Set Up Custom In-App Notifications

Out of the box, TaskRay offers four types of in-app notifications that can be viewed in the right sidebar in My Work. You will receive a notification when you are added to a new project team, any time a new task is assigned to you, whenever any of your tasks become overdue, as well as when dependent predecessor tasks are completed for a task that you are the owner of. You can read more about these notifications in this article: In-App Notifications.

It is possible to set up custom in-app notifications using the Process Builder. You can create custom notifications for TaskRay Projects and TaskRay Tasks. For example, you can configure custom notifications to show up whenever a task is assigned a new priority value, such as "high". An example of a project notification would be one that would appear whenever a project is completed or, in other words, when the progress of the project reaches 100%. These are just some examples and you can configure other types of notifications as needed using various fields on the TaskRay Project and TaskRay Task objects.

In this article, we will use the example where a notification is created any time a user's task changes its priority to high. As you go through these instructions, keep in mind that it is possible to adjust the criteria and use other fields as needed.

Step 1: Build the Process Using the Process Builder [Admin]

1. From Setup, navigate to:
   • Lightning: Process Automation | Process Builder.
   • Classic: Create | Workflow & Approvals | Process Builder.
2. Click New.
3. Enter the Process Name, API Name, and Description.
4. For The process starts when field, select A record changes.
5. Click Save.

Step 2: Select the Object for the Process [Admin]

The first thing that you need to do once you get to the Process Builder setup screen is select the object that will trigger the automated process. In this case, we will select the TaskRay Task object because that is where the initial action will take place (the Priority value on the task changes to High).

1. On the canvas, click on + Add Object.
2. For the Object field, select TaskRay Task.
3. Under Start the process, select When a record is created or edited.
4. Click Save.

Step 3: Define the Criteria That Triggers the Process [Admin]

The next part of building the process is to define the criteria that will trigger the process. In our example, it would be the act of changinng the value of the Priority field on a TaskRay Task to High.

1. On the canvas, click on + Add Criteria.
2. Enter the Criteria Name.
3. Under Criteria for Executing Actions, select Conditions are met.
4. Under Set Conditions, select the following:
   • Field = Priority
   • Operator = Equals
   • Type = Picklist
   • Value =  High
5. Under Conditions, select All of the conditions are met (AND).
6. Click on Advanced to expand additional settings and select the Yes checkbox.
   • This means that we want to execute this action only when the specified changes are made to the record. In our case, we want the action to fire only when the Priority value is changed to High on a specific task.
7. Click Save.

Step 3: Define the Actions That Occur When the Process Runs [Admin]

Next, you need to define the actions that should occur when the process is fired (TaskRay Task priority changes to High). In our example, the action that should occur when the process is fired is that a new in-app notification should appear for the user in the right sidebar.

1. On the canvas under Immediate Actions, click on + Add Action.
2. For Action Type, select Create a Record.
3. Enter the Action Name.
4. For Record Type, select TaskRay Task Inbox Notification.
   
   
   Note: If you were building out the process for a project notification, you would select the TaskRay Project Inbox Notification in this section.
5. Under Set Field Values, select the following on the first row:
   • Field = TaskRay Task
   • Type = Field Reference
   • Value = Record ID
6. Under Set Field Values, select the following on the second row:
   • Field = TaskRay Task Inbox Notification Name
   • Type = String
   • Value = High Priority Task
     
     
     Tip: For every custom notification, a new TaskRay Task Inbox Notification record will be created in Salesforce. This section defines the name of that record and you can change it to anything else that you find appropriate.
7. Click on + Add Row and select the following:
   
   • Field = Notification DateTime
   • Type = Formula
   • Value = NOW()
     
     
     Tip: This row defines when the in-app notification should be created for the user. Because we want to notify the user as soon as the priority of his or her task is changed to High, we entered the formula that indicates the present moment in time.
8. Click on + Add Row and select the following:
   
   • Field = Notified User
   • Type = Field Reference
   • Value = Owner ID
     
     
     Tip: This row defines the user that should receive the notification. In this case, we want to notify the owner of the task on which the priority value has been changed.
9. Click on + Add Row and select the following:
   
   • Field = Notification Text
   • Type = String
   • Value = The priority on this task has been changed to high.
     
     
     Tip: This is the message that will appear in the notification that the user will see in TaskRay. The message can be changed to any text that you find appropriate for the notification.
10. Click on + Add Row and select the following:
    
    • Field = Notification Label Text
    • Type = String
    • Value = High Priority Task
      
      
      Tip: This row defines the label that will be displayed for the notification. The label text can be changed to any text that you find appropriate for the notification.
11. Click on + Add Row and select the following:
    
    • Field = Notification Color
    • Type = String
    • Value = <enter a 6-digit hex code for the color that you want for the notification without the "#"> F5B9A4
      
      
      Tip: This row defines the background color of the notification label that will be displayed for the notification. The label color can be set to any color that you find appropriate for the notificaiton. When entering the 6-digit hex code value, make sure to not include the "#".
12. Click on + Add Row and select the following:
    
    • Field = Notification Type
    • Type = String
    • Value = CUSTOM
      
      
      Tip: For all custom notifications, the Notification Type must be set to CUSTOM.
13. Click Save.
14. Click Activate in the top right corner.

Step 4: Test It Out!

The process has been set up and we are ready to test it all out! For testing, open up any TaskRay Task and change its priority value to High. The owner of the task should now see a new High Priority Task notification in the right sidebar in My Work.