Once you have launched a program there are a number of ways you can change the content and the workflow, depending on the state of the program. You should always pause a program before making any changes, to make sure that no contacts are being processed at the time.
See also: Editing launched emails.
If you are restricted from making the changes that you want to a launched program, you always have the option to copy the program, makes changes to the copy and then launch that. This will cause you to lose continuity in the reporting of the original program, but will not affect business-level reporting such as Smart Insight.
Contents:
Active programs - what you can and cannot edit
We recommend that you always pause a program before making any changes to it, but if you still need to modify an active program here is what you will and will not be able to do.
When a program is active you can do the following:
- Change the name and description.
- Add nodes, but only if a new path is created.
- Change the end date in the scheduling.
- Change the exit criteria.
- Choose different forms, segments and/or emails.
- Edit the content of the form, or the filter conditions of the segment.
- Edit the content of emails used in recurring batch programs.
When a program is active you cannot do the following:
- Remove nodes you have already saved.
- Insert new nodes into a path.
- Change the start date in the scheduling.
- Change the participation settings.
- Edit the content of emails used in transactional programs.
Important notes on editing active programs:
- Any validation errors caused by changes you make to a program will cause the save to fail, but not undo the changes, so you will still have to address them.
- A save cannot be undone if you accidentally save unwanted changes, but before saving you do have the option to discard all changes.
- And finally, please remember that changing the program may change the customer journey and may make the reporting inconsistent before and after the change. We do encourage you to experiment and optimize your engagement strategies, but always keep in mind that some contacts may be caught by your changes in mid-journey.
Editing scheduled programs
When a program is active but scheduled, you can edit it as described above for active programs, and also do the following:
- Change the start date in the scheduling.
- Change the participation settings.
- Edit the content of the email.
Pausing and freezing programs
It is recommended that you always pause a program before you edit it, to minimize the risk of disruption for any of the contacts in it. There are two ways to do this.
Pause
Pausing a program allows new contacts to enter it but queues them at the first node. Contacts already in the program are queued at their next node.
This has the advantage that you will not lose any contacts, but when you resume the program it will try to process all the contacts at the same time, which could cause performance issues and, in extreme cases, lead to the program being put into failsafe mode.
The length of time you can safely pause a program depends on the size of your database and the volume of contacts that pass through it, but as a general rule we recommend pausing programs for no longer than 30 minutes.
Leaving a program paused for a number of days can lead to large numbers of contacts being queued in the Automation Center and this will have knock-on effects not only for the performance of your other programs, but also for other accounts on your environment.
To prevent the excessive build-up of contacts in the queue, programs that are paused for longer than 30 days are automatically aborted by Emarsys. All contacts in these programs will be discarded.
Freeze
Freezing a program prevents any new contacts from entering it (they are discarded without any record being kept). Contacts already in the program are queued at their next node.
This has the advantage that there is no delay when you resume the program and will not result in the build-up of contacts in the queue. However, you will of course lose the contacts who would otherwise have entered the program during this time.
We recommend freezing a program if you want to stop it for longer than 30 minutes.
Editing paused programs
When a program has been paused you can change the description and settings of all nodes This includes:
- Changing the Wait settings (this will not affect contacts already queued by the node - see below for details).
- Selecting a different email, segment or event.
- Changing the settings of a quick filter.
In addition to this, if the program was scheduled rather than active when you paused it, you can also edit the settings as described above.
Editing finished programs
Once a program has finished you will not be able to edit any part of it. If you want to reuse the program with some modifications, you will have to copy the program, modify it and then launch the copy.
Editing individual nodes
If you want to change the item selected in a node, such as a form or an email, you can deselect it by opening the properties dialog, clicking Select and then OK without selecting anything. This will clear any previous selection.
Note that the deselected item will only be available for selection elsewhere once you have saved the program.
Editing Wait nodes
When you change the settings on a Wait node, this change will not affect the contacts already waiting; they will be held for the original length of time. All subsequent contacts arriving at the node will be held for the new duration.
Adding new nodes or paths
If a program is active you can only add a new node to it by adding a new path; you cannot add one into an existing path.
Disabling nodes
Wherever you can see the Enabled/Disabled toggle, you can disable a node. This is available in most of the Channels nodes.
When you disable a node, contacts will simply pass straight through it as if it were not there. You can enable it again at any time.