Creating an event is done in two stages; first by creating the type of event and associated action, and second, by specifying the target, the point in a study that you are interested in. For example, you may wish to send an email (action) when the status of a DCR is changed from Raised to Responded (event) throughout an entire study (target). Or you may wish to run a set of command line calls (action) to create a Planned SDV and freeze an eForm when a particular question (target) is answered (event).
An event will only be triggered if it occurs at the study location you have set as a target. You can create multiple targets for a single event.
In the Event Definitions area, click New.
Enter a code for the event. The code cannot start with a number.
Enter a description of the event.
Select the type of event from the list.
Depending on the event type you have selected, you can use the From Status and To Status lists to specify the exact change that you wish to be alerted of.
Choose the type of action that you want to trigger when the event occurs. You can choose to send an email or to run a set of Command Line calls.
Select 'SendEmail' from the Action list and then click Configure Action.
Enter the email address of the person who is to receive the email in the Email To field. If you want the recipient to be able to reply to the email alert, enter the address for them to reply to in the Reply To field.
You can enter multiple addresses in both fields, using a comma to separate each one.
If you want to send different emails for the same event, you must create a separate event for each email format.
Email alerts use the SMTP settings that are specified in the Administrator Options in the Web DE module
Enter the subject for the email in the Email Subject field and enter the email message in the Email Body field. These fields can be Arezzo expressions so you can include meaningful information about the event that has caused the email alert to be sent. If the content of the field does not represent a valid Arezzo expression, it will be displayed as plain text in the email. You can type directly into the box or use the Expression Editor to construct the expression. Note that this version of the Expression Editor does not check for question type or the existence of a question.
More help on creating subject and body content
Click OK to close the email configuration window.
Click Save to save the new event.
This action type will only work if the 'installdirectory' setting is specified in the MACRO Settings file.
Select 'CommandLine' from the Action list and then click Configure Action.
Click Add then select the 'New API Command' in the left hand panel.
In the right hand panel, rename the call and add a description.
If you are including multiple calls in this action, you can use the 'Continue with next call if errors occur' checkbox to specify whether or not the next call in the list should be run if this one fails.
You have the option to process your call via the MACRO Command Line (CL) module or the standard Windows command prompt:
To use the CL module, leave the 'Use the MACRO Command Line' option checked. Use the fixed set of parameters to build the first part of the call, common to all CL calls, and then enter an Arezzo expression in the Parameters box beneath to complete the call. You can click the Check box to ensure that your Arezzo expression is formatted correctly. Note that this version of the Expression Editor does not check for question type or the existence of a question.
See list of functionality available via CL calls...
To use the standard command prompt, uncheck the 'Use the MACRO Command Line' option (you can only do this if you are not working in the MACRO hosted environment). The fixed set of parameters become unavailable. Use the Parameters box to enter an Arezzo expression to build a dynamic call. You can click the Check box to ensure that your Arezzo expression is formatted correctly.
Using this option enables you to perform any action that is accessible through the command prompt and therefore build an entire set of dynamic calls populated with information taken from the event.
Use the up/down arrow keys under the left hand panel to order multiple calls. They will be run in the order displayed.
Use the Delete button under the left hand panel to remove individual calls from the action.
Click OK to close the email configuration window.
Click Save to save the new event.
You can create multiple targets for a single event. For example, you may wish to monitor the same event across several studies.
Select an event definition.
In the Event Targets area, click New.
Select a target type from the drop down list. Advice on choosing targets
Either select a study from the drop down list or check the Apply to All Studies box to set the scope of the alert.
Depending on the target type you have selected, the Visit Code, eForm Code and Question Code drop down lists become available for you to select an exact point in the study.
Click Save.
Existing targets can be edited and deleted.
Once an event has a target assigned it will be displayed in the hierarchical guide in the right panel. Events are displayed in blue and grouped by study/visit/eForm/question and according to the selections in the Study and Target Type filters above the tree. Click Refresh to renew the tree after changing the filters.
If you export a study definition, any events with that study as a target are exported with the study. When a study containing events is imported into a database, the action for all events is reset to ‘None’ to avoid the potential confusion of emails being automatically sent from a test environment. The email configuration settings for each event will be restored when you re-enable the action for each event.