Sending messages

If you want to use the same message in multiple requests, you can create it as an editable message template in the Settings > Messages area. Alternatively, you can create a new message while you're submitting a request and save it as a template for future use.

To help you get started, the Messages area includes the following Absolute templates:

• Device Geofence Alert
• Windows Patch Reboot Reminder

Learn more

To submit a Send Message request, your user role needs to be granted the Perform permission for Send Message. All default roles, aside from the Guest User role, are granted this permission.

To view a Send Message request's status in Action Requests, your user role needs to be granted the View permission for Send Message. All default roles are granted this permission.

Send Message requests are supported on devices running one of the following operating systems:

• a supported version of Windows or macOS
• the current version of Chrome OS

Note that devices must be regularly connecting to the Absolute Monitoring Center. Chromebooks must be running the current version of the Chromebook extension and the devices must be synced with the Secure Endpoint Console.

Send Message requests are not supported on the following devices:

• Devices with an open theft report
• Devices with an Agent status The operating condition of a device's Secure Endpoint Agent. Possible values are Active (indicates that the device's agent has connected to the Absolute Monitoring Center), Inactive (indicates one of the following: the device was moved to another account; the device was unenrolled, but it is now set to be reactivated; or the device had Persistence enabled at the factory, but it has not yet called in to the Absolute Monitoring Center), and Disabled (indicates that the agent is either flagged for removal or removed from the unenrolled device). Inactive and Disabled devices do not consume a license. set to Inactive or Disabled

If you want to create a message that gathers feedback or other information from your device users, you need to create Custom Device Fields to store the responses. After users begin to respond to the message, you can view their responses by adding the applicable Custom Device Field columns to a report.

If you plan to use an existing message template, or you're creating an informative message, you don't need to complete these pre-steps.

To create user response fields:

1. On the navigation bar, click Settings > Custom fields > Manage device fields.
2. Click Create Custom Device Field.

3. Under Field Label, enter a name for the field.

   This value populates the column header when the custom field column is added to a report.

4. Under Field Type, create a field by doing one of the following:

   • To allow device users to type a response in the field, select Text.
   • To allow device users to enter a date, select Date.

   • To create a list of options for device users to select from:

     1. Select Drop-down list. The page refreshes.
     2. In the Drop-down List Values field, enter the values that you want to show in the drop-down list for the field. Separate each value with a comma.
5. Click Save.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each custom field you want to create.

   Your account is limited to 20 custom fields. If you're nearing that limit, you could consider reusing a user response field for subsequent end user messages. Note that a device user's previous response in that field will be overwritten, and no response history is saved.

To submit a request:

1. Do one of the following:

   To message a single device

   On the device's Device Details page, click Send message. The Send Message dialog opens.

   To message multiple devices

   1. From the navigation bar, open a page that supports the Send Message action. For example, open the All Devices page in the Devices area or open the Makes and Models report.
   2. Use the Search field or filters to find the devices you want to message.

   3. In the results grid, select each device you want to include in the request. To select all devices, select the Select All checkbox in the result grid header. To select consecutive devices, select the first device and then hold down the Shift key and select the last device. You can select up to 350,000 devices. To remove all selections, click Clear all.

   4. Click Send message. The Send Message dialog opens.

   Alternatively, you can upload a file of device identifiers and submit a request.

2. [Optional] At the top of the dialog, click Message - <date> and enter a request name that will help you identify and track this request in Action Requests.
3. [Optional] Click Add description (optional) and enter a description for the request.

4. Under Schedule message, select an option:

   • To show the message on each device as soon as they connect to the Absolute Monitoring Center, which is typically within the next 15 minutes, select the option, On next connection.

   • To schedule the message, select On or after a certain date, click the fields, and select the date and time (local device time A date and time expressed in a device's local time zone, as opposed to server time. In the console, local device time applies to usage data collected from devices, and the scheduling of some device action requests.) to show the message. Today's date is supported.

     If you schedule a message for a time that has already occurred in the device's time zone, the message is shown on the device after its next connection.

5. Do one of the following:

   Use a message template

   To use an existing message template, follow the steps in this section.

   To use a template:

   1. Click Select message and select a message from the list. The list contains all End User Message templates stored in the Settings > Messages area. To select an Absolute template, scroll to the bottom of the list.
   2. [Optional] Click the message name and edit it. If you don't edit the message name, it defaults to the name of the End User Message template you selected.

   3. Do one of the following:

      • To use the message as is, go to step 6.

      • To edit the message, do the following:

        1. To update the image, click Remove if an image is already specified, and then drag the new image to the dialog, or click browse and select it. The image file must be in .png or .jpeg format and be no larger than 4 MB. Note that images are centered by default.

        2. Edit the message text, as required. You can use the tools in the message editor toolbar to format the text. You can also insert images and tables. Note that the message can't exceed 15,000 characters.

           Adding device specific information to a message

           You can add device specific information to the message using a Custom Device Field variable. When the message is generated, the variable is replaced with the value assigned to the device.

           Example

           You want the device user's department—Accounting—to show in the message. You add the Department Custom Device Field to the message. When the message is generated, "Accounting" shows in place of the variable.

           To add Custom Device Fields:

           1. In the text box, click where you want to insert the Custom Device Field.

           2. Click Insert variable and select a field from the list.

              You can include device identifiers in the message by selecting Device Name and Serial Number from the list.

           3. Leave the field's drop-down set to Label.
           4. Repeat the above steps for each Custom Device Field you want to add.
   Create an informative message

   To create a new message that contains information that you want to share with your device users, such as a policy change, instructions, or an announcement, follow the steps in this section.

   To create an informative message:

   1. [Optional] Under the Select message field, click Untitled message and edit the message name. If you don't edit the message name, it defaults to Untitled message.
   2. To add an image to the header of the message, drag the image to the dialog, or click browse and select it. The image file must be in .png or .jpeg format and be no larger than 4 MB. Note that images are centered by default.

   3. Enter your message text using the tools in the message editor toolbar to format the text. You can also insert images and tables. Note that the message can't exceed 15,000 characters.

      When your message is saved, the system validates the message content and automatically removes any HTML tags or attributes that may expose Absolute servers or agents to injection attacks, such as cross site scripting (XSS). As a result, the formatting applied to your message text may be altered, in some rare cases.

      Adding device specific information to a message

      You can add device specific information to the message using a Custom Device Field variable. When the message is generated, the variable is replaced with the value assigned to the device.

      Example

      You want the device user's department—Accounting—to show in the message. You add the Department Custom Device Field to the message. When the message is generated, "Accounting" shows in place of the variable.

      To add Custom Device Fields:

      1. In the text box, click where you want to insert the Custom Device Field.

      2. Click Insert variable and select a field from the list.

         You can include device identifiers in the message by selecting Device Name and Serial Number from the list.

      3. Leave the field's drop-down set to Label.
      4. Repeat the above steps for each Custom Device Field you want to add.
   4. To save your new message so it's available for future use, select the Add the message to library checkbox. You'll be able to view and edit your template in the Settings > Messages area.
   Create a user response message

   To create a message for device users to respond to, follow the steps in this section.

   To create a user response message:

   1. Ensure that you completed the required pre-steps for this message type.
   2. [Optional] Under the Select message field, click Untitled message and edit the message name. If you don't edit the message name, it defaults to Untitled message.
   3. To add an image to the header of the message, drag the image to the dialog, or click browse and select it. The image file must be in .png or .jpeg format and be no larger than 4 MB. Note that images are centered by default.

   4. Enter your message text using the tools in the message editor toolbar to format the text. You can also insert images and tables. Note that the message can't exceed 15,000 characters.

      When your message is saved, the system validates the message content and automatically removes any HTML tags or attributes that may expose Absolute servers or agents to injection attacks, such as cross site scripting (XSS). As a result, the formatting applied to your message text may be altered, in some rare cases.

      Adding user response fields

      To add the Custom Device Fields that you created in the pre-steps:

      1. In the text box, click where you want to insert the Custom Device Field.
      2. Click Insert variable and select a field.
      3. Click the field's drop-down and select one of the following options:
         • Required Input: the user's response is mandatory. Users will not be able to submit their message response until this field contains a value.
         • Input: the user's response is optional. The text "(optional)" is displayed below the field in the message.
         • Label: for details about this option see the next section.

         For the Input options, if a value is already assigned to a device's Custom Device Field, the value is displayed in the message for the device user to edit.

      Adding device specific information to a message

      You can add device specific information to the message using a Custom Device Field variable. When the message is generated, the variable is replaced with the value assigned to the device.

      Example

      You want the device user's department—Accounting—to show in the message. You add the Department Custom Device Field to the message. When the message is generated, "Accounting" shows in place of the variable.

      To add Custom Device Fields:

      1. In the text box, click where you want to insert the Custom Device Field.

      2. Click Insert variable and select a field from the list.

         You can include device identifiers in the message by selecting Device Name and Serial Number from the list.

      3. Leave the field's drop-down set to Label.
      4. Repeat the above steps for each Custom Device Field you want to add.

   5. To save your new message so it's available for future use, select the Add the message to library checkbox and update the name of your new message template, if desired. You'll be able to view and edit your template in the Settings > Messages area.

6. You can change the label on the Submit button that shows in the message. To replace the label, click Submit and edit the text. The label can't exceed 14 characters.

7. Select the following Options, if applicable:

   • If your message is critical and you want users to respond to it immediately, select the checkbox next to Display as a full-screen desktop critical message. Note that although users can't close a critical message until they respond, they can minimize it.

     This option is not available if your message contains a link to a webpage.

   • If you want to let users postpone their message response until a later time:

     1. Select the checkbox next to Allow participants to snooze.

     2. Click the field that appears and select the number of times the user can snooze the message. The default is 3 times and the maximum is 5 times.

        Each time the message is displayed on a device, the user can choose to snooze the message for 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 3 hours.

8. Click Preview and review your message to confirm that it will display to users as expected. Click (Back) to exit preview mode.
9. When you're done, click Send to x devices.

The Send Message request is submitted, its status is set to Pending in Action Requests, and an End user message requested event is logged to Event History.

The request is deployed to each device on its next successful connection to the Absolute Monitoring Center, which is typically within a few minutes for Absolute Resilience accounts, or within 15 minutes for Absolute Control accounts, assuming the devices are online. If the request requires dual approval, the request remains in the Pending Approval section in Action Requests. The action isn't sent to the device until the request is approved. If the message is scheduled for a future date, the message will not display on the device until the scheduled date.

Device users acknowledge a message by clicking the message's Submit button. This action uploads any user responses to the console and sets the device's Send Message request status to Completed in Action Requests.

You can cancel this message in Action Requests.

If a device user has not acknowledged or responded to a message, you can go to Action Requests and resend the message. You can edit the message title, image, and message content, if desired. Learn more

If you created a user response message, you'll want to view each response. As device users respond to your message, their responses are added to each device's Custom Device Fields. You can view these fields in the following ways:

• Review the request's Message response column in Action Requests
• View the responses for an individual device on its Custom Fields page
• Create a report that includes a column for each applicable Custom Device Field

The advantage of creating a new report is that each response is stored in its own column and you can export the report.

To create a new report:

1. On the navigation bar, click Devices.
2. Click > Edit columns.
3. Remove any columns that you don't want to include.
4. In the search field under Available Columns, enter custom field.
5. Find each user response Custom Device Field that you want to add and click its Add button.
6. Rearrange the column order, if desired, and click OK.
7. [Optional] Add filters to exclude all devices that didn't receive the message.
8. Click (Save as report) and save your changes to a new report.
9. If desired, export the report.