PIER allows you to better prepare to communicate during emergencies or daily operations by storing "template" documents. These documents may include special graphic features, formats, or specifications for certain types of information to enable rapid development of consistent and complete information in new documents.

While any document may be duplicated (using "New Document from Draft"), the documents in the special "Templates" folder will appear on the New Document menu and so are very easily accessible. (New documents created using the template dropdown are also placed in the current "Folder" that is selected.)

Documents in the Templates folder are like any other document, containing "parts" which may be linked and automatically generated from the other parts. Consideration of the "parts" should be factored into the development of proper templates.

Utilizing Templates

As mentioned in the introduction, templates are useful for rapid development of documents with consistent and complete information and may include graphics, tables, or other "boilerplate" features. Templates are often developed for specific types of communications ("Daily News" or "Urgent Situation") or for specific distribution purposes ("SMS Notification" or "Phone Callout").

In the case of SMS and Phone (text-to-voice) messaging, templates are useful for several additional reasons:

• These methods of distribution have a per-use cost. Your organization will want to maximize impact for the dollars spent.
• Phone networks may become overloaded with traffic during a crisis, blocking your ability to distribute information. Getting the message right the first time will be critical because it may be the only chance you have to communicate using the Phone method.

Organizations will usually determine strategies for types of messaging in their comunications plans and common (or critical) messages will be identified as candidates for useful templates.

To utilize a template, a user can simply create a document using the New Document menu and choose the template specified for their purpose. A copy of the template document will be created (in the folder currently selected) and the editor will be initialized.

Setup

Any PIER document may be considered for use as a Template, however only the "Top 10" published documents in the special system "Templates" folder will be shown on the menu. If there are more than 10 published documents, a "More Templates..." menu option will appear on the bottom of the list. Selecting this will (1) switch the focus to the Templates folder, and (2) change the "Showing" view to only the "Published" documents in the folder. From here, you may use the "New Document From This Draft" icon to create a new document. (Note: the default folder is now the "Templates" folder, so the "In Folder" selection in the Properties area may need to be reset.

To re-order the published documents and move a document into the "Top 10" (or move a document around within that grouping), select the Templates folder and then "Edit Folder" (Pencil icon) at the bottom of the area. The Reorder Published Documents link will present a screen for modifying the order of the documents. Note: The order of the published documents is NOT represented when showing "All", "Unpublished", or "Archived" views of the folder.

Special Considerations

Document "Parts" are designed to allow the user to develop a single message with several forms which are appropriate for different distribution methods. The HTML part of a document can utilize formatting (for example bold text, tables, and graphics), which will render fully on the Web Site, in most Email systems, and even over Fax distributions. However, these constructs are not useful for SMS or Text-to-voice synthesis and could lead to confused messaging through these methods. For that reason, PIER removes all formatting and renders a "Text" part for each document.

The Text part of a document is usually auto-generated from the content of the HTML part. This is an option that can be disabled by a checkbox on the Text tab. (Note: Template documents can be saved with this option flagged "off".) Because of the cost factors (mentioned above) and other limitations, the Text part used for SMS and Phone distribution warrant additional consideration.

Text and Phone messages should be brief, with the primary purpose to alert the recipient and refer them to additional sources for more complete information. The PIER web site, their email box, or other media outlets can present far more information using organized, formatted presentation capabilities not available in straight text or synthesized voice transmissions.

SMS Considerations

Text messages are limited by the phone companies to around 140 characters per message. If messages are longer, they will be broken into multiple transmissions and the recipient may not receive or read them in the proper order.

The caller ID for the message is the PIER short code (84469) or an ID purchased specifically by your organization. A key word "BLUALERT" or other queue should be considered that would be recognized by your target population so that your urgent communication is more recognizeable.

Phone (text-to-voice) Considerations

This method is often used for messages during nighttime events because recipients will usually "rise to the ring" but not necessarily to a Text message (and probably not for an email message). Because the message is a synthesized (computer generated) voice, some listeners will be surprised and have difficulty understanding the message cadence for several seconds. A standard opening statement may give the listener an advantage in recognizing the call.

Because the phone call is a single transmission, "replay" is not an option for the listener. Salient information (where to tune in) may be better served at the end of the message. Repetition of the important points of the message may also be very helpful.

The "From" phone number on the distribution will be utilized if the recipient has Caller ID, and a proper number in that specification may help create recognition for the recipient.

Examples

SMS Message

Note: The following SMS message sample contains approximately 103 characters. "Text-Like" messaging is expected with this method ("4info" = "For more information")

Phone (text-to-voice) Message

Note: As you preview the text to voice sample template below, please note the intentional use of punctuation and capitalization.

Signatures

Signatures may contain information used during distribution such as the "From:" email address or the "From:" telephone number (Caller ID). Typically, Signatures are assigned as part of the properties of a Folder, and Documents in that Folder simply default to use the assigned Signature. However, Documents can be assigned a Signature that will override the Folder default. When a Template Document has an assigned Signature, that value will be carried to the new Document as an override to whatever the Folder default setting is set to.

Additional Information

• Glossary: PIER Terminology - Selected Industry Terms
• Documents: An overview of Folders, Documents, Parts
• Distributions : Sending Documents out via various communication methods