Setting Up Email Notifications for Announcements
In our web app, we provide email notifications for announcements to keep your users informed about important updates. This does require a bit of technical setup, but do not worry! If everything is done right, these emails will operate seemlessly and automatically in the background whenever an Announcement is Created or Updated.
One and just ONE gmail account will handle sending all emails. If the app is already sending out emails from the correct address, then there is nothing to do!
Quick Notes:
- You will be generating an App Password and adding that to Heroku. This will require you to enable 2-Step Authentication.
- Some email domains do not allow App Passwords. You might not be able to follow these steps with an @tamu.edu account. Try an account with the domain @gmail.com.
- Be sure to use the official gmail address associated with your MABS team.
Step 1: Navigate to the Google Account Home Page
First navigate to https://myaccount.google.com/ and make sure you are signed in with the account your team wants to send the emails from.
Step 2: Enable 2-Step Verification
Go to the "Security" tab. Scroll down to the "How you sign in to Google" section.
In this section, click where it says "2-Step Verification."
If you have already enabled 2-Step Verification before, then you can move on to Step 3. If not, just follow Google's easy instructions for adding a phone number and setting up 2-Step Verification.
Step 3: Generating the App Password
Scroll to the bottom of the "2-Step Verification" page. Click on where it says "App Passwords."
On this new page, type in the name for your App Password (this can be anything). Click Create.
You will see a new pop-up containing your uniquely generated App Password.
STOP HERE for just a second! This is the ONLY time you will EVER see this password! Copy it and save it somewhere secure. I recommend leaving this open until you have entered the password into Heroku.
Click the "Done" button to close the pop-up whenever you are ready.
Step 4: Go to the Heroku App
Go to your Heroku Dashboard and navigate to the pipeline. Inside your Pipeline, click on the name of the app you want to add the email to.
Step 5: Set the Config Vars in the App Settings
Click on the Settings tab.
Click where it says "Reveal Config Vars"
At the bottom of the list of Config Vars is a field where you can create new Vars.
You will create 2 Config Vars:
- EMAIL_USERNAME "<your email address>"
- EMAIL_PASSWORD "<your App Password>"
Use quotation marks around the values for each Var as shown. Click the "Add" button when you finish filling in each Var.
Sending an Email
Whenever a new announcement is created or updated, our system automatically sends an email notification to all registered users. The email contains the details of the announcement, including the subject and body.
- The Subject of the Announcement is also a link to the Announcement's page in the web app
- Emails about New Announcements will have the subject line: "New MABS Announcement - <Announcement Subject>"
- Emails about Updated Announcements will have the subject line: "Update to MABS Announcement - <Announcement Subject>"
By providing email notifications, we aim to improve communication and ensure that your users never miss any important announcements.
Advice about Announcement Practices
When you update Announcements, it is good practice to indicate what has changed. Maybe use the strikethrough or explain your changes at the end of the Announcement.
Try not to update or create announcements too frequently. No one want to get bombarded with emails, and Heroku can only handle so much.
EVERYONE gets an email about EVERY Announcement. Be careful what you say!
Don't Like the Email Feature?
That's ok! Just remove the 2 Config Vars you created in Step 5 from the Heroku App.
Troubleshooting
If you are unable to create an App Password it may be because your domain has restricted that security feature.
- @tamu.edu accounts cannot create app passwords. Try with an @gmail.com account instead!
Make sure that you entered the Config Vars correctly!
- Double check spelling
- Make sure you have added the Vars to the correct app on Heroku
App Passwords only work if 2-Step Verification is enabled. Make sure you did not turn it off by mistake!
Did you forget your App Password? Did it get leaked? In either case, the fix is simple!
- Go back to your gmail's App Passwords
- Click the garbage can icon next to your App Password
- This revokes and deletes it forever! It can never be used or misused again!
- Now just create a new App Password and add it to your Heroku Config Vars
If you have any further questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to our support team.