get automatic notifications of every comment

MadCap Pulse is the only documentation-centric social collaboration platform that enables technical authors to create a complete social layer around their documentation in order to connect, collaborate and share knowledge with authors, employees and customers.
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pdenchfield
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get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by pdenchfield »

Hi, I would like to go to my Pulse dashboard and see a list of every comment made on the Flare help. How can I set that up? Do I need to be admin? Thanks!
MaryBethP
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by MaryBethP »

I am the Pulse Admin, so I don't know if that matters, but I asked this same question the other day and below is the response I received from MadCap support:

As for the ability to get notifications for every topic that is commented on, you will have to subscribe to the system, for which you want to follow all of the topics. You can do this by using the following steps:

- In the Pulse dashboard, hover over the 'Systems' tab
- Click the 'Find Systems' option
- Select the system that has the topics you would like to follow
- Click the 'Subscribe to All' button in the top right corner of the page (it is a very tiny envelope).
pdenchfield
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by pdenchfield »

Hi MaryBethP,

Thanks for your instructions. I see "Subscribe Via E-mail" but not "Subscribe to All" - any idea what I did wrong? I am an admin. Screenshot below shows what I see after clicking Find Systems and then clicking the system with topics that I want to follow.
pulse-tooltip-subscribeviaemail.png
I clicked the tiny envelope icon indicated in the screenshot but got no system response. I also added some test items to help topics in the system: status, question, task, and tag. I can find them if I look for them, but the alert didn't happen. It's been a few days now. No response to the "Subscribe Via E-mail" that I could discern.

Best,
Pamela
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MaryBethP
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by MaryBethP »

Sorry Pamela, I am learning Pulse as you are. Have you tried emailing PULSE support? I thought someone from support was supposed to check in on these forums now and then to help also.... :?
pdenchfield
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by pdenchfield »

Thanks, MaryBethP! Submitted case to support :)
mattf
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by mattf »

Hi all,
You'll see that there's a reply to this topic and then be disappointed that it's not an answer. I too am trying to learn my way around the Pulse admin. I noticed today that by default, users who register and create a profile are supposed to get a Daily Digest of Pulse activity (checkbox in Notifications). But that email never reaches any of my registered users. In the log, I see daily error messages suggesting that Pulse is attempting and failing to send out this digest. I'll be contacting support about this after doing a little spelunking to see what it might be snagged on.

Like Pamela, I see no "Subscribe to all" icon, and I'm pretty sure the "Subscribe" (to single topic) envelope does nothing, but I have a test in the works so I'll know more tomorrow.

-Matt F
Matt F
You learn something new every day if you're not careful.
MaryBethP
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by MaryBethP »

Hi MattF,
I have the same situation with daily digests not being delivered. So please share any answers you may find!
Thanks,
MaryBethP
mattf
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by mattf »

Hi all,
You'll see that there's a reply to this topic and then be disappointed that it's not an answer. I too am trying to learn my way around the Pulse admin. I noticed today that by default, users who register and create a profile are supposed to get a Daily Digest of Pulse activity (checkbox in Notifications). But that email never reaches any of my registered users. In the log, I see daily error messages suggesting that Pulse is attempting and failing to send out this digest. I'll be contacting support about this after doing a little spelunking to see what it might be snagged on.

Like Pamela, I see no "Subscribe to all" icon, and I'm pretty sure the "Subscribe" (to single topic) envelope does nothing, but I have a test in the works so I'll know more tomorrow.

-Matt F
Matt F
You learn something new every day if you're not careful.
chunkee
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by chunkee »

Hi Guys,
I am very familiar with the Pulse Server. I am sorry to say there is no daily email summary reports. It is a failed feature. In revealing this to them, they simply state it is a bug, which has been submitted and may get addressed.

Secondly, ONCE you add a feed, there is no way to delete it. That functionality (to delete) is gone. The only work around is to change the method (to some other than the RSS/ATOM). Again, "Oh this is a bug." It may or may not get fixed.
I have also discovered that there are some anomalies with their FONT Awesome implementation with icons. No response.

Just an observation, since I have been using their products and championing them for quite some time. The products are becoming half baked before release. The Pulse 4 product was released with no documentation at all. It was not until I complained, that someone responded (Jenna White perhaps) that actually called and followed up. You do not get that any more. In fact, I am truly disappointed with how this whole thing has been handled as well as no call or follow-up from my rep. But is appears, any complaints or concerns go into "it's a bug. we may fix it" category, including the rapport from the staff.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions regarding its use. There are some strong features, but it is a partnership from Neudesic. They even recant on their "Major release per annum" motto. When I asked about Pulse 5, nothing doing. It would seem they may not even invest much further into it.

Remember you can adjust the Pulse Stylesheet to show your branding. Just a tip.

Regards,
John
mattf
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by mattf »

Hi John,
Thanks for jumping in here. Your news is alarming, and a stone bummer on a cold Wednesday morning. Still, in a strange way I'm not surprised. Our recent Pulse implementation was fraught with weirdness and little issues that made me and all my sysadmin guys say "why can't they fix this problem or even understand what we're asking? Madcap has zillions of big customers. This can't be the first time they've run into this..." We couldn't understand it, and it seemed an especially psychedelic experience to me, since like you I've been championing and touting Flare and the Madcap crew for years.

My company bought a year's Pulse subscription for 500 users largely on my recommendation and my testimony that I've had such great experience with the company and that they do such fine work. I am now wondering if I've made a huge mistake.

I entered a bug Monday about the Pulse error that's happening every day in attempting to email the digest to registered users, and the only acknowledgement I have received is the instant, automated one. I was about to fire off an email asking when my issue would get some love, but decided to check first to see what kind of timeline the automated response commits to. It says I can expect a response within 24 to 48 hours. It's been 24. At 2:33:01 today it will have been 48. It also notes that feature suggestions and "bug requests" may take up to 7 days for a response.

I hope it won't take 7 days for Madcap to tell me that the product just doesn't do what it promised to do.

Thanks again for your report.
-Matt
Matt F
You learn something new every day if you're not careful.
kevinmcl
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by kevinmcl »

OK, wow...

I wish I'd checked THIS topic first when I wandered into the Pulse forum, instead of last.

So, a year later the verdict seems to be.... hmm .... almost exactly like the situation with RoboHelp in the early 2000s, that prompted us to abandon it and move to Flare. Disinterested and unresponsive ownership.

I will let our internal techwriter mailing list know that there's no viable feedback module to go with the Flare product that we otherwise quite like, and that most of us use.

If we get our docs onto our own corporate website, I'm sure we can find something to do analytics, probably something that's already built into the site infrastructure. All we really want to know are what pages our customers look at most, what they search for most, and when/how are they disappointed. For that, we don't need social-network, we just need analysis of incoming searches and page requests. We don't even care which customers are looking and finding or not finding. What's important is the mere fact that somebody (a bunch of somebodies) access these pages frequently, and rarely access those pages, and that these are frequently used successful search terms, and those are frequently used UNsuccessful search terms. Anonymity is appreciated in our industry.
De gustibus non disputandum est
mattf
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Re: get automatic notifications of every comment

Post by mattf »

We never got any satisfaction on this. It is the only experience I've had with a Madcap product that I would say was "unacceptable".

We dropped Pulse like a three-foot putt.
Matt F
You learn something new every day if you're not careful.
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