How to Setup the Calendar Notice Add-On
You can extend your LifeBots bot’s capabilities with the growing library of LifeBots specialized add-ons.
LifeBots add-ons can be purchased in the LifeBots Add-On Store at https://lifebots.cloud/store.
This article describes how to setup the Calendar Notice add-on and walks through creating your first notice, step by step.
Before You Begin
Your bot must be a member of the group you want to send notices to, in a role that has the Send Notices ability. Groups the bot cannot send notices in will not appear in the group list at all, and you will see No groups with SendNotices permission available.
Getting Started
- Purchase the Calendar Notice Add-On at https://lifebots.cloud/store/addon/calendar-notice
- Attach the add-on to one of your LifeBots bots.
- Note: Purchase an additional Calendar Notice Add-On for each bot you wish to configure.
Open the Notice Calendar
- Visit your LifeBots Dashboard at https://lifebots.cloud/dashboard
- Click Calendar Notice in the ADDONS section of the Dashboard left panel
The Notice Calendar opens showing your scheduled notices in place on a calendar. Click any entry to open Notice Details.
[NOTE:] If you see No Bots Available for Creation, the add-on has not been attached to a bot yet, or the bot is not in a group that allows notices.
Creating a Notice: The Five Steps
The notice form is a numbered five step form. Each step shows a numbered circle that turns into a green tick once that step is complete.
Steps 4 and 5 stay locked until steps 1, 2 and 3 are all valid. Until then they show “Please complete the previous steps first”. This is the single most common point of confusion, so work down the form in order.
Step 1: Select Bot
Use Choose a bot to send the notice to pick the bot. Everything below this depends on it: the group list, the attachment list and the group collections are all specific to the bot you choose here.
Step 2: Select Groups
Tick every group that should receive the notice. Only groups where your bot holds the Send Notices ability are listed.
- Select visible ticks all the groups currently shown, which is quicker than clicking through a long list.
- Apply a group collection fills the selection from a saved collection in one click.
Group Collections
If you repeatedly send to the same set of groups, save them as a collection instead of re-ticking them each time. Open Manage Group Collections and create one with:
- Bot: the bot the collection belongs to
- Collection name
- Description (optional)
- Color: for telling collections apart at a glance
The dialog shows each collection with its group count, for example Weekend Events (6), and you can Edit, Delete or Clear from there.
[NOTE:] If a collection warns that Some groups in this collection aren’t available on the bot, the bot has left one of those groups or lost its Send Notices role. Those groups are skipped. Fix the bot’s group role, or edit the collection.
Step 3: Notice Content
Two fields, both with hard limits enforced as you type:
| Field | Limit |
|---|---|
| Subject | ASCII characters only, 75 character limit |
| Message | ASCII characters only, 512 character limit |
A live counter shows how many characters you have left.
[IMPORTANT:] These limits are counted in bytes, not visible characters, and they are Second Life’s own limits on group notices rather than a LifeBots restriction. Plain English letters, digits and basic punctuation each cost one. Accented letters, curly quotes, emoji and non-Latin scripts cost two, three or four each, so a message that looks well under 512 characters can still be rejected. If your counter drops faster than you expect, that is why. Stick to plain ASCII text.
Step 4: Schedule
Step 4 unlocks once you have a bot, at least one group, and a valid subject and message.
Delivery Times
Set the time (or times) of day the notice goes out, under Delivery Times (PST/Pacific Time).
[IMPORTANT:] Delivery times are always PST/Pacific Time, which is Second Life Time. This is not adjustable, and it is not your local timezone. The form shows the Current PST/Pacific Time beneath the time fields, so check it against the time you are entering.
Click Add Time to add more delivery times to the same notice. One notice can go out at 09:00, 15:00 and 21:00 without creating three separate notices. Remove a slot with the delete icon beside it.
One-Time Notices
Leave Repeat this notice switched off. The date field is labelled Scheduled Date. Set the date and time, and you are done.
Repeating Notices
Switch Repeat this notice on. The date field becomes Start Date and a Repeat Settings panel appears with a Frequency dropdown:
| Frequency | What You Set Next |
|---|---|
| Every day | Nothing further. It runs every day at your delivery times. |
| Weekdays only | Nothing further. Monday to Friday only. |
| Weekly | Select Days appears with tick boxes for Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat. Monday to Friday are ticked by default. You must tick at least one. |
| Monthly | Day of Month appears, offering 1st day through 31st day, plus Last day of month. |
| Custom interval | An Every [number] [Days / Weeks / Months] control appears. Enter 2 and Weeks for a fortnightly notice. |
[NOTE:] Choose Last day of month rather than the 31st for end-of-month notices. The 31st simply does not exist in February, April, June, September or November.
End Date
Switch on Set end date and pick an End Date to stop the series automatically. The end date must be on or after the start date. Leave the switch off to repeat indefinitely.
Step 5: Attachment (Optional)
Click the attachment button to open Select Notice Attachment. The dialog lists the items in the bot’s inventory, with:
- Search attachments... to find an item by name
- Filter by type to narrow to notecards, landmarks, objects and so on
- Sort by to reorder the list
- Refresh attachments from bot to re-read the inventory
Once chosen, the item is shown on a card with Change attachment and Remove attachment buttons.
[NOTE:] The item must be in the bot’s inventory, not yours. Give it to the bot avatar in-world first, then use Refresh attachments from bot. If the list says No Attachments Available, the bot has nothing it can send, or it is offline.
The attachment button stays disabled until a bot is selected in step 1.
Acting on an Existing Notice
Click a notice in the calendar and use View Details to open Notice Details. From there:
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Send Now | Sends the notice immediately, without waiting for its scheduled time. |
| Delete Notice | Removes the notice. |
Editing a Repeating Notice
When you edit or delete a notice that repeats, you are asked what you actually mean:
| Choice | Effect |
|---|---|
| Edit This Occurrence Only | Changes just that one date. The rest of the series is untouched. |
| Edit Entire Series | Changes every future occurrence. |
| Delete This Occurrence Only | Skips that one date. The series carries on. |
| Delete Entire Series | Removes the whole repeating schedule. |
This is how you handle exceptions. Skip the weekly event notice on a holiday, or reword it for one week only, without rebuilding the schedule.
While editing a single date the form is headed Editing Single Occurrence, the repeat settings are hidden, and the group selection is shown as Current Group Selection (Read-only). To change which groups receive it, edit the series instead.
Duplicating a Notice
You can copy an existing notice as the starting point for a new one. The form is headed Creating Duplicate Notice with the content already filled in, so you only need to change what differs and set a new date.
Checking Delivery
Each notice carries a status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Scheduled | Waiting for its time |
| Enabled | Active repeating schedule |
| Paused | Temporarily stopped, setup retained |
| Sent | Delivered |
| Failed | Could not be delivered |
Notices sent to several groups also carry a delivery result of pending, sent, partial or failed. Partial means it reached some groups but not all, usually because the bot lost its Send Notices role in one of them.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Steps 4 and 5 are greyed out | Steps 1 to 3 are not all complete. You need a bot, at least one group, and a subject and message within their limits. |
| A group is missing from the list | The bot is not in that group, or its role lacks the Send Notices ability. |
| Character counter drops faster than expected | Non-ASCII characters cost several bytes each. Replace curly quotes, accents and emoji with plain text. |
| Notice arrived at the wrong hour | Delivery times are PST/Pacific, not your local time. Compare against the Current PST/Pacific Time shown on the form. |
| Notice shows Failed | The bot was offline at the scheduled time, or lost its Send Notices role. |
| Delivery shows partial | The bot can send in some selected groups but not all. Check its role in each. |
| Monthly notice skipped a month | The chosen day does not exist in that month. Use Last day of month. |
| Weekly notice will not save | No days are ticked under Select Days. At least one is required. |
| End date will not accept | It must be on or after the start date. |
| Attachment button is disabled | No bot is selected in step 1. |
| No Attachments Available | The bot’s inventory has nothing to send, or the bot is offline. Give the item to the bot, then Refresh attachments from bot. |
| Cannot change groups while editing | You are in Editing Single Occurrence mode, where groups are read-only. Edit the entire series instead. |
| Permission Error | Your account or sub account cannot manage notices for this bot. |