Pausing a program
When should I pause a program?
You can pause programs when you need to modify the campaigns used in them or make adjustments to external sources (e.g. your database or website).
Which programs can I pause?
You can pause Active programs.
What happens to contacts and events that would enter the program while it’s Paused?
When a program is Paused, contacts and events can enter, but they will be queued at the entry node. So, you will not lose any contacts while the program is Paused.
Notes:
- Contacts cannot enter recurring Automation Center programs while they are Paused.
- You can only pause Scheduled Interactions programs when their status is Active. This is what happens when you pause Active Interactions programs with recurring schedules:
- Their schedules will be ignored while they are Paused,
- Contacts are queued at the entry point and within the program.
- When you reactivate Paused Interactions programs, then the queued contacts will be processed independently of the programs schedule.
What happens to contacts already in the program?
Contacts who have already entered the program are queued at their current position in the journey; Automation triggers the messages for those who have already arrived at message nodes when you Paused the program and they will be queued at the next node.
What happens to Paused programs?
The status of Paused programs will automatically change to Frozen after 72 hours. When you pause a program, a countdown appears on the UI displaying the time left until the program will be Frozen.
You can reactivate, freeze or finish Paused programs. If you realize that you don’t need a Paused program anymore, you can also delete it.
What is the difference between Paused and Frozen programs?
- Paused: Contacts and events will be queued at the entry node and within the program. When you pause a program, queues can build quickly at the entry node and at Wait nodes. When you resume the program, it will try to process all the contacts and events at the same time which might result in slower contact and event processing.
- Frozen: Contacts and events cannot enter the program. Contacts and events already in the program will exit immediately. There is no delay when you resume a Frozen program and it will not result in the build-up of contacts in the queue.
Freezing a program
When should I freeze a program?
We recommend freezing a program when you wish to make bigger changes or put the program on hold for a longer period of time to avoid queues building up or if you want every contact to exit the program immediately. We recommend pausing programs for quick amendments.
What happens to contacts and events that would be eligible to enter the program?
Freezing a program prevents any contacts from entering it (they are discarded without any record being kept).
What happens to contacts already in the program?
Contacts already in the program exit immediately.
Please note that when you freeze Interactions programs, contacts at Wait nodes will exit the program and appear on the Program Reporting page only after the wait period has expired. These contacts will exit the program after their wait period has expired even if you reactivate the program in the meantime. For example, when you freeze a program containing a Wait node that is set to wait for 2 days, then those contacts who arrived at this node when you froze the program will exit it and appear on the Program Reporting page after 2 days (contacts who had already arrived at this node before freezing the program will exit it when their wait period has expired).
What are the effects of freezing a program?
There is no delay when you resume a Frozen program and it 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.
Notes:
- We recommend freezing a program if you want to stop it for longer than 120 minutes.
- Please note that you cannot reactivate Frozen or Finished programs starting with the Target segment entry point.
Finishing a program
When should I finish a program?
You can finish a program when you would like to end it so that contacts or events cannot enter the program but contacts already in it can finish their journey. You can also finish programs to give you a peace of mind that those have concluded and will no longer need your attention.
Which programs can I finish?
You can finish In Testing, Active, Paused and Frozen programs.
What happens to contacts and events that would enter the program?
When you finish a program, contacts and events cannot enter it.
What happens to contacts and events already in the program?
Contacts who have already entered the program are allowed to continue through it until they finish it.
What are the effects of finishing a program?
All email campaigns exclusive to Automation Center programs remain exclusive and cannot be used in other programs. For more information, see Exclusive assets.
What happens to Finished programs?
You can make small adjustments to or change the structure of your programs, reactivate, freeze or delete Finished programs.
Notes:
- Please note that you cannot reactivate or freeze Automation Center programs that reached the Finished status before July 20, 2022.
- Automation programs with a schedule cannot be reactivated. If you would like to run the program again, you need to copy it.
- Please note that you cannot reactivate Frozen or Finished programs starting with the Target segment entry point.
When should I freeze Finished programs?
You can freeze Finished programs when you want all contacts to exit the program, so they won’t finish their journey.
When can I reactivate Finished Automation Center programs?
Emarsys checks if the email campaigns exclusive to the Automation Center program are still available in order to reactivate a Finished program. If they are still available, the program can be reactivated. However, if the required assets no longer exist or are used elsewhere, they need to be re-created, copied or removed from the programs using them.