3 SharePoint Alerts For Changed Items

When you share SharePoint documents and list items with other people, it is often useful to be informed when these documents and items have been changed. In a new article in the kalmstrom.com Tips section I describe three different ways of setting SharePoint to send e-mail notifications about changes in lists or libraries.

SharePoint Alerts
With the SharePoint Alert me buttons Microsoft has made it easy for us to set alerts for changes in specific items and files as well as in whole SharePoint lists and libraries. The alerts can be received by e-mail or SMS, and there are different options for when they should be sent.

All alerts for one site can be managed in the same place, so the inbuilt SharePoint alerts are easy to use and a good option for change notifications. The message you get has relevant information and a link to the item or file. There is however no possibility to customize the message. For that you need to create a workflow.

SharePoint Workflow
SharePoint workflows can be very useful, and in the kalmstrom.com Tips section I have published several articles on how to create them. When you want to customize SharePoint alert messages, for example to add metadata, you should create a workflow. This is done in SharePoint Designer.

In the demo below I explain how to create a simple workflow that sends an e-mail notification when a list has been changed. Any metadata from the list columns can be added to the message as lookup fields. I add a status lookup field to the message to show how this is done.

The workflow can of course also be used for SharePoint libraries. Just open a library in SharePoint Designer instead of a list and follow the same process.

Use for kalmstrom.com Solutions
HelpDesk OSP is an Outlook add-on that connects Outlook to SharePoint, so that you can create SharePoint list items directly from Outlook. You can also convert e-mails to list items, manually or automatically.

HelpDesk OSP can connect to any SharePoint list, so the alerts on changed items described in my new Tip may be used for those lists too. We even have a workflow manual for HelpDesk OSP, where we have described step by step how to create several other useful workflows.

The principle is the same also for Kanban Task Manager SharePoint lists. This kalmstrom.com Solution for kanban style project management creates a virtual kanban board in SharePoint. Here color coded tasks can me dragged within or between phases as the work proceeds. However, there is also a list with all the tasks, and it is in this list – or in the phases or projects lists – that you should set the alert.


By Peter Kalmstrom
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions