---
title: "Event monitoring notification placeholders"
slug: "event-monitoring-notification-placeholders"
tags: ["Totara Platform", "Content Creator", "Explainer", "Reference"]
updated: 2026-08-13T16:01:37Z
published: 2026-08-13T16:01:37Z
canonical: "totara.help/event-monitoring-notification-placeholders"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://totara.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Event monitoring notification placeholders

When [creating](/totara-20/docs/create-an-event-monitoring-rule) or [editing an event monitoring rule](/totara-20/docs/edit-an-event-monitoring-rule), you can embed placeholders to add details to notification messages. The use of placeholders is optional; you can use any personalised message, but if you wish to use placeholders, there are some useful examples below.

The placeholders that can be used in a message template are as follows:

| **Placeholder** | **What it does** | **Example** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| {link} | Direct link to the actual event, e.g. a forum discussion. | http://YourTotara.com/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=2 |
| {modulelink} | Link to the module where the event has happened, e.g. a forum. | http://YourTotara.com/mod/forum/view.php?id=8 |
| {rulename} | A name for the rule. | Learner discussions. |
| {description} | A description of the rule. | I want to receive notifications when there is a large volume of learner posts in a discussion. |
| {eventname} | The name of the event being monitored. | Forum post created. |

Some events do not have a link. For example, **Course deleted** and **Course module deleted** would not display any link if **{link}** or **{modulelink}** is used.

## **Example: Forum posts**

In the example below a rule called 'learner discussions' has been set up to monitor the creation of forum posts, using the **Forum post created** event.

The notification message for this using placeholders might go as follows:

> The rule **{rulename}**, monitoring the event **{eventname}**, has just been fulfilled. Click the following link to go to the forum discussion: **{link}**
> 
> Rule description: **{description}**

The result would display like this:

> The rule learner discussions, monitoring the event Forum post created, has just been fulfilled. Click on the following link to go to the forum discussion: http://YourTotara.com/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=2.
> 
> Rule description: I want to receive notifications when there is a large volume of learner posts in a discussion.

## **Example: Glossary entries**

In the following example, a rule has been created called 'Glossary entries' to monitor when a new glossary entry is created.

The notification message might use the following placeholders:

> The rule **{rulename}**, monitoring the event **{eventname}**, has just been fulfilled. Click the following link to go to see the new entry created: **{link}**
> 
> Rule description: **{description}**

The message would look like this:

> The rule **Glossary entries**, monitoring the event **Entry** **has been created**, has just been fulfilled. Click the following link to go to see the new entry created: http://YourTotara.com/mod/glossary/view.php?id=5&mode=entry&hook=1.
> 
> Rule description: I want to receive notifications when a new glossary entry is created.

## Next steps

- [Create an event monitoring rule](/totara-20/docs/create-an-event-monitoring-rule)
- [Edit an event monitoring rule](/totara-20/docs/edit-an-event-monitoring-rule)
- [Event monitoring rule settings](/totara-20/docs/event-monitoring-rule-settings)
- [What is event monitoring?](/totara-20/docs/what-is-event-monitoring)

![Course badge](https://cdn.document360.io/a007399b-031e-436b-999a-528240e16f58/Images/Documentation/course-badge_reports-reporting.svg?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-01T13%3A48%3A09Z&se=2026-11-01T14%3A48%3A09Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=75OLb1KjPLvEdR59bqiEG31YhZ1mXKKcqLQSAZaStK8%3D) Get involved in the conversation about [Reporting](https://totara.community/container/type/workspace/workspace.php?id=538) on the Totara Community.

Why not visit the Totara Academy for our latest course on [Reports](https://totara.community/mod/page/view.php?id=24538) in Totara. Here you can learn more on how to use reports, see best practice, and give it a go yourself.

Join the [Totara Community](https://totara.community/) for more resources to help you get the most out of Totara.

© Copyright 2026 Totara Learning Solutions. All rights reserved.