Trigger Types and Timing

Trigger type controls what event causes a communication to become eligible to send. In Administrate, trigger timing is based on the type you choose, such as registration, a number of days before an event, a number of days after an event, or a more specialized workflow such as bookings, LMS expiry, or achievements.

How trigger type affects sending

When you create a trigger, the trigger type determines when Administrate evaluates the communication and when it will attempt to send it. Some triggers are designed to send almost immediately after an action takes place, while others are designed to send on a scheduled basis relative to an event date or another milestone.

The most commonly used timing-based trigger types are:

• On Registration
• Days Before
• Days After

Other trigger types, such as booking workflow, LMS expiry, and achievement triggers, are covered in their own dedicated articles because they use additional configuration.

On Registration

Use On Registration when you want a communication to send shortly after a learner or recipient is added to an event or otherwise becomes eligible through registration-based activity.

• Best for welcome emails, confirmations, or immediate next-step instructions.
• These triggers are treated as priority communications.
• They are typically sent within a few minutes of registration rather than waiting for the main scheduled trigger run.

Days Before

Use Days Before when you want a communication to send a set number of days before an event starts or ends.

• Best for reminders, preparation instructions, joining details, and pre-course notices.
• The communication is evaluated relative to the selected event date.
• The trigger sends on the specified day offset before the event milestone.

Days After

Use Days After when you want a communication to send a set number of days after an event starts or ends.

• Best for follow-up communications, surveys, post-course resources, or reminders after training.
• The communication is evaluated relative to the selected event date.
• The trigger sends on the specified day offset after the event milestone.

Timing behavior to understand

Timing-based triggers do not all behave the same way. The trigger type affects whether sending happens near-immediately or on a scheduled run.

A timing-based trigger may still send at registration in some cases if the learner is added after the intended scheduled point has already passed and the event is still within the system's supported window for that behavior.

Example: how a Days Before trigger behaves

Consider an event that starts 10 days from today, and a trigger configured for 5 days before the event starts.

• If the learner registers today, they will receive the communication 5 days before the event starts.
• If the learner is added much later, after that scheduled point has already passed, the trigger may send when the learner is registered instead.

This behavior is important when adding learners close to the event start date, because a reminder-style communication may still send immediately if the configured reminder date has already been missed.

Choose the right trigger type

Choose your trigger type based on the business purpose of the communication:

• Use On Registration for immediate confirmation or welcome messages.
• Use Days Before for reminders and preparation messages ahead of delivery.
• Use Days After for follow-up and post-event communication.
• Use specialized trigger types when the communication depends on booking workflow movement, LMS access expiry, or achievement awarding.

Related guides

• Triggers
• Creating and Managing Triggers
• Trigger Schedule and Delivery Timing
• Trigger Logs and Monitoring
• Booking Workflow Communication Triggers
• LMS Expiry Triggers
• Achievement Triggers