# Setup Virtual/Online Session Notifications

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Important Note:**

* If you are scheduling multiple appointments in bulk, clients will receive notifications for each appointment individually by default.
* To prevent multiple notifications from being sent, use the **Bulk Appointment Trigger Automation** to send a single, consolidated summary notification instead. This ensures clear and efficient communication with your clients.

For more details, refer to the setup guide here: [**Bulk Appointment Notification Setup.**](https://help.whautomate.com/product-guides/appointments/setup-bulk-appointment-notifications)
{% endhint %}

Step 1: Go to the **Whautomate** app then click the **Automation** menu and select the **Add Rule** button as shown in the below picture 👇

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2F93Z7NqMLWlli1YQbU3Q8%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=aba0297d-e18a-4583-81b8-9ad33620a3bc" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 2: Select the **Create Rules from Scratch** option to continue

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FKHLpToD3wqbYfhKrJkZB%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=5ce16b61-76a2-43df-8bbf-bb1ce1539968" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 3: Choose the **Appointment Updates** as a **Trigger**&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FEHvGPCilrTgtd34QhCHr%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=05d5fb26-fb85-43e2-8002-a097d9329969" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 4: To add conditions, simply click on the "**Add Condition**" button

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FCB5fpGi4KMeh01MEYznf%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=6699b7b6-5a30-45fb-9aec-ef005c866970" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 5: Choose the condition **Field** option like **"Appointment Type" 👇**

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FHwUzVBsC6bzd9pVCNLuT%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7e5391ca-f3e9-46d6-afa8-7d2312a62f50" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 6: Choose the condition **Operator** option like **"equals" 👇**

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FpLYrJ8YDNbPDVXfo8TDl%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=aad6945c-a3b5-4cf4-8658-70aaeecce1de" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 7: Choose the condition **Type** option like **"Virtual/Online Session" 👇**

This condition-type option is when a client or you book an appointment for a client. If the appointment type is marked as **"Virtual/Online Session"**. The client will receive a notification via WhatsApp and Email.

<mark style="background-color:yellow;">**Note**</mark><mark style="background-color:yellow;">: Similarly, the condition type option is when a client or you booked an appointment type such as Location Visit or Home Visit, the status will be marked as</mark> <mark style="background-color:yellow;"></mark><mark style="background-color:yellow;">**Location Visit**</mark> <mark style="background-color:yellow;"></mark><mark style="background-color:yellow;">or</mark> <mark style="background-color:yellow;"></mark><mark style="background-color:yellow;">**Home Visit**</mark><mark style="background-color:yellow;">. The client will receive a notification via WhatsApp and Email.</mark>&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FK7bQYHYbwJAcM1TAVsqn%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=ee4d8ee0-0123-40f4-9637-beef8b643cbd" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Important Note:**

If you have already set up the **Bulk Appointment Notification**, you need to configure an additional condition to manage notifications effectively and avoid sending multiple notifications.

**Set Up a Participant Frequency Condition**

* **Condition Field**: Select **"Appointment Frequency"**.
* **Condition Type**: Choose one of the following:
  * **Individual**: To prevent notifications from being sent for bulk appointment scheduling.
  * **Bulk/Repeat**: To allow notifications to be sent for each appointment when scheduling multiple appointments in bulk.

***

**Example Usage**

* **Bulk Appointments**: If you are scheduling multiple appointments in bulk and want to send notifications for **each appointment**, set the condition type to **"Bulk/Repeat"**.
* **Avoid Multiple Notifications**: If you want to prevent multiple notifications when scheduling bulk appointments, set the condition type to **"Individual"**.
* **Single Appointment**: For individual appointment scheduling, ensure the condition type is set to **"Individual"** so the notification is sent. 👇
  {% endhint %}

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2F9TSz3ZreQR3oRG5gR89D%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=92e5d6c7-9066-425c-bbb8-9428cda5c0df" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 8: Select an **Action** you want to notify your client of their appointment booked such as **WhatsApp** and **Email notification.**&#x20;

For WhatsApp Eg. Select a **Send a WhatsApp template message** and fill in the required details. 👇

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2F4vQLv1SGC5ho9eL6DJnd%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=dc33c9b6-3b01-4d1c-a2ba-c9b125ba8945" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 9: Select a WhatsApp template message you want to notify your client for their appointment booked confirmation.

(i) Select the **Add Wait & Schedule Time** button so you can set up a notification wait time and Schedule a specific time to send a notification

Eg. This notification will be sent 1 Day before the appointment and at 09:00 AM 👇

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2F7wdrsIv1zKa7F8FGTYA0%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=dad38916-1d29-4e99-af70-695663be48dd" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

(ii) (a). Select the message template in the **Message Template** field and enter all the Parameters. Eg. I have selected the **teleconsultation\_confirmation(en)** template.

I used the custom message template which was already created and approved by Meta. So first you need to create a new **WhatsApp Message Template**, you can select the **Create New Template** link. This will take us to the template page where we can submit our new template for custom notifications.&#x20;

<mark style="background-color:yellow;">However, please note that any custom notification settings will be discarded, and we will need to set them up again after our new template is approved.</mark>

Check this below link on how to create WhatsApp message templates 👇

[whatsapp-message-templates](https://help.whautomate.com/product-guides/integrations/whatsapp-cloud-api/whatsapp-message-templates "mention")

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2Fj4jxkgSZPA9wuK2fEHIh%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=db429bda-ab4a-486e-8eea-3c2715861368" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

(b). When you enter **(#)** in the Parameter field, a list will pop up. You can choose from the options provided to fill out the parameter details. 👇

**Eg**: #client.name = {{client.name}}, #business.name = {{business.name}}, etc.

**Available Personalisation Variables:**

**Client Variables**

{{client.name}}, {{client.preferredName}}, {{client.age}}, {{client.gender}}, {{client.email}}, {{client.phone}}, {{client.calendarSyncURL}}, {{client.photoURL}}, {{client.address}}, {{client.emergencyRelationType}}, {{client.emergencyContactName}}, {{client.emergencyContactPhone}}

**Business Variables**

{{business.name}}, {{business.address}}, {{business.phone}}, {{business.mapDirectionUrl}}, {{business.operatingHours}}, {{appointment.businessTimezone}}, {{appointment.dateInBusinessTZ}}, {{appointment.timeInBusinessTZ}}, {{appointment.previousDateInBusinessTZ}}, {{appointment.previousTimeInBusinessTZ}}

**Appointment Variables**

{{appointment.practitioner}}, {{appointment.date}}, {{appointment.time}}, {{appointment.previousDate}}, {{appointment.previousTime}}, {{appointment.clientName}}, {{appointment.addToCalendarURL}}, {{appointment.partialAddToCalendarURL}}, {{appointment.location}}, {{appointment.service}}, {{appointment.addons}}, {{appointment.detailsURL}}, {{appointment.partialdetailsURL}}, {{appointment.cancelURL}}, {{appointment.partialcancelURL}}, {{appointment.rescheduleURL}}, {{appointment.partialrescheduleURL}}, {{appointment.practitionerRole}}, {{appointment.price}}, {{appointment.timezone}}

**Virtual/Online Session Variables**

**Guest Meeting URL:** {{appointment.guestMeetingUrl}}

**Meeting Password:** {{appointment.meetingPassword}}

**Host Meeting URL:** {{appointment.hostMeetingUrl}}

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FuK48xV35CKLsyPGAiTse%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=dffc8390-ff54-4ca9-a9bb-999da9849771" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 10: After filling in all the details Click the **Save** button

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FLtLvOBI52XGF518P5Xsa%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=64842287-1efd-4e57-8c81-d0b92392de0e" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Step 11: Now book a **Virtual/Online Session** appointment to test the  WhatsApp notification 👇

<figure><img src="https://810714386-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FF8vuadG7OJ1fFdSBZATv%2Fuploads%2FKYktVW0aJMlI0SnzHcZL%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=ca3d0bd1-3419-4e1f-b23b-f0a5406b1cea" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>