Messages

Messages can be used to send information to all or some Users, including Customers and Interpreters, via their II portals, for example any announcements or process changes within your Agency.  By sending this information via Messages, the Message Audience will see these on their Dashboard every time they access II for as long as you choose to keep the Message Active.

To access Messages, go to the ‘Admin’ menu and select ‘Messages’.

The Message History tab will provide a list of all Messages sent previously.

To send a new Message select the New Message tab and populate all details on the form.

• Title - provide a brief Title for the Message - this will appear on relevant portals (see below)
• Active Date - select a date from which the Message will then appear on relevant portals
• Inactive Date - select a date from which the Message will no longer appear on relevant portals
• Summary - provide a brief Summary for the Message - this will also appear next to the Title on relevant portals (see below)
• Message Type - select as appropriate:
  • Alert - Messages of this type will appear with an exclamation mark (!) on relevant portals (see below)
  • Message & Action - Messages of this type will appear normally on relevant portals (see below)

• Audience - select as appropriate:
  • Internal - these Messages will appear on the Dashboard for users with an Internal User Type (within User Management) only
  • Contacts - these Messages will appear on the Dashboard for users with an Interpreter User Type (within User Management) only
  • Customers - these Messages will appear on the Dashboard for users with a Customer User Type (within User Management) only
  • All - these Messages will appear on the Dashboard for users of all types i.e. Internal, Customer & Interpreter
  • Custom - this option is not for use under the Messages interface - see below for sending Messages specifically to Contacts

• Message Body - enter as much detail as required here, this information will appear when a user selects the Message to open it
• Finally, click the blue Save button to invoke the Message

The Message will appear on the Customer and/or Interpreter portal Dashboard.  The Alert Message Type is displayed with an exclamation mark (!) so this could be reserved for Messages of particular importance.

Clicking on the blue link of the Message will display the Message Body.

As an internal user, you can return to the Message History tab at any time to update Message details such as clarifying any information or updating Active/Inactive dates, be sure to click the blue Save button to invoke the updated Message.  Users who are already logged in may need to refresh their browser to see Message updates.

Sending Messages as emails to Contacts

You can send a Message as an email to Interpreters/Contacts by navigating to the ‘Manage’ menu and selecting ‘Manage Contacts’ and clicking the blue Send Message button.  

• Filter as needed for a subset of Interpreters/Contacts, such as filter for Active interpreters only.
  • Best Practice: Use the Export all contacts (with current filters applied) checkbox to select all or a filtered subset of interpreters. With large numbers of emails sent out, this ensures delivery to all selected in this manner and optimizes the email action in the system. 
  • Another Option: Select individual interpreters to send the message to by checking the checkbox to each of their names, if there are only a few (less than a dozen) selected. 
  • Not recommended: Expand the number of rows to display all Contacts listed and select the checkbox at the top of the grid columns to select all visible rows. This can result in only a partial number of emails being sent out of the total selected. 
• Click the blue Send Message button
• Populate the Message form as per the Messages Interface
• You will notice that the Audience is already preselected as Custom
• Checking the box Send Email will send the Message as a separate email.
• Any recipient of the email will also see the email information under the Messages section of their interpreter portal via a laptop. This feature is not available on the mobile app. 
• Click the blue Save button to send the email

Sending an email to Interpreters via Manage Contacts page - Video

Messages sent from Manage Contacts will also be visible under the Message History tab in the Messages interface.