Dafne: Documentation import

2026-08-06T13:36:50Z

Documentation import

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A '''notification''' defines how and to whom an alert is delivered. It is referred to as an [[Operator]] elsewhere in the documentation and in the data model.

Creating a notification does not send anything by itself. It must be assigned to a [[Task]], a [[Group]] or a [[Scenario]].

== Creating a notification ==
# Open '''Author''' → '''Notifications'''.
# Click the create button above the list.
# Choose the '''Type''' — this determines which further fields appear.
# Fill in the remaining fields and click '''Save'''.

== Common fields ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Field !! Notes
|-
| '''ID''' || Assigned automatically; read-only.
|-
| '''Name''' || Mandatory and unique.
|-
| '''Description''' || Free text.
|-
| '''Silent period (min)''' || 1–999999. A period during which no further notification is sent through this definition.
|-
| '''Type''' || Email, Database call or Command.
|}

The silent period is tracked '''per notification definition''', not per task. Two tasks failing in quick succession produce only the first alert. A long silent period on a definition covering many tasks will therefore suppress unrelated failures; where areas should alert independently, create separate definitions rather than raising the period on a shared one.

== Type-specific fields ==

=== Email ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Field !! Notes
|-
| '''Email from''' || Sender address. Maximum 200 characters.
|-
| '''Email to''' || Recipients, comma-separated. Maximum 2000 characters.
|-
| '''Subject''' || Maximum 200 characters.
|-
| '''Mail body text''' || The body of the message.
|}

Example body:

<code>Task %taskname% failed on environment %env%</code>

=== Database call ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Field !! Notes
|-
| '''Connection''' || The connection the statement runs through.
|-
| '''Statement''' || The statement to execute.
|}

Example:

<code>call spname ('par1','par2')</code>

=== Command ===
The '''Command''' field holds an operating system command.

Example:

<code>cmd /c "echo abc"</code>

The command runs '''in the same environment as the executor''', under the account it runs as. Anything it needs — a binary on the path, a credential — must be available there. Where shell features such as redirection are required, invoke the shell explicitly:

<code>cmd /c echo abc > file.txt</code> on Windows

<code>sh -c "echo abc > file.txt"</code> on Unix and Linux

== Placeholders ==
The '''Add variable''' button lists the placeholders available in the subject, body, statement or command. They are replaced before the notification is sent.

{| class="wikitable"
! Placeholder !! Value
|-
| <code>%message%</code> || The error message
|-
| <code>%taskid%</code> || Task ID
|-
| <code>%taskname%</code> || Task name
|-
| <code>%groupid%</code> || Group ID
|-
| <code>%groupname%</code> || Group name
|-
| <code>%scenarioid%</code> || Scenario ID
|-
| <code>%scenarioname%</code> || Scenario name
|-
| <code>%processingid%</code> || Processing ID
|-
| <code>%processingname%</code> || Processing name
|-
| <code>%iteration%</code> || Processing iteration name
|-
| <code>%date%</code> || Processing date
|-
| <code>%date_n%</code> || Processing date, numeric format ''YYYYMMDD''
|-
| <code>%date_dt%</code> || Processing date, timestamp format ''YYYY-MM-DD 00:00:00.000''
|-
| <code>%processingstart_n%</code> || Processing start time, format ''yyyyMMddHHmmss''
|-
| <code>%execid%</code> || Scheduled task ID
|-
| <code>%period%</code> || Task period type (D=Daily, W=Weekly, M=Monthly)
|-
| <code>%trynumber%</code> || Attempt number within the processing
|-
| <code>%env%</code> || Environment code (P=Prod, T=Test, D=Dev, U=UAT, S=SIT, O=Other1, Q=Other2)
|}

<code>%message%</code> is the one that makes an alert actionable — include it so the recipient does not have to open the GUI to learn what failed. <code>%env%</code> is worth including wherever the same definitions are deployed to several environments.

== When notification is sent ==
On task failure, notification goes to the definitions assigned to the failed task '''and''' to those assigned to its group, and it is sent only after the '''last automatic attempt''' has failed. A task with retries configured therefore does not alert on its first failure.

Scenarios additionally support a single '''Notify start''' and '''Notify finish'''; see [[edit-scenario]].

== Practical notes ==
* '''Test when you create it''', not at the first real failure. A command that cannot run in the executor's environment fails silently from the operator's point of view.
* '''Disable rather than unassign''' during planned maintenance — it avoids having to reassign afterwards.
* Assign at '''group''' level for broad coverage and at task level only where a specific task warrants its own recipient.

== See also ==
* [[Operator]]
* [[Handling failed tasks]]
* [[Authoring items]]

Edit-notification - Revision history

Dafne: Documentation import