# Announcements

## Overview

Announcements (Admin → Announcements) lets the platform owner publish a short message in the scrolling bar that appears on every signed-in page. Use it for product news, maintenance notices, promotions, or any one-line message you want every operator to see.

The list shows a stats strip — Total, Active, Expired, and Scheduled — plus a searchable list you can filter by status. From it you can create, edit, toggle, and delete announcements.

## Creating an Announcement

Click New announcement. The form is split into three sections.

### 1. Message

Field | Notes
--- | ---
Text (required) | One short sentence, up to 500 characters. Shown on every signed-in page.
Tone | Sets the bar's colour: Info (dark ink), Promo (dark wood), Warning (amber), or Success (green). Defaults to Info.

### 2. Link & visibility

Field | Notes
--- | ---
Link URL | Optional. When set, the whole bar becomes clickable. Accepts a relative path (`/pricing`) or full URL.
Link label | Optional CTA chip shown next to the message, e.g. "Learn more".
Active | Show the bar right now, provided the current time is inside the schedule window.
Dismissible | Let each user close the bar; the dismissal is remembered in their browser.

### 3. Scheduling

Field | Notes
--- | ---
Timezone | The timezone the start/expiry times below are interpreted in. Defaults to the app timezone.
Starts at | When the bar becomes visible. Blank = visible from now.
Expires at | When the bar stops showing. Blank = never expires. Must be on or after the start time.
Sort order | Lower numbers appear first when multiple announcements are active.

Save with Create announcement. Editing an existing one shows the same three sections with Save changes.

## Scheduling & Timezones

The date/time inputs themselves carry no timezone information, so WaDesk uses the Timezone dropdown to interpret them: it reads your start and expiry times as if they were in the timezone you picked, then converts to UTC for storage. This means an announcement scheduled for "9:00 AM" goes live at 9:00 AM in the timezone you selected, regardless of where your server runs.

> Tip: Always check the Timezone dropdown before setting a launch time — it defaults to the app timezone, which may differ from your own. An announcement only shows when it is Active and the current moment is inside its start/expiry window, so scheduling and the Active toggle work together.

## Managing Announcements

From the index list you can:

- Filter by status — All, Active, Inactive, or Expired — and search by message text or link label.
- Toggle an announcement on or off without opening the editor.
- Edit any field, including its schedule and tone.
- Delete one you no longer need.

The status buckets are derived from the data: Active means it is on and inside its window; Scheduled means a start time is set in the future; Expired means its expiry time has passed.

## The Public Announcement Bar

Active announcements appear in the scrolling bar at the top of every signed-in page, in sort order. The bar's colour comes from the chosen tone, the optional link makes the whole bar clickable, and a dismissible announcement shows a close control that the user's browser remembers.

For speed, the current set of announcements is briefly cached. WaDesk refreshes that cache automatically whenever you create, edit, toggle, or delete an announcement, so your changes appear right away with no manual step.

> Note: Keep the marquee uncluttered — one or two active announcements read best. If several are active at once they are ordered by the Sort order field, lowest first.

## Related Pages

- System Settings — platform branding and the general configuration.
- Support & Guidebook — the help articles and support desk shown to users.