Alerts and emergency takeovers
Work through open screen problems, build rules that notify the right people, and pre-arm emergency messages.
Brix watches every screen and opens an alert when something goes wrong. Use this guide to work through open alerts, to build rules that notify the right people, and to prepare an emergency takeover. Most tasks below start in Settings > Alerts.
What you can do
- See what is wrong now — Read every open alert, with the screen and the next action.
- Dismiss an alert — Close an event you dealt with.
- Add the recommended alerts — Arm two ready-made rules with one button.
- Create an alert rule — Pick the conditions, the screens and the wait time.
- Choose who gets notified — Send email or a webhook to an address or to a role.
- Turn a rule off — Keep the rule, but stop the alerts.
- Ask for emergency takeover — Message Brix support about life-safety messages for your workspace.
- Prepare an emergency template — Write the wording once, and cache the content on screens in advance.
- Start an emergency takeover — Take over the chosen screens with one message.
Read the open alerts
- Select Alerts in the Settings rail.
- Stay on the Events tab.
- Read the line under the Alerts title for the number of open alerts.
- Read the code, the message and the severity on the event row.
- Read the Next action line for the fix.
- Select the screen name to open that screen.
️ An Open pill means the condition still holds. A Closed pill means the condition cleared.
️ Brix closes an event five minutes after the condition clears. The event stays in the list with a Closed pill.
️ A rule that stays open sends a reminder once a day.
For the fix behind a code, read troubleshoot a screen.
Dismiss an alert
- Find the open event on the Events tab.
- Select Dismiss at the right of the row.
️ Dismiss appears only on an open event, and only for a member who can edit screens. Read set up your organization, people and roles.
Add the recommended alerts
- Select the Rules tab.
- Find the Recommended alerts card.
- Select Frozen or blank screen to arm that preset.
- Select Playback failing to arm the other preset.
- Check that the rules table now holds the new row.
️ Brix watches these problems already and shows them in the CMS. A preset adds email for the workspace owners.
️ An offline screen emails the owners after one hour dark. Storage, overheating and emergency failures email at once.
️ The Recommended alerts card disappears once your rules arm every preset condition.
Create an alert rule
- Select the Rules tab.
- Select New rule.
- Type a name in Rule name.
- Tick one or more conditions under Trigger when.
- Choose the scope under Applies to.
- Pick the target that the scope asks for.
- Pick a hold time under Wait before notifying.
- Select Create rule.
️ A rule for anything smaller than the whole workspace needs a target. Create rule stays off until you pick one.
️ A change to Applies to clears the target you picked. Pick the target again.
️ Wait before notifying holds the email and the webhook only. The in-app alert opens at once. If the condition clears inside the hold, Brix notifies nobody.
️ A trigger marked (not live) saves, but never fires. The rules table marks that rule Coming soon.
Choose who gets notified
- Select the rule row in the rules table.
- Select Email or Webhook under Notify by.
- Type the email addresses in Recipients, separated by commas.
- Type an https address in Recipients for a webhook.
- Select + Site manager to notify whoever manages the screen that fired.
- Select + Workspace owners to notify every owner.
- Turn on Capture evidence when it fires for a fresh screenshot.
- Select Save rule.
️ Recipients and Capture evidence when it fires appear only after you pick a channel other than In-app.
️ A rule needs a name and one channel at least. Save rule stays off until the rule has both.
️ Brix resolves + Site manager when the alert sends. The manager of each location hears about the screens of that location. Where a location has no manager, the workspace owners get the alert.
️ Capture evidence when it fires asks the screen for a screenshot on the first notification. The screenshot lands in the Activity of that screen.
Turn a rule off
- Select the Rules tab.
- Find the rule in the table.
- Select the switch in the On column.
️ The rule keeps its conditions and its recipients. Select the switch again to start the alerts.
Ask for emergency takeover
An emergency takeover replaces what plays on the chosen screens with one message. Brix support sets up emergency takeover for your workspace today.
- Select the Rules tab.
- Find the Emergency takeover card at the top of the tab.
- Select Message us.
- Type your message.
- Select Send message.
️ The dialog sends your name and your account email with the message. Brix replies to that address.
️ After Brix support turns emergency takeover on, the Alerts page gains an Emergency tab. The Settings rail gains Emergency templates.
Prepare an emergency template
- Select Emergency templates in the Settings rail.
- Select New template.
- Type the name of the template at the top of the panel.
- Pick Critical, Warning or Info under Severity.
- Type the wording in On-screen headline.
- Type the instructions in Detail / instructions.
- Select Create.
️ A template holds the wording of one emergency, so nobody writes a lockdown message under pressure.
Choose which screens a template targets
- Select the template in the list.
- Open the Scope list.
- Pick All screens in this workspace, One org-tree node or Specific screens (set on trigger).
- Pick the place in the tree for the org-tree node choice.
- Select Save.
️ A template for one org-tree node needs a place. Save stays off until you pick one.
️ A change of Scope away from the org-tree node clears the place you picked.
Attach content and pre-stage it
- Select the template in the list.
- Select Choose content… under Content (optional).
- Pick a media file, an app or a playlist in the picker.
- Turn on Pre-stage.
- Select Save.
️ Pre-stage caches the content on every screen in scope before any trigger. The takeover then switches at once, even when the venue has no internet.
️ Pre-stage with no content caches nothing. The panel warns you that the template has nothing to cache.
️ The picker takes a media file, an app or a playlist. The picker refuses a schedule and a layout.
️ Leave Content (optional) empty for a takeover of text alone.
Start an emergency takeover
- Select the Emergency tab on the Alerts page.
- Select Trigger emergency.
- Pick a template under Use a template, or keep Ad-hoc message.
- Pick info, warning or critical under Severity.
- Type the wording in Headline.
- Type the instructions in Message (optional).
- Pick All screens or one place under Screens.
- Pick a time under Auto-clear.
- Select Trigger emergency.
️ The takeover starts at once, and asks nobody for approval. Check the wording and the screens before you select Trigger emergency.
️ A picked template locks Severity, Headline and Message (optional) to the wording of the template. Switch to Ad-hoc message to edit the text.
️ Auto-clear takes Until I clear it, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 4 hours.
️ If the trigger fails, Brix keeps the dialog open and says that your screens do not show the message. Send it again.
Clear an emergency takeover
- Select the Emergency tab on the Alerts page.
- Find the takeover under Active now.
- Select Clear.
️ The screens go back to their normal content. The takeover moves to History with the outcome Cleared.
Delete an emergency template
- Select the template in the list.
- Select Delete at the bottom left of the panel.
- Select Delete template in the confirmation.
️ The template no longer starts a takeover. Screens stop caching the pre-staged content of that template.
Ready to get started?
Open Brix Portal