How to create and send Push Notifications

Owned by Mei Soong (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jan 14, 2021 by Dom Sobota (Unlicensed)
4 min read

Push notifications are the built in mass notification system available in all AppArmor mobile safety applications. The notifications are similar to a text message; they will pop up on the device’s main screen and alert the user to an emergency situation.

At install, the user is prompted to “allow” your mobile safety app to send it push notifications. The vast majority of users consent. The notifications will also appear regardless of whether or not the app is running. It is an extremely effective form of mass notification.

There are three sub menu options on the Push Notifications page:

  • Send Push Notification - sends a push notification to all the app users

  • Draft Notification - sends push notifications only to users in Draft Push Mode in the app, without sending it to your entire user base

  • Notification History - archives previous pushes so that you can review past activity

  • Email to Push History - archives previous Email to Pushes so that you can review past Email to Push activity (refer to Email-To-Push)

How to send a Push Notification through your online dashboard:

  1. First, sign into your dashboard using your credentials.

  2. Then, on the left hand side of the screen, click on the "Communications" tab, and then click on the “Push Notifications” button.





  3. For this example, we want to send a push notification, so the tab should already have “Send a Push Notification” selected.

  4. On this push notification page, you’ll notice four fields:

    Canned Push Notifications

    This is where you can create push notifications in advance and make it easier to “load” in the event of an emergency.

    Title

    This is the heading which the user WILL see so name it carefully.

    Notification Text

    This is the body of the push notification message. This is where you’ll want to put the content of your push.

    In your push text you can insert quite a few things, including map URLs, links to videos, and other important information.

    NOTE: there is a 120 character limit and any URLs must be fully qualified; that is, they must have the “http://”.

    Notification Sound

    This is where you can choose the sound that is associated with the push notification when it's sent out. You can choose from the following sound level options: Default, High, Medium, or Low.

  5. Please fill out the above-mentioned fields accordingly.

  6. When you're done, press the red “Launch” button to send your push.

  7. You will be prompted by your browser to ensure that you want to send this push – click yes.

  8. And voila, you’ve sent your push notification!


How to create a Canned Push Notification:

  1. Follow the same steps as "How to send a Push Notification through your online dashboard" above, BUT instead of clicking the red "Launch" button, click on the red "Canned Actions" button instead.

  2. The Canned Actions button will produce the following dropdown fields: Save As, Save Changes, and Remove.

  3. You will want to click on the "Save As" option from the dropdown list to save the canned response you have just created.





  4. Once you do that, a pop-up will appear on the page asking you to give a name for the Canned Push you just created.

  5. Click "Save" once you're done naming the new Canned Push.





  6. You’ve now saved the push and can access it later in the Canned Push Notification Drop down list.

Canned Push Notification drop down list

This identifies what pushes you’ve already created and saved using this tool.

Canned Push Notification Name

This is the internal name of the push notification; the user will NOT see this name.



NOTE: You don’t always have to create a “Canned Push” to send a push notification. You can simply go to this Send Push Notification tab and send a push at any time.



How to send a Draft Push Notification:

Firstly, you will want to put you app in Draft Push Mode. This will allow you to send and receive push notifications to your app without sending to your entire user base.

To enter Draft Push Mode in the app:

  1. Open the app.

  2. Go To "About/Preferences"

  3. Open "Notification Settings"

  4. Your push notifications should be "Enabled". Below the button that says "Disable Notifications", you'll see a version code, usually in this format: X.XX.XXX.XXXX (numeric)

  5. Tap the version code 7 times, and enter your draft password (ask your Project Manager or our Support Team for this password if you don't already know it)

  6. You are now subscribed to Draft Notifications.

You can now send Draft Notifications from the Push Notification section, and choosing "Draft Notification":

 

If you ever have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to us at support@apparmor.com