Site Content Tools

What are Alerts?

The Alerts service allows you to monitor content relating to matters dealt with by the former HMC&E department and get notifications when content changes. Alerts appear in your Content Tools, but you can also opt to receive a regular email summary. You can choose the content you want to monitor – by subject and by type. These options are explained further below.

How do I select subject areas

Choose the subjects that you would like your alerts to cover, based around the various tax and duty areas managed by the former HMC&E department. Just tick the ones that you need.

How do I select content types

Choose the types of content that you would like your alerts to cover. For example, if you tick “main publications”, this will include all core guides, public notices, information sheets and business briefs in your alert settings. Just tick the ones that you need. Please note that whilst most of our site content is covered by the alerts service, some content (the help section for example) is only available when using the website.

How do I manage alerts

Your alerts are recorded for you in a personal alerts folder. This folder can be viewed within the Site Content Tools section whenever you login to the site. However, there is a limit on the number of alerts that can stored, currently 200. When this limit is exceeded, new alerts arriving will cause existing alerts to be deleted, on a first-in, first-out basis.

• As well as this automatic limit, you can choose to auto-delete alerts after a fixed number of days – tick the option box and use the drop down list to set the time period you require.
• If you would like to receive a regular email summary of your alerts folder, tick the email option box, select the frequency that suits you best and tell us the email address you would like them sent to using the space provided.

If you find that your folder is reaching the storage limit of 200 before you have a chance to read the alerts, you may wish to select a more frequent summary option, or alternatively reduce the number of subject areas and content types you are monitoring.

NB – The alerts folder and summary emails also include Document Tracking notifications– please see the help topic on this service for more details.

How do I view alerts online?

To view your current alerts, select the “view alerts” login from the Content Tools. This will take you to a page that displays the contents of your alerts folder – similar to an email inbox.

The alerts are shown in date order – most recent first. Each line indicates the type of alert you have received….

• New Document Added – there has been some new content added to the subject or content type category you are monitoring.
• Document deleted – some content has been removed from a category.
• Document changed – an item of content has been updated or edited in some way.
• Document tracking alert – this lets you know about a specific item of content that you are monitoring. See the Document Tracking help section for more information.

and the subject category that the content relates to, e.g VAT.

The date and time of the alert is also given, as well as a link to the item of content causing the alert. (except where the content has been deleted – in this case the title of the document only is shown).

Your alerts folder can store up to a maximum of 200 alerts, after which new alerts received will replace older ones on a first in, first out basis.

You can prevent your alerts folder becoming too large by having it automatically cleared out every so often – see setting up alerts for details.

What is Document Tracking

Sometimes it is useful to monitor specific items of site content as well as or instead of whole subject areas. The document tracking tool allows you to do this.

When you set up document tracking for an item of content, you are alerted to any changes to do with that content in the same way as the normal alerts service – via your online alerts folder and email summaries too if required.

You can also see a summary of your current document tracking status using the site Content Tools.

How do I turn tracking on and off?

When an item of content is available for tracking, this will be indicated by one of the tracking icons in the tools menu box in the right hand column on a page you are viewing.

There are two icons that can appear –

• Track Document – This means that the content you are viewing is available for tracking.
• Cancel Tracking – This means that you are already tracking this item of content.

Please note – you have to be logged in to see your current tracking status for any content items. So if you have not logged in and you are viewing an item that you have already set up for tracking, the “track document” icon will be showing instead.

To turn tracking on for the content you are currently viewing, click on the “track document” icon. If you are not already logged in, you will be prompted to do so.

The icon in the tools menu box will now turn to “cancel tracking”, indicating that the content is now on your tracking list.

To turn tracking off for the content item, simply click on the “cancel tracking” icon. This will be available (providing you are logged in) whenever you view that content on the site.

You can also turn off tracking from the Site Content Tools area – see below.

How do I view and edit the tracked documents list?

From the content tools displayed in left hand navigation block , select the “edit document tracking” link.

A list of your currently tracked content items will be displayed.

To cancel tracking on any of these items, simply select them using the tick boxes and use the “delete selected items” link at the bottom of the list.

To cancel tracking on all items, use the “select all” link at the bottom of the list first – this will tick all the boxes for you automatically

What is Clipboard?

All users of the site have access to a personal clipboard. This can be used for storing links to pages on the site as well as specific searches. This allows you to re-create a previously performed search, or quickly get to a page you use often.

You need to be logged in to use the clipboard tool – you will be prompted to log in if you try and use it at any other time.

Your clipboard items will be saved for you even when you log off – so you can use it next time you visit the site.

How do I add to the clipboard

Adding a page to the clipboard is simple. Just click on the “save to clipboard” icon in the Tools menu box in the right hand column.

To add a search, click on the icon when on the search results page. This will add the search criteria (the words you searched against) straight to your clipboard.

Whenever you add to the clipboard a message will appear at the top of the page to confirm that the page or search has been added.

Some pages cannot be saved to the clipboard. Where this is the case the clipboard icon will not appear on the tools menu box.

How do I view and use the clipboard?

Wherever you are on the site, you can view your clipboard by clicking on the “view clipboard” icon in the tools menu box in the right hand column of the page.

Select one of the links to return to the saved page or search.

How do I edit the clipboard?

Select the “edit clipboard” link from the clipboard view page.

Select any items you wish to remove from the clipboard using the tick boxes to the left of the items in one of the clipboard categories. Then use the delete items link at the bottom of the list.

To remove all items in a clipboard category, use the link at the bottom of the list to select all the tick boxes automatically, and then chose the delete link as before.

What is 'Tell a Friend'?

The Tell a Friend tool allows you to send a link to the current page to a friend or colleague by email.
Please see our terms and conditions for rules around usage before using this facility

Click on the icon in the Content Tools menu box in the right hand column of the page. The Tell a Friend entry form will appear.

Fill out the details on the form as indicated, and submit the request using the button at the bottom.

A confirmation message will appear. An email will now to sent to the address you have given, including a link to the page you were viewing and the message you typed in.

Emails are sent at the earliest opportunity. Please note however that we cannot guarantee delivery as this is dependent on a user's email provider as well as general internet connectivity available at the time. In the event of connectivity not being available we will only repeat attempts to send the email for a limited time.