1. Project Management: Messages
Core LIMS Training:
Project Management: Messages
Welcome to CORE LIMS Training. This is third lesson within the Project Management Module and will discuss the configuration and usage of Messages within the LIMS. Please click on the page when you are ready to begin.

2. Agenda What is a Message? How Do I Create a Standard Message Record?
Message Details
Adding and Removing Recipients
Finding Message Records
When are Messages Sent?
System Settings
In this lesson we will introduce the topic of Messages within CORE LIMS. We will define what messages are, how they are used and how Standard messages can be created. We will demonstrate how to add Recipients to those messages and how to search for and edit messages if needed. We will briefly discuss custom messages, however, please refer to the chapter on Creating Custom Messages, for more specific details on that topic. We will discuss the various ways to send messages and conclude with some Configuration settings that must be set in order for messages to be properly sent.
If you are ready to begin, click on the page to continue.
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3. What is a Message? Messages are LIMS records that define:
Basic content of an automated that will be sent to alert other LIMS users
Usually hard-coded generic content
Can be customized with advanced skills
Which users will receive the
Message records do NOT usually define when messages are sent
Common examples of messages are:
New Sample Registered
New Experiment Published
Active Sample Alert
New Task in a Queue
Task in Queue Completed
So what are messages? Messages, within CORE LIMS, are records that store what content will be sent in system-generated notifications. The message records also define which employees should receive that . Messages are NOT simply sent to all users of a given project.
The message record itself does NOT usually define when a message will be sent. We will go into more detail on that in a minute.
Some example messages that might be useful to send are: an notifying a user or group of users that a new sample was registered or that a new experiment was published. A message may be sent to indicate a sample performs very well in a specific assay, or to notify a user that a new task has been added to their queue or that the task has been completed.
Let's continue on to see how Message records are created within CORE.
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4. How Do I Make a Message Record?
Each group of users that needs to receive a certain message type = one message record
Select Project & Workflows Management under the Application Menu
Select Create under the Messages Menu for the desired message type
Each message record that is created, defines what the message content will be and which users will receive the message. This means that for every group of users that will receive a particular message content, there needs to be a separate message record created in the LIMS. So for example, you might have 3 different lab groups that receive the same generic “experiment is published” , but you will need 3 different message records in the LIMS which each have a different distribution list in them.
Message records are typically created and maintained by Administrators or Project Managers and are accessed via the Project & Workflows Management Application within the Application drop-down menu. Locate the Messages Menu option and expand to view all of the existing message types. To create a new message record, click on the Create option from within the desired Message type for the type of message record you wish to create. The Trigger Message Type is used most often, so we will use that for our example.
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5. Create New Message Page
Choose a descriptive name
Select a Project
Click on the Create New button
This will bring you to the Create New Message Page. There are not a lot of attributes for Message records. The Name field is entered first. The name is not required, but it is suggested to enter a unique, description Name to make it more user-friendly and to aid in the configuration process.
The Project field is next and is required. Multiple projects may be selected if needed. If no project is selected, the General project will be assigned by default.
The Implementation Class should be automatically filled in by default when this page is accessed. The Implementation Class is simply a pointer to the class file that contains the code to execute for this message. The class file is set based on the message type for the message record. The implementation class is where the content of the message is defined. Most message types have hard-coded generic messages.
One specific message type, the Custom Message entity type, does have an attribute that allows administrators with advanced skills to define their own content using SQL queries and a velocity template. This will be covered in a more advanced lesson.
This is the last of the key attributes on the Create Page. Click on the Create New button to Save your values. Your record will be created and you will be immediately directed to the Message Details page. The Message Details Page will allow the Administrator to now define the users who will receive the message.
Note: The Implementation Class should have a default value containing a generic hard-coded message. You can enter a different class with a customized message encoded.
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6. Defining Message Recipients
Tip: Common tools (like Outlook) can be configured to set up rules for s to automatically be delivered to a folder if you want to have the information, but do not want an immediate distraction in your general Inbox.
Check the box and click Remove to take someone off a distribution list
The message creator gets a message by default
Once the Message record is created, add recipients one at a time via the pull-down menu
Administrators: Don’t forget to add CORE globally to your trusted senders list so the messages pass SPAM filters
Towards the bottom of the Details page is the Recipient(s) section. It is within this section that the current message recipients are displayed, and new message recipients can be added or removed. To add a new recipient, select a user from the pull down menu. Then, click on the Add button to save that recipient. That user will now show in the Recipient column. Additional users can be added any time, by simply selecting them from the same drop down list. Only one user can be selected at a time, you will not be able to select multiple users from the dropdown option.
Please be aware that each user added to the recipient list, must have a valid stored under the attribute on their Employee Details record, in order to receive the message. Please refer back to the Basic Admin chapter on Managing User Accounts, if you need more information on configuring users.
If users need to be removed so they no longer receive the message, simply check the box or boxes for those users you wish to remove, and click on the Remove button to save your changes. This will remove the user or users from the list of recipients for this message. Multiple users can be removed at a time.
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7. How Do I Find a Message Record?
Select List All for the desired message type
Select the Name or the Barcode to navigate to the desired record
Once the message record has been created, it can be located easily by simply clicking on the List All option from the appropriate Message Type dropdown list. Clicking on the List All option will provide the user with a Smart Table containing all of the existing Message records for that Message Type. Simply click on the Name hyperlink or the Barcode hyperlink to open the desired Message Details Page. If you are working with a workflow that is sending a message as an action, you can navigate to that Message Details Page by clicking on the relevant hyperlink located in the Action section of the page.
Message records can also be located (if the message barcode is known) by entering the Message Barcode or name in the Quick Find tool bar. This will take you immediately to the record Details Page for the desired record.
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8. When are Messages Sent?
The LIMS has multiple mechanisms to invoke messages
Can be added as an action in a workflow
Can be associated to a trigger
Can be associated to an alert
Hard-coded (do not require a message record in the LIMS)
Employees associated to assays
Witnesses nominated to sign ELN entries
The LIMS has multiple mechanisms to send a message. We will not go into detail in this introductory training, but it is important to understand some of the different ways messages can be received. The most common way to send a message is by adding it to a workflow. A workflow will evaluate records to see if they meet certain criteria and can send messages for those records that do. This will be covered in detail in the next chapter.
Messages can also be sent by other mechanisms. A message can be associated to a trigger so that a message can be sent when a specific event occurs. Similarly, messages can be associated to alerts which recur on a regular schedule.
The LIMS also sends some hard-coded messages automatically. For example, if a user is associated to an assay and an experiment for that assay is published, the user can get an . In the ELN, if a user is nominated to sign an entry, they can receive an . These automatic s do not require the LIMS administrator to set up a message record in the LIMS.
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9. System Settings Navigate to the System Configuration page
Edit the record and update the Mail Server attributes
There are a few configuration options that need to be set by the System Administrator before messages will be successfully sent to users.
First, within the System Configuration Settings, under the Mail Server Details tab, all of the attributes pertaining to connecting to the server must be set. This includes the Mail server name, port, and account userName.
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10. Testing a User
Every employee record needs to have a valid address filled out in order to receive an
Second, each user that will be receiving a message, needs to have their address set within their employee details record. Without a valid address a message cannot be sent to that individual.
Finally, within the Project and Workflow Management Application, Under the Message dropdown list, there is a Test Messages option that will allow you to select a specific employee and send a generic test message. This will help to confirm that the settings are correct and that the user is able to receive messages from the LIMS.
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11. Review What is a Message? How Do I Create a Standard Message Record?
Message Details
Adding and Removing Recipients
Finding Message Records
When are Messages Sent?
System Settings
This chapter has provided an introduction to configuring standard messages with CORE LIMS. For further information, please refer to the online documentation or please go back through this chapter to reinforce any information.
Thank you for taking the time to invest in CORE LIMS Training.
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