Responding to an Alert Message
When Oracle Alert sends the original alert message action that solicits a response, it automatically appends a unique identifier - a message handle - to the end of the message. Oracle Alert uses this message handle to identify responses to the message. If a response does not include the original message (with its message handle), Oracle Alert cannot perform any of the response actions for that alert. See: Message Handles.
To respond to an alert message:
1. Use your mail program to reply to the alert message action.
2. Your response must match one of the possible valid responses listed in the original message action for Oracle Alert to recognize it as a valid response.
3. Oracle Alert considers any message that contains the appropriate message handle and that does not match one of the possible valid responses, an invalid response.
4. If the original message action includes a response variable as part of the valid response text, Oracle Alert expects you to supply a response variable value in your reply. For example, if the valid response text is:
Print at PRINTER="?"
You need to reply with the exact same text, but replace the question mark with the value you want Oracle Alert to use. For example:
Print at PRINTER="UNX138"
5. If you do not supply a response variable value, Oracle Alert uses the default value assigned to the response variable. If a default value was not assigned to the response variable, Oracle Alert performs the response action, but without using a response variable value.
Attention: Oracle Alert identifies response variables in the text of a response by the word that immediately precedes the equal sign (=) in the text. Oracle Alert cannot identify a response variable if no equal sign follows it. If the respondent supplies a response variable value, but does not include the response variable itself, Oracle Alert cannot process the response.
