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- Top 5
Why is this product so awesome?
- Alertbuilder is an excellent software product that allows you to create alerts based upon any data that you can access. These alerts refresh in real time from your computer and can be emailed to any number of recipients. Woohoo! Yeeha!!
How does an alert work?
- An alert can be scheduled to check a data source you specify. These data sources could range from large corporate databases to small files on your PC, to web pages throughout the internet. When the data source meets or exceeds requirements you specify, the alert goes into action. It emails either a message that you specify, or the data that changed to any number of recipients.
What are alert rules and how do they work?
- Rules are meant for use with data driven excel alerts and for web alerts.
There may come a time when you'd like to automate AlertBuilder to monitor the content of an excel report which is updated either on a scheduled or unscheduled basis through a database query, pivot table or as a shared workbook amongst several people. In such a case simple logic can be made to monitor a value or values in a worksheet which represent the report content, for example you could monitor cell C8 for whenever it changes or for whenever it exceeds some critical value. AlertBuilder can be scheduled to refresh the workbook data and only fire an alert in the event that all its rules evaluate to true. It's easy to see that a sophisticated logical analysis could be formalized to work as a set of multiple rules on a workbook.
- Alert Creation
How do I make an Alert?
- Try using the Walkthrough.
How do I send out additional files with my alert?
- In the Edit mode there is a button on the bottom of the "Definitions" tab. That is the first form when you edit an Alert. At the bottom of the form is a button "Advanced". Click the Advanced button and it brings up a pop up form. At the bottom of this form is the option to add files.
How do I email the Excel file with my Alert ?
- In the Edit mode there is a button on the bottom of the "Definitions" tab. That is the first form when you edit an Alert. At the bottom of the form is a check box "Attach Excel file with alert." Check this box.
- Alert Scheduling
Once I've removed myself as an alert recipient is it possible to resubscribe?
- No, once removed from an alert subscription your email address is permanently removed for that particular sender and alert.
- Trouble Shooting
My Alerts fail when they try to send out. What do I do?
- Check your e-mail settings. Currently AlertBuilder supports 2 options for e-mail configuration:
- Use AlertBuilder Servers
- Use SMTP Server
If you are using the AlertBuilder servers to transmit e-mails, make sure you can connect to mail.alertbuilder.com on port 25 (SMTP Port).
To test connectivity, run the following command from the "Run" menu:
telnet mail.alertbuilder.com 25.
If you receive a response, then everything should work fine. If you do not have a direct connection to the internet, or your corporate firewall restricts access, then use an SMTP Server. Your SMTP server is the same as configured in your e-mail client. If you use Outlook and Exchange, then the mail server can be the Exchange server name. Contact your network administrator for details.
My subscription and unsubscription requests never show up!
- AlertBuilder periodically checks AlertBuilder.com to see if you have received and subscription or unsubscription requests to your alert.
If these requests are not processing, it is probably because AlertBuilder cannot connect to AlertBuilder.com. Check your Web Settings under Options.
I cannot edit the rules I created for an alert. The Alert tab is disabled.
- You have clicked the Scheduled Alert button in the Definitions tab. An Alert can be fired by rules or by a schedule. Click the Excel Alert or the Web Alert button to edit your rules.
Why does my alert not display properly in my e-mail?
- You probably don't have an e-mail client that supports HTML. For a workaround, simply click on the "Advanced" button on the "General" tab of editing an alert, and click "Attach the body of the e-mail as HTML."
- Getting Started
How do I download AlertBuilder?
- You can download AlertBuilder here or from CNet's download.com.
I downloaded AlertBuilder, now how do I install it?
- 1) You should close all other applications before installing AlertBuilder.
2) Locate and run the install file on your hard disk. It is called AlertBuilderSetup.exe.
3) Use the install wizard and follow the on screen instructions.
How do I run AlertBuilder?
- You can find AlertBuilder in the start menu, under Programs -> AlertBuilder.
- Variables
What Are Variables?
- Variables can be used to customize the content of the alert. There are two types of variables, user defined variables and cell defined variables. A user defined variable is filled when either the alert is first downloaded or every time it is fired. A cell defined variable is fed off of predefined reference cell and is updated on the data refreshes.
How do I use a cell defined variable?
- A cell defined variable is fed off of predefined reference cell and is updated on the data refreshes. For instance, if you wanted to have stock alert fire with the stock price in the subject line of the email, you would set up a stock price variable, ($StockPrice). Under the Variables tab on the alert edit page you can define the variables reference cell, in this case you would select the cell where the stock price was located. When the stock is fired, the subject line would read your message with the stock price of the reference cell when the data is refreshed(e.g. Subject Line: Microsoft's current stock price is: 64.2).
How do I use a user defined variable?
- A user defined variable is filled when either the alert is first downloaded or every time it is fired. When an alert has been downloaded the there is an option to have certain cells filled in by parameters (user defined variables). Under the Variables tab on the alert edit page
As an example, the Stock Alert will prompt you for a stock ticker - a user define variable, ($StockTicker). The ticker will be passed into a cell on the excel spreadsheet. The cell is then used in the web query to return all the stock alert data.
- Alert Gallery
How do I export an alert?
- Start by clicking on the alert you wish to upload from within Alertbuilder. The line will turn blue to indicate that you have selected the alert. Once this step is completed, go to the File menu and select "Export Alert". Choose a file name and location, then click "Open". The alert will be saved to your hard disk.
I want to upload an alert I made to the Alert Gallery. How can I do it?
- First you must "export" the alert you wish to upload. This process makes an actual alert file with the extension ".abx". Once you have finished exporting and know the file name and location of the alert you want, go to the Alert Gallery and click on Upload Alert. You will be promted for information regarding your alert. The only required fields are the name of the alert, your valid email address, and the alert file itself. To fill in the "Upload File" field, click the Browse button and locate the alert you wish to upload. After clicking Submit, your alert will be uploaded to our database, where it will go through our testing and approval processes. If your alert is approved, it should appear in the Alert Gallery within a few days.
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Alert, Alert Builder, Excel, Reports, Alerts, KPIs, Six Sigma
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Frequently Asked Questions