Reminders and Messages

You can add reminders for activities, tasks and absences for all participants or just for yourself. Only one reminder can be added per record.

Use the Messages info area to generate messages when reps accept or refuse an appointment. Messages are sent to the organizer of activities or tasks and the rep that added an absence. Participants can edit the messages sent to the organizer in the Edit Message info area, and add their own text. To create messages, the Escalate To-Do as well as the Create To-Do check boxes need to be enabled for the activity, task or absence.

Note: If the organizer edits an activity or task record, all participants are sent a message, regardless of whether the Escalate To-Do check box is enabled.

Messages are also created during certain phases of a campaign, see Messages for Marketing Activities.

Adding Reminders for all Participants

To add a reminder for all participants:

Add an activity, task or absence record. Enter the Participants, or in the case of an absence the superior in the Approve by field.
Enter the reminder time in the Reminder duration field.

If you enter "5 Min", the reminder is displayed 5 minutes before the start of the appointment/absence, or 5 minutes before the task is due for completion.

Save the record.
At the time specified, all participants' Reminders buttons () flash in the general toolbar. Reminders are generated based on client's system time.

Note: Select Extras > Other Options from the menu and enable the Enable due reminders popup option to display the Reminders button in the general toolbar. (The Reminders button does not flash to indicate a new reminder if you are already in the Reminders info area.)
Click on the Reminders button to switch to the Reminders info area.
The Rep/Group field displays the selected participant.
The Due on field contains the reminder's due date; the Due at field the due time. These fields are calculated automatically but can be edited.
Select Completed from the context menu to delete the reminder. Otherwise the reminder is displayed the next time Aurea.CRM win is started.

Adding and Editing Reminders for Yourself

You can manually add reminders for yourself:

Click (New) to add a new independent reminder.
Select Reminder from the context menu in the Activity, Tasks or Absences info area. The Edit Reminder level is opened.
- If a reminder already exists, it is displayed.
- If no reminder exists for the record, the mask is empty. Click on New. The values entered in fields in the activity, task or absence are transferred automatically.

Adding and Editing Messages

To send a message to another rep, switch to the Messages info area, add a message and save it.

Messages can also be added for appointments:

A rep adds an activity, task or absence and enters you as the rep. The rep enables the Create To-Do and Escalate To-Do check boxes on the To-Do tab.
Note: The appointment must be scheduled in the future to save these settings.
You receive a to-do. Select either Accept or Refuse from the context menu of the to-do (or the activity record or calendar entry).
The Edit Message info area is displayed.

The Type field is set to either "Accept" or "Refuse" depending on your selection from the context menu.
Enter the message in the Text field.
Save.
The Messages button () flashes in the other rep's general toolbar. The rep is informed of the acceptance or refusal of the appointment.

Note: Select Extras > Other Options from the menu and enable the Enable due messages popup option to display the Messages button in the general toolbar. (The Messages button does not flash if the Messages info area is already opened.)In addition, a message is also generated when the Status of a task-related to-do is set to "Completed".

Sending Aurea.CRM win to the Foreground upon receiving Reminders or Messages

To determine that Aurea.CRM win is sent to the foreground when a reminder or message is received:

Select Extras > Other Options from the menu.
Enable the Enable due messages popup or Enable due reminders popup check boxes.This causes the Reminders of Messages buttons to be displayed in the general toolbar.
Disable the Popup for reminders/messages check box.
Confirm with OK.

Aurea.CRM win now behaves as follows when a reminder is received:

If Aurea.CRM win is minimized:
The application window is opened and moved to the foreground.
If Aurea.CRM win is in the background:
- The Aurea.CRM icon in the task bar flashes.

Displaying Reminders and Messages as Popups

To determine that a popup is displayed when reminders and messages are received:

Select Extras > Other Options from the menu.
Enable the Popup for reminders/Messages check box.
Enable Hide popup automatically and enter a time period to automatically hide popups after the specified amount of time.
Note: You can also click on to close reminders and messages.
Enable Open link when clicked to automatically switch to the corresponding record by clicking on the reminder (instead of opening the reminder itself).
Confirm with OK.

When reminders or messages are received, a small popup window is displayed at the bottom right of the screen. The popup displays information on the activity, task or absence.

If several popup windows are opened at once, they are displaced slightly. Up to six popups can be displayed at one time.

Context Menu for Reminders/Messages

The following options are available from the context menu for reminders and messages (ER = reminder; MD = message):

Entry	ER	MD	Description
My Own	x	x	Restricts the display to your own messages or reminders; i.e. those where you have been entered in the Rep/Group field.
Delegates		x	Displays all messages where you are entered in the Assigned by field.
Rep	x	x	Displays the reminders/messages for all reps. This entry is only available to the administrator.
Deputy	x	x	Displays those tasks and absences for reps where you are entered as deputy in the Rep info area, in addition to your own, see Rep in the CRM.core Administrator Guide.
Active	x		Default setting. Displays all due reminders.
Completed	x	x	The status of the selected reminder/message is set to "Completed" and the reminder/message is no longer displayed.
Last change		x	Displays those messages received since the last time you opened the Message info area. This is the default setting when Aurea.CRM win is started.
In the Background	x	x	Minimizes the Reminders or Messages info area. The Reminders or Messages buttons in the general toolbar continue to be displayed.
Load	x	x	Opens the associated activity, task or absence.

Note: The In the Background and Load options are unavailable in the context menu in the Edit Reminder level.

Messages for Marketing Activities

Messages are created during the following phases of a marketing activity:

The rep responsible for a marketing activity (entered in the Rep field in the Marketing Activity info area) receives a message with the Type set to "Execute Marketing Activity", once the rep responsible for executing the marketing activity (entered in the Rep field in the Execution (Marketing Activity) info area) has generated the marketing activity by selecting Generate from the context menu, see Execution (Marketing Activity) and Executing Marketing Activities.
The rep responsible for the marketing activity (Rep field in the Marketing Activity info area) receives a message with the Type set to "Completion", once either the rep responsible for the execution of the marketing activity or for editing the target group sets the status of their To-Do records to "Completed".