# Store Messages ## Table of Contents * [Overview](#overview) * [Getting Started](#getting-started) * [Message Types](#message-types) * [Viewing Message Types](#viewing-message-types) * [Creating a Message Type](#creating-a-message-type) * [Editing a Message Type](#editing-a-message-type) * [Deactivating a Message Type](#deactivating-a-message-type) * [Managing Messages](#managing-messages) * [Viewing Messages by Year and Type](#viewing-messages-by-year-and-type) * [Creating a Message](#creating-a-message) * [Editing a Message](#editing-a-message) * [Deleting a Message](#deleting-a-message) * [Publishing Messages](#publishing-messages) * [Exporting Messages](#exporting-messages) * [Common Scenarios](#common-scenarios) * [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) ## Overview Store Messages is a tool for composing and managing custom text messages that are associated with specific organizations and academic years. Each message belongs to a message type — such as "Superintendent Messages" or "Financial Summary Messages" — so that different categories of communications can be stored and accessed independently. Administrators with the appropriate permissions can create, update, delete, and publish these messages, while the messages themselves are surfaced to the relevant organizations through the portal. Store Messages is useful when your agency needs to attach narrative context or official statements to data for a given school year. Rather than storing these communications outside the system, Store Messages keeps them alongside the organizations they belong to, making it easy to review and export them together. ## Getting Started Access to Store Messages is controlled by your administrator. There are several permission levels: * **View messages** — lets you see messages for organizations you are authorized to manage. * **Create messages** — lets you compose new messages. * **Edit messages** — lets you update the content of existing messages. * **Delete messages** — lets you remove messages entirely. * **Manage message types** — lets you create, rename, and delete the categories that messages are organized into. If you do not see the Store Messages section in your navigation menu, contact your administrator to confirm your account has been granted the appropriate access. ## Message Types Message types are the categories that organize your messages. Examples of built-in categories include "Superintendent Messages" and "Financial Summary Messages." You can create additional types to match the communication needs of your agency. Only active message types are available when composing or filtering messages. Deactivated types are hidden from the selection lists throughout the portal. ### Viewing Message Types Navigate to the Message Types management area. You will see a list of all active message types. You can filter the list by typing part of a name into the search field to narrow the results. ### Creating a Message Type 1. Navigate to the Message Types management area. 2. Click the **Create** button. 3. Enter a name for the new message type. The name should clearly describe the category of messages it will hold. 4. Save the new type. It becomes immediately available when composing messages. ### Editing a Message Type 1. Locate the message type in the list. 2. Click the **Edit** (or pencil) icon next to the type you want to rename. 3. Update the name. 4. Save your changes. Renaming a message type updates the category label everywhere it appears. Existing messages linked to that type are not affected — only the display name changes. ### Deactivating a Message Type Deleting a message type removes it permanently. If a message type is no longer needed but you want to preserve historical messages, speak with your administrator about archiving options before deleting. 1. Locate the message type in the list. 2. Click the **Delete** icon next to the type. 3. Confirm the deletion when prompted. Once deleted, the message type no longer appears in the selection lists. Any messages that were previously associated with it remain in the system but will not be visible through normal message type filters. ## Managing Messages Messages are always viewed and managed in the context of a specific year and message type. Before you can create or view messages, you select the year and message type you want to work with. ### Viewing Messages by Year and Type 1. Navigate to the Store Messages section. 2. Select the **year** from the available options. 3. Select the **message type** (for example, "Superintendent Messages"). 4. The list updates to show all organizations you have access to, along with any existing message for each organization for that year and type. Organizations without a message yet are shown with a blank message field. The list is sorted alphabetically by organization name so it is easy to scan. ### Creating a Message 1. Find the organization in the list that should have a message. 2. Click the **Add** or **Create** action for that row. 3. Type the message content into the text field provided. 4. Save the message. It is now associated with that organization, year, and message type. You can only create one message per organization per year per message type. If a message already exists for that combination, you will need to edit rather than create a new one. ### Editing a Message 1. Locate the organization whose message you want to update. 2. Click the **Edit** action for that row. 3. Update the message text. 4. Save your changes. Only the message text can be updated. The organization, year, and message type that the message is linked to cannot be changed after creation. If you need to move a message to a different organization or type, delete the existing one and create a new message in the correct location. ### Deleting a Message 1. Locate the message you want to remove. 2. Click the **Delete** icon for that row. 3. Confirm the deletion when prompted. Deleting a message is permanent. The organization row remains in the list but shows no message content. ### Publishing Messages Publishing sends the current messages for a given year and type out to the relevant systems or display surfaces where end users see them. Until messages are published, changes remain internal and are not visible outside the administration area. 1. Navigate to the Store Messages section for the relevant year and message type. 2. Click the **Publish** button. 3. The system processes all messages for that combination and reports back how many records were updated and how many were newly inserted. 4. Review the result summary to confirm the publish completed successfully. If publishing fails, the system displays an error message describing what went wrong. You can retry publishing after resolving the reported issue. ## Exporting Messages You can download a snapshot of messages as a spreadsheet for reporting or record-keeping purposes. 1. Navigate to the Store Messages section. 2. Select the year and message type you want to export. 3. Click the **Export to Excel** button (or equivalent download action). 4. The system prepares a `.xlsx` file and downloads it to your computer. The file is named after the message type (for example, `Superintendent Messages.xlsx`). The exported file contains the same data visible in the list — organizations and their message content for the selected year and type. ## Common Scenarios **Composing annual superintendent messages for all districts** At the start of each reporting cycle, navigate to Store Messages, select the current year, and choose "Superintendent Messages" as the type. Work through each district in the alphabetical list, clicking the create or edit action to enter the appropriate statement. When all districts have been addressed, click Publish to make the messages visible to portal users. **Introducing a new category of messages** If your agency needs to start tracking a new type of communication — for example, "Board Chair Messages" — go to Message Types and create the new type. It is immediately available as an option when composing messages. You can then return to Store Messages, select the new type, and begin entering content for each organization. **Exporting messages for an audit or review** Select the year and message type in question, then use the Export to Excel option. The downloaded spreadsheet lists every organization alongside its stored message, which you can share with reviewers without requiring them to have portal access. ## Troubleshooting **A message type does not appear in the selection list** Message types only appear when they are active. If a type you expected to see is missing, it may have been deactivated or deleted. Contact your administrator to check the status of that type under Message Types management. **You cannot create or edit messages** Creating and editing messages require separate permissions. If the create or edit actions are not available to you, your account may be missing one or both permissions. Contact your administrator to have the appropriate access granted. **The Publish action returns an error** If publishing reports a failure, the error message provides a description of the issue. Common causes include data validation problems or a temporary system error. Note the error text and contact your administrator or support team if you cannot resolve it on your own. **An organization is missing from the message list** The list shows organizations that your account is authorized to manage. If you expect to see an organization but it does not appear, your administrative access may not cover that organization. Contact your administrator to review your organization unit access. **The exported Excel file is empty or incomplete** The export reflects the messages currently stored for the selected year and type. If no messages have been created for that combination yet, the file will contain organization rows with empty message columns. 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