Message types help you record similar observations consistently. They let you distinguish, for example, a free-text observation from a numeric temperature reading. A message type is a service-wide definition: changing it also affects how messages already linked to it are interpreted.
Manage message types in the browser as an administrator. The Manager role's basic permissions include viewing types, but not creating, changing or deleting them. Changing a folder's default also requires permission to edit that folder.
Create a message type
- In the browser menu, open Assets and content → Messages → Message types.
- Select Create new message type at the top of the view.
- Fill in Name and Description. Both are required. The name must be unique and no more than 50 characters long. The description can contain up to 300 characters.
- Select the required Data type: String for a written observation or Number for a numeric value.
- In the Default field, select Yes if you want this to be the service's default message type. Otherwise, select No. If needed, also select a Message notification.
- Select Save at the bottom of the form.
Use the name or description to explain what information is recorded and in which unit. The type has no separate measurement unit or unit conversion. For example, for a type called “Temperature (°C)”, enter the number 21,5, not the text “21,5 °C”. Numbers can include decimals; a decimal comma is converted to a point when saved. Do not combine temperatures and pressure readings under the same type simply because both are numbers.
Link an email notification if needed
Message notification is optional. Select an email notification intended for messages from its list. The recipients and notification content are defined in the notification, not in the message type's name. See configuring an email notification.
When a new message of this type is saved, an email notification is queued for sending according to the notification settings. The message type's notification link has no threshold condition for the measured value. Linking a notification does not resend old messages, and editing an existing message does not trigger this new-message notification.
You can remove the link by selecting the blank option in the Message notification list and saving. This does not delete the notification itself. If the notification is deleted from its own management view, its link to the message type is also removed.
Select the service default
The service has one default message type. When you save a type with Default → Yes, the previous default type's selection automatically changes to No.
You cannot change the last default type's selection to No if that would leave the service without a default. To change the default, first set another type as the default. Changing the default does not change the type of messages already saved.
Select the folder default and understand the initial selection
- Open Assets and content → Folder tree → Folder tree and click the name of the folder you want.
- Open the Settings tab on the folder form.
- Select a Default message type and select Save at the bottom of the form. The blank option removes the folder's own selection.
The folder's own selection takes precedence over the service default for Spots in that folder. If the folder has no selection of its own, the service default is used. The parent folder's default is not retrieved automatically. A folder's own message type selection is cleared when the folder is saved if it contains subfolders, so set the default for the folder where the Spots are located.
The folder's Default message type is a different setting from Default on the message type form: the folder's selection does not change the service-wide default.
- Browser: a new-message form opened from an open Spot form uses the Spot's folder selection, if one exists. Otherwise, it uses the service default. A form opened from the general Messages view uses the service default.
- iOS: the new-message form retrieves the Spot's default type and selects it when the data loads successfully.
- Android: the Spot's default type is moved to the top of the list and selected if the default information is available when the list loads. However, the initial selection may remain blank because of the order in which the data loads. In that case, select the type yourself.
The default is the initial selection for a new message, not a mandatory type. The user can select another type. Always check the selection before saving, including when you change the message's Spot. The recording process is described in recording a message or measurement data.
Change an existing type
In the Message types list, open the type's name link or the pencil icon on the same row. Change the details and select Save at the bottom of the form.
Editing updates the shared type. Existing messages remain linked to it, and the new name also appears when you view them. Editing does not delete messages or convert their content to another unit or data type.
Before changing the data type, check what kinds of messages have already been recorded under it. If you change a String type to a Number type, an existing written message remains saved, but saving it again may fail because its content is not a number. Create a separate, clearly named type for an entirely different measurement or unit so that the meaning of both old and new values remains clear.
Delete an unused type
In the Message types list, select the trash icon on the row of the type you want to delete, then confirm deletion by selecting Yes. The trash icon is displayed based on delete permissions; its presence does not mean the type can be deleted.
A type cannot be deleted if even one message uses it or if it is the service's default type. If needed, first change the service default to another type. Also change or clear any folder default selections before deleting the type.
Changing the default is not deletion, and deleting a type is not a way to reset measurement history. If you no longer want a type to be suggested for new entries, change the defaults and retain the type used by existing messages.
Check the result
Reopen the saved type and check its name, description, data type and notification. Check the Default column in the list to confirm that the correct type is the service default. After setting the folder default, reopen the folder and check its Settings → Default message type.
Open a new-message form for a sample Spot on the platforms your organisation uses and check the suggested type. If needed, test the email notification with an agreed test message and confirm that the recipient receives it. After deletion, confirm that the type has disappeared from the list. If saving or deleting produces an error, correct the reported cause and check the details again.