Scheduling the Certificate Expiration Reminder Automated Task

Use the Certificate Expiration Reminder Task to generate an e-mail message and a system notification when one or more certifications assigned to an employee are approaching their expiration date . This task can run hourly on the Notification Days selected between a defined Start Time and End Time (generally set to the start and end of the business day) or daily on the Notification Days selected.

Optionally, customize the Certificate Expiration Reminder e-mail message that is sent to employees when the Certification Reminder task is run. Click here for information about customizing e-mail messages.

After the task is scheduled, run the task manually to test it.

Adding the Certificate Expiration Reminder Automated Task

Follow these steps to schedule the Certificate Reminder automated task. The fields required for this task are highlighted in Yellow.

Note: The following fields are disabled (grayed out) and do not pertain to the Archive Employee Contracts automated task: Notification Purge (in Months), Notification Status Change (in Days), Notification Notice (in Days), and Archive UNC Path.

The Last Run Time and Next Run Time fields are updated automatically.

On the System Settings page, click the Scheduled Tasks/Notifications tab.
In the Scheduled Tasks grid, click the Add button . The Add/Edit Scheduled Task page appears.
In the Task Name field, click the Drop-down List button . Click to select the Certificate Expiration Reminder option from the list. The following fields are activated and required: Start Time, End Time, Frequency, Frequency in Hours, Notification Days, Notification Notice (in Days), Notification Reminder (in Days), and Allow Employee to Turn Off Reminder.
Enter the following fields.

Field	Description
Start Time	Click the Drop-down List button to select the first time the system will run the automated scheduled task based on task frequency and day of week.
End Time	When defining an Hourly task, click the Drop-down List button to select the last time the system will run the automated scheduled task based on task frequency and day of week.
Frequency	Click the Drop-down List button to select the run frequency for this automated task. Your choices are Daily (D) or Hourly (H). If Daily (D) is selected, the End Time field is disabled (grayed out). An End Time is not required for a Daily task. If Hourly (H) is selected, the End Time and Frequency in Hours fields are required entries.
Frequency in Hours	If the Hourly (H) frequency is selected, type the number of times this automated task will run between the Start Time and End Time. You must enter a value greater than zero.
Notification Days	Click the check box that corresponds to each day of the week on which this task will run.
Notification Notice (in Days)	Type the number of days prior to the certificate expiration date that a notification will be sent to the employee.
Notification Reminder (in Days)	Type the number of days that must pass before the employee receives another reminder about the certificates approaching their expiration date. For example, enter 1 to send a reminder to the employee every day; enter 7 to send a reminder to the employee every 7 days. In addition, the Notification Days will determine the days on which the employee receives the notification. For example, if the Notification Reminder is every 2 days and the Notification Days selected are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, the employee will receive a reminder on those days; however, the employee will not receive a reminder on Sunday because that day is not selected as a Notification Day.
Allow Employee to Turn Off Reminder	Click to select this check box to allow the employee to prevent the display of a Certificate Expiration Reminder Notification until a new Certificate Expiration Reminder Notification is added to the list.

Optionally, when defining an Employee Contract Reminder task, click the Certificate Expiration Notification link to customize the Certificate Expiration Reminder e-mail message. This message is sent to the employees when the Certificate Expiration Reminder task is run.

Note: The default e-mail messages installed with the LINQ Employee Portal are designed to pass through most spam filters, giving you the best chance of your e-mail being delivered to the employee. If you customize your outgoing e-mails, there is a chance that the recipient's e-mail spam filter will flag the e-mail as spam. Items removed from the e-mail templates may compromise the functionality of the application. For example, removing the link in the Create Account Notification E-mail prevents the user from logging into the LINQ Employee Portal.

Follow these guidelines when customizing the notification e-mails:

Avoid using ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation (!, #, @, etc.), especially in the subject line.
Avoid using words or phrases like "Pay now", "invoice", and "your bill", especially in the subject line.
Avoid using the word "FREE", including the phrase "TOLL FREE" in the body of the e-mail message. Also avoid "adult" or any other spam-like word.
Write short messages not long messages. Most e-mails are short so spam filters can be wary of long messages.

LINQ recommends using the defaults for the best e-delivery method. Make minor changes for second best e-mail delivery. Restore your defaults is in doubt.

When finished, click the button to save scheduled task. The Scheduled Tasks/Notifications tab displays with the scheduled task listed in the Scheduled Tasks grid.

Testing the Scheduled Task

After the task is defined and activated, use the Run Now button to verify that the task works.

In the Scheduled Task grid, click the Edit button that corresponds to the Certificate Expiration Reminder task. The Add/Edit Scheduled Task page appears.


Note: Verify the task is active (Active check box is populated with a check mark). If not: Click the Active checkbox to activate the task (turn it on). Click the button. The Scheduled Task grid appears. Click the Edit button to reopen the task.

Click the button to add the scheduled task to the Task Queue. The Task Queue page appears with the Certificate Expiration Reminder task displayed on the Pending Tasks tab.


Note: The Add/Edit Scheduled Task page remains open. An e-mail notification will be sent to the administrators when the task is processed. Go to the Task Queue to view the Task Log associated with this task.

Click the button.