Achievement triggers let you automatically send communications when an achievement is awarded, such as a certificate, badge, or similar completion outcome.
Use this trigger type when you want Administrate to send a communication at the point an achievement is awarded, rather than relying on a fixed event date or registration milestone.
How achievement triggers work
An achievement trigger becomes eligible when the configured achievement award action occurs. This makes it useful for completion-based communications, including certificate delivery and recognition messages.
Achievement triggers are especially helpful when learners complete training at different times, because the communication is tied to the award event rather than a general schedule.
Before you start
Before creating an achievement trigger, make sure:
- The communication template has been created.
- The achievement workflow is configured as expected.
- The certificate or other achievement asset is available if your process uses one.
Create an achievement trigger
- Go to Control Panel > Triggers.
- Create a new trigger.
- Choose On Award Achievement as the trigger type.
- Select the audience and attach the communication template.
- Review the additional achievement-specific settings.
- Save the trigger.
Certificate attachment behavior
If you are using achievement triggers to send certificates, you do not need to manually attach the certificate to the communication template.
When the trigger type is set to On Award Achievement, Administrate automatically attaches the certificate as part of the trigger process.
Example achievement trigger configuration showing the certificate-related option.
Send behavior when certificate generation fails
Achievement triggers include an additional setting that controls whether the email should still send if there is a problem generating the certificate on the platform.
This setting is important because it determines whether the learner receives the communication when certificate generation fails, or whether the send is blocked until the certificate issue is resolved.
Why a certificate might fail
Certificate generation may fail for a few common reasons:
- The certificate background image was deleted from the DMS.
- A mapped merge field does not contain data, such as an instructor field with no instructor assigned.
- The certificate template depends on data that is missing from the related record.
If certificate generation fails, review the certificate setup and the source data used by the merge fields.
How to troubleshoot certificate generation
- Go to the related event and try regenerating the certificate.
- Confirm that required images and assets still exist.
- Review merge fields to ensure all required source data is present.
- Contact Administrate support if the certificate still cannot be generated.
When to use achievement triggers
- Send certificates automatically when achievements are awarded.
- Notify learners when they complete a required training milestone.
- Deliver badges or completion recognition communications.
- Automate post-completion messaging without relying on manual follow-up.
Test before enabling automatic sending
Start in manual mode first and validate that:
- The correct achievement action activates the trigger.
- The correct template is used.
- Certificate attachment behavior works as expected.
- The send-failure option is configured appropriately for your process.