Description
GPS devices typically have outputs that allow users to control various equipment functions, such as engine blocking, alarm activation, and more. These outputs can be managed through the widget bar in the monitoring account. By setting up a rule for output state changes, users can receive user interface notifications, mobile app push notifications, SMS or email alerts whenever there is a modification in the output's status.
This feature provides notifications about updates to the output controls, ensuring that users stay informed about the changes in equipment functionality. Whether it's enabling or disabling specific features, users can receive timely alerts to track and monitor the state of their outputs effectively.
In the context of vehicle telematics, this rule can be applied when a user installs a GPS device with an output connected to the vehicle's door locking system. By configuring the rule on the platform, the user receives alerts whenever there is a change in the state of the output. For example, if the door lock is activated or deactivated through any source, the platform generates the alert based on the data received from the tracker. This enables the user to stay informed about door locking status changes in their fleet vehicles, enhancing security and monitoring capabilities.
Settings
Output #:
The output number field should set the utilized hardware output. The best way to determine which output is responsible for which functionality is to refer to the tracker manufacturer's documentation.
Geofence:
Fill out the section if the rule needs to work only inside/outside of the selected geofences.
Bind zone to rule:
Enables geofence rule binding.
Map button:
Shows bound geofences on the map.
Notifications
Emergency notification:
is used for important events. A message on the screen and the sound signal can only be disabled by clicking on the notification. Please note, some browsers can block notification sound until user activity is recorded on the page.
Push notifications:
Receive push notifications on the mobile app and web interface.
Add geofence name to the notification:
Adds names of the specified geofences to the notification text. This option is available only when the "Inside" geofence binding radio button is selected on the "Settings" tab.
SMS notifications:
List of recipients for SMS notifications when the event occurs.
Email notifications:
List of recipients for email notifications when the event occurs.
Schedule
Set a schedule for when the rule will run. If your schedule indicates that the event should not run some day or time period, it will not appear as a notification in the user interface, and notifications via SMS or email will not be sent. Additionally, you can choose a default template for quick scheduling.
The platform specifics:
- Whenever the platform identifies an output change event (1 true/high level or 0 false/low level) from a packet of tracker data with no valid coordinates in it, the platform counts the event as a valid one and displays it regardless of whether the event occurred within or outside the bound geofences. The logic of the Inside/Outside radio buttons is also ignored in this case. This behaviour is due to the fact that showing a controversial event once more is better than omitting it.
- The "Outputs triggering" alert has a 10 seconds reset timer, meaning the alert event will not occur more often than once every 10 seconds. If this type of event occurs in time the rule has been waiting for the reset, this event will be omitted by the platform, including the reports.
- If you only want to receive an alert when there is a change in output from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1, you can achieve this by clearing the notification text for the respective field that you do not want to receive alerts for. For instance, the screenshot below illustrates how you can receive alerts only for changes from "OFF to ON" while ignoring events from "ON to OFF".
- There can be multiple trackers assigned to the rule, meaning the same number of output that is specified in the rule settings is utilised as data sources for each tracker. For example, if you have chosen the 2d output and multiple trackers are selected, the rule will notify the user whenever any of the selected trackers send a change in its output #2.
It's important to keep in mind that output alerts come in two different variations, which are based on the functionality of the tracker:
- There are alerts for output changes where the tracker can provide the output state (1 or 0) back to the platform.
- For some trackers, there are alerts for output changes, but the platform doesn't receive status responses, meaning it won't know the current output state (0 or 1) at any given time. As a result, one-way event alerts (e.g., only for a 1 to 0 alert) may not be possible for this type of outputs.
These variations are determined by the specific capabilities of the tracker used.
Event reports
To view the dates when the events were received, you can build the "Report on all events" report.
