Thanks to Templates, a message about a communication problem with a device can be very different from a message about an exceeded range. It is no longer necessary to refer to tables and lists to find out which particular sensor is the cause of the alarm and why. Of course, to maintain backward compatibility, the original messages remain in the system, and the Templates are there for optional customization.

Templates are created in Settings under Templates.

There, new ones can be created and existing ones can be edited. Templates can be currently created for e-mails and text messages (SMS). In the case of e-mail messages, the Subject field and HTML formatting are supported.

Users can compose simple or complex messages according to their needs. A set of tools and variables is available to do that. Some technical knowledge is needed; however, we have prepared a set of examples that you can modify to suit your needs.

Example: Loss of communication with a device

E-mail subject:

[PORTAL:NAME] reports: Problem communicating with device: [SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS] - [SRC:DEVICE:STATE]

E-mail body:

The <a href="[SRC:DEVICE:URL]">[SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS]</a> device at the <a href="[PORTAL:URL]">[PORTAL:NAME]</a> portal is experiencing a communication problem and reports the following status: <b>[SRC:DEVICE:STATE]</b>

The resulting message looks like this:

By default, all messages are sent as plain text. In order to send messages in HTML, simply use HTML tags in the Body field or compose the message in the WYSIWYG editor (available under the Switch to rich text editor link).

The WYSIWYG editor cannot be used to create loops!

List of all available variables and their description

• Source URL: [SRC:URL] – Complete URL of the sensor, digital input or device that triggered the alarm message. If the source is a device, this variable contains the device URL and both [SRC:URL] and [SRC:DEVICE:URL] are the same.
• URL device:  [SRC:DEVICE:URL] – Complete URL of the device that triggered the alarm message or the device whose sensor or digital input triggered the alarm message.
• PortalName: [PORTAL:NAME] – Name of the portal sending the alarm message. Standard users may not modify this item.
• PortalUrl: [PORTAL:URL] – URL of the portal sending the alarm message. Standard users may not modify this item.
• Pid: [SRC:PROCESS:PID] – ID of the process that created the message. For debugging only.
• Type: [SRC:TYPE] – What caused the alarm, i.e. either a sensor (digital input) or a device.
• Team: [SRC:TEAM] – Name of the team to which the device belongs.
• AlarmSeq: [SRC:ALARM:SEQ] – Alarm ID – virtual ID for pairing together beginnings and ends of alarms.
• AlarmTime: [SRC:ALARM:TIME] – Time of the alarm beginning or end (i.e. the creation time of the message) in UTC.
• AlarmState: [SRC:ALARM:STATE] – Information indicating whether the alarm status begins or ends: Activated / Deactivated
• AlarmSubState: [SRC:ALARM:SUBSTATE] – Information indicating whether the alarm begins or ends: Begin / End / Interstage – Allows handling transitions among different alarm states. Begin means the beginning of an alarm. End is the end of an alarm. Interstage is a transition between two alarm states (such as from Alarm Hi to Alarm Lo without a Normal state in between or from Alarm Hi to Dev.Inv.).
• AlarmDesc: [SRC:ALARM:DESC] – Complete description of the type and status: Alarm Hi / Alarm Lo / Sensor Invalid / Device Invalid / Unknown + ACTIVATED/ DEACTIVATED
• SensID: [SRC:SENSOR:SENSID] – ID (within the portal) of the sensor that triggered the alarm.
• ID: [SRC:SENSOR:ID] – ID (within the device) of the sensor that triggered the alarm.
• Name: [SRC:NAME] – Name (within the device) of the sensor that triggered the alarm.
• Alias: [SRC:ALIAS] – Name alias (within the portal) of the sensor that triggered the alarm.
• LogTime: [SRC:LOGTIME] – Time of the last logged sensor status change that triggered the alarm, in UTC.
• ValueNum: [SRC:SENSOR:VALUE:NUM] – Measured value as a number (float with a decimal dot). In Dev.Inv. or Sens.Inv states, the value is -2 147 483 648.
• ValueTxt: [SRC:SENSOR:VALUE:TXT] – Measured value as a string. Disconnected devices or disconnected sensors read as Dev.Inv. or Sens.Inv. respectively.
• UnitKey: [SRC:SENSOR:UNIT:KEY] – Machine identifier of the unit of measurement. Does not contain any special symbols such as ° (degrees); however, a symbol is provided even for dimensionless quantities.
• UnitName: [SRC:SENSOR:UNIT:NAME] – Unit of measurement as a string, such as °C.
• State: [SRC:STATE] – Sensor/device state: Normal, Alarm Hi, Alarm Lo, Sensor Invalid, Device Invalid, Unknown.
• NoticeID: [SRC:NOTICE:ID] – ID of the Notice Range that triggered the alarm message. If the alarm was triggered by SafeRange, i.e. value coming from the device itself, this variable is 0.
• NoticeName: [SRC:NOTICE:NAME] – Name of the Notice Range that triggered the alarm message. If the alarm was triggered by SafeRange, i.e. value coming from the device itself, this variable is empty.
• Min: [SRC:SENSOR:MIN] – Range Min – Minimum allowed value of the safe range that triggered the alarm message.
• Max: [SRC:SENSOR:MAX] – Range Max – Maximum allowed value of the safe range that triggered the alarm message.
• Hyst: [SRC:SENSOR:HYST] – Hysteresis – Hysteresis value of the safe range that triggered the alarm message.
• DevID: [SRC:DEVICE:DEVID] – ID of the device where the message originated.
• DeviceName: [SRC:DEVICE:NAME] – Name (in the device) of the device where the message originated.
• DeviceAlias: [SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS] – Name alias (in the portal) of the device where the message originated.
• DeviceState: [SRC:DEVICE:STATE] – Status of the device where the message originated.
• TemlateID:: [SRC:TEMPLATE:ID] – ID of the currently used alarm message template.
• TemlateName: [SRC:TEMPLATE:NAME] – Name of the currently used alarm message template.
• ActionID: [SRC:ACTION:ID] – ID of the action that triggered the alarm message.
• ActionName: [SRC:ACTION:NAME] – Name of the action that triggered the alarm message.
• QueueID: [SRC:ACTION:QUEUE:ID] – Primary key into a table which temporarily holds alarm processing requests. For debugging only.
• MAC: [SRC:DEVICE:MAC] – MAC address of the device where the message originated.
• IMEI: [SRC:DEVICE:IMEI] – IMEI of the device where the message originated.
• HWID: [SRC:DEVICE:HWID] – HWID of the device where the message originated; unique HW identifier in the portal. MAC address or IMEI, depending on what ID the device supports.
• Address: [SRC:DEVICE:ADDR] – IP address of the device where the message originated.
• SrcID: [SRC:ID] – ID of the message source – usually corresponds to SensID, representing the ID of the sensor, digital input etc. If the source is a device, then [SRC:ID] = [SRC:DEVICE:DEVID]
• TargetID: [SRC:TARGET:ID] – ID of the current target of the alarm message. Multiple targets are separated with commas.
• TargetName: [SRC:TARGET:NAME] – Name of the current target of the alarm message. Multiple targets are separated with commas.

Loops for displaying concise overviews

The portal supports two types of loops to create status overview messages.

• List of sensors: [LOOP:SENSOR:ALL] – Lists all sensors in the Team.
• List of sensors in Alarm: [LOOP:SENSOR:ALL:ALARM] – Lists all sensor in the Team that are in Alarm state.
• List of devices: [LOOP:DEVICE] – Lists all devices in the Team.
• List of non-communicating devices: [LOOP:DEVICE:DEVINV] – Lists all devices in the Team that do not communicate.

A loop starts with a [LOOP:SENSOR:ALL] or a [LOOP:DEVICE] and ends with a [LOOP:END]. Inside the loop, modified variables from the list above are used:

• [$I] – ID of the variable.
• [SENSID:$I] – ID of the sensor.
• [DEVID:$I] – ID of the device.
• [ID:$I] – ID of the variable.
• [NAME:$I] – Name of the sensor or device (in a [LOOP:SENSOR:ALL] or [LOOP:DEVICE] loop respectively).
• [ALIAS:$I] – Name alias of the sensor or device (in a [LOOP:SENSOR:ALL] or [LOOP:DEVICE] loop respectively).
• [VALUE:NUM:$I] – Sensor reading as a number (float with a decimal dot).
• [VALUE:TXT:$I] – Sensor reading as a string.
• [UNIT:KEY:$I] – Machine identifier of the unit of measurement. Does not contain any special symbols such as ° (degrees); however, a symbol is provided even for dimensionless quantities.
• [UNIT:NAME:$I] – Unit of measurement as a string, such as °C.
• [STATE:$I] – State of the sensor or device (in a [LOOP:SENSOR:ALL] or [LOOP:DEVICE] loop respectively): Normal, Alarm Hi, Alarm Lo, Sensor Invalid, Device Invalid, Unknown.
• [MIN:$I] – Saferange MIN of the sensor.
• [MAX:$I] – Saferange MAX of the sensor.
• [HYST:$I] – Hysteresis of the sensor.
• [DEVICE:NAME:$I] – Device name.
• [DEVICE:ALIAS:$I] – Device name alias.
• [URL:$I] – URL of the sensor or device (in a [LOOP:SENSOR:ALL] or [LOOP:DEVICE] loop respectively).
• [DEVICE:URL:$I] – URL of the device.

All tokens are also listed in the help window directly in the portal. When clicked, a token is inserted into the text field at the cursor position.

The following are examples of using the tokens in various types of alarm messages. If you need another variable or are facing problems composing a message you need, please support [at] hwg [dot] cz (subject: Templates) (contact us). 

Examples of alarm message templates

Loss of communication with a device – short e-mail

Template – subject

[PORTAL:NAME] reports: Problem communicating with device: [SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS] - [SRC:DEVICE:STATE]

Template – body

<p>The <a href="[SRC:DEVICE:URL]">[SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS]</a> device at the <a href="[PORTAL:URL]">[PORTAL:NAME]</a> portal is experiencing a communication problem and reports the following status: <strong>[SRC:DEVICE:STATE]</strong></p>

Result

Loss of communication with a device – e-mail with the states of all devices

Template – subject

[[PORTAL:NAME] reports: Problem communicating with device: [SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS] - [SRC:DEVICE:STATE]

Template – body

<p>The <a href="[SRC:DEVICE:URL]">[SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS]</a> device at the <a href="[PORTAL:URL]">[PORTAL:NAME]</a> portal is experiencing a communication problem and reports the following status: <strong>[SRC:DEVICE:STATE]</strong></p>
<h3>Overview of all devices in the [SRC:TEAM] team</h3>
<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Device ID</th>
			<th>Name</th>
			<th>Alias</th>
			<th>Device status</th>
			<th>Device alias</th>
		</tr>[LOOP:DEVICE]
		<tr>
			<td>[DEVID:$I]</td>
			<td><a href="[$I:URL]">[NAME:$I]</a></td>
			<td>[ALIAS:$I]</td>
			<td>[STATE:$I]</td>
			<td><a href="[$I:DEVICE:URL]">[DEVICE:ALIAS:$I]</a></td>
		</tr>[LOOP:END]
	</tbody>
</table>

Result

Range of allowed values exceeded – short e-mail

Template – subject

[SRC:ALIAS] sensor at [PORTAL:NAME] portal reports: [SRC:STATE]

Template – body

<p>The <a href=" [SRC:URL]"><strong>[SRC:ALIAS]</strong></a> sensor at the <strong>[SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS]</strong> device connected to the <a href="[PORTAL:URL]"><strong>[PORTAL:NAME]</strong></a> portal reports, since [SRC:ALARM:TIME], the <strong>[SRC:STATE]</strong> status with respect to the <strong>[SRC:NOTICE:NAME]</strong> range.</p>
 
<p>The current reading of the <strong>[SRC:STATE]</strong> sensor is <strong>[SRC:SENSOR:VALUE:TXT] [SRC:SENSOR:UNIT:NAME]</strong>.</p>
 
<p>A history of the readings can be seen at [SRC:URL] </p>

Result

Range of safe values exceeded – e-mal listing the states of all sensors and devices

Template – subject

[SRC:ALIAS] sensor at [PORTAL:NAME] portal reports: [SRC:STATE]

Template – body

<p>The <a href="[SRC:URL]"><strong>[SRC:ALIAS]</strong></a> sensor at the <strong>[SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS]</strong> device connected to the <a href="[PORTAL:URL]"><strong>[PORTAL:NAME]</strong></a> portal reports, since [SRC:ALARM:TIME], the <strong>[SRC:STATE]</strong> status with respect to the <strong>[SRC:NOTICE:NAME]</strong> range.</p>
 
<p>The current reading of the <strong>[SRC:STATE]</strong> sensor is <strong>[SRC:SENSOR:VALUE:TXT] [SRC:SENSOR:UNIT:NAME]</strong>.</p>
 
<p>A history of the readings can be seen at [SRC:URL] </p>
 
<h3>Overview of all sensors in the [SRC:TEAM] team</h3>
<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Sensor ID </th>
			<th>Alias</th>
			<th>Value</th>
			<th>Unit</th>
			<th>Sensor state</th>
			<th>SafeRange MIN</th>
			<th>SafeRange MAX</th>
			<th>Hysteresis</th>
			<th>Device ID</th>
			<th>Device alias</th>
		</tr>[LOOP:SENSOR:ALL]
		<tr>
			<td>[SENSID:$I]</td>
			<td><a href="[$I:URL]">[ALIAS:$I]</a></td>
			<td>[VALUE:TXT:$I]</td>
			<td>[UNIT:NAME:$I]</td>
			<td>[STATE:$I]</td>
			<td>[MIN:$I]</td>
			<td>[MAX:$I]</td>
			<td>[HYST:$I]</td>
			<td>[DEVID:$I]</td>
			<td><a href="[$I:DEVICE:URL]">[DEVICE:ALIAS:$I]</a></td>
		</tr>[LOOP:END]
	</tbody>
</table>
 
<h3>Overview of all devices in the [SRC:TEAM] team</h3>
<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Device ID</th>
			<th>Alias</th>
			<th>Device status</th>
		</tr>[LOOP:DEVICE]
		<tr>
			<td>[DEVID:$I]</td>
			<td><a href="[$I:DEVICE:URL]">[DEVICE:ALIAS:$I]</a></td>
			<td>[STATE:$I]</td>
		</tr>[LOOP:END]
	</tbody>
</table>

Result

Loss of communication with a device – SMS

Template

[PORTAL:NAME] reports: Problem communicating with device: [SRC:DEVICE:ALIAS] - [SRC:DEVICE:STATE]

Result

Range of allowed values exceeded – SMS