Schedule an email notification in a path

Admins, editors, contributors, the path main author and co-authors can send personalized emails to learners, or learners’ managers, as part of their path.

Learners, or their managers if they are the recipients, only receive these emails if the notification option Updates from the path sessions and classrooms I am enrolled in is activated in their personal settings. Learners whose invitation to the platform is still pending can be enrolled in a path session, but don't receive these emails until they accept it. Once they accept it, they don't receive the emails that were due before.

An email to learners' managers goes to the managers the learner has when the email is sent. If the learner has no manager at that moment, nobody receives it, and it isn't sent again once a manager is added.

Email notifications as steps of a path are different from email reminders. They are also different from the enrollment email learners receive when they are added to a path, which can be customized separately. For details, see Customize the enrollment email for a path.

Create a custom email

You can customize the recipients (Learners or Learners’ managers), the subject line, an optional headline, and the body of a custom email.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. At the bottom of the Build your training section, click + Email.
4. Edit the contents of the email.
5. At the bottom right, click Save.

If you have the Globalization solution, you can translate this email, like any step in a path. The contents will then adapt to the recipient’s platform language.

Add attachments to the email

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. At the bottom of the body text area, click Attachments.
5. Click OR SELECT A FILE and select a file from your computer.
6. At the bottom right, click Save.

You can remove an attachment by clicking X at the right of the name of the file.

Use personalized tags in the body of the email

You can use tags in the text of your email that will be replaced by the actual first name, last name, email address, or organization of a user.

The tags come in two families, and each resolves to a different person:

• [person_first_name], [person_last_name], [person_email], [person_organization] resolve to the person receiving the email.
• [learner_first_name], [learner_last_name], [learner_email], [learner_organization] resolve to the learner the email is about.

On an email sent to Learners, both families resolve to the same person. On an email sent to Learners’ managers, use the [learner_*] tags to name the learner: [person_first_name] will print the manager’s own name.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. Click in the text area of the Body section.
5. At the top right of the section, click + Personalization tags.
6. Click the variable.
7. At the bottom right, click Save.

Add a button redirecting to the path homepage

You can add a button in your email, that will redirect to the homepage of your path.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. Enable the option Button.
5. Enter the label for the button.
6. At the bottom right, click Save.

Display an image

You can display the image of the path (or a custom one) in your email.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. Enable the option Image.
5. At the bottom right, click Save.

Schedule the email

By default, an email is sent right after the previous step in the path. You can also send it a number of days after the learner's enrollment, or before or after the session start date.

An email sent right after the previous step goes out immediately. Emails scheduled a number of days before or after a date are sent at most once an hour, at minute 00, and are still sent after the session ends.

You can change the schedule at any time:

• If the new date is in the future and the email was already sent, the learner receives it again.
• If the new date is already in the past for some learners, they never receive the email, even if they hadn't received it before. For example, an email scheduled 30 days after enrollment doesn't reach learners enrolled 33 days ago.

In the path statistics, an email step counts as completed for every enrolled learner once it's due, including the learners who didn't receive it, such as learners whose invitation is still pending. For those learners, the email status shows n/a. To find out why a learner didn't receive an email, see Help users who don't receive notifications.

Send the email right after the previous step

This is the default option. The email is sent once the learner completes the previous step in the path.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. In the section Schedule your message, choose Right after the previous step in the dropdown menu.
5. At the bottom right, click Save.
6. Move the email into the correct place in the path steps.

The email only depends on the previous step, not on the earlier steps of the path. If a learner already completed the previous step before being enrolled, for example in another path, and mandatory replay is off, the email is sent as soon as they are enrolled, even if they haven't started the earlier steps.

Learners who already completed the previous step when the email step is added to a path with an in-progress session don't receive it.

If the email is the first step of the path, it is sent as soon as the learner is enrolled. An email to learners' managers then only reaches managers added before the enrollment. If an integration creates your users and adds their managers, make sure it adds the manager before enrolling the learner, or send the email a number of days after enrollment instead.

Send the email a number of days after enrollment

The email is sent a number of days after each learner's enrollment date.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. In the section Schedule your message, choose After the enrollment date in the dropdown menu.
5. In the field that appears just below, enter the number of days.
6. At the bottom right, click Save.

For example, with 10 days, a learner enrolled on July 10th at 2:34 PM receives the email on July 20th at 3:00 PM.

You can also send the email only to learners with a specific path status.

Send the email a number of days before the session starts

The email is sent a number of days before the session start date.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. In the section Schedule your message, choose Before the session start date in the dropdown menu.
5. In the field that appears just below, enter the number of days.
6. At the bottom right, click Save.

For example, with 5 days and a session scheduled for February 3rd at 8:30 AM, the email is sent on January 29th at 9:00 AM.

Send the email a number of days after the session starts

The email is sent a number of days after the session start date. This is useful for a reminder a couple of months after the session, for example about a satisfaction survey to fill.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. In the section Schedule your message, choose After the session start date in the dropdown menu.
5. In the field that appears just below, enter the number of days.
6. At the bottom right, click Save.

For example, with 30 days and a session started on August 10th at 12:00 PM, the email is sent on September 10th at 12:00 PM.

You can also send the email only to learners with a specific path status.

Send the email only to learners with a specific path status

With After the enrollment date or After the session start date, you can send the email only to learners who achieve a specific result in the path session. Neither of the other options can depend on the results of the session: Right after the previous step sends the email during the session, and Before the session start date before it starts.

1. At the top of the homepage, click Paths.
2. On the right side of the path row, click  Edit.
3. In the Build your training section, under Steps, click on the email step.
4. Under Schedule your message, select one of the following options: After the enrollment date or After the session start date.
5. Enable the option Only send this message if learner path status is:
6. In the dropdown, specify the path status that will trigger the email notification.
7. Click Save.