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AutoAlerts are OvidSP's implementation of selective dissemination of information (SDI). Only databases that are AutoAlert enabled display the AutoAlert search type option on the Save Current Search Page. To learn which databases have been enabled at your site, contact your site administrator.
OvidSP's AutoAlerts lets you:
- Receive notification when new records match your search criteria
- Receive notification when new records get added to the AutoAlert's database(s)
- Receive notification on a schedule that you define
- Remove duplicate records from results of current and historical runs of an AutoAlert
- Suspend AutoAlerts when you take a leave of absence, then unsuspend them upon your return
Searches that include the following statements cannot be saved as AutoAlerts.
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Creating an AutoAlert from the Save Current Search Page:
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- Type a name in the text box.
- OPTIONAL: Type comments into the text box.
- Choose AutoAlert (SDI) from the search type pull-down menu. OvidSP shows AutoAlert options in the table below.
- Make selections from the AutoAlert options.
- Click the Save button.
AutoAlert Options
OvidSP gives you several options to customize your AutoAlert.
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Scheduling Options: Sets when to run the Auto Alerts. Options include the following: |
| On database update: | Emails when any database(s) in the AutoAlert is updated. Output includes only those records added since the last time the AutoAlert ran. |
| Quarterly: | Emails alerts after the last day of each quarter. |
| Monthly: | Emails once a month on the day that you select from the numerical pull-down menu. When you schedule a monthly alert to run on the 29th, 30th, or 31st day, and the current month has fewer days, OvidSP automatically runs the AutoAlert on the last day of the month. |
| Every other week: | Emails bi-weekly on the day of the week that you select from the pull-down menu. |
| Weekly: | Emails once a week on the day of the week that you select from the pull-down menu. |
Setting deduplication removes redundant records from current and past AutoAlert results. In OvidSP, deduplication options are defined in terms of days previous to scheduled runs of an AutoAlert and include the following:
| 30 days | Duplicate records removed from results gathered over the 30 days previous to the scheduled AutoAlert. Setting a 30-day deduplication threshold in combination with a monthly execution frequency yields results that are not very useful. |
| 60 days | Duplicate records removed from results gathered over the 60 days previous to the scheduled AutoAlert. |
| 90 days | Duplicate records removed from results gathered over the 90 days previous to the scheduled AutoAlert. |
| 120 days | Duplicate records removed from results gathered over the 120 days previous to the scheduled AutoAlert. |
| 180 days | Duplicate records removed from results gathered over 180 days previous to the scheduled AutoAlert. |
OvidSP deduplicates results sets of 6000 or fewer records. If results
from an AutoAlert exceed this number, OvidSP displays a message in
the email: "No deduping because max size exceeded."
Also, OvidSP does not deduplicate results when you run a date range override of an AutoAlert. |
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| For deduplication of multifile AutoAlerts, database preferences derive from a system set default. To change this, contact Ovid Customer Support. | |
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Delivery Options: OvidSP offers three delivery options for AutoAlerts: email, RSS feeds or delivery to a Project. |
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Report Types: OvidSP's report settings let you decide how much information to include with AutoAlert output. |  |
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Field Options: Field options include variations of citation information and the complete citation reference. Also, OvidSP provides an option with which you can customize fields. Field options for multifile AutoAlerts consist of a deduplicated superset of fields from all databases in the multifile. |
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Results Format Options: OvidSP provides three formats in which to output records. When you include the link to record titles display with BRS-tagged or Reprints/Medlar-formatted AutoAlerts, it arrives in a separate email from your AutoAlert results. |
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Sort Options: OvidSP lets you sort record output by both primary and secondary fields. |
Click the Save button once you have selected all preferences for an AutoAlert. OvidSP displays a message for it on the Main Search Page.
The following are the editable fields for an AutoAlert: |
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Name of the alert. |
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A short description of the alert. |
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Indicates the frequency of the alert |
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Set when AutoAlerts run. |
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OvidSP offers three delivery options for AutoAlerts: email, RSS feeds or delivery to a Project. |
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Email address(es) of recipient(s); by default, your email address occupies this field if you are logged into your personal account. |
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Title of the email that will be sent. |
You can view the events archive of an AutoAlert by clicking its History icon from the Saved Searches Page.
History logs apply to AutoAlerts only. History entries do not carry over from the original alert to the copy. However, OvidSP does display the name of the original alert in the create event of the copy. |
| OvidSP opens the AutoAlert History Page where it keeps a log of actions (event types) for the AutoAlert you selected, including name of the database of origin and a date-and-time log of AutoAlert activities. |
| Occasionally, Saved Set Results links display in an AutoAlert's history. Clicking this link erases the search history of your current session and switches to the database in which the alert was created. |
Deliver AutoAlerts to a Project
Click My Projects on the delivery options check box to be able to send AutoAlerts to a project.
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Click the My Projects tab on the delivery options.
For reference purposes, provide a description for the items you are adding to My Projects. When you are done, click on the Save button.
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OvidSP will create a new folder everytime the AutoAlert is run.
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