Sending Emails from the Patron Application
The patron application can send emails almost any time a patron takes an action in the application.
How do Emails work?
In the Staff application, emails are sent automatically when they are connected to Events in the request's life. In the Patron application things are a bit different. Email messages are connected to forms. When a form is submitted to Clio you can tell Clio to send email messages - to the person themselves, to their academic supervisor, library staff. If you make use of Branch features you can send emails to staff associated with the branch. If you allow patrons to submit requests on behalf of others you can send an email to the 'on behalf of' person.
If the email is being sent after a request has been created, or when a renewal has been requested you can include information from the requests. However you aren't limited to those moments. You can attach email messages to patron forms - most commonly the Fill-In-Details form, where you can send a 'welcome to ILL' sort of email.
If the email is being sent after a request has been created, or when a renewal has been requested you can include information from the requests. However you aren't limited to those moments. You can attach email messages to patron forms - most commonly the Fill-In-Details form, where you can send a 'welcome to ILL' sort of email.
First Step - Who's the Recipient
The first decision is the recipient for the email. Options available:
-Patron - the person who is logged into the website. This is of course the most common recipient of request confirmations and signup messages.
-Supervisor - this is the Supervisor named in the patron's record. Typically this is a departmental person connected to the patron who provides approval or billing information for the patron's requests. The person varies from patron to patron.
-Fixed Address - this is a single email address that you enter for the message - the email will be sent to the same address every time. Typically this is as a renewal request, a backup record of the request or as a notification of a new ILL request to the ILL department email address.
-BranchPatron - this is for the person named in BranchPatronAdd, a weirdly-named field which grew from its original function. The BranchPatronAdd (and BranchPatron) fields are used to store the email address (and name) of the person who really wants the requested items in situations where someone else is doing the actual requesting. This could be a research assistant submitting requests and the BranchPatron is the professor for whom they work, or a public librarian submitting requests for their own patrons. In either case you might want to contact that 'on behalf of' person to let them know the request has been created or to ask for further information.
-BranchAddress - this is the email address in the Branch List (you can edit this list in either the staff or patron applications). There is at most one address for each branch. If the request (for a request form) or patron (for a patron form) record has a BranchID value, Clio can send an email to the email address associated with that Branch. This is typically done where you want each branch library to manage their own requests.
-Borrowing Library - if you use the patron application as a way to allow other libraries to submit requests for items you own, you can send confirmation emails to them as well.
-DeptContact - this is the email address in the Department List (you can edit this list in either the staff or patron applications). There is at most one address for each department. If the patron record has a Department value, Clio can send an email to the email address associated with that Department.
-Patron - the person who is logged into the website. This is of course the most common recipient of request confirmations and signup messages.
-Supervisor - this is the Supervisor named in the patron's record. Typically this is a departmental person connected to the patron who provides approval or billing information for the patron's requests. The person varies from patron to patron.
-Fixed Address - this is a single email address that you enter for the message - the email will be sent to the same address every time. Typically this is as a renewal request, a backup record of the request or as a notification of a new ILL request to the ILL department email address.
-BranchPatron - this is for the person named in BranchPatronAdd, a weirdly-named field which grew from its original function. The BranchPatronAdd (and BranchPatron) fields are used to store the email address (and name) of the person who really wants the requested items in situations where someone else is doing the actual requesting. This could be a research assistant submitting requests and the BranchPatron is the professor for whom they work, or a public librarian submitting requests for their own patrons. In either case you might want to contact that 'on behalf of' person to let them know the request has been created or to ask for further information.
-BranchAddress - this is the email address in the Branch List (you can edit this list in either the staff or patron applications). There is at most one address for each branch. If the request (for a request form) or patron (for a patron form) record has a BranchID value, Clio can send an email to the email address associated with that Branch. This is typically done where you want each branch library to manage their own requests.
-Borrowing Library - if you use the patron application as a way to allow other libraries to submit requests for items you own, you can send confirmation emails to them as well.
-DeptContact - this is the email address in the Department List (you can edit this list in either the staff or patron applications). There is at most one address for each department. If the patron record has a Department value, Clio can send an email to the email address associated with that Department.
Create the Message
Now that you've decided who the recipient is, open the Preferences/Email Messages page and select the appropriate recipient.
Then either select an existing email you want to edit or create a new message.
Then either select an existing email you want to edit or create a new message.
Next, tell Clio which set of tags you need (the bits that help Clio put request and patron details into the message template). When Clio is processing new requests or request renewals, Clio has 'request tags' available. When Clio is processing a patron-related form (creating accounts or changing personal details) Clio only has information about the patron available for tags. In order to avoid accidentally using tags that Clio won't know how to process, Clio needs to know which sort of email you're creating - and then Clio will show you the tags you can use.
Select the appropriate option on the right-hand radio buttons (request-related or account-related).
Select the appropriate option on the right-hand radio buttons (request-related or account-related).
Enter the text you want for the message and its subject line, following the instructions for adding tags where they're needed.
Decide whether Clio should add your standard footer onto the request, and if you're editing a Fixed Address message, enter the fixed email address Clio should use as the email recipient.
Save the request.
Decide whether Clio should add your standard footer onto the request, and if you're editing a Fixed Address message, enter the fixed email address Clio should use as the email recipient.
Save the request.
Attaching the email message to a form
Now that you have created an email message you need to tell Clio when to send it. In most cases this is done by choosing the form that the patron will submit at the moment you want Clio to send the email. This could be one particular request form, or all of your request forms, or the Fill In Details form where patrons provide their account details, or one of the other request/patron forms.
Find that form's setup page and scroll to the bottom, to the section for email messages. Select the recipient and message for each of the emails you want sent and save the setup page. You can add as many emails as you like. For example you could have Clio send a 'thanks for your request' email to the patron, a 'which account will pay for this' email to the patron's supervising faculty member, a 'you've got a new request to process' email to the branch library, and a 'just in case' backup email to an archive email account.
Don't feel compelled to be that complicated if it's not helpful. It's often a good idea to start simply, with a confirmation email to the patron, and keep the more complicated options in your mind as you get comfortable with Clio.
Find that form's setup page and scroll to the bottom, to the section for email messages. Select the recipient and message for each of the emails you want sent and save the setup page. You can add as many emails as you like. For example you could have Clio send a 'thanks for your request' email to the patron, a 'which account will pay for this' email to the patron's supervising faculty member, a 'you've got a new request to process' email to the branch library, and a 'just in case' backup email to an archive email account.
Don't feel compelled to be that complicated if it's not helpful. It's often a good idea to start simply, with a confirmation email to the patron, and keep the more complicated options in your mind as you get comfortable with Clio.
Renewal Requests
The emails sent when a patron asks for a renewal are the exception to the rule. There isn't a setup page for the renewal request process so the emails are set on the Home Setup page.
