Send a notification from an automation

Push notifications are a direct mechanism to alert app users on Android and iOS devices. Send a notification from an automation bot as described in the following sections:

• Add and configure the task
• How AppSheet processes notifications

Add and configure the Send a notification task

Add and configure the Send a notification task by performing the following steps:

1. Add the Send a notification task to a bot, as described in Add a task to a bot.
2. Configure the Send a notification task by setting the properties described in the following tables.
3. When you are done, save the app by selecting one of the following:
   • Save - Save the app.
   • Save & verify data - Save the app and verify that it is runnable based on external dependencies.

After you save the app, you can reuse the task in other bots.

Configure the Send a notification task by using the settings described in the following tables.

See also How AppSheet processes notifications.

Property	Description
Linking	Enable or disable reuse of this component by expanding the Linking panel and toggling the Linking setting. See Reuse automation components.
Task name	Name of the task. It must be unique within your app.
Table name	Table referenced by the task. Select an existing table in the list. Click  to show the selected table in a dialog. See Tables: The Essentials for more information about adding tables.
To	List of email recipients. Click Add to add an email address or an expression using the Expression Assistant. Repeat to add additional email recipients. See Add email recipients for more information.
Use default content?	Toggle to indicate whether you want to use the default email content or provide customized content. If enabled, the task uses default content. If disabled, customize the content using the additional properties displayed, as described below. This property is enabled by default.

If you disable the Use default content? property, customize the content using the additional properties displayed, as described below.

Property	Description
Title	Title of the notification. Specify text and variables. By default, a meaningful title is used. Example: '<<EmployeeName>> please pickup package from <<CustomerName>>'.
Body	Body of the message. Specify text and variables. By default, contains the following built-in variables: <<_ROWKEY>> <<_UPDATEMODE>> <<_USERNAME>> <<_NOW>> Example: <<[FirstName]>> <<[LastName]>> your order for <<[Quantity] * [Price]>> shipped on <<TODAY()>> and will arrive on <<TODAY() + 3>>.
DeepLink	DeepLink to include in the notification. You can use the DeepLink to link to specific application data, including: Your AppSheet application An entire View within your application A filtered View within your application A specific row within a View within your application A form with pre-filled values A custom DeepLink you specify using an expression Enter a link or an expression using the Expression Assistant. Defaults to a DeepLink to the AppSheet application.

 Expand and customize the Advanced settings, as described below.

Setting

Description

Inputs

Add inputs to dynamically configure a task. For details, see Set input values dynamically in tasks.  Expand the Advanced section. Click Add under Inputs. Enter the name of the input value in the Name field. Select the data type from the Type drop-down. Only a subset of data types are supported for inputs. To add an initial value or edit any fields: Click  to open the Input dialog. Add a value or expression in the Initial value field. If you don't specify an initial value, then the input value will be required. If an initial value is specified, then the input value is optional. Use of [_THIS] or [_INPUT] are not supported in the Initial value field. Edit other fields, as required. Click Done. Repeat to add additional input values. Then, use the following expressions to access the input values from the current step: [_INPUT].[inputname]

How AppSheet processes notifications

You control who receives a notification by specifying the email address of the recipients in the To property when configuring the Send a notification task (above).

AppSheet uses Notification Device Tokens to convert each email address in the To property into the appropriate Device Tokens for the user's mobile devices. If the user has more than one device, the notification is sent to each device that the user has logged in from.

AppSheet handles Notification Device Tokens slightly differently for branded applications (which are rare) versus non-branded applications.

Typically, the notification recipient must be an authenticated user who has logged in to at least one AppSheet application using the email address specified in the To property. The application that the user signed in to need not be the application sending the notification.

Branded  applications work slightly differently. When a user logs in to a branded application, the Notification Device Token that is creates by the login contains the AppId of the branded application. This enables AppSheet to track which branded applications each user has logged in to and to send notifications appropriately.

For example, assume you have two branded applications called AppA and AppB. Assume you have two users [e-mail] and [e-mail]. Assume that User1 has only logged in to application AppA and that User2 has only logged in to application AppB. A notification that originates from application AppA might specify both User1 and User2 in the To property, but the notification will only be sent to User1 because only that user has logged in to the branded application. No notification will be sent to User2 because that user has not logged in to the branded application.

AppSheet sends notifications by performing the following tasks:

1. Translates the user email address you specify in the To property into an AppSheet User Id. That AppSheet User Id will only exist if the user has logged in to at least one AppSheet application that requires user authentication using the user email address you specify in the To property. The AppSheet application that the user logged in to need not be the AppSheet application sending the notification.

2. Translates the AppSheet User Id into a list of one or more Google Firebase Cloud Messaging Device Tokens. If the user has a mobile device and has logged in to at least one AppSheet application from that device, then AppSheet will have a unique Device Token registered for the device. AppSheet will send the notification to all of the recipient's registered Device Tokens.

3. If AppSheet cannot find an AppSheet User Id for the user email address you specify in the To property or cannot find at least one Device Token for the AppSheet User Id, then the bot entry in the Audit History will report the following warning:
   
   "Warning: No notification sent to '[e-mail]' because no Notification Device Token is present for this user."