Send email about entities

You can use the Send by Email dialog box to send an email about an entity to other users. A link is included in the email message that enables the recipient to go directly to the entity.

To access

Select one or more entities. Click the Send by E-mail arrow and choose one of the following options:

  • Send by E-mail. Sends email to recipients selected from a list.

  • Send by E-mail to <specific recipient >. Sends email to a specific recipient. For example, in the Requirements module, choose Send by E-mail to Author to send the email to the user who wrote the requirement.

Important information
  • The following are automatically included in the email:

    • Link to the entity

    • Summary of the entity

    • Sender comments (specified using the Additional Comments user interface element)

    • Details

    To include additional items, see the Include UI element.

  • By default, after clicking Send, the email is queued to be sent (asynchronously) and you can continue working. If the send operation fails, you receive an email indicating undeliverable mail.

    To send mail synchronously (meaning, the send operation is attempted immediately and, when completed, you can continue working), edit the ASYNC_MAIL_ENABLED parameter in the Site Configuration tab in Site Administration. For details, see Set configuration parameters.

  • By default, ALM sends emails in HTML format. To send emails as plain text instead, edit the MAIL_FORMAT parameter in the Site Configuration tab in Site Administration. For details, see Set configuration parameters.
  • By default, the link to the entity that is included in the email message contains the path using the default mail server host name and port number. To modify the link's path to a different mail server, edit the ENTITY_LINK_HOST and ENTITY_LINK_PORT parameters in the Site Configuration tab in Site Administration. For details, see Set configuration parameters.

  • By default, the maximum email attachment size is limited. If the attachment size is greater than the specified value, the email is sent without the attachment. To modify the attachment size limit, edit the ATTACH_MAX_SIZE parameter in the Site Configuration tab in Site Administration. For details, see Set configuration parameters.

User interface elements are described below:

UI Element

Description

Check Spelling

Checks the spelling for the selected word or text box.

Thesaurus

Displays a synonym, antonym, or related word for the selected word.

Spelling Options

Enables you to configure the way ALM checks spelling.

Custom

Opens the Select Fields dialog box, enabling you to determine which fields to display in the email. For details, see Arrange columns.

To/CC/BCC

Enter a valid email address or user name.

Alternatively, click the To, CC, or BCC button to select users. The Select Recipients dialog box opens. Select the users or user groups to which you want to send the email.

Subject

The subject for the email.

Default value: The domain, project, entity ID (if applicable), and entity name are displayed.

Send me a copy

Enables you to send yourself a copy of the email.

This option is disabled if your email address is missing from the User Properties page. For details, see Change your user properties.

Add to comments

Adds a comment in the Comments field of the entity about to whom the entity was sent. Text added in the Additional Comments section is also included.

Note: The ADD_TO_COMMENTS_SELECTED site parameter controls whether this option is by default selected. For details about this parameter, see ALM Site Parameters.

Item

The entity name.

Include

Enables you to include the following:

  • Activities. Only available from the Business Models module.

  • Attachments.

  • Design Steps. Only available from the Test Plan module.

  • Design Steps Attachments. Only available from the Test Plan module, if the Design Steps is selected.

  • History.

  • Linkage. Only available from the Business Models module.

  • Paths. Only available from the Business Models module.

  • Snapshot. Only available from the Business Components module.

  • Test Coverage. Only available from the Requirements module.

  • Traced Requirements. Only available from the Requirements module.

  • Run Steps. Only available from:

    • The Test Lab module.

    • If the run is linked to a defect, the Linked Entities tab in the Defects module.

  • Runs. Only available from:

    • The Test Lab module for test instances.

    • If the test instance is linked to a defect, the Linked Entities tab in the Defects module.

Note:  

  • As soon as one of the above items is selected for inclusion, Parameters are also included in the email, provided that parameters exist for the entity and the parameters have values.

  • The Include option is not available from the Test Resources module.

Additional Comments

Enables you to add comments about the email.

Click in the text box to display a toolbar for formatting and spell checking the text.

Send

Sends the email to the specified distribution list.