Re-Enable Push Notification Channels

This guide covers what to do after you have taken ownership of your CustomApp. It presumes that you have already completed the steps outlined in the Create Developer Accounts and Take Ownership of Applications guides.

After your Google and iTunes developer accounts have ownership of your CustomApp, some configuration changes are required by SchoolMessenger. Your Project Coordinator or the Technical Support agent you have been working with will process these necessary changes and let you know when they are complete. Once that has happened, you can follow the steps in this guide to help your users re-enable access to channel specific notifications.

Send a Push Notification to Users

There are two ways you can send a push notification to users. You can send the notification via the CustomApp Builder or, if you are also using our Communicate product, you can send the notification as a Broadcast within Communicate.

This document will walk you through both notification sending methods.

Send Push Notification via CustomApp Builder

One option way to send a push notification to all users is from the CustomApp Builder.

1. Go to http://builder.customschoolapps.net/ and log in to the App Builder.

2. After navigating to your application, click the Settings icon in the sidebar and then click Push Notifications.

3. Click the New button to create your message.

4. In the pop-up that appears, select All for the Audience.

5. For the Title field, enter a title to display to your users.

6. For the Message field, enter the message you wish to convey.

7. For the Delivery date and time select Now.

   

8. Click Save to send the notification.

Send Push Notification via Communicate

If you are also using our Communicate product, you can also send out the push notification to your users via Communicate. Sending the push notification from Communicate requires at least one other type of communication besides Feed / Desktop / Push. In other words, you will have to also send a phone, SMS or Email message with it. You can simply select Add Me, as described below in the example.

To do so, log in to your Communicate account.

1. From the Dashboard, click New Broadcast.

2. Give your broadcast a Subject. This is for internal reference only and will not be displayed to the users. Choose General for the Type of broadcast.

3. For Recipients click Add Me. Click Continue.

4. Click on the Email tab.

5. Craft a message to send. If you only selected yourself as a Recipient in the previous section then you will be the only user to receive this email.

6. Click on the Social tab and check Feed / Desktop / Push. Enter a Title for your notification.

7. Enter the Message for your notification.

8. For the Feed Category Name, select District Push. Click Save.

9. Click Continue.

Review the details of your notification and then click Send Now to deliver the notification.

Tip: While sending broadcasts from Communicate, you may consider sending out a phone, SMS, or email broadcast to all your users encouraging them to download and install your application. This is a great way to increase the number of staff, parents and students who are using your application, thus making it easier for you to interact with your users in the future.

Sample Push Notification Message

Here is a sample message that you may wish to send your users. This can be used whether sending the notification from the CustomApp Builder or from Communicate. This is only a suggested message so feel free to make any changes or craft your own message.

Title: Application Must be Opened

Message:

Please re-open your application. Due to a recent app change, it is necessary to re-open the [Your Application Name Here] application to turn back on any notifications you had signed up for.

By opening this message, you have re-enabled these notifications and no other action is required. Thanks for your time.

Check your Subscription Statistics

If you are curious about how many users are subscribed to the individual channels you have created, you can take a look by logging in to the CustomApp Builder.

Navigate to http://builder.customschoolapps.net and log in with your credentials. Click the Statistics icon in the sidebar and click on Active Users.

At the bottom of the page, you will find a section showing the Current number of channel subscriptions.

If you find that not many users have subscribed to notifications for specific schools or channels, you may want to use the push notification message as an opportunity to educate your users on the subscription options that are available.

Next Steps

Once you have sent the push notification to your users letting them know they will need to re-open their application before the channel specific notifications will be available, you have completed the application migration process. Congratulations!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Project Coordinator or the Technical Support agent and they will be happy to assist you.