Use the following procedure to send a communication message to a patron from the Communications tab:

1.  From the Patron menu, select Search for Patron and perform a search for a patron.

2.  From the Patron List grid, click a row to select a patron.

3.  Select the Communications tab.

4.  In the Communication Items grid, click  Add and select Send Communication. The Outgoing Communication page is displayed.

5.  In the Message Template drop-down menu, select a message template, and click  Load. Templates are configured via the Message Templates page.

The template’s pre-configured text and formatting will be displayed in the Template Content section. When a template is loaded, some patron information (such as first name or ID number) may be auto-filled based on the template’s tokens. If the patron does not have a defined value for a token, a blank space will be entered in place of the token.

6.  In the Template Content section, use the formatting controls to edit the template message, if necessary.

7.  If necessary, click  Preview to view how the Message Template, in its current state, will be displayed to patrons.

Click  Print. The browser’s print dialog will be displayed.

8.  After the message process is completed, a record of the message will be displayed in the patron’s Communications tab. It will be defined as a Document in the Communication column.

A record will also be recorded in the Transaction Log. When viewing the Transaction Log grid, the TransLog.Transaction_Type column indicates the action taken during the communication process, and the TransLog.Value column includes the outcome or more details about the action.