Attaching and Reading Messages for an Object or Order

Attaching a Message

Customers can attach messages to orders when they place the order in the web portal. Planners and other staff can attach messages to orders, outlets or regulators. These messages are saved with the orders or network objects.

An order with an attached message is indicated on the Planning Schematic with a red bar between the order flow events:

Planners are notified of new messages when they log in, and they can be printed on the Running Sheet report to provide information to field operators. You can attach messages in the Planning Schematic or in other DMS modules such as the Orders module.

Example

Attach a message to a outlet to alert operators to difficult conditions at the location. For example, attach a message to say:

"Beware of steep cliff near outlet location"

To attach a message to an object or an order:

  1. Select the object or order
  2. Right-click and choose Details to view the object properties.
  3. Click Send Message to create a new message.
  4. Type in your message text and click Send to save the message.

To attach an message in any other module, select the object and click Send Message on the module toolbar. When you generate the Running Sheet report, you can choose whether to print messages for orders, regulators or outlets.

Reading a Message

You can also read messages that other staff have attached. For example, call center staff may attach messages to orders to explain customer requirements in more detail.

To view a message on an object or an order:

  1. Open the object or order in a DMS module, or in the Planning Schematic, right-click on the object or order and choose Details. If a message is attached to the selected object or order, the View Message icon is available on the toolbar
  2. Click View Message to view messages attached to the object or order.