This article explains how to write an Outlook appointment subject line so AlertBlast sends the right reminder text to the right person. It covers every supported scenario, including appointments with more than one contact, and lists the mistakes that stop a reminder from going out.

 AlertBlast reads the subject line of each synced appointment. With one person, the order doesn't matter: the phone number can come before or after the name. With two or more people, order matters: each phone number must come straight after the name of the person it belongs to. Punctuation matters too. AlertBlast relies on the commas or semicolons between items, and on the parentheses after a name.

How a subject line is built

A subject line has two parts, split by a colon: codes before it, people after it. Here is every part, in the order you write them:

The rule that decides who gets a text

A person receives their own reminder only when their own phone number follows their name. Add a second name and a second number and you get a second reminder. There is no limit on the number of people.

Two further rules protect minors:

• Anyone with an age under 18 in parentheses is never texted. The caregiver is texted instead.
• If a child's own number is listed and a caregiver's number is also listed, the child's number is ignored.

One person

Surname-first names are understood. Calloway, Nina (13) is read as Nina Calloway, and the reminder never shows the surname in full.

Several adults, each with their own phone

Each adult gets their own reminder naming only themselves. One client's name never appears in another client's text.

A child with more than one caregiver

List each caregiver with their relationship in parentheses and their own phone number. Every caregiver gets the same reminder naming the child.

The last row shows a relationship and a phone number inside one set of parentheses, separated by a semicolon.

Brothers and sisters on one appointment

Join the children with &, and or +. All three work the same way. The caregiver receives one reminder that names every child.

Different surnames are handled correctly, and the youngest child's age is used for the appointment.

Children and more than one caregiver together

Using semicolons

A semicolon does everything a comma does. It is useful when a name or a note already contains a comma.

• EA TH Appt: Lena Oduya; 704.555.0121; Paul Oduya; 704.555.0135 — two reminders, one each.
• GC TH Appt: Micah Alder (8); Rosa Alder (caregiver); 704.555.0177 — one reminder to Rosa.
• GC TH Appt: Micah Alder (8), Rosa Alder (mom; 704-555-0111) — a semicolon inside the parentheses separates the relationship from the number.
• EA TH Appt: Lena Oduya; 704.555.0121; lena@example.com — an email address can follow a semicolon too.
• Commas and semicolons can be mixed in one subject line.

Do

• Give every person who should be texted their own phone number, written straight after their name.
• Always put the age in parentheses for anyone under 18, for example (8). The age is how AlertBlast knows not to text a child.
• Write each child's first and last name when several children share one appointment, so each child is named in the text.
• Put the relationship in the caregiver's parentheses — (mom), (dad), (caregiver), (grandmother).
• Use & to join two people who share one phone number, such as Glen & Marta Mercer, 704.555.0159.
• Keep the colon after the program codes.

Don't

What lands in the review queue

An appointment waits for an operator instead of sending when any of the following is true:

• A person is named in the subject but no phone number is given for them.
• The only phone number in the subject belongs to someone under 18.
• The name in the subject does not match an existing contact closely enough.
• Two contacts match the same name and AlertBlast cannot choose between them.

A review row is not an error. It is AlertBlast asking a person to confirm who the appointment belongs to before a text goes out. Once an operator links a client and selects Remember this match, the other waiting appointments for that client are linked automatically.

Need help?

If an appointment is not producing the reminder you expect, copy the exact subject line and submit a ticket.