. Click Next. The Confirm screen appears.
12. To see a list of recipients, click Show Affected Users. Review the message text.
13. Click Send.

Re-send Welcome Message to Users Who Have Not Responded

Users are considered to have responded to the welcome message when they have:

• Logged in, thereby requiring they create a new password for themselves
• Provided notification information.

This option re-sends a Welcome Message to users who have logged in, but not provided notification information.

The user-picker in the task below includes only users who have not responded. If a mailing list is selected, the welcome message will be sent to users within that mailing list who have not yet responded to the welcome message.

All welcome messages may contain the individual's username, temporary password, and URL to access the service.

Re-send welcome message to users who have not responded:

1. In the AMS Admin Console, click Notification.
2. Click Welcome New Users.
3. Click Re-send welcome messages to users who have not responded....

• This link will appear grayed out if all users who have been sent a welcome message have logged in and entered notification information.
• To see a list of the users who have not responded, click the Show users... link above the Re-send welcome messages to users who have not responded... link.

The Edit Message screen appears.

4. In the From box, type an email address, being sure you enter an alias within your organization so that any users who reply with questions are directed to an administrator or Help Desk user.
5. In the Subject box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
6. In the Message Text box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
7. Click Next.

The Select Recipient screen appears.

8. Click the appropriate tab to identify recipients by User Set, Mailing List, Server, or individually by User.

This user-picker in the steps includes only users who have not responded to the welcome message. If a larger grouping is selected, such as a mailing list, the welcome message will be sent to users within that mailing list who have not yet responded.

1. If you select the Mailing Lists or Users tab, in the Search box type an email address or name (or part using % as a wildcard) and search for the results. Then click the listed mailing list or user to select.
2. If you select the User Sets or Servers tab, click a checkbox to select it.

9. Click Add to copy the selected items to the right-hand pane.
10. Continue selecting users until all intended recipients are listed in the selected users list.
11. Click Next. The Confirm screen appears.
12. To see a list of recipients, click Show Affected Users. Review the message text.
13. Click Send.

Re-send Welcome Message to Users Who Have Not Set a Permanent Password

This option sends a Welcome Message to users who have not set a permanent password.

The user-picker in the task below includes only users who have not set a permanent password. If a mailing list is selected, the welcome message will be sent to users within that mailing list who have not yet set a permanent password.

All welcome messages may contain the individual's username, temporary password, and URL to access the service.

Send welcome message to users who have not set a permanent password:

1. In the AMS Admin Console, click Notification.
2. Click Welcome New Users.
3. Click Send welcome messages to users who do not have a permanent password....

The Edit Message screen appears.

4. In the From box, type an email address, being sure you enter an alias within your organization so that any users who reply with questions are directed to an administrator or Help Desk user.
5. In the Subject box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
6. In the Message Text box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
7. Click Next.

The Select Recipient screen appears.

8. Click the appropriate tab to identify recipients by User Set, Mailing List, Server, or individually by User.

This user-picker in the steps includes only users who have not set a permanent password. If a larger grouping is selected, such as a mailing list, the welcome message will be sent to users within that mailing list who have not yet set a permanent password.

1. If you select the Mailing Lists or Users tab, in the Search box type an email address or name (or part using % as a wildcard) and search for the results. Then click the listed mailing list or user to select.
2. If you select the User Sets or Servers tab, click a checkbox to select it.

9. Click Add to copy the selected items to the right-hand pane.
10. Continue selecting users until all intended recipients are listed in the selected users list.
11. Click Next. The Confirm screen appears.
12. To see a list of recipients, click Show Affected Users. Review the message text.
13. Click Send.

Enable/Disable Automatic Welcome Messages

This option enables the ability for the AMS system to automatically send a welcome message to any new users who have not been sent one.

The automatic welcome message is sent once per week.

By default, the automatic welcome feature is turned off.

Automatically send welcome messages to new users:

1. In the AMS Admin Console, click Notification.
2. Click Welcome New Users.
3. Click Automatically welcome new users....

The Automate Welcome Message page appears.

4. Click the Enable automated welcome message checkbox.
5. In the Subject box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
6. In the Message Text box, make any necessary changes to the default text.
7. Click Submit.