This article...
- Explains how to create automation rules that award ribbons and badges to users automatically, reducing manual admin effort.
- Details how to set Automation Rule criteria, such as user achievements, email domains, or Security Group memberships, for targeting recipients.
- Describes the process for selecting multiple criteria and choosing between “AND” or “OR” logic to refine targeting.
- Discusses options for reviewing who qualifies for the award, and managing existing badges if criteria change.
- Covers final steps like naming the rule, scheduling, and running it immediately or according to a set schedule.
In this article, you'll learn how to create an Automation Rule that will automatically give Ribbons/Badges to users (which will display on their profiles), eliminating the need for you or other admins to do the work manually.
You can set up your Automation Rules to give users Ribbons/Badges based on numerous criterion, such as:
- user achievements, like posting a specific number of discussion posts or completing 100% of their profile;
- targeting users who have an organizational email address (the example used in this article);
- targeting users who belong to a specific Security Group;
- and dozens more.
EXAMPLE: Check out Manage Automation Rules to learn more about accessing and managing your Automation Rules.
Steps
- Access the Admin interface.
- Navigate to Automation > Automation Rules.
- Click Create.
- Configure the Rule as shown in the images below:
- Select the Add a Ribbon to option from the first dropdown.
- From the every contact who dropdown, select a criterion to pinpoint which users to give the Ribbon/Badge to (TIP: use the search field to quickly find a criterion). In our example, we selected "whose email address partially matches [the specified value]" because we're going to target all users with an @higherlogic.com email address. This is often one of the best criterion to use to quickly assign badges to numerous users. Of course, the criterion you choose depends on your needs.
- With your criterion selected, click Add. The page will reload and additional options will appear.
- Select the Ribbon/Badge you want to give from the dropdown highlighted below.
- Below, you'll notice the criterion you selected a moment ago, along with a dropdown to configure it further. In our case, we chose to target by email address, so we now need to enter the email domain (in our case, @higherlogic.com). Configure your criterion as appropriate.
- At this point, you've selected one criterion to target users and have chosen the Ribbon/Badge to give them. If needed, you can repeat these steps to choose additional criterion to further segment your users. If you add multiple criterion, you can use the And/Or toggle to control whether they function as "AND" conditions or "OR" conditions. In our case, we're targeting users with an @higherlogic.com email address who ALSO have a specific demographic, so we'll use the AND condition.
- Click the Calculate Who Qualifies button to check who the Automation Rule will affect. Once calculated, you can click the blue numbers to check (a) who will receive the Ribbon/Badge and (b) who will lose it, based on your current criterion.
- Next, you can decide how this Automation Rule affects users who already have the Ribbon/Badge, but no longer meet its criteria. Click the dropdown shown below and select to either remove the ribbon or let the ribbon stay.
- Give your Automation Rule an appropriate name so its easily identifiable and its purpose is clear (e.g., "Give [X Ribbon/Badge] to [these users").
- Lastly, decide whether to just Save the Rule and have it run according to your Automation Rule schedule (see Automation Rule Settings) OR select Save and Run Now from the Save dropdown to have it run (nearly) instantaneously. If you're planning to have it run according to your schedule, make sure to also enable the Schedule toggle at the top of the page (the toggle will be green).