LISTSERV Maestro 11.1-2 Help Table Of Contents

Target Group Definition - Send to a LISTSERV List

To create a new target group, select New Recipient Target Group... from the menu (or go via the right-click menu of the Target Groups node or a target group folder in the subscriber warehouse).
Note: If the new target group has not the desired type "Send to a LISTSERV List", you can change the target group type on the source page.

This Target Group Definition wizard lets you define a target group of the "Send to a LISTSERV List" type that can then be used in the recipients wizard to define the recipients of a job.

The wizard for a target group of the "Send to a LISTSERV List" type has multiple pages:
General, Source, Source Details, Parameters, Input Layout, Input Preview, Recipients Details, and Summary.

The top row of the wizard displays links to each of these pages. The page that is currently open is marked with a highlighted background color. Depending on the choices made on some of the wizard pages, other pages may become disabled or may be shown in different versions. If a wizard page is disabled, then it means that this page is not necessary with the current choices and can safely be ignored.

Parameters Page: Parameters in the Topics Condition or LISTSERV Condition

Standard Submit Parameters Definition

For a standard submit to a LISTSERV list, the Parameters screen is only available if a list is selected with topics, and on the Source Details screen the parameter to expose topics to the end user is chosen. In this case, the page defines how the topics parameter is treated.

A label must be supplied for the topics parameter and optionally a description. The input type must also be chosen, which can be either of the following:

  • Selection List (Single Value): The topics parameter will be rendered as a single-select drop-down menu. This means that the end user will be able select exactly one topic from the list of topics that have been preselected on the Source Details menu so the mailing where this target group is used will go to all subscribers who have among their subscribed topics the one that the end user selects from the drop-down menu in the recipient wizard.
  • Selection List (Multiple Values): The topics parameter will be rendered as a multiple-select selection list. This means that the end user will be able to select one or several topics from the list of topics that have been preselected on the Source Details screen so the mailing where this target group is used will go to all subscribers who have among their subscribed topics at least one of the topics that the end user selects from the drop-down menu in the recipient wizard.

There is also the option of defining how the topics list will be presented to the end user. The entries in the selection list that is presented to the end user will be shown with the display names and ordering as displayed in the selection box at the bottom of the screen (the display names are preset to the actual topics names, but they can be changed). The controls for this selection box can be used to adjust the display names and ordering as desired. To change the ordering, select an entry in the list and click on Up or Down to move the selected entry up or down. To change the display name of a topic, select the corresponding entry. Its display name and the corresponding topic name will then be displayed in the two edit fields above the selection box. Edit the value in the Display Name field to change the display name (the other edit field is read only and is only there to show which topic actually corresponds to this display name). After the display name has been edited, click on [Save Entry] to save the changes to the selection list.

Special Submit Parameters Definition

For a special submit to a LISTSERV list, the Parameters screen is only available if on the Source Details screen a condition that contains parameters has been defined. In this case, this screen defines how the parameters from the parameterized condition are treated.

This screen is only available if the condition contains parameter tokens. The Source Page help describes how to supply parameter tokens.

At the top, the condition is displayed, with each parameter that has been found converted into a clickable link. Each of these parameters must now be "defined" (see below for details). All parameters that are undefined are displayed with a highlighted yellow background. Parameters that are already defined are displayed without the highlighted background.

Click on any parameter (highlighted or not) to select it. The details of the selected parameter are then displayed in the lower half of the wizard page:

  • Parameter: Displays the name of the selected parameter so that you know which of them you are currently editing.
  • Label: Enter a label for this parameter. The label is mandatory. It will be displayed to the end user when asked to fill out the parameter. Enter a meaningful name, so that the end user will know what to enter, and how this input will affect the actual recipients selection.
  • Description: Enter a description for this parameter. The description is optional. If present, it will be displayed to the end user when asked to fill out the parameter. In many cases, the label alone may not be enough for the end user to understand exactly what is supposed to be entered (or selected) for a certain parameter, so an additional descriptive text may be in order. Choose this text carefully.
  • Input Type: Select the input type of the parameter. This determines the kind of input or selection the end user must make to enter or choose a value for this parameter. This may also limit the end user to a certain kind of input (for example integer or float number). See below for detail about the input types and their meanings.

When the end user selects a target group in the recipients wizard, all parameters that need to be filled out will be presented in tabular form:

Parameter Label: (Parameter Description here [if present], in parenthesis)
Another Parameter: (Description of the next parameter)
...and so on...

Please see the Input Preview screen, which displays all parameters to the target group administrator in the same form they will be displayed to the end user in the recipients wizard.

Available Parameter Types

The following lists the available parameter types for each parameter context, with a list of the descriptions of each parameter type further below. Some parameter types are restricted to certain sub-selections, depending on their context in the condition.

For integer values:

For non-integer (quoted) values:

Description of Input Types

Each parameter type is described below along with what the target group administrator is required to input to define them correctly, how they will be presented to the user, and how the user's input will be used to replace the parameter placeholder in the condition.

Parameter Type Edit Field

The parameter type "Edit Field" will be rendered as a free input field and the input will be validated according to the sub-selection:

  • "Restrict value(s) to integer numbers": only integer numbers are accepted as input.
  • "Restrict value(s) to floating point numbers": only numbers (integer or floating point) are accepted.
  • "Allow free text input": Any kind of input (including text) is accepted.

The input from the user will be used directly to replace the parameter placeholder. If the parameter placeholder was quoted , then all occurrences of the quote character in the user input will be automatically escaped before the replacement.

Parameter Type Checkbox

The parameter type "Checkbox" will be rendered as a checkbox. The checkbox has two associated values, one for the "checked" state and one for the "unchecked" state. Enter these values accordingly - they need to be different values.

Depending on the input from the user (if the box is checked or not), the one or the other value will be used directly to replace the parameter placeholder.
If the parameter placeholders were not quoted, then enter only integers as the two values, otherwise the values will not be accepted. If the parameter placeholders were quoted, then you can enter any string for the values, and all occurrences of the quote character in these will be escaped automatically before the replacement. Remember, do not escape quotes yourself when entering the values.

Parameter Type Selection List

The parameter type "Selection List" will be rendered as a selection list with multiple entries.

The entries in the selection list are specified manually on this wizard page.

Each value consists of two parts. The first part is the visible text in the selection list - what the end user actually sees in the list. The second part is the invisible value associated with that entry. The invisible value associated with the entry selected by the end user will be used directly to replace the parameter placeholder.
If the parameter placeholder was not quoted, then you must use an integer number as the internal value of an entry. Otherwise, the internal value will not be accepted. If it was quoted, then you can enter any string for the internal value and all occurrences of the quote character in the value will be escaped automatically before the replacement. Do not escape quotes yourself when entering the values.

To add a new entry, click on the "New" link to the right of the list, then enter the visible text into the left one of the two edit fields, and the internal attribute value into the right field. Next, click on "Save Entry". The new entry will be added to the list.

To modify an existing entry, simply select the entry in the list, then edit its visible text and/or internal value in the two edit fields above and click "Save Entry" to save the changes. The entry will be updated accordingly.

To change the ordering of the entries, select the entry you want to move and click "Up" or "Down" to move it in the list.

Note that the list may only have a maximum of 1000 entries, in order to not overburden the user interface and to protect against abuse. If you require more entries than this maximum, consider using the "Edit Field" type for this parameter, letting the end user input the value manually, instead of selecting it from a list with too many entries.

Parameter Type Date and/or Time

Choose sub-selections for "Date Input Format" and/or "Time Input Format". Choose at least one or choose both. The selection determines whether the user will be asked to input a date, a time, or both. It also determines how the input fields will be arranged. Input fields will be rendered as three input fields for the date (day, month, year ordered according to your selection), and/or as two or three input fields for the time (hours and minutes with or without seconds, according to your selection).

All end user time input must happen in the 24h format from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59. You cannot use an AM/PM input format.

In addition to defining how the date/time input will look for the end user, you also need to define how the input from the user is converted into a string that matches the date/time format used in your database. This is done by entering a format string into the specified edit field.

In that format string, use any characters you like (for example, separation characters like ":" or ",") and use any of the format placeholders listed to the right of the edit field. Each format placeholder will later be replaced with the corresponding date/time value, in the corresponding format. Possible format placeholders are:

  • year4: Will be replaced with a four digit representation of the year value entered by the end user (for example "2004"). Available only if a date input format was selected.

  • year2: Will be replaced with a two digit representation of the year value entered by the end user (for example "04"). Available only if a date input format was selected.

  • month2: Will be replaced with a two digit representation of the month value entered by the end user (for example "09" or "12"). Available only if a date input format was selected.

  • month1: Will be replaced with a one or two digit representation of the month value entered by the end user, with months January to September as one digit and months October to December as two digits (for example "9" or "12"). Available only if a date input format was selected.

  • day2: Will be replaced with a two digit representation of the day value entered by the end user (for example "01" or "31"). Available only if a date input format was selected.

  • day1: Will be replaced with a one or two digit representation of the day value entered by the end user, with days 1 to 9 as one digit and days 10 to 31 as two digits (for example "1" or "31"). Available only if a date input format was selected.

  • hour2: Will be replaced with a two digit representation of the hour value entered by the end user (for example "08" or "23"). Available only if a time input format was selected.

  • hour1: Will be replaced with a one or two digit representation of the hour value entered by the end user, with hours 0 to 9 as one digit and hours 10 to 23 as two digits (for example "1" or "23"). Available only if a time input format was selected.

  • min2: Will be replaced with a two digit representation of the minute value entered by the end user (for example "04" or "59"). Available only if a time input format was selected.

  • min1: Will be replaced with a one or two digit representation of the minute value entered by the end user, with minutes 0 to 9 as one digit and minutes 10 to 59 as two digits (for example "4" or "59"). Available only if a time input format was selected.

  • sec2: Will be replaced with a two digit representation of the seconds value entered by the end user (for example "06" or "59"). Available only if the time input format with seconds was selected.

  • sec1: Will be replaced with a one or two digit representation of the seconds value entered by the end user, with seconds 0 to 9 as one digit and seconds 10 to 59 as two digits (for example "6" or "59"). Available only if the time input format with seconds was selected.

While you are typing the format string into the input field, the sample date/time "Sep. 1, 2002 08:04:06 AM" will continuously be converted into that format and the result displayed below the input field. For example, if you input "month2/day2/year4 - [hour2:min2:sec2]" as the format, then the sample will display:
09/01/2002 - [08:04:06]

The input from the user will be applied to the format string you enter in the same way as with the sample date, and the resulting string will be used to replace the parameter placeholder.
All occurrences of the quote character in the date/time string will be escaped before the replacement. Do not escape quotes yourself when entering the date/time string.

Note that this database format always requires a 24h time format from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59. You cannot use this input type to generate a database time format that includes AM/PM information with hours from 1 to 12. It is also not possible to generate a database date format where the month or day of the week is given in long text, like "Monday, December 2nd, 2003". If you require such a time format, you should use the "Edit Field" type instead, and let the user input the date and time manually in the format required by the database (use the parameter's description field to tell users which format they need to use to be compatible with your database).

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