The **News Announcements** feature is used to send announcements to all users within your account. Announcements can be posted as on-screen news, published to a public website, scheduled in advance, auto-deleted on a future date, and (depending on your plan) sent as **SMS Text Messages** or **Phone Broadcast Calls**. --- ## Feature Overview News Announcements let administrators communicate with owners, residents, board members, and other groups across one or more buildings. From the News page you can: - View the list of all News Announcements. - Search announcements by typing in the search bar. - Open an announcement by clicking its title. - Create, edit, schedule, publish, and delete announcements. - Send **SMS Text Messages** and **Phone Broadcast Calls** (plan-dependent). --- ## Key Concepts | Term | Definition | |------|------------| | **News Announcement** | A message posted to the News page and (optionally) sent to selected users. | | **Attachment** | A file added to an announcement via the **Choose File** button or drag-and-drop. | | **Building Access** | The buildings that should receive an announcement. Multiple buildings can be selected. | | **User Group Access** | The custom [User Groups](./Users%20and%20Residents%20Overview.md#key-concepts) that should receive an announcement (for example, **Owners**, **Board Members**, **Residents**). | | **Public Announcement** | An announcement that is published to your public website's announcements page and viewable without logging in. | | **Scheduled Announcement** | An announcement set to be posted and sent on a future date. | | **Auto-Delete Date** | An optional date on which the announcement is automatically removed. | | **SMS Text Message** | A text message sent to selected users (plan-dependent). | | **Phone Broadcast Call** | An automated call that reads out your message to selected users (plan-dependent). | --- ## Prerequisites - An account with the News Announcements feature enabled. - Permission to **post announcements** (for creating and editing). - For SMS and Phone Broadcast: a plan that includes these channels. - **Buildings** and **User Groups** set up in the administration section so you can target announcements correctly. See [Users and Residents Overview](./Users%20and%20Residents%20Overview.md) for User Group concepts. --- ## Navigating the News Page 1. Open the **News** page from the main navigation. 2. Use the **search bar** to find an announcement by keyword. 3. Click the **title** of any announcement to open and read it. 4. Click the **gear icon** next to an announcement to access **Edit** and other management options. 5. Click the **Add Announcement** button to create a new announcement, SMS, or phone broadcast. Scheduled and public announcements are visually flagged on the list — scheduled items show a **Scheduled** notice, and public items are marked as visible on the public website. --- ## Available Actions Each action is documented in its own guide: - [Create a News Announcement](Create%20a%20News%20Announcement.md) — Compose and publish a news announcement, with attachments, targeting, scheduling, and public-website options. - [Edit a News Announcement](Edit%20a%20News%20Announcement.md) — Update an existing announcement's content, targeting, or schedule. - [Delete a News Announcement](Delete%20a%20News%20Announcement.md) — Remove announcements manually or with an auto-delete date. - [Sending SMS Text Messages](./Sending%20SMS%20Text%20Messages.md) — Send a text message to selected buildings and user groups. - [Sending Phone Broadcast Calls](./Sending%20Phone%20Broadcast%20Calls.md) — Send an automated phone broadcast to selected buildings and user groups. --- ## Common Use Cases - **AGM notice to owners** — Create a News Announcement, target the **Owners** group, attach the agenda, and optionally [send a Phone Broadcast Call](./Sending%20Phone%20Broadcast%20Calls.md) as a reminder. - **Emergency building notice** — Use [SMS Text Messages](./Sending%20SMS%20Text%20Messages.md) for instant delivery to all residents in a specific building. - **Public community update** — Create a News Announcement and mark it **Public** so it appears on the public website. - **Event reminder** — Schedule an announcement to be sent automatically a few days before the event, with an auto-delete date set for the day after. - **Board-only memo** — Create a News Announcement and limit access to the **Board Members** group. --- ## Additional Notes - A single announcement can target multiple **Buildings** and multiple **User Groups** at the same time. - Public announcements are visible to anyone — do not include private or restricted information. - Scheduled announcements remain in a pending state until the scheduled date arrives. - Custom Buildings and User Groups are managed in the **Administration** section.