1. Notification actions for schedule workflows

Notification actions in schedule workflows help keep users informed and reminded at the right time. These actions are triggered automatically based on the type of schedule you configure, either a custom schedule which triggers notifications on a specified date and time or a form schedule which triggers notifications based on a date and time value stored in a form field. They allow you to send alerts such as emails, SMS, or push notifications, ensuring timely communication with users.

The notification actions that can be configured in schedule workflows are listed below:

1. Send email - Sends an email to specified recipients.
   
2. Send SMS - Sends a text message to a mobile number.
   
3. Send push notification - Triggers a push notification to the user.
   

You can also personalize notifications by including dynamic values using Zoho variables, system fields, and form fields. The table below lists the Zoho variables and system fields that can be used to assign dynamic values for your notifications.

Including form field values in the mail content

In form schedules, you can also include values from your form fields to customize your notification message using the format '${<fieldLinkName>}'. For example, if you have a field name as 'Employee Name' in your form, you can include the variable '${Employee_name}' in the body, and it automatically replaces the actual data entered by the user.

Note: - Only the variables ${zoho.adminuserid} and ${zoho.loginuserid} are supported in custom schedules.
- Inserting form field values dynamically is supported only in form schedules.

1.1. Send email

Note: To improve email deliverability, we've updated our email handling policy. Public or unauthenticated custom domain email addresses can no longer be used as sender addresses in send-mail actions and tasks. Any existing emails using these addresses will be automatically replaced with our verified domain and re-routed until the respective domains are authenticated.

The send email action in schedule workflows allows you to send customized email messages automatically at a scheduled date and time. This provides an UI-driven way to configure the send mail action, serving as the equivalent alternative to the Deluge send mail task. You can use it to send reminders, follow-ups, or alerts based on either a custom schedule or a form schedule.

An email notification comprises fields such as From, To, and Message. You can include supported system fields, Zoho variables, and form field values dynamically in these fields. The message field contains text and HTML editor, and therefore, you can use any HTML tags to format the text. For instance, if you enclose the text inside <strong>tag</strong>, it will turn bold in the email while <em>tag</em> will italicize the text.

1.1.1. Configure send email action

1. Create a schedule workflow based on the supported schedule workflow type for configuring the send email action.
   
2. Click Add New Action in the workflow builder. The Add New Action window will slide in from the right.
   
   
   1. To create new action in the existing action block, hover over the action inside an action block and click the + icon that appears.
      
3. In case of a form-based schedule workflow, select when to run this action. By default, it is set to Always, which means the action will execute for all records. To run the action only for specific records, choose on condition and define the necessary condition or criteria. Learn more about configuring conditions in a workflow.
   
4. Choose the action type as Notification and select Send email action.
   
   
5. Configure the send email action in a workflow by specifying the following fields on the Send email page:
   
   
   
   
   1. From: Select the email address from which the message will be sent. You can choose from:
      
      1. Zoho variables such as the admin's email address or the logged-in user's email address
         
      2. An email field from the form where the workflow is being configured (applicable for form based schedule workflows).
         
      3. Verified email addresses from your Zoho Creator account's Email Management section
         
      4. You can also add and verify a new email address by selecting + Add new email, entering the email address in the popup, and then entering the verification code sent to that address. Once verified, the email will appear in your account's verified email list.
         

Note: If the selected From address is not verified, emails will be sent through Zoho Creator's default domain. Learn more

6. To: Select the email address to which the message will be sent. You can also enter one or more email addresses directly, or use dynamic values such as Zoho variables, system fields, or form fields (for example, the admin's or logged-in user's email address).
   
   
   1. You can also specify CC, BCC, and Reply-To addresses by clicking the respective links to reveal the fields.
      
7. Subject: Enter the subject line of the email. You can include supported Zoho variables, system fields, and form fields in the subject by selecting Insert fields.
   
8. Message: Enter the message content. Like the subject, you can include supported Zoho variables, system fields, and form fields to personalize the email.
   
9. Report attachment - Select a report from your Zoho Creator application to be attached to the email. When selected, the File type field will appear.
   
10. File type - Choose the file format in which the selected report should be attached. Supported formats include PDF, XLS, CSV, and TSV.
    
11. File attachments - Select fields such as file upload or image fields from the form to attach additional files. Any files uploaded in these fields will be sent along with the email as attachments.
    
12. Content type: Choose the preferred content type:
    
13. HTML (default) –Displays the message content to the receiver as entered without rendering HTML tags. The tags are shown in the output.
    Example: If you have the message as <p>Hello world</p>, it will be sent as <p>Hello world</p>.
    
14. Plain Text – Renders the message content to the receiver without showing HTML tags. The tags are hidden, and only the text content appears.
    

Note: If your message contains HTML tags and you want them to be rendered, set the content type to Plain Text.

Example: If you have the message as <p>Hello world</p>, it will be sent as Hello world.

7. Click Save.
   
8. Click Done in the top right corner of your screen.
   
   

1.2. Send SMS

The send SMS action enables you to deliver customized text messages to users at the scheduled time. For custom schedules, you must specify the recipient's phone number directly. For form-based schedules, you can use values stored in the phone number or number fields of your form.

The SMS is sent by integrating with external SMS service providers without writing any code. This provides an UI-driven way to configure the send SMS action, serving as the equivalent alternative to the Deluge send SMS task.

This action ensures that users receive instant SMS on their mobile phones, helping improve responsiveness and communication. You can include supported system fields, Zoho variables, and form field values in the SMS, making each message personalized and context-aware.

To use this action, you must have an account with one of the supported SMS service providers. The supported providers are:

1. Twilio
   
2. Clickatell
   
3. Screen Magic
   
4. ClockWorkSMS
   
5. Hoiio
   

1.2.1. Configure send SMS action

1. Create a schedule workflow based on the supported schedule workflow type for configuring the Send SMS action.
   
2. Click Add New Action in the workflow builder. The Add New Action window will slide in from the right.
   

1. To create new action in the existing action block, hover over the action inside an action block and click the + icon that appears.
   

3. In case of a form-based schedule workflow, select when to run this action. By default, it is set to Always, which means the action will execute for all records. To run the action only for specific records, choose on condition and define the necessary condition or criteria. Learn more about configuring conditions in a workflow.
   
4. Choose the action type as Notification and select Send SMS action.
   
5. Select the preferred connection to connect with the SMS services if you have already created a connection with the supported services.
   
   

Note: If no SMS-based connection is configured in your account, you must add one. Click the Add Connection link to create a new connection.

6. Click add icon ( + ) to create and authorize a new connection for the SMS service.
   
7. Select the preferred SMS service from the add connection pop-up.
   
8. Create and authorize the connection.
   
   

Note: If the selected connection is not authorized, click the Authorize button that appears below the connection field to authorize it.

9. For custom schedule, enter a preferred phone number with country code, or in case of form schedule, select the phone number or number field present in the form for the 'To' field dropdown to send the SMS.
   
   
10. Enter the message that needs to be sent in the Message field.
    
11. Click the Insert Fields option to add supported form fields, system fields and Zoho variables to the message content.
    
    
12. Click Save.
    
13. Click Done in the top right corner of your screen.
    
    

1.3. Send push notification

Note: Send notification actions can be configured only in form schedules.

Notifications help deliver timely updates to users. In Zoho Creator, you can configure schedule workflows to automatically trigger notifications at a specified date and time, ensuring that users are reminded or informed at the right moment. This provides a no-code alternative to the Deluge send push notification task, as notifications can be set up directly through the UI without scripting.

When configuring a notification in a schedule workflow, you must specify the recipient, title, message, and the report that the user will be directed to when they click on the notification. You can also include supported system fields, Zoho variables, and form field values dynamically in the title and message fields (form field values are applicable only for form-based schedules). Notifications are delivered across both web and mobile platforms:

1. Web users can view them from the Notifications pane, accessible via the bell icon ().
   
2. Mobile users receive push notifications even if the app is not open, running in the background, or when the device is locked.
   

Access Requirements for Receiving Notifications

To ensure recipients receive notifications triggered by workflows, they must have access to the target record. The following conditions must be met:

1. No access to the report: The user must have access to the report associated with the notification. This can be configured via User Permissions in the Application Settings tab in your application.
   
2. Target record not shown in filtered report: If a report has filters applied, only records that meet the criteria will be visible. The target record must appear in the report for the user to receive related notifications.
   
3. No access to the target record: Users added to the application will only have access to the records added by default and receive its related notifications.
   
   1. If role hierarchy is enabled, the recipients will receive notifications for the records they have access to, based on the hierarchy and the assigned record owner.
      
   2. If you want them to get notifications regarding all records added by everyone, the user needs to be assigned with the View all permission in the Application Settings tab.
      

Note: By default, developers in the application (when environments is disabled) and admins will have access to the application, report, and records.

1. Apps added to the environment: While developers can't get notifications from the production environment, they or the admin can be configured to receive notifications while testing the application in the development and stage environments. By doing so, you can avoid unnecessary spam notifications being sent to the preconfigured recipient in those actions. This can be configured from the development and stage environment settings.
   

1.3.1. Configure send push notification action

1. Create a schedule workflow based on the supported schedule workflow type for configuring the Send notification action.
   
2. Click Add New Action in the workflow builder. The Add New Action window will slide in from the right.
   
   
   1. To create new action in the existing action block, hover over the action inside an action block and click the + icon that appears.
      
   2. In case of a form-based schedule workflow, select when to run this action. By default, it is set to Always, which means the action will execute for all records. To run the action only for specific records, choose on condition and define the necessary condition or criteria. Learn more about configuring conditions in a workflow.
      
3. Choose the action type as Notification and select Send notification action.
   
4. Configure the send notification action in a workflow by specifying the following fields on the Send notifications page:
   
   
   
   1. Select users based on: Choose how recipients should be selected for sending notification.
      
      1. User list: Sends the notification to users selected from the list of all users in your Zoho Creator account. This option lets you choose one or multiple users as recipients.
         
      2. Users Fields: Sends the notification to the user stored in the selected user field of the form. You can choose from user fields configured in the form, as well as system fields such as Admin User, Login User, Added User, or Last Modified User.
         
   2. To: Based on your previous selection, this field lets you choose the users or the form fields that contain user information to whom the notification will be sent.
      
      1. In the screenshot below, the User fields option is selected previously, so the user fields available in the form are listed. When you select a user field, the push notification will be sent to the user stored in that field.
         If you've selected User list previously, all users in your Zoho Creator account will be displayed, and you can choose one or multiple users to receive the notification.
         
   3. Tiltle: Enter the notification title. You can personalize it by inserting supported Zoho variables, system fields, or form fields by clicking Insert Fields.
      

Note: The title can have a maximum limit of 200 characters

1. Message: Enter the message content. Like the title, you can also include supported Zoho variables, system fields, and form fields to personalize the notification.
   

Note: The message can have a maximum limit of 500 characters.

1. View: Select the report associated with the notification. The selected report will open when the user clicks the notification. The criteria defined in the workflow will apply to filter the report accordingly.
   

5. Click Save.
   
   
6. Click Done in the top right corner of your screen.
   
   

2. Related links

1. Schedule workflow actions
   
2. Configure data access actions for schedule workflows
   
3. Configure integrations for schedule workflows
   
4. Configure Deluge script for schedule workflows