Creating an AutoAlert

Create an AutoAlert

AutoAlerts are Ovid'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.

To view a YouTube video about AutoAlerts, click here. YouTube

Ovid's AutoAlerts lets you:

Receive a notification when new records match your search criteria, optionally including Open Access records
Receive a notification when new records get added to the AutoAlert's database(s)
Receive notifications 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

You can't save searches that include the following statements as AutoAlerts:

Dedup
Remove duplicates from x

If your search includes one of these statements, go back to the Main Search Page and remove it before trying to save the search as an AutoAlert.

Ovid recommends that you avoid including the following statements in AutoAlerts:

Use (the command, as in: use medf)
Limit to update range

Creating an AutoAlert from the Save Current Search Page:

Select the name of the editor and enter a note.
Type a name for the search in the text box.
OPTIONAL: Type comments into the text box.
Choose AutoAlert (SDI) from the search type pull-down menu. Ovid shows AutoAlert options in the table below.
Make selections from the AutoAlert options.
If you want to select XML as the Output Type, you must first select Email Options > As an Attachment.
Click the Save button.

AutoAlert Options

Ovid gives you several options to customize your AutoAlert.

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. For more information about this option, see this KnowledgeBase article.
*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, Ovid 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 Ovid, 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.

Ovid deduplicates results sets of 6000 or fewer records. If results from an AutoAlert exceed this number, Ovid displays a message in the email: "No deduping because max size exceeded."

Also, Ovid does not deduplicate results when you run a date range override of an AutoAlert.

For deduplication of multifile (multi-database) AutoAlerts, database preferences derive from a system set default. To change this, contact Ovid Customer Support.

	Include Open Access Results: You can optionally include Open Access results when the AutoAlert is run.
	Delivery Options:Ovid offers three delivery options for AutoAlerts: email, RSS feeds or delivery to a Project.

Report Type options: Ovid's report settings let you decide how much information to include with AutoAlert output. For more information about options, outputs and formats, see AutoAlert Output Formats.

Field Options: Field options include variations of citation information and the complete citation reference. Also, Ovid provides an option with which you can customize fields.
Field options for multifile (multi-database) AutoAlerts consist of a deduplicated superset of fields from all databases in the multifile (multi-database).

Result Format Options: Ovid provides three formats in which to output records.
Ovid Labeled Citation format - resembles Ovid's record titles display. Displays record number followed by field information.
BRS/Tagged format- Displays record numbers followed by two-letter field labels and information.
Reprint/Medlars format- Displays record numbers followed by two-letter field labels and information.
When you include the link to record titles display with Reprints/Medlars-formatted AutoAlerts, it arrives in a separate email from your AutoAlert results.

Sort Options: Ovid lets you sort record output by both primary and secondary fields.

Click the Save button once you have selected all preferences for an AutoAlert. Ovid displays a message for it on the Main Search Page.

The following are the editable fields for an AutoAlert:

Name	Name of the alert.
Comment	A short description of the alert.
Frequency	Indicates the frequency of the alert
Scheduling Options	Set when AutoAlerts run.
Delivery Options	Ovid offers three delivery options for AutoAlerts: email, RSS feeds or delivery to a Project.
Send To	Email address(es) of recipient(s); by default, your email address occupies this field if you are logged into your personal account.
Email Subject	Title of the email that will be sent.

View an AutoAlert History

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, Ovid does display the name of the original alert in the create event of the copy.

Ovid 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 send AutoAlerts to a project.

Click the My Projects tab on the delivery options.

To add the AutoAlert to an existing project, select An Existing Project, then select the project where you want it added.
To add the AutoAlert to a new project, select A New Project and type the Project Name

For reference purposes, provide a description for the items you are adding to My Projects.

When you are done, click on the Save button.

Ovid will create a new folder every time the AutoAlert is run.

For more support information and training content, please visit the
Ovid Tools & Resources Portal.

Did you find this information helpful? Tell us.