Customizing the layout of notification messages

By default, all notification messages have a standard, hard-coded layout. However, if necessary, you can design custom notification message templates and store them in a file called NotifyTemplates.xml.

Creating a NotifyTemplates.xml file

If you want to customize the layout of all or some of the notification messages sent by a particular DataMiner Agent, do the following:

Create a file called NotifyTemplates.xml and store it in the folder C:\Skyline DataMiner\ of that DataMiner Agent.
In the NotifyTemplates.xml file, create a <Template> tag inside the <NotifyTemplates> root tag for every type of notification message for which you do not want to use the default, hard-coded layout.
Save the file and restart the DataMiner Agent.

Note

If you define any templates in this file, you must use the mandatory template names listed in Template names.
If you want to use special characters in this file, see Using special characters in NotifyTemplates.xml.
The NotifyTemplates.xml file is not synchronized across the DMS. In other words, every DMA can have its own NotifyTemplates.xml file.

Template names

When defining notification message templates in the NotifyTemplates.xml file, make sure each template has one of the following mandatory names.

[Format]-correlation-infoheader

Template of the base Alarm section’s header in the notification message sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule.
[Format]-correlation-infoitem

Template of a base Alarm item in the base Alarm section of the notification message sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule.
[Format]-correlation-infofooter

Template of the base Alarm section’s footer in the notification message sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule.
[Format]-notifications

The notification message sent independently (not as a result of a Correlation rule).

Tip

For more information on how to configure a Correlation rule to send a notification message, see Sending an email

Template name prefixes indicating the message format

In the above-mentioned template names, [Format] must be replaced by one of the following words that indicate the format of the template:

Format	Description
text	Email message containing plain text.
html	Email message containing HTML.
sms	Cellphone text message.

Example: The template called “text-notifications” should contain the template for notification messages sent in plain-text emails.

Note

HTML templates will be inserted into the [contents] placeholder located in the <body> tag of the file C:\Skyline DataMiner\NotifyMail.html.

Using special characters in NotifyTemplates.xml

Open NotifyTemplates.xml in a text editor that supports file encodings.
Set encoding to UTF-8.
At the top of the file, add the following XML processing instruction:
```
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
```
Enter all necessary text, which can now contain all kinds of special characters.

Example of a NotifyTemplates.xml file

The following example shows a NotifyTemplates.xml file in which two templates have been defined: one for plain-text notifications and another one for HTML notifications:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<NotifyTemplates>
  <Template name="text-notifications" options="">
    <Content>
        <![CDATA[
        Filter '[filtername]' has been triggered[if:multiple]
        ([occurrences] times for similar alarms)[endif] (Alarm Id ='[alarmid]')
        -Dataminer: [dmaname] (id = [dmaid])
        -Element: [elementname] (id='[elementkey]')
        [if:description] -Element Description: [elementdesc][endif]
        -Parameter: [paramname] (id='[paramid]')
        -Value: [value]
        -Owner: [owner]
        -Severity: [severity] ([severitylevel])
        -Source: [source]
        -State: [state]
        -Time: [time]
        -Type: [type]
        -UserStatus: [userstatus]
        -Comment: [comment]
        -RootKey: [rootkey]
        More Info: http://[dmaip]/SystemDisplay.htm[if:element] and
        http://[dmaip]/ElementDisplay.htm?id=[dmaid]/[elementid][endif]
      ]]>
    </Content>
  </Template>
  <Template name="html-notifications" options="">
    <Content>
      <![CDATA[
      <p>Filter '[filtername]' has been triggered[if:multiple]
      ([occurrences] times for similar alarms)[endif],
      based on Alarm with Id = '[alarmid]' (RootKey: '[rootkey]'):</p>
      <table class="notification_table">
      <tr class="header">
        <th>DataMiner</th>
        <th>Element</th>
        [if:description]<th>Element Description</th>[endif]
        <th>Parameter</th>
        <th>Value</th>
        <th>Owner</th>
        <th>Severity</th>
        <th>Source</th>
        <th>State</th>
        <th>Time</th>
        <th>Type</th>
        <th>UserStatus</th>
        <th>Comment</th>
      </tr>
      <tr class="alternate">
        <td>[dmaname]</td>
        <td>[elementname]</td>
        [if:description]<td>[elementdesc]</td>[endif]
        <td>[paramname]</td>
        <td>[value]</td>
        <td>[owner]</td>
        <td class="severity[severityid]">[severity] [severitylevel]</td>
        <td>[source]</td>
        <td>[state]</td>
        <td>[time]</td>
        <td>[type]</td>
        <td>[userstatus]</td>
        <td>[comment]</td>
      </tr>
      </table>
      <p>More Info: <a href="http://[dmaip]/SystemDisplay.htm">SystemDisplay</a>
      [if:element]
      and <a href="http://[dmaip]/ElementDisplay.htm?id=[dmaid]/[elementid]">
      ElementDisplay</a>
      [endif]
      </p>
      ]]>
    </Content>
  </Template>
</NotifyTemplates>

Note

In the example above, a number of placeholders are enclosed in square brackets. For more information, see Notification template placeholders.

Notification template placeholders

When defining a notification message template in the NotifyTemplates.xml file, you can use the following placeholders.

Some can only be used in templates for notification messages sent as a result of a triggered Correlation rule, while others can only be used in templates for notification messages that are sent independently (not as a result of a triggered Correlation rule). See the Correlation and Notifications columns.

Name	Description	Correlation	Notifications
alarmid	The alarm ID (without DataMiner ID)	X	X
alarmvalue	Legacy correlation message placeholder [AlarmValue]	X (Most recent base alarm)	X
alternate:xxx	Every second time this placeholder is used, the string “xxx” will appear in the notification message.	X	X
comment	Alarm comment		X
creationtime	Alarm creation time		X
dmaid	DMA ID of the DMA where the element was created	X	X
dmaip	IP address of DMA where the element was created		X
dmaname	Name of DMA where the element was created		X
element	Legacy correlation message placeholder [Element]	X (Most recent base alarm)	X
elementdesc	Element description	X	X
elementid	Element ID	X	X
elementkey	DmaID/ElementID	X	X
elementname	Element name	X	X
elementtype	Element type		X
endif	Closing tag of an IF clause.	X	X
filtername	The notification message filter.		X
if:description	Opening tag of the IF clause that will check the existence of an element description. The contents of the IF clause will only appear in the notification message when an element description exists.		X
if:element	Opening tag of the IF clause that will check the existence of any element-level information. The contents of the IF clause will only appear in the notification message when element-level information exists.	X
if:multiple	Opening tag of the IF clause that will check the existence of multiple occurrences of the same item. The contents of the IF clause will only appear in the notification message when there are multiple occurrences of the same item.		X
info	Legacy correlation message placeholder [Info] This placeholder will be replaced by the three “correlation message” templates (Either the default, hard-coded ones or the customized ones defined in the file NotifyTemplates.xml. See Template names.	X
link	Legacy correlation message placeholder [Link] (Deprecated)	X (Most recent base alarm)
occurrences	If there are multiple occurrences of the same item, this placeholder will contain the number of occurrences. See also: [if:multiple]		X
owner	The owner of the alarm	X	X
parameter	Legacy correlation message placeholder [Parameter] The name of the parameter (in case of Correlation: the name of the parameter in the most recent base alarm)	X (Most recent base alarm)	X
paramid	Parameter ID	X	X
paramidx	Row index of dynamic table	X	X
paramname	The parameter name	X	X
pollingip	Polling IP address of the element		X
prevkey	ID of the previous alarm in the alarm tree	X	X
property:xxx	The value of the property named “xxx” “xxx” must be e.g. Element.MyProperty, Service.MyProperty or Alarm.MyProperty (the property name itself is case insensitive).	X	X
rca:element	Element RCA level	X	X
rca:parameter	Parameter RCA level	X	X
rca:service	Service RCA level	X	X
rootkey	Root key of the alarm	X	X
rootcreationtime	Root creation time of the alarm	X
roottime	Root time of the alarm		X
ruleState	Legacy correlation message placeholder [RuleState] Possible values: up, down	X
serviceimpact	Amount of affected services	X	X
serviceimpact:text	Names of the affected services		X
severity	Legacy correlation message placeholder [Severity] Examples: Critical, Major, Normal, Timeout	X (Most recent base alarm)	X
severityid	Severity ID	X	X
severitylevel	Severity level Examples: High, Low, Normal	X	X
severitytext	Severity + Severity level Examples: Critical High, Major Low. Note: If level is “Normal”, it will be omitted. E.g. “Warning Normal” will be “Warning”.	X	X
source	Examples: DataMiner System, Correlation Engine, External	X	X
sourceid	Source ID	X	X
state	Alarm state Examples: Open, Mask, Cleared, Clearable	X	X
stateid	Alarm state ID	X	X
time	Timestamp	X	X
time:short	Shortened timestamp used in cellphone text messages (time only, no date)	X	X
type	Alarm type Examples: New Alarm, Escalated From, Dropped From	X	X
typeid	Alarm type ID	X	X
userstatus	User status Examples: Not Assigned, Acknowledged, Unresolved	X	X
userstatusid	User status ID	X	X
value	Alarm value	X	X
value:short	Shortened alarm value used in cellphone text messages (max 50 characters).	X	X

Table of Contents

Customizing the layout of notification messages

Creating a NotifyTemplates.xml file

Note

Template names

Tip

Template name prefixes indicating the message format

Note

Using special characters in NotifyTemplates.xml

Example of a NotifyTemplates.xml file

Note

Notification template placeholders