Advising
Settings for driver and recipient advising: general options, POI advising configuration, advising channels, tour triggers, and message templates.
On the Advising settings page, administrators configure how and when X4fleet sends automatic advising messages – for example via SMS or email. Advisings inform recipients and parties involved about upcoming arrivals, deviations from the planned time window, or the tour start. The settings are saved per group and apply to the respective selected group.
Note: These settings are only available if the Advising module is activated for the tenant.
1. Navigation
The Advising page is accessible in the Settings area via the tab of the same name. Changes are applied to the currently selected group and stored permanently via «Save».
2. General Settings
In the general area, the basic sending behavior of the advising is defined.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Activate delayed sending | When this option is activated, advising messages are not sent individually right away, but collected (bundled) before sending. This helps to avoid a flood of individual messages. |
Hover the mouse pointer over the field to display the associated help text (tooltip).
3. POI Advising Configuration
In this section, you define under which conditions advisings are triggered for individual locations (Points of Interest, POI). The configuration controls whether and when a message about a planned stop is sent.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | Activates POI advising overall. |
| Send on pickup | Sends an advising for pickup stops. |
| Send on delivery | Sends an advising for delivery stops. |
| Send after recalculation | Sends an advising again when a tour has been recalculated. When this option is activated, an additional warning notice is displayed. |
| Early arrival (minutes) – Pickup | Threshold in minutes from which an arrival that is too early at a pickup stop is considered relevant for advising. |
| Late arrival (minutes) – Pickup | Threshold in minutes for a late arrival at a pickup stop. |
| Early arrival (minutes) – Delivery | Threshold in minutes for an arrival that is too early at a delivery stop. |
| Late arrival (minutes) – Delivery | Threshold in minutes for a late arrival at a delivery stop. |
| Only send on time window violation | Sends an advising only when the agreed time window is exceeded or undercut. |
Note: When saving, the system checks that a time range is stored for each active channel with an open sending interval. If the time range is missing, an error message appears and the settings cannot be saved until the time range has been added.
4. Advising Channels
The available advising channels (e.g. SMS, email) are displayed in a lateral tab list (vertical tabs). Each channel can be configured individually.
To configure a channel:
- Select the desired channel in the lateral tab list.
- Use the «Active» checkbox to define whether the channel is used.
- Configure the sending interval and – depending on the channel – the associated message.
Note: Channels for which a sending interval is open but no time range is stored lead to a validation error when saving.
5. Tour Advising (Triggers)
In this area, you define at which points in the tour sequence advising messages for a tour are triggered.
| Trigger | Description |
|---|---|
| Send on tour release | Sends an advising as soon as a tour is released. |
| Send after completion of the first transport point | Sends an advising as soon as the first transport point of the tour is completed. |
| Send after recalculation | Sends an advising after a tour has been recalculated. |
Activate the desired triggers individually. Several triggers can be active at the same time.
6. Message Templates
Editable templates are available for the advising messages. They allow the subject and content of the SMS and email notifications to be adapted to your own needs.
The following templates are available:
| Template | Use |
|---|---|
| SMS – Tour start/Release | SMS text at tour start or tour release. |
| SMS – Early/late stop | SMS text for an early or late arrival at a stop. |
| Email subject – Tour start/Release | Subject line of the email at tour start or tour release. |
| Email subject – Early/late stop | Subject line of the email for an early or late arrival. |
| Email content – Tour start/Release | Message text of the email at tour start or tour release. |
| Email content – Early/late stop | Message text of the email for an early or late arrival. |
Inserting Placeholders (Variables)
Each template offers a list of available placeholders (variables) that are automatically replaced by the specific tour or stop data when sending (e.g. tour name, planned arrival time, deviation). Insert the placeholder at the desired position in the text; when sending, it is replaced by the respective value.
Formatted Text (Email Content)
The two editors for the email content offer additional buttons for text editing and allow formatted text (rich text), for example bold type or paragraphs. The SMS and subject templates use plain text without formatting.
Reset to Default
Each template can be reset to the stored default value. Use this function to discard a customized template and use the supplied default wording again.
7. Notes
- All settings on this page are saved per group. Switch to the desired group before editing.
- Changes only take effect after saving.
- When saving, the system checks that a valid time range is stored for each active channel with an open sending interval. Otherwise, saving is rejected with a corresponding message.
- The entire page is only available if the Advising module is activated.