Working with Alerts for Another User or a Group of Users :: SAS(R) BI Dashboard 4.4: User's Guide, Second Edition

Overview

Dashboard designers can create alerts for another user or for a group of users. Business users cannot create or edit these alerts.

Tip

The alert definition is saved in the indicator definition file. When setting up alerts for other users, make sure that the indicator definition file is saved in a location that all affected subscribers can access. For example, if you save an indicator definition file to a specific user’s My Folder location, the file is not visible to other subscribers. The alerts might not function as expected.

Create an Indicator Alert

When you create an indicator alert, you must specify the trigger interval. The trigger interval relies on a range. Therefore, you can create an indicator alert only for indicator types that include a range. For more information, see Indicator Types That Support Ranges.

To create an indicator alert, complete the following steps:

In the SAS BI Dashboard designer, open an indicator for which you want to create an alert.
Click at the top of the Properties pane. The Create Indicator Alerts window appears.
In the Alert name field, type the name of the alert.
From the Gauge definition list, select the range to evaluate.
Note: Most indicators use only one range and this setting defaults to that range. However, the following indicators use two ranges. Therefore, you must select the range to evaluate:
- interactive summary and scatter plot
- range map
From the Trigger interval list, select the interval in which the value must occur to trigger the alert.
Specify how many values (that is, data points or gauges) must be in the selected interval to trigger the alert:
- Any gauge is in the interval
- % of gauges are in the interval
  
  Note: If you select this setting, type a value in the field next to the check box.
Select the delivery method for the alert: Alerts portlet or E-mail subscribers.
Note:
- You can select both methods.
- Alerts portlet presumes that the recipient has an Alerts portlet defined in the SAS Information Delivery Portal. If there is not an Alerts portlet, the alerts remain saved on the server. If a user adds an Alerts portlet to the portal, all previous alerts appear in the Alerts portlet.
- The business user's e-mail address must be available from SAS metadata. For more information, see the SAS Management Console: Guide to Users and Permissions.

(Optional) If you selected E-mail subscribers, complete the following steps:

From the E-mail template list, select the template to use for e-mail notifications of alerts.

Template Type	Description
Link only	The e-mail includes a link that opens the affected indicator in the SAS BI Dashboard viewer. Note: All indicator types support this template.
Default	The e-mail includes an image of the affected indicator and a link that opens the indicator in the SAS BI Dashboard viewer. Note: The following indicator types support this template: bar chart with reference lines KPI line chart with reference lines range map scatter plot targeted bar chart

In the Subject field, type the subject. Type any additional message to include in the e-mail in the Add a message to the e-mail field.
To select users and user groups, click next to the list of alert subscribers. The Add Users and Groups window appears.
Type the text to search for in the Search field.

Note: Partial text is valid. The wildcard value * is supported.
Select the category (Users, Groups, or both) to search.
Click Search. A table appears with all entries that match the search criteria.
From the table, select the check box next to each entry that you want to add.

Note: You can also drag an entry from the table into the List of alert subscribers.
To remove a subscriber, select a user from the list and click .
Click OK to close the Add Users and Groups window.

To limit the number of alerts, select Limit alerts sent for frequently changing indicators, type a value in the field, and then select a time interval from the list next to the field.

Tip
Depending on the size of your window, you might have to scroll down the left pane to view this selection.
Click Save Alert. The alert appears in the Alerts table.
If you want to create another alert, click New Alert. To exit the Create Indicator Alerts window, click OK.
In the indicator workspace, click to save the changes to the alert definition in the indicator.

Note: If the alert criteria are met at the time that you create the alert, the alert is triggered immediately. Afterwards, the alert is triggered only when the data changes and the alert criteria are met.

Edit an Indicator Alert

To edit an indicator alert, complete the following steps:

In SAS BI Dashboard designer, open the indicator with the alerts that you want to edit.
Click at the top of the Properties pane. The Manage Indicator Alerts window appears.

Note: When the Manage Indicator Alerts window appears, the first alert in the Alerts table is automatically highlighted and its properties appear in the left side of the window.
In the Alerts table, select an alert. The properties of the alert appear in the left side of the window.
Edit the properties as described in Create an Indicator Alert.
Click Save Alert.
Click OK to exit the Manage Indicator Alerts window.
In the indicator workspace, click to save the changes to the alert definition in the indicator.

Note: If the edit causes a change in the calculated interval percentage since the percentage was last evaluated and the alert criteria are still met, the alert is triggered.

Delete an Indicator Alert

To delete an alert, complete the following steps:

In the Manage Indicator Alerts window, select an alert from the Alerts table.
Click .
Click OK to exit the Manage Indicator Alerts window.
In the indicator workspace, click to save the changes to the alert definition in the indicator.