This article intends to walk you through the Gatekeeper Messaging feature which makes collaboration a breeze!
Table of contents:
- What is a Message?
- Where is Messaging in Gatekeeper?
- Why are Messages Useful?
- Sending Internal and External Messages
What is a Message?
The Message functionality in Gatekeeper allows for easy collaboration between your Gatekeeper colleagues including external supplier users. A message is composed similar to an email with recipients, subject, message and any attachments. Messages are received both as an email and within Gatekeeper's notification centre. Messages received via email can simply be replied to without needed to log in to Gatekeeper and will be automatically threaded in the area they originated from.
Where is Messaging in Gatekeeper?
Messages can be used within:
- Workflows
- Supplier Portal
- Employee Portal
- Contracts
- Suppliers
- Projects
- Events
Note: for Workflow messaging, please see our dedicated article which covers examples of how collaboration in workflows simplifies and speeds up the end to end process!
Why are Messages Useful?
Messages are a great way to collaborate across Gatekeeper, with full history available for audit purposes. Files can be attached to messages as well, so that everything is in one place. You can start a new message thread, or add a message comment against an existing thread, and even include users that do not have access to Gatekeeper on the thread.
Sending Internal and External Messages
In this section of the article, we are going to walk you through using the Gatekeeper messaging function against a Supplier record. The same process can be used to post messages against Gatekeeper Contract and Project records.
To get started, select "Suppliers" from the navigation menu on the far left of the screen.
Note: The "Suppliers" menu option is subject to customisation and may appear with an edited label such as "Vendors" or "Counterparties".
Select the appropriate Supplier record that you'd like to add a Message against and then utilise the green ADD button before selecting the option for "New Message".
You'll then be navigated to the "Messages" tab :
To send a Message, simply:
- Add the subject
- In the message body, enter @ to bring up the list of available recipients and start typing the name
- Write your message (add formatting and/or attachment(s))
- Click the green "Post Message" button
Note: Supplier Recipients have the External label to distinguish them from Internal recipients. When including Supplier Recipients, a warning message will appear once 'Post Message' is clicked to ensure they were not added in error.
Just Post a Message (like a 'note')
The messaging feature can also be used to simply make a note against the supplier, contract, project or workflow form that you are working on. Simply write your message, don't select any recipients and click the checkbox next to Don’t email anyone, just post the message to Gatekeeper" before clicking the green "Post Message" button.
Adding an Attachment
There are four options available to add an attachment:
Click Upload to directly add an attachment from your local computer. Once you click this link, the file explorer software native to your computer will pop up and prompt you to select the attachment you wish to add. Select your desired attachment to add it to the message.
Note: Any files attached to a message using this method will automatically be stored in the Files tab of the associated supplier, contract or project record.
Click "File Library" to open up the library of files available and select the checkboxes of the file(s) you'd like to attach, then click the green "Select" button.
3. Google Drive
Click "Google Drive" to add an attachment directly from your Google Drive.
Note: If this is your first time adding an attachment from Google Drive, Google may ask you to sign in and/or may ask you to Allow Gatekeeper to do this.
Select the attachment(s) directly from your Google Drive:
Note: Any files attached to a message using this method will automatically have their google links stored in the Files tab of the associated supplier, contract or project record.
4. OneDrive
Click "OneDrive" to add an attachment directly from your Microsoft OneDrive.
Note: If this is your first time adding an attachment from OneDrive, Microsoft may ask you to sign in and/or may ask you to Allow Gatekeeper to do this.
Select the attachment(s) directly from your OneDrive:
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Note: Any files attached to a message using this method will automatically have their OneDrive links stored in the Files tab of the associated supplier, contract or project record.
Please refer to the Add Documents, Files & File Links Knowledge Base article for further information on uploading documents and files to Gatekeeper.
Receiving and Responding to Messages
Messages will be received as an email and for those recipients with a Gatekeeper user account, they will also receive a Gatekeeper notification:
Emails can simply be replied to (like any email) or the links within the email can be clicked to navigate to the message within Gatekeeper.
Gatekeeper notifications take you directly to the message thread within Gatekeeper where you can respond accordingly.
Adding or Removing Message Recipients
To change the recipients on a message thread, simply navigate to the message, click 'Change' and then add/remove recipient as required, write your message and finally click 'Post Comment'.
