Alarm templates

Alarm templates can be used to prepare an alarm in the field. In an alarm template, not only the alarm text can be predefined as in the text templates, but also all other fields of an alarm. For example, you can configure the resources, alerting mode and other information of an alarm in an alarm template. All stored information is then automatically filled in when the alarm is triggered, saving precious time in an emergency.

Create and edit a new template

Except for the name of a template, all fields of an alarm template are optional. This allows you to determine which parameters of an alarm should be prepared and which need to be filled in for the emergency.

Use of alarm resources (scenarios, units, and labels)

If your alarm template contains alarm resources (scenarios, units, or labels), these cannot be removed from the organization as long as they are used in an alarm template. When deleting such a resource, a corresponding error message will be issued if they are used in a template.

Trigger template

To trigger a template, open the menu of the corresponding alarm template and click on "Trigger". With one click, you will now be redirected to the form for triggering an alarm. The corresponding form is filled in with the configured values of the alarm template. Here you can make the last adjustments before triggering and, for example, adjust the alarm text.

API

If you want to trigger an alarm template using the API, you can use the new JSON field 'alarmResourceTemplateID' within the AlarmCreationPayload to use the alarm template with the corresponding ID. This will set all values of the alarm template in the alarm when the alarm is triggered. If values in the AlarmCreationPayload and within the alarm template are configured at the same time, the configured value of the template is always used.

If the alarm including the transferred parameters in the AlarmCreationPayload is incomplete, it cannot be triggered. Therefore, make sure that all alarm details within your template are complete or pass the missing values, such as the alarm text, within the AlarmCreationPayload.

For more information, see the API documentation.

Share templates

Alarm templates of an organization can be shared with other organizations that do not have to be in the same organization tree. This allows the organization with which a template has been shared to trigger an alarm with specified resources in the sharing organization.

This is particularly useful when organizations want to collaborate but are not in the same organization tree or are not allowed access to their own organization.
In the alarm template, the sharing organization specifies all alarm resources (and other information, if applicable) that are to be unchangeable. The receiving organization can subsequently only change the event name, alarm text and the additional alarm information when an alarm is triggered, if these were not specified by the alarm template.

Triggering a shared alarm template is done either via the API, the [List of Alarm Templates]() or via a corresponding flow. In any case, you must ensure that the necessary alarm resources are correctly set in the alarm template and, if necessary, that the event name and alarm text are set. The initiating organization can only set event name and alarm text if these are not predefined in the alarm template. Otherwise, only the additional alarm information (including address) can be changed. All other settings can only be defined by the dividing organization for security reasons.

To trigger an alarm with a shared alarm template, you need the same permissions as for triggering an organization's own alarm template. Permissions in the sharing organization are not required.

Manage sharing

To share an alarm template with other organizations, you must create a sharing key. You can obtain this by clicking on the "Share" menu item in the menu of the respective alarm template. There you will see a list of all currently usable sharing keys with their names, and you can create another key, renew existing keys or delete them.
To redeem an existing key, use the button "REPLACE SHARING-KEY" in the respective organization and copy the key into the text field. You can then see and use the alarm template in the list.

If a key is renewed, all organizations that already have access to the alarm template retain this access. However, the existing key can no longer be used and is replaced by the new key. This is particularly useful if the key has been circulated.

If a key is deleted, all organizations that have redeemed that key loose access to the alarm template.

Updated on: 28/09/2022