---
title: "Announcements and Notifications"
canonical: "https://resources.pathify.com/space/Communicat/55280644/Announcements%20and%20Notifications"
format: markdown
---
> ℹ️ # **TL/DR**
> ℹ️
> ℹ️ - Users can stay informed and engaged while enjoying a personalized experience tailored to their preferences.
> ℹ️ - Preferences cover various categories like Comments, likes & mentions, Posts, Messages, Communities, Events, Connections, Pages, and Tools.
> ℹ️ - Announcements come in three varieties — Notices, Alerts, and Emergencies.
> ℹ️ - Notices are directly issued to a user's Activity Feed, offering crucial information, and can be sent via notifications, emails, or SMS text messages.
> ℹ️ - Alerts are prominently displayed at the top of a user's Activity Feed for urgent updates, and can be delivered through notifications, emails, or SMS.
> ℹ️ - Emergencies remain prominently displayed atop a User’s Activity Feed for immediate emergency information, and can be sent via notifications, emails, or SMS.
In the portal's Communication Tools, Notices provide crucial updates through versatile delivery options, while Announcements enable targeted messaging. Alerts, prominently displayed, and Emergency Announcements, given top priority, deliver urgent information through notifications, emails, or SMS. The Notifications feature allows users to customize preferences for relevant updates seamlessly integrated with Announcements, forming a comprehensive and personalized communication strategy within the platform.
Notices are an integral part of the Communication Tools in the portal, directly issued to a user's Activity Feed. These Notices, serving to relay important information, offer versatile delivery options such as notifications, emails, or SMS text messages. Additionally, Announcements, a broader communication tool, enable targeted messaging. Announcements can be precisely directed to specific roles, individual Users, or a wider audience using a CSV with valid emails. This multifaceted approach ensures that users receive critical updates in a manner that suits their preferences and roles within the portal.
Alerts and Emergency Announcements play a crucial role in delivering timely and urgent information to Users. Alerts are issued prominently at the top of a User's Activity Feed, making urgent updates immediately visible. Similar to Notices, Alerts can be dispatched through notifications, emails, or SMS text messages. In situations requiring the highest priority, Emergency Announcements take precedence, appearing above all other Alerts. This prioritization ensures that Users receive critical emergency information promptly, utilizing various communication channels, including notifications, emails, or SMS.
The Notifications feature provides Users with the ability to tailor their communication experience on the platform. Preferences can be adjusted for various notification categories, including Comments, likes & mentions, Posts, Messages, Communities, Events, Connections, Pages, and Tools. This customization empowers Users to receive relevant updates through their preferred channels. The seamless integration of Announcements and Notifications establishes a comprehensive communication strategy, allowing Users to stay informed and engaged while enjoying a personalized experience tailored to their preferences.
---
---
# Configurations in this article
> Macro (toc)
---
## Notice v Alert v Emergency
| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Notice** | **Alert** | **Emergency** |
|  |  |  |
| Provides announcements across the platform.
> ℹ️ A Notice is considered “seen” by a User when:
> ℹ️
> ℹ️ - A User must acknowledge the Notice.
> ℹ️ - Clicking the notification sent for the Notice.
> ℹ️ - A User clicks into the *Announcements* menu to view the Notice. | Provides urgent information across the platform.
> ℹ️ An Alert is considered “seen” by a User when:
> ℹ️
> ℹ️ - A User must acknowledge the Alert.
> ℹ️ - A User views the Alert in the Dashboard or Activity Feed.
> ℹ️ - Clicking the notification sent for the Alert.
> ℹ️ - A User clicks into the *Announcements* menu to view the Alert. | Provides emergency information across the platform.
> ℹ️ An Emergency is considered “seen” by a User when:
> ℹ️
> ℹ️ - A User must acknowledge the Emergency.
> ℹ️ - A User views the Emergency in the Dashboard or Activity Feed.
> ℹ️ - Clicking the notification sent for the Emergency.
> ℹ️ - A User clicks into the *Announcements* menu to view the Emergency. |
| **Delivery Channels**
- Activity Feed
- Notification Bell - Notification will trigger a push notification on a User's cellular device if they have the mobile app downloaded and are logged in.
**Note**: Push notifications are dependent on the user's personal device settings.
- E-mail
- Text Message
> 📝 The ability to send Announcements via SMS requires additional set-up with the Twilio integration. Contact an Account Manager if more assistance is required. |
### Features
| **Notification Feature** | **Notices** | **Alerts** | **Emergencies** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Displays in the Announcements section and the Activity Feed | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Persists and stays pinned to the top of the Activity Feed. | | ✅ | ✅ |
| Falls down further in the feed as more recent activity occurs. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Ability to add an expiration date. | | ✅ | |
| Deletes at the time of expiration. | | ✅ | ✅ |
| Sent via the chosen delivery method, regardless of the user’s account settings in the portal.
**Note**: Push notifications through the app are dependent on the user’s personal device settings. | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
---
## Manage Announcements
In this section, we'll guide you through the essential processes of adding, deleting, viewing, and setting expiration times for Emergency Announcements, Alerts, and Notices. These tools are critical for maintaining timely communication with your Users during urgent situations. Additionally, we'll cover the setup of Role-based Announcements, which allows for customized information dissemination based on the roles and responsibilities of different Users within your portal.
Admins can also create Announcements from the Admin Center, without going to the front end of the Hub via: ***User Options > Admin Center > Announcements > Add announcement.***
Select **Add announcement** in ***Admin Center > Announcements*** to open the same Announcement creation experience described below. After the Announcement is sent, you return to ***Admin Center > Announcements***.
> 📝 *Pathify Analytics* will calculate basic Announcement-related figures, like how many Announcements have been created, dismissed, and deleted over a chosen period of time.
> 📝
> 📝 Additionally, Announcement views will be counted when a User takes an “action” on an Announcement – like clicking the “I acknowledge” button (if applicable), clicking on its notification in the notification bell, or by viewing unread Announcements in the *Announcements* page.
### Add a Notice
1. Select **Announcements** in the Global Menu.
2. Click **+ Add Announcement** in the upper right-hand corner.
3. Select **Notice** from the drop-down menu.
4. Type an optional Title.
> 📝 The Title will appear in the Subject line of an email or SMS Notification.
5. Type the Message in the Message field**.**
6. Select an audience to target in the **Send to** field. Audience options are:
- Roles.
- Individual Users.
- Upload CSV (of valid emails).
7. Click the drop-down menu next to the **Delivery** **Channels** field to choose how the Notice is delivered. Delivery Channel options are Activity, Email, and/or SMS.
8. Use the **icons **at the bottom to add images, attach files, schedule the Notice to send at a later date/time, and/or set an expiry date.
> 📝 A preview will be available for one embedded link, even if multiple links are embedded. A user may also add alt-text to an image or edit an image to add alt-text.
9. Click **Send **in the lower right-hand corner** **to send.
### Add an Alert
1. Select **Announcements** in the Global Menu.
2. Click **+ Add Announcement** in the upper right-hand corner.
3. Select **Alert** from the drop-down menu.
4. Type an **optional Title**.
> 📝 The Title will appear in the Subject line of an email or SMS Notification.
5. Type the Message in the **Message field.**
6. Select an audience to target in the **Send to** field. Audience options are:
- Roles.
- Individual Users.
- Upload CSV (of valid emails).
7. Click the drop-down menu next to the **Delivery** **Channels** field to choose how the Notice is delivered. Delivery Channel options are Notifications, Activity, Email, and/or SMS.
> 📝 *Optional: *Check **Allow users to dismiss** to give users the option to dismiss the Alert.
8. Use the **icons **at the bottom to add images, attach files, schedule the Notice to send at a later date/time, and/or set an expiry date.
> 📝 A preview will be available for one embedded link, even if multiple links are embedded. A user may also add alt-text to an image or edit an image to add alt-text.
9. Click **Send **in the lower right-hand corner** **to send.
### Add an Emergency Announcement
1. Select **Announcements** in the Global Menu.
2. Click **+ Add Announcement** in the upper right-hand corner.
3. Select **Emergency** from the drop-down menu.
4. Type an **optional Title**.
> 📝 The Title will appear in the Subject line of an email or SMS Notification.
5. Type the Message in the **Message field.**
6. Select an audience to target in the **Send to** field. Audience options are:
- Roles.
- Individual Users.
- Upload CSV (of valid emails).
7. Click the drop-down menu next to the **Delivery** **Channels** field to choose how the Notice is delivered. Delivery Channel options are Notifications, Activity, Email, and/or SMS.
> 📝 *Optional: *Check **Allow users to dismiss** to give users the option to dismiss the Alert.
8. Use the **icons **at the bottom to add images, attach files, schedule the Notice to send at a later date/time, and/or set an expiry date.
> 📝 A preview will be available for one embedded link, even if multiple links are embedded. A user may also add alt-text to an image or edit an image to add alt-text.
9. Click **Send **in the lower right-hand corner** **to send.
### Add Announcements in Bulk
1. Select **Announcements** in the Main Menu.
2. Click on **Add Announcements**, then select the **Bulk Upload** tab.
3. Select the **Download CSV template** button for a clean template for the Announcements CSV upload. Follow the instructions below to properly complete the CSV upload:
| **Data** | **Description** | **Required?** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Announcement Typ**e | Notice, Alert, or Emergency | ✅ |
| **Title** | Up to 80 characters. | ✅ |
| **Message** | Announcement message. | ✅ |
| **Audience** | A comma-separated list of roles. Must be enclosed in double quotes, e.g. `"Notifications, Activity, Email"`. | ✅ |
| **Delivery Channels** | A comma-separated list of delivery channels. Must be enclosed in double quotes, e.g. `"Role 1, Role 2, Role 3"`. | ✅ |
| **Unauthenticated View** | Must be `true` if the Announcement should be displayed in the unauthenticated view. | |
| **User Acknowledgment** | Must be `true` if the Announcement requires user acknowledgement. | |
| **Scheduled** | Enter date and time when the Announcement should be published. Use the YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS format, e.g. 2024-09-30T14:23:45.The time should be in your local time zone. | |
| **Expiry** | Enter date and time when the Announcement should expired. Use the YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS format, e.g. 2024-09-30T14:23:45. The time should be in your local time zone. | |
4. Save the file as a `.csv` and select **Upload CSV**, then click on **Send**.
### View Announcements
1. Select **Announcements** in the Global Menu.
2. Choose **Sent**, **Scheduled**, or **Expired** to view Announcement statuses.
New Announcements are indicated by a number next to Announcements in the Global Menu. If a new Alert or Emergency Announcement occurs in real time and a user is on the Announcements, Dashboard, or Activity page, a message will appear at the top of the page indicating the number of unread Announcements. Users may click on this message to be redirected to the unread Announcements, or the users may click the “X” to dismiss the message.
> ℹ️ See who has clicked “I Acknowledge” on an Announcement that requires Users to do so and download a CSV of the Acknowledgement report by navigating to the Announcements page, clicking on **Announcement options** (the `...` button), then selecting **Acknowledgment report**.
### View Who Has Seen an Announcement
Users can monitor engagement by viewing who has seen an Announcement and the percentage of the selected cohort that has interacted with it. The "Seen by X" button provides detailed insights, including:
### Delete an Announcement
1. Click on the **Ellipsis icon** to the right of the Announcement to delete.
2. Select **Delete**.
3. Click **Yes, Delete alert.**
4. Apply steps to Notice, Alert, and Emergency Announcements for successful deletion.
### Expire an Announcement
1. Click on the **Ellipsis icon** to the right of the Announcement to expire.
2. Select **Expire**.
3. Click **Yes, Expire**.
4. Apply steps to Notice, Alert, and Emergency Announcements for successful expiration.
### Setup Role-based Announcements
> ⚠️ If a user has global permissions to send Announcements, then the user has the ability to send Announcements to all user Roles on the platform.
1. Click on **User Options**.
2. Select **Admin Center** from the drop-down menu.
3. Scroll down to **Users & Roles**.
4. Select **Roles**.
5. Click the Role to *receive* the Announcement (example, **Student**).
6. Scroll down to **Can send announcement to this role.**
7. Click on **Edit** to add any Roles that can send Announcements to the selected Role.
8. Type and select the Role(s) to *send* the Announcement (example, **Faculty**).
9. Click **Save **in the modal dialogue box.
10. Click **Save** at the bottom-right corner.
> ℹ️ To read more about Users & Roles, click [here](https://resources.pathify.com/space/USA)!
---
## Manage Notifications
In this section, we will explore how to fine-tune Notifications for various activities within your portal, including Communities, Comments, Events, Posts, Tools, and Tasks. Understanding these settings is essential for tailoring the flow of information to suit your needs and preferences. Additionally, we'll provide instructions on how to mute Notifications from specific Communities, a useful feature for managing the volume of Alerts you receive.
### Adjust Notifications
> 📝 New users begin with the notification configuration located in the table below. For further information, please contact an Account Manager.
| **Action** | **Action Description** | **Mobile Notification** | **Email Notification** | **Bell Notification** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Community Admin Added | Added as an Admin of a Community. | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Community Member Added | Added to a Community. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Community Joined | A User joins your Community. | | | |
| Community Left | A User leaves your Community. | | | |
| Comment Created | A User leaves a Comment on your post. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Comment Added | A User comments on a post after you have commented. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Comment Tag | A User mentions you in a comment. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Comment Like | A User likes your comment. | | | ✅ |
| Comment Reaction | A User reacts to your comment. | | | ✅ |
| Connection Request | A User wants to connect with you. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Connection Request Accepted | Your connection request is accepted by another User. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Event Soon | A reminder before an Event you have joined starts. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Event Joined | A User joins your Event. | | | |
| Event Joined from Waitlist | Automatically joined an Event you are on the waitlist for. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Event Created | A User creates an Event. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Post Created | A non-Community Admin posts in a Community you follow. | | | |
| Post Created Admin | A Community Admin posts in a Community you follow. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Community Post Created | A new Community post in a Community you follow. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Page Added | A new Page is added. | | | |
| Post Like | A User likes your post. | | | ✅ |
| Post Tag | A User mentions you in a post. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Tool Added | A new Tool is added. | | | |
| Message Received | You receive a Message. | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Task Reminder | Reminder of a Task you have yet to complete. | ✅ | | ✅ |
1. Click on **User Options**.
2. Select **Account Settings**.
3. Click **Notifications** to adjust Notification settings.
4. Select the **Edit Settings icon** next to the notification to edit.
> 📝 Notification settings will automatically **Save** once a change has been made.
### Mute All Community Notifications
1. Navigate to the **specific Community**.
2. Select **Notification Settings**.
3. Enable the **Mute all Community posts** toggle.
4. Scroll down and select **Done**.
> 📝 This setting will stop notifications of *all* forms for this Community from being sent to the User.
### Hide a Community’s ‘Unread Posts’ Badge
1. Navigate to the **specific Community**.
2. Select **Notification Settings**.
3. Enable the **Hide the unread posts badge** toggle.
4. Scroll down and select **Done**.
> 📝 This setting will hide that Community’s ‘unread posts’ notification badge from appearing in the Main Menu until the toggle is disabled.
> ℹ️ Users will still receive notifications for unread Community posts in their notification bell.
---
## Manage Permissions
In this section, we will explore Notification Permission management, focusing on the configuration for different Roles and individual Users within your portal. We'll cover how to assign and modify Notification Permissions effectively, ensuring that every User receives relevant Announcements without unnecessary clutter.
### Permissions by Individual User
1. Click on **User Options**.
2. Select **Admin Center** from the drop-down menu.
3. Click on** Users & Roles.**
4. Locate the specific User.
5. Select **Edit** on the specific User.
6. Scroll down to **Permissions.**
7. Select **Add Permissions.**
8. Search for "**notice**".
9. Select desired **permissions.**
10. Add permissions as you see fit.
11. Select** Save Changes.**
> ℹ️ To read more about User Permissions, click [here](https://resources.pathify.com/space/USA/80151452/Permissions#Manage-User-Permissions)!
### Permissions by Role
1. Click on **User Options**.
2. Select **Admin Center** from the drop-down menu.
3. Click on** Users & Roles.**
4. Click on **Add Role.**
5. Complete all relevant information for the role.
6. Scroll to the bottom.
7. Click on **Add Permissions.**
8. Search for "**notice**".
9. Select desired **permissions.**
10. Add permissions as you see fit.
11. Select** Save Changes.**
> ℹ️ To read more about Role Permissions, click [here](https://resources.pathify.com/space/USA/80151452/Permissions#Manage-Role-Permissions)!
---
## Watch & Learn - Announcements & Notifications
### Managing Announcements in Admin Center
The following video provides an overview for managing Announcements in Admin Center.
> Macro (iframe)
### Announcements in Action in the Portal
The following video provides an overview of Announcements (Notices and Alerts) in the Pathify portal.
> Macro (iframe)