Reminders

One of the first features that I began using in CryWolf is the notification feature. Instead of littering my desk with sticky notes, I keep my notes in my computer.  One of the greatest thing about this notifications feature is that any account number in the reminder becomes clickable.  Simply click on the account number and the account main form will open.  This makes it far superior to any piece of paper.

The notifications menu is found on the main screen under Options.  Scroll down to Notifications and three choices are available:

1. Add PopUp Notification
2. Check Current Notification
3. Check All PopUp Notification.  Simply click on the option of your choice.

To add a notification, click on the Add PopUp Notification option. A box entitled Reminder will open. Type the message, set the date, and choose who (of the registered CryWolf users in your agency) should get the reminder. Use the editing features at the top of the window to change the fonts and colors. This feature is a fun way to send birthday greetings--be sure to make these notifications bright and colorful.
Although I like using the notification feature, I don't like the visual clutter of all the open windows so I tend to close them when they are not needed. A quick way to close the notifications windows ( and any other open windows in CryWolf) is to use the F4 key.  (This was new to me, but my kids said Alt F4 is standard to close windows in many of their programs). Whenever I  need to see the notifications again, I simply go to the Check Current Notifications option and all of the current notifications open.
If you need to see all (even future) notifications, simply choose Check All PopUp Notifications and all of the notifications for you will appear.  This allows you to edit future notifications or take care of them ahead of the scheduled time if needed.  One important note is that only the notifications set for you to see will appear.   So if you set up birthday greetings early in the year and then forget and do it again like I often do, your office mates may be inundated with greetings on the big day.

Our office uses this feature in conjunction with letters that have been generated so that we know to follow up on them.  For example, after six alarms, users are required to get an inspection.  When the letter is generated, a notification is set to appear when the inspection is due so that I know to verify that we have received the inspection.  This is set up in the Add/Edit Letters section on the notification tab. You can also set who will receive the notification (green circle) and how many days after the letter the pop up should appear (red circle).  The notifications can also be sent via email by entering the email address here (pink circle).
I am moving away from using the notifications being sent for all of the letters that get sent from our office.  It is much better to have the notification sent when the RESPONSE is due because the system eliminates the notice if a response has been received and marked in the account.  This saves a lot of time going through notifications that require no action,
Enjoy using this feature!