About notifications
These actions represent the outcomes of the automation process, defining the events that occur when triggered. They are constructed in a modular fashion, with sending notifications being the sole automation action available.
Notification Settings
Under Notification, you can edit all relevant aspects, including sender, recipient, timing, and content of the message. All settings are explained below.
All instance settings are initially inherited by the subordinate template and are displayed in gray. To modify these settings, an override toggle must be activated. Instance-specific options can be edited freely without the need for activation.
Note: Images added from your Moodle database will only be visible in the notification if the database is public.
Instance-exclusive settings are marked yellow.
Sender
The sender of a notification can be chosen from the following options: 'Course teacher,' 'Group teacher,' or 'Custom.' In a Moodle Workplace installation, the option 'Tenant role' is also available. If the custom option is chosen, the sender email setting will appear, requiring a manually entered email address. The types of custom emails supported depend on the email server settings configured for your Moodle installation.
Sender hierarchy explained
Sender hierarchy explained
If more than one user with the selected role is enrolled in a course where a dependent instance of this template is used, the first user assigned to that role will be the designated sender.
To ensure every notification has a sender, an automatic fallback is in place. If the selected role is not found, the sender will fall back in the following order: from group teacher to course teacher, and finally to the site support contact.
Note: This is a simplification of the actual process. The system determines the sender based on the pulseaction/notification:sender capability. While it is possible to modify these capabilities, it is not recommended.
Interval
This scheduling option lets you control whether a notification is sent once or delivered repeatedly at specified intervals.
Once: Send the notification only one time.
Daily: Send the notification every day at a defined time.
Weekly: Send the notification every week on a defined weekday and time.
Monthly: Send the notification every month on a defined date and time.
When a month has fewer days than in the settings selected, the notification will be sent on the last day of that month.
Delay
The sending of a notification can be advanced before or delayed after the automation has been triggered. The options are:
‘None’: The notification will be sent immediately once the automation conditions are met.
‘Before’: The notification is sent at a defined period before the condition is met.
This feature applies exclusively to timed events, such as appointment sessions.‘After’: The notification is sent at a defined period after the conditions are met. This functionality is available for all types of conditions.
Once you have chosen to shift the notification, the delay duration setting appears to configure the duration of the shift.
Limit of the notifications
If the interval is set to more than once, you can limit the number of total notifications sent.
Entering 0 will set no limit.
Suppress notification if course is completed
No: Notifications will not be suppressed.
Yes: Once a user has completed the course, all notifications will be suppressed.
Recipients
Recipients defines who is receiving the notification. The default options are 'Student' and 'Guest'.
The recipients options are limited to roles that have the capability to receive notifications (permission in system: pulseaction/notification:receivenotification).
CC
You can send a CC of the notification to different users.
The CC recipients are open to all user context roles and course context roles.
BCC
You can send a BCC of the notification to different users.
The BCC recipients are open to all user context roles and course context roles.
Subject
This is the title that will appear with the notification.
This field supports placeholders.
Header content
The header is the first section of the notification content. While it can contain any type of information, it is typically used for general details such as a logo, contact information, or branding elements.
This field supports placeholders.
Static content
This section is intended for the main message to the recipient.
This field supports placeholders.
Dynamic content
Dynamic content lets you insert module-related information between the static and footer content in the notification.
Once you choose a module, the settings content type, chapters, and content length appear.
Content type
Placeholder: Placeholders related to modules that are added in other content sections of this notification will refer to the selected module.
Description: Adds the description from the settings of the selected module to the notification. Adding the description works for any type of module within the instance’s course.
Dynamic content: This lets you include the content of a page or book resource in the notification.
Chapters
Choose a specific chapter of the book module that you want to include in the notification.
This only works with the module book.
Content length
Content length lets you configure how much of the content is displayed in the notification.
Teaser: Only displays the first paragraph of the content, with a read-more link to the resource or activity.
Full linked: Shows the complete content with a link to the resource or activity.
Full not linked: Displays the entire content without any link.
These rules apply consistently, whether it’s a description of a module, a page or a chapter of a book.
Note: If a page or a chapter of a book is hidden in the course, it will still appear in the notification. However, if it’s linked, clicking the link will result in an error message, as students cannot access hidden content.
Footer content
The footer is the last section of the notification content. While it can contain any type of information, it is typically used for general details such as a logo, contact information, or branding elements.
This field supports placeholders.
Note: Images added from your Moodle database will only be visible in the notification if the database is public.
Preview
The preview button opens a modal window displaying how the notification will appear to the recipient. By clicking on the operation element next to user, you can select a specific recipient in the drop-down list to view the preview. The content of the placeholders will be updated accordingly.
When previewing a notification of a template, the display of placeholders might be limited, as the template is not tied to a specific course.