Notification Management

Use Settings > Notification Management to control member communications from one place. You can maintain separate App, Email, and SMS templates, decide which events use each channel, choose Libcodesk or organization-owned delivery services, review applicable allowance, and audit every delivery attempt.

Screenshot To Add: Desktop Notification Management showing the channel-specific Templates and History sections, plus a narrow-screen view of the section tabs and audit table.

Before You Start

• You need Notification Management permission. Template, rule, gateway, usage, and history permissions can be granted separately in Settings > Staff Roles.
• Confirm that members have a correct email address or mobile number before enabling those channels.
• App notifications are available to signed-in members in a Cloud setup. A Local setup can maintain local preferences and delivery history, but cannot create cloud member inbox messages.
• Libcodesk-managed Email and SMS allowance appears in Usage. Organization-owned providers manage their own usage and billing, so Libcodesk does not display an estimated count for them.

Move Between Sections

On a desktop or wide window, use the section list on the left of the workspace. On a tablet, mobile device, or narrow window, the same sections appear as a horizontally scrollable tab row. Changing sections does not leave Notification Management or discard an unsaved form without its normal warning.

Section	What it is for
Templates	A separate App, Email, and SMS message for every event. Changing one channel does not change another.
Events & rules	Turn each channel on or off for Issue, Return, Renew, overdue reminders, reservations, membership changes, account updates, fines, and payments.
Gateways	Choose the platform service or the organization's own Email/SMS provider. Saved credentials are not shown again.
Usage	Compare free, purchased, used, and remaining units. App notifications in Cloud setup are unlimited.
History	Search and audit queued, sent, delivered, skipped, credit-blocked, or failed delivery attempts.

Understand The Three Channels

Channel	Member experience	Template-specific fields	Availability
App	Appears in the signed-in member notification inbox.	Heading, message, and optional app action/deep link.	Cloud setup. It remains visible but disabled in a Local setup so staff can understand the available Cloud workflow.
Email	Sent to the email address saved on the member account.	Subject, message, and optional action.	Libcodesk service in Cloud setup, or an organization-owned SMTP/HTTPS provider.
SMS	Sent to the member's valid mobile number.	Short message; the editor shows character and multipart usage.	Libcodesk service in Cloud setup, or an organization-owned HTTPS provider.

Templates never share content across channels. For example, editing Item Issued - EMAIL does not alter Item Issued - APP or Item Issued - SMS.

Create Or Edit A Template

1. Open Templates and choose App, Email, or SMS.
2. Select an existing event template, or select Create template and choose its event and channel. The channel shown in the editor cannot silently change the content of another channel.
3. Enter a clear template name and keep its status Active when it should be available in Events & rules.
4. Edit the channel-specific heading or subject and message. App templates may also include an action/deep link.
5. Insert only variables shown under Available variables, such as {member_name}, {item_title}, or {due_date}. Variables differ by event.
6. Select Preview to check the rendered wording with sample values.
7. For SMS, check the character and message-part count before saving. One long message may use multiple SMS units.
8. For Email or SMS, enter an administrator-controlled recipient and select Send test when delivery testing is permitted. Tests appear in History and may consume billable units.
9. Select Save. The button remains unavailable until the normalized form actually changes.
10. Use Restore default when a customized system template should return to the Libcodesk wording.

Each save creates a new template version for audit. If a variable is not allowed for that event, Libcodesk rejects the template and identifies the invalid variable instead of sending incomplete messages.

Choose Events And Channels

1. Open Events & rules.
2. Find the event, such as Item Issued, Reservation Available, or Membership Expiring.
3. Enable only the App, Email, and SMS channels that the library needs.
4. Select the active template for every enabled event/channel combination.
5. Save the organization defaults, or save an active-library override when that library needs a different rule.

In a Local setup, the App column stays visible but disabled with a Cloud availability message. Email and SMS rules remain available when their organization-owned provider can be reached.

One failed channel does not stop another channel. For example, an exhausted SMS allowance does not prevent a Cloud app notification from being created.

When a member places a hold on a title that already has an available copy, Libcodesk records both Item Reserved and Reservation Available immediately. If no copy is available, the second event is created only when a returned copy becomes ready for pickup.

Review Allowance And Purchase Credits

The Usage section shows free allowance, purchased credits, used units, and remaining units only when Email or SMS uses the Libcodesk service. SMS usage counts actual message parts, so a long multipart SMS can consume more than one unit. For an organization-owned SMTP or API provider, Libcodesk shows that usage is provider-managed and does not display an inaccurate count.

App templates remain visible in a Local setup but are disabled and marked as available with a Cloud setup. Email and SMS can still use a reachable organization-owned provider.

Use Purchase credits to open the existing Libcodesk pricing and upgrade workflow. Credits are added only after the normal verified checkout process; Notification Management never edits a balance directly.

Search Notification History

1. Open History.
2. Search by member name, visible Member ID, email, phone, or event.
3. Narrow the result by channel, delivery status, and From/To date.
4. Review the template, masked recipient, number of attempts, provider result, and failure reason.
5. Move between result pages when the matched count is larger than the current page.

The latest attempts appear first unless you change the date, sent-time, member, event, or status sorting. When a library is selected in the main header, History shows that library's records. History also respects the staff account's organization and library access; it does not expose another organization's communication records.

Configure And Verify A Gateway

1. Open Gateways and choose Email or SMS.
2. Select the Libcodesk platform gateway in a Cloud setup, or configure the organization's own SMTP or HTTPS API provider.
3. Save the required sender, provider mapping, and protected credential fields. Saved passwords, keys, and tokens are not returned to the screen.
4. Select Test connection. Saving or changing a provider makes it inactive until this verification succeeds.
5. Use Send test only with an administrator-controlled email address or mobile number. A test delivery is recorded in History and consumes provider or platform units when the provider bills it.

An unverified custom provider never silently falls back to the Libcodesk platform gateway. Its delivery is recorded as failed so an administrator can correct and verify the configuration.

Choose The Correct Gateway

Choice	When to use it	What Usage shows
Libcodesk platform	The organization wants Libcodesk to deliver Email or SMS using the allowance attached to its Cloud account.	Free, purchased, used, and remaining units.
Own SMTP	The organization wants Email delivered through its own mail server.	Usage is managed by your provider. Libcodesk does not invent a remaining count.
Own API	The organization has an HTTPS Email or SMS provider with its own credentials and parameter mapping.	Usage is managed by your provider. Provider billing remains outside Libcodesk.

Changing a gateway does not rewrite templates or event rules. It changes only how an enabled Email or SMS notification is delivered.

Common Problems

Message or state	What to do
Recipient missing	Add the member's email address or mobile number, then allow the next applicable event to send.
Insufficient credits	Purchase allowance or switch to a correctly configured organization provider. Other enabled channels continue independently.
Gateway test failed	Check the provider URL, port, sender details, credentials, and network access. Testing verifies the connection without contacting a member.
App is unavailable in a Local setup	This is expected. App inbox notifications require a Cloud setup; use Email or SMS with a reachable organization-owned provider when needed.
Usage is managed by your provider	Check the provider's own portal for sent totals, remaining allowance, and billing. Libcodesk intentionally does not estimate these values.
Unresolved variable	Restore the default or remove the variable that is not available for this event.
Queued for a long time	Ask the organization admin to check provider availability and scheduled communication processing.
Unable to load Notification Management	Select Retry. If it continues, ask the organization admin to export the diagnostic log from About.

Do And Don'ts

Do

• Keep SMS concise and use Email for longer instructions.
• Test a new provider before enabling it for member events.
• Use History when a member reports a missing message.
• Keep reservation expiry and due-date wording aligned with visible library policies.
• Keep App, Email, and SMS wording appropriate for the space and context of each channel.

Don't

• Do not paste passwords, tokens, or private member data into templates.
• Do not enable every channel automatically when members have not supplied valid contact details.
• Do not use a library announcement template for transaction-specific information.
• Do not assume a queued message was delivered; check its final status in History.
• Do not compare Libcodesk allowance with an organization-owned provider's billing portal; they are separate delivery services.

Keyboard And Responsive Use

• Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move through the section navigation, channel tabs, fields, tables, and actions.
• Press Enter or Space to activate the focused section or channel control.
• On narrow screens, scroll the section tabs horizontally. Tables keep their essential columns available through their responsive scrolling area.
• Escape closes a non-destructive dialog. Saving and restoration still follow their normal confirmation and dirty-state rules.

FAQ

Does changing an Email template also change SMS?

No. App, Email, and SMS templates are separate for each event.

Can a librarian search the history for one member?

Yes. Search with the member name, visible Member ID, email, or phone, and optionally add a date range, channel, event, or status.

Will an SMS failure stop an app notification or email?

No. Each enabled channel is attempted and recorded separately.

Can a Local setup send app notifications?

No. The member app inbox belongs to Cloud setup. A Local setup keeps its own settings and audit history, while Email or SMS needs a reachable provider.

Why does Usage not show a number for our SMTP or API provider?

Libcodesk cannot reliably read every third-party provider's allowance or billing records. The screen therefore identifies the channel as provider-managed and leaves authoritative usage reporting to that provider.

Can one event use App, Email, and SMS together?

Yes. Enable each required channel in Events & rules and select its matching active template. Each channel is attempted and audited independently.

Can staff see saved gateway passwords?

No. The screen only indicates whether credentials exist; it does not display saved secrets.

In Templates, choose App, Email, or SMS above the template list. In a Local setup, App templates remain unavailable; use Email or SMS with a configured provider. In Events and rules, each desktop row keeps its channel checkbox and template selector together. On a phone, expand an event to review its channels, then scroll to Save rules. Saving remains unavailable until a rule changes. In Configure gateway, choose the gateway type in the first field before completing the provider details; the dialog body scrolls while its actions remain available.

Usage cards share the same height when shown side by side on a wide screen. In a narrow window they stack at full width, with enough room for each channel's allowance or provider message.

History filters use matching control heights and consistent gaps. On a phone, scroll within the filter area to reach sorting and Date range; the results and pagination remain below it.