How to add exceptions and a fallback group
Group rules cover the normal situation. Two more things make notification robust: exceptions for times when nobody should be notified, and a fallback group that catches alerts nobody picks up.
How to add an exception rule
Exceptions are for planned work, known outages, or times you deliberately don't want to be notified.
- Open the building you want to work on. See How to switch building and search for a building.
- Go to Incidents > Alert configuration in the sidebar.
- Open the configuration.
- Under Exceptions:, click Add exception rule.
- Set the time period under Don't send on.
- Click Save.
Within the exception no notifications are sent, even if the group rule covers that time.
Note: An exception stops the notification, not the alarm. The incident is still created and sits in the incident list — it's just that nobody is woken by it. If you want the alarm to record nothing at all, control that with the alarm's active schedule instead. See How to create an alarm.
How to add a fallback group
The fallback group is the safety net: if nobody in the responsible group picks up the incident within the timeout, the notification passes on.
- Open the configuration.
- Under Fallback group:, click Add fallback group.
- Choose the group.
- Set the timeout — how long Properate waits before passing the notification on. If it's missing, the message says Select timeout.
- Choose whether the fallback group should Notify all or Notify by priority.
- Click Save.
How to choose the timeout
The timeout is a trade-off between two failures: too short, and the fallback group is notified about cases the responsible person was already on their way to handling; too long, and a critical incident sits untouched while nobody knows.
Base it on how long it realistically takes the responsible person to see the alert and acknowledge it — not how long it takes to solve the case. The fallback group is there to catch missing response, not slow execution.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an exception and muting the configuration?
An exception applies to a specific time period. Mute switches off all notification from the configuration indefinitely, until somebody switches it back. Use exceptions for planned work, and Mute only temporarily — see How to create an alert configuration.
Can I have several exceptions?
Yes. Add one exception rule per time period.
Should every configuration have a fallback group?
Those covering critical alarms should. For informational alerts it's often unnecessary, and it only means more notifications to more people.
What if the fallback group doesn't respond either?
Then the incident sits untouched. The fallback group is one extra link, not a guarantee — which is why it's worth reviewing old unresolved incidents regularly. See How to read the incident list.
Tip!
Test the setup with Send test notification to current responsible groups after adding exceptions. An exception that accidentally covers more time than intended looks identical in the form — but then the test notifies nobody, and that's how you catch it.