Workday Notification Designer
Product Summary
October 2023
This content is not part of the Workday Administrator
Guide and is subject to further change.
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Workday Notification Designer | Contents | ii
Contents
Summary of User Guide Changes - Notification Designer...................... 3
Concept: Notification Designer..................................................................3
Create and Activate Notification Templates............................................. 4
Concept: Managing Notification Templates..............................................5
Concept: Editing Notification Templates.................................................. 6
Reference: Notification Template Actions Available Based on
Permissions.............................................................................................. 8
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Workday Notification Designer | Summary of User Guide Changes - Notification Designer | 3
Summary of User Guide Changes - Notification Designer
This table describes updates to the User Guide within the past year. We update the User Guide when new
features impact the product user interface and when editorial changes improve content quality.
This page is intended to be a summary of content changes in the User Guide, and is not a full list of new
features. If a new feature results in a change to only the Administrator Guide content, that change isn't
described here.
To find complete information about new features, you can run the What's New in Workday report on your
Workday system if you have access to the report.
Date Notable Content Changes
September 2023 Added information about the ability to use Notification Designer templates when
configuring custom notifications for all business processes.
March 2023 Transitioned the Workday User Guide from PDF to HTML format.
Added information about:
• Using notification templates for the Change Job business processes.
• Moving content containers from one location to another within the same
notification template.
• Setting categories in the notification template to specify the types of
notifications that can use the template.
September 2022 Added information about using notification templates for the Manage Recruiting
Campaigns task and Onboarding, Hire, and Refer a Candidate business
processes.
Concept: Notification Designer
Notification Designer enables you to create and manage the layout, design, and content of a notification
template that you use when sending notifications for specific tasks and custom notifications for business
processes. You can create multiple notification templates for each type of notification and the notification
templates can be used as alternatives to an email template.
With Notification Designer, you can create a new notification template from Drive and then:
• Select a prebuilt notification layout or design your own.
• Add text, images, buttons, dynamic data rows, and other content areas, and format those areas.
• Share the notification template with others.
• Collaboratively edit the notification template with others who have edit access.
• Publish a notification template so that it can be used when sending notifications.
• Set notification categories to specify the types of notifications that can use the template.
Dynamic Content in Notification Templates
You can insert various types of dynamic content as data rows in notification templates. The task or
business process that initiates a notification determines the values in the data rows when the notification
is sent. Because some data rows are exclusive to specific types of notifications, a notification template can
include only 1 data row at a time, and the type of data row included determines the type of notification that
can use it.
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Workday Notification Designer | Create and Activate Notification Templates | 4
Example: In order for an Invite to Apply task to use a notification template, that notification template must
include an Invite to Apply data row. Additionally, a notification template that includes an Invite to Apply data
row isn't available for use in any type of notification except one from an Invite to Apply task.
Collaboration
Notification template owners can share notification templates with other users who have access to
Notification Designer to collaborate on the content. When more than 1 user simultaneously views or edits a
notification template, Notification Designer assigns a different colored avatar for each user and displays the
avatars above the template.
Notification Template File Downloads
You can download a notification template as an NDXF file type and save a local copy of it as a backup. To
download the template, from the File menu of a notification template, select Download As > Notification
Template (.ndxf). You must be the owner of the template or have Can Edit permission to download it.
A saved NDXF file can be uploaded to a different tenant, if needed. Before you can upload it, access the
Edit Tenant Setup - System task. In the System Setup section under File Type Setup Instructions,
make sure all file types are supported, or add NDXF to the list of supported file types for that tenant. Then,
from Drive in the destination tenant, select Add New > Upload and navigate to the NDXF file.
You can also migrate notification templates and their dependencies between tenants using Object
Transporter (OX) 2.0.
Language Layouts for Translated Content
You can design and customize content for multiple target languages within a single notification template.
Select the base language of a notification template when you create it, and after you add content,
select Language > Add Language to add a layout you can customize with translated text and images.
Languages that are available to add are defined in the Languages section on the Edit Tenant Setup –
Global task.
Each new layout that you add to the notification template inherits the content present in the base layout at
the time you add the language. You can customize the content in each layout by adding translated text,
replacing images, setting fonts, and changing colors. You must add new containers and data rows directly
to the base layout for changes to apply to all other languages.
When a notification template is published, all of the language layouts are published too. If you don’t add
a layout for a recipient’s language in the notification template, notifications will be sent using the base
language.
Create and Activate Notification Templates
Prerequisites
Security: These domains in the System functional area:
• Drive
• Notification Designer
Context
You must create a notification template, publish it, and enable it for specific notification types before
you can use it in an email notification. Users who have access to a task or business process that sends
notifications can view and select only the notification templates that are available for that specific task or
business process.
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Workday Notification Designer | Concept: Managing Notification Templates | 5
Steps
1. From Drive, select Add New > Notification Template and name the template.
2. Select a layout with the components that you need or build your own.
Some of the layouts include a data row supported by specific notification categories. Layouts that don't
include a data row are supported by all notification categories.
3. Insert content, such as images, text, buttons, data rows, and social media icons, by clicking the + icon
along the border of existing content containers.
Note: Some elements of email notifications (such as text and buttons) might look different to the
recipient depending on the email client.
See Concept: Editing Notification Templates on page 6.
4. (Optional) Add language layouts for the template by clicking Language > Add Language.
Each layout you add to the notification template inherits the content present in the base layout at
the time you add the language. You can customize the content in each layout by manually adding
translated text, replacing images, setting fonts, and changing colors. You must add or delete containers
and data rows directly from the base layout for changes to apply to all other languages.
5. Click Publish to make the notification template available for use in a new notification.
You can click Edit and make changes to the template but you must publish the template again to apply
those changes.
6. Click Set Category in the Template Details panel to add one or more notification categories and
specify the types of notifications that can use the template. If the template includes a data row, only
categories that support that data row display.
7. (Optional) Click Maintain (or use the Maintain Notification Templates task) to add or remove
the notification categories for multiple templates at a time. If the template includes a data row, only
categories that support that data row display.
A template can be enabled for multiple categories at the same time, and a category can support
multiple notification templates at a time.
Result
You can select a notification template from a prompt when sending notifications for the following:
Business Process Custom Notifications:
• Add, Edit, and Copy custom Workflow Notifications.
Recruiting:
• Invite to Apply, Send Message, Prospect Consent Collection, and Manage Interview Scheduling
Settings tasks.
• Manage Recruiting Campaigns in the Candidate Engagement functional area.
• Job Alerts available when using the Internal Career Site and External Career Site tasks.
Student:
• Create Student Message and Edit Student Message tasks.
Concept: Managing Notification Templates
This table summarizes some of the actions that you can take with notification templates. Users must have
access to the Drive domain to create, copy, share, and delete notification templates.
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Workday Notification Designer | Concept: Editing Notification Templates | 6
Action Description
Create a notification From Drive, select Add New > Notification Template.
template
Copy a notification template From Drive, select the notification template and click Make a Copy.
Copying a notification template from Drive creates a new, unpublished
template.
Share a notification template From Drive, or from an open notification template, select Share.
When you share a notification template you can:
• Enable link sharing and provide the URL to multiple users at once.
• Select specific users, or groups, to share with.
• Select a permission level for the actions that users can do.
Note: The ability to use group sharing is a system setting that requires
additional Drive configuration.
When you share a notification template with a specific user, Workday
sends a notification and an email (if the Workday administrator enabled
email notifications). When you enable link sharing and provide a URL, or
when you share with a group, Workday doesn't send notifications.
Remove (move to Trash) a From Drive, select the notification template and click Remove.
notification template
You can't permanently delete notification templates; they remain in Trash.
Removing a notification template from Drive won’t delete the published
version of the template.
Note: If you move a notification template to Trash you can no longer edit
it, enable it for notification categories, configure it for use in notifications, or
select it for ad hoc messages such as Invite to Apply and Send Message.
However, templates previously configured in instances such as Job Alerts
and custom notifications for business processes will continue to use
the published template unless you replace it with a different notification
template.
Restore a notification From Trash in Drive, select the notification template and then click
template from Trash Restore. Workday places the restored notification template in My Files.
You can restore a notification template only if you're the person who
created it.
If you remove a notification template that was shared with you but you're
not the owner, you remove your access to the notification template. The
notification template disappears from Drive and it doesn't display in Trash.
Concept: Editing Notification Templates
This table summarizes some of the actions that you can take within notification templates. Users must
have access to the Notification Designer domain to create, edit, publish, and activate notification templates.
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Workday Notification Designer | Concept: Editing Notification Templates | 7
Action Description
Select a template layout You can select a layout with the components you need or build your own.
Some of the layouts include a data row supported by specific notification
categories.
Add message content You can't add message content directly in a notification template, but you
can manage the font, text color, and link color in the Settings panel.
You can create message information in the Message Template (for
Recruiting tasks) and the Message Body (for custom business process
notifications). Workday populates the Message Body Placeholder
container with the message template or body text when sending a
notification.
Edit the default font and You can change the font and the default text, link, and background colors
color for the notification template in the Settings panel.
Create a content container Hover over an existing content container and click the + icon on the top,
bottom, left, or right border.
To delete a content container, hover over it and click the trash can.
Move a content container Hover over an existing content container, click the Move icon, and drag it
to an available, highlighted location. When moving content in a data row,
all containers in the row move together.
Add a header or footer To create a header, hover over a content container and click Image or
Text.
You can't add a footer directly in a notification template. You create footer
information in the Email Compliance section of the Edit Tenant Setup -
Notifications task.
Add an image Hover over a content container, click Image, and navigate to the image.
Use the Image Properties panel to resize the image, add a link, or add
color.
Image file types .jpeg, .jpg, and .png are supported. Images are limited to
1 MB in size.
Add text Hover over a content container, click Text, and type the text to add.
Use the toolbar and the Text Properties panel to select styles, formats,
bullets, numbers, links, and colors.
Add a button Hover over a content container and click Button.
Use the Button Properties panel to select the button shape, color, and
link.
Add a data row for dynamic Hover over a content container, click More, and select a type of data row.
content
Use the Button or Text Properties panel to select button shape, formats,
and colors.
A notification template can include only 1 data row at a time.
Add social media icons Hover over a content container, click More, and select Social Icons.
Use the Social Icons panel to show or hide specific icons and add links.
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Workday Notification Designer | Reference: Notification Template Actions Available Based on Permissions | 8
Action Description
A notification template can include only 1 set of social media icons at a
time.
Add a divider Hover over a content container, click More, and select Divider.
Use the Divider panel to select the line style, color, and weight.
Publish a notification Click Publish to make the notification template available to be used in a
template notification.
To edit a published notification template, click Edit. Click Publish again
to apply changes and have them take effect. Published versions of
notification templates can differ from the notification templates in Drive that
have saved changes.
Preview a notification Click Preview and select either the desktop or mobile icon to preview
template notification template content before you send it to recipients.
Use the View Published toggle to compare content edits to the published
version of the template.
Enable notification Click Set Category to manage notification categories for a published
categories template. You can either add categories or remove categories previously
set. If the template includes a data row, only categories that supports that
data row display.
You can also click Maintain (or use the Maintain Notification Templates
task) to set categories for multiple templates at a time. Notification
templates with a data row can only be enabled for the notification types
that support that data row.
Reference: Notification Template Actions Available Based
on Permissions
This table summarizes the actions available for notification templates based on the user's permission level.
You specify permission levels when you share a notification template.
Action Can View Can Edit Owner
Permission Permission
View a notification template. X X X
Copy a notification template. X X X
(Applies to Can View permissions only if the notification
template owner selected the Commenters and viewers
can copy, download, and print option when sharing the
notification template.)
View a list of specific users the notification template is shared X X X
with.
Remove (self) from shared notification template access. X X
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Workday Notification Designer | Reference: Notification Template Actions Available Based on Permissions | 9
Action Can View Can Edit Owner
Permission Permission
Share a notification template or change share permissions. X X
(Applies to Can Edit permissions only if the notification
template owner selected the Editors can share option when
sharing the notification template.)
Edit content. X X
Rename a notification template. X
Remove a notification template and restore it from Trash. X
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