The Email this Answer to anyone screen

The Email this answer to anyone function appears in the Actions screen and menu list when the current question is closed (i.e. it has an answer). It brings up the screen shown above.

You can use this screen to send the displayed question and answer information (and any attachments), to anyone who is interested in this information. That might be a standard answer with attachments that you regularly send out in response to requests, or it could be an answer you just created that you want to pass on to a client with a standing interest in the subject, or a co-worker that you think will be interested. You can use it after finding information in the RefTracker database that was developed by someone else, or you can use it after developing an answer yourself.

The Send to email address(es) line allows you to specify one or more email addresses to which the information should be sent. Separate email addresses with a semicolon (maximum length 2000 characters).  If autofill is on in your browser, this field will suggest email addresses that you have previously sent “Email this answer to anyone” emails to.

Similarly you can cc: this information to other email address(es). Separate email addresses with a semicolon (maximum length 2000 characters).

The Subject line can be amended before it is sent out.

The body of the email is generated using an email template (refm455) that your System Administrator can amend to suit the needs of your organisation.  Add any message you want to include by typing it directly into the draft email – we suggest you include it after the first sentence (see the point indicated in the screen print above). Removing the beginning or end of any line in this template can result in HTML formatting commands being lost (and errors created) so please avoid removing the beginning and end of lines.

You may see some text in this box “Do not remove – attachment information may appear here”.  As it says you should not remove this text as it is used to insert information about attachments.  If there are not attachments this text will be automatically removed.

Further you can make amendments to it using the HTML edit box functions any time before you click Send (bold, italics, colours, and even inclusion of images).  Only the Question and Answer text and the date last modified are included in the draft email (the question number is not included).  Any attachments to the Question and Answer text are also included as hyperlinks.  If you do not want to send out an attachment just delete its hyperlink from the body of the email before you click Send.

Attachments can be added to your message by using the “Add contact attachments” link at the bottom of the screen.  Your attachment/s will be include as hyperlink/s in the email that is sent.

When you are happy with the email address(es) that you supplied, and your message, click on Send. An email will be sent to those email address/es (see next section for an example of the layout of the email that is sent). A record that the information was sent and to what email address(es) will be placed in the History file for this question.

A service statistic is not generated by sending this message.  If you need to record a statistic for this service, it can easily be done using DeskStats.

Exercise

Using the Search screen, find a question with an interesting answer and use this screen to send the information to yourself.  Click on Send and the email template as you have edited it will be sent.

The email sent as a result of “Email this answer to anyone”

This is an example of the email sent to the email address(es) that you specified. Yours may look a little different if your system administrator has defined a differently laid out template (Sys Admins should edit refm455 using System>Utilities>Administration utilities>Template editor (email), to change the default layout).

Note that it includes the entire question text, the entire answer text, and all attachments.

Also note that it does NOT automatically include your contact details or the question number.