Emergency Alerts App

Overview

The Emergency Alerts app enables organizations to instantly display urgent messages on their digital signage screens.
It works by integrating with mass notification systems such as Omnilert, Rave, Singlewire, Alertus and Raptor—or through a custom, self-serve configuration—to broadcast important updates during critical events.

Key benefits:

Multi-channel safety communication: Complements SMS, email, and other systems for maximum reach.
Automatic activation: Alerts can be triggered without manual intervention when integrated with compatible systems.
Location targeting: Send alerts to specific spaces or screens.
Broad applicability: Ideal for reaching staff and visitors who may not have access to mobile alerts.

This guide provides reference payloads and formatting requirements for using the app’s Custom (Self-Serve) option, following the CAP 1.2 XML standard.

Custom Payload Reference

To use the “Custom” or self-serve option in Emergency Alerts, you’ll need to send CAP-compliant XML payloads to ScreenCloud.
Below are required formatting details.

CAP 1.2 XML Format Requirements

The system expects CAP 1.2–compliant XML with the following structure:

Root Element

<alert xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:emergency:cap:1.2">

Required Top-Level Elements

<identifier> – Unique alert ID (no special characters like &, <, ,, or spaces)
<sender> – Sender ID (same restrictions as above)
<sent> – Timestamp in YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss±HH:mm format (no “Z” allowed, UTC must be -00:00)
<status> – One of: Actual, Exercise, System, Test, Draft
<msgType> – One of: Alert, Update, Cancel, Ack, Error
<scope> – One of: Public, Restricted, Private

Required info Element Contents

Each <info> element must contain:

<category> – Array of categories: Geo, Met, Safety, Security, Rescue, Fire, Health, Env, Transport, Infra, CBRNE, Other
<event> – Event description
<urgency> – Must be: Immediate, Expected, Future, Past, Unknown
<severity> – Must be: Extreme, Severe, Moderate, Minor, Unknown
<certainty> – Must be: Observed, Likely, Possible, Unlikely, Unknown

Optional Elements

<area> – Geographic area (<areaDesc> required; optional <polygon>, <circle>, <geocode>)
<parameter> – Custom parameters (<valueName>, <value>)
<resource> – Resources (<resourceDesc>, <mimeType>, <uri>)
<headline>, <description>, <instruction> – Text content
<web> – URL
<effective>, <onset>, <expires> – Additional timestamps

Key Validation Rules

Date format: Must use ±HH:mm timezone, never “Z”.
Polygons: Minimum 4 coordinate pairs, with the first and last matching.
Circles: Must follow lat,lon radius format.
MIME types: Must be valid, registered types.
URLs: Must be valid URIs.
Private scope: Requires an <addresses> element.

Below are example payloads

Payload for casting an alert to be active

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<alert xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:emergency:cap:1.2">
  <identifier>{#INCIDENT_ID#}</identifier>
  <sender>Raptor Technologies</sender>
  <sent>{#format(TIMESTAMP, 'd:yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:sszzz')#}</sent>
  <status>Actual</status>
  <msgType>Actual</msgType>
  <scope>Public</scope>
  <info>
    <category>Safety</category>
    <event>Raptor Alert</event>
    <urgency>Immediate</urgency>
    <severity>Severe</severity>
    <certainty>Likely</certainty>
    <senderName>Raptor Technologies</senderName>
    <headline>{#INCIDENT_TYPENAME#}</headline>
    <description>{#INCIDENT_SUBTYPENAME#} at {#BUILDING_NAME#}</description>
    <instruction>Locks, Lights, Out of Sight</instruction>
    <area>
      <areaDesc>{#BUILDING_NAME#}</areaDesc>
    </area>
  </info>
</alert>

It is important to follow a correct format of the payload in order to get the alert to process properly.

Tip: Replace placeholder values ({#INCIDENT_ID#}, {#BUILDING_NAME#}, etc.) with actual incident data.

Payload for casting an alert to be cancelled

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<alert xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:emergency:cap:1.2">
  <identifier>%INCIDENT_ID%</identifier>
  <sender>Raptor</sender>
  <sent>{#format(TIMESTAMP, 'd:yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:sszzz')#}</sent>
  <references>Raptor,%INCIDENT_ID%,%INCIDENT_INITIATED_TIMESTAMP%</references>
  <status>Actual</status>
  <msgType>Cancel</msgType>
  <scope>Public</scope>
  <info>
    <category>Safety</category>
    <event>Cancel</event>
    <urgency>Immediate</urgency>
    <severity>Severe</severity>
    <certainty>Likely</certainty>
    <headline>%INCIDENT_TYPENAME%</headline>
    <description>Cancel</description>
    <instruction>Locks, Lights, Out of Sight</instruction>
    <area>
      <areaDesc>{#BUILDING_NAME#}</areaDesc>
    </area>
  </info>
</alert>

Note: As of 15 July 2025, sending a “Cancel” payload only marks the alert as cancelled—it does not automatically stop casting the alert on screens. You must manually clear it in Studio → Screens.

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