Self-updating Email

[LaRetta]

I have no idea if this is in the right forum because I don't know how it is done.

When an order is received, I want to send the customer an email which self-updates, indicating exactly where their order is in our process. It would look something like:

1/4/2005 3:47 PM Order Received

1/5/2005 8:00 AM Order paid (... insert either via credit card or net terms confirmed, etc)

1/5/2005 9:47 AM Order assembly in process

1/5/2005 1:11 PM Order checked for completeness

1/5/2005 3:00 PM Order shipped (... insert ship method)

1/9/2005 5:00 PM Anticipted delivery

1/11/2005 9:00 Order delivered (... insert tracking number)

FMPug and Dell have both used this process. The customer's email updates itself automatically as each item is completed (right in the customers original email).

I'm establishing a WorkDone table (related to our Orders table) and, as an order moves through our process, we can timestamp each stage (creating a new record). Is this the best way to capture the stages to insert into the email? And how do I create an email which self-updates its status?

This is a very cool idea!! And, if customers could see what is happening it would greatly decrease the number of calls we receive about an order status. The time it would take to implement such a process would pay for itself almost immediately.

How is it done? Can someone direct me a bit?

LaRetta :wink2:

Edited January 6, 2006 by Guest
Updated version. We're still partially in vs. 7

[Ted S]

Are the orders received in an automated fashion or is it real flesh and bone human beings entering the orders?

Are you using a SMTP plugin of any sort?

[LaRetta]

Hi Ted

Orders arrive via mail, fax, phone, webstore, email. Real people enter the orders into FM. Webstore is an import process. 80% orders are phone. I want Rep to send an instant email listing the order AND I want that email to be imbedded with the updating fields, which will keep a customer informed about their order.

I don't know what SMTP is so no we probably don't have one. I have event trigger plugins etc. I wanted to imbed in an email because so many businesses are refusing emails with attachments (I originally considered pdf attachment). But a simple email with the order information and updating status fields would be perfect.

LaRetta

[SteveB]

Look at the Comm-Unity SMTP email plugin, also Dacons Email which is a lot cheaper.

Steve

[Oldfogey]

Maybe I don't understand the problem but it seems pretty simple to me. A RHB enters the data, right? Presumably this triggers a change in a status field from 'order received' to 'order entered' to 'order despatched' or whatever? At each stage, the RHB can simply click a button, cleverly fixed by LaRetta to invoke a script to send an email which includes the status field - and presumably other stuff. If you don't want the RHB to click a button but have the email sent automatically, then you do need an event-trigger plugin. Otherwise, there's no need for plugins.

[LaRetta]

Thank you all for the responses.

I don't have a problem capturing the events as they happen through our system and writing to a field. And I've got the event trigger which can fire off an email with (or without) User intervention (I haven't done this but know by reading forum posts that I can do it, using SMTP or something, as you've indicated). I'm looking a bit past that ...

I don't want to fire MULTIPLE emails - only one!! This one initial email SOMEHOW will update itself right in the person's computer as the status changes in our system!! The email will tell them to hang onto it to check the status of their order. I've seen it happen - I've gotten them.

The customer then can daily (even hourly) view this email and watch their order from Confirmation to Arrival right there. So they won't call us!! Somehow, the field data itself isn't static in the email but rather is embedded links of some sort tied to our system and, as the timestamp is placed in each status category in our system, it appears for the Customer in their one email.

It is possible it's done with XML, PHP or something like that. It's a cool concept. We could have a read receipt to be sure they get the one email (or send a follow-up email if necessary) and then we're done. Even the UPS tracking number (which we capture) could pop in the moment it ships.

BTW, what is RHB?

LaRetta

[Ted S]

Hi LaRetta,

I'm guessing that RHB means Real Human Being.

I'm a bit confused. So, do you want:

A. An email to be sent to the customer everytime the status of their order changes and this email contains all of the information about their order.

or

B. An email to be sent to the customer everytime the status of their order changes and this email contains a link to a webpage where their order can be viewed in its entirety.

You can do the email thing without a plugin but it will require that your people have their email client open (often Outlook for Windows people) and that they click a button to allow the email to be sent when Outlook asks for it. You will also probably be limited to plain text rather than HTML but there is a workaround for that.

I was just asking because SMTP plugins are very popular for FM developers and they give you a lot more control over the emailing process than what it available in native FM.

[LaRetta]

Hi Ted,

C none of the above.

I want ONE email to be sent to them. This I can do.

But this email is SPECIAL and this is what I need help with. The email, as it is sitting in their inbox, can CHANGE according to our data. It is DYNAMIC. I know it's a fairly new technique but I assumed someone else has done it. I just haven't a clue on how it's being accomplished.

I don't want to have to send an email at each stage. I want the ONE email to change for them.

LaRetta

[Charles Delfs]

I think what you want can not be done as such. You can not change an email in someones box once it has been sent, BUT,

Perhaps you can send an HTML email that links to your site and db to show the used their status.

Or have an HTML picture that is not embeded in the email and when the user views it it downloads the mostrecent infor again from your fmp database.

C.

[LaRetta]

Right! Maybe it's an HTML email. Or maybe when user views it, it downloads the most recent again!

So it CAN be done!! This is what I want!!! Don't others see the power of this for keeping a customer updated on the status of their order?

This is the technique I want to implement! How is it done?

[Ted S]

Okay, I understand now.

I never noticed this behaviour before but assume that is an HTML email and I'm making a wild guess here but possibly it is displaying an image (non-embedded) of the order. Amazon or whoever may have some mechanism the produces a new image (.gif file) of the order every time it changes. And maybe your email just displays the image from their server.

I don't know how to do this but I'd be curious so I'll keep an eye on this thread.

(PS, I should have known what you are trying to do wasn't so simple considering the source.)

[Ted S]

and it looks like I'm continually hitting the add post button a day-late-and-a-dollar-short.

[Ted S]

Hi LaRetta,

I did a little surfing and came up with this link:

http://www.dobysoft.com/products/softcopy/index.html?id=P144I

It looks like they sell an inexpensive program that acts like a printer on your system but instead of producing paper it produces images.

So I would guess that you would write a print routine into your program that used this "printer" and then add an section that would push the image to your web server. You may have to use FTP for this.

It's a cool idea! Just curious, if you still have one of these emails on hand if you place the cursor in the body, right click, and choose view source, you might be able to tell where their image is coming from. It might shed some light on what is going on.

[LaRetta]

Hi Ted,

I believe I confused the post because I also asked about establishing a table of the order staging process. I am implementing that now and I just wanted to be sure the structure could be easily used by this dynamic email when I get to the point of implementing it. I was thinking ahead a bit.

I will go ahead and establish the movements as records instead of fields. I suppose I can change it later if need be. But since I don't know how the dynamic email pulls it's information from an FM table (because I have no idea how it does it), I don't know what is the best structure to meet its needs. I really hope someone can explain how this self-updating email is done.

BTW, don't assume my questions would always be more complex ... when brain-dead exhausted and on deadlines, I've been known to ask questions a 5-year-old could easily answer. Sleep and intelligence seem to go together ...

UPDATE: Just read your post. Unfortunately, I've searched and can't find one. I keep ALL emails and I know some of them self-updated but I can't find them now.

LaRetta

[Charles Delfs]

Well if it is an image in an email, you can copy a report preview and paste it into a container then export that container to a file then have your HTML image point to where it is located on your web server.

C.

[T-Square]

LaRetta--

Although I haven't seen what you're describing, I bet that Ted is right, and that they are sending an HTML email that links to an "image" on their servers. I put quotes around the word image because I know that it is possible to use scripting languages (like PHP) to generate images from text on-the-fly, and it may be that those big guys aren't storing huge numbers of images on their machhines, but are creating them as they go.

I don't know how you'd actually DO this, mind you--and I don't know whether that's actually what they do (I wonder at the CPU cycles it would take, for instance), but I thought I'd add those observations.

[LaRetta]

Hi David,

Thank you. Yes, I realized we would need to be web published before we could even THINK of taking advantage of it. Drat! I've added it to my list to figure out when time comes. I have a few concerns about the process. If Business is storing images (in whatever format) and they are links, what happens to the email once the hosted file is deleted? I would assume the email would break (lose the data). So Business would STILL need to send a final 'receipt/delivery confirmation/Invoice' as static data for the customer to keep as a perm record. And, as mentioned, what kind of storage capacity would we need? Creating these images will take Business time/money also. So these trade-offs will have to be considered. But the technique could also be used in other cool ways!!

• Provide dynamic Price List/Sale Sheet to a customer which would change products/prices (weekly or daily).
  
• Provide Meeting Schedules/Agendas or attendee information; providing flexible date/times etc.
  
• In addition to keeping a customer up-to-date on their order, it can tell them exactly when their credit card was charged.
  

Utilizing dynamic links has incredible potential and overall I still see it as a kick-in-the-pants idea worth exploring thoroughly.

LaRetta