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Issue There are discrepancies in the leads activity logs within Marketo, where the Email Delivered activity timestamp is sometimes recorded a few seconds before the Email Sent activity. This sequencing issue causes confusion for analytics teams, particularly when using external analytics platforms like Tableau, as the logical sequence would typically show that an email is sent before it is delivered. Solution Understanding email statuses and utilizing Campaign Run ID for analytics: The confusion arises from a misunderstanding of how Marketo logs email activities and the meaning behind the statuses Sent and Delivered.   Email Sent Status: In Marketo, when an email status is logged as Sent, it indicates that the email has been considered for sending or queued for sending. The status does not mean the email has been physically sent through the servers but rather is prepared to be sent. The logging of this event happens shortly after the email is queued, which could be almost instantaneous.   Email Delivered Status: The Delivered status is an acknowledgment from the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) infrastructure, signifying that the recipient's email server has accepted the email. This status is logged after the event has occurred and the email has been accepted by the remote server.   It is important to note that while both statuses are recorded after their respective events, they come from different systems within the email delivery process. This can sometimes result in the Delivered status being logged before the Sent status, although such instances should be rare. To correctly analyze and interpret the email activity logs, users should adhere to the following guidelines: Recognize that the timestamps for Sent and Delivered may not always be in the expected order due to the separate systems involved in logging these events. Focus on the Campaign Run ID for analytics purposes. This ID is unique to each campaign run and can be used to accurately reassemble the sequence of events, regardless of the order in which Sent and Delivered statuses are logged.
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  Marketo calls direct complaints received from email recipient Abuse Reports.  For more information about Abuse Reports review the links below: Why do people report abuse? What Is the Difference between an Abuse Report and a Feedback Loop Complaint? Abuse Reports: What They Are and How to Avoid Them   For additional articles reviewing compliance concerns refer to the articles below: What is a Blocklist? Feedback Loops (FBL) Finding Leads that are Auto Unsubscribed for Email Spam Complaints / Feedback Loop (FBL)  
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Quick points: *Spam traps are addresses owned by antispam organizations *Emailing a spam trap (usually) gets your IP or domain blocklisted *Maintain current, direct opt-in with an active lead database to avoid this What is a spam trap?   A spam trap, is an email address secretly owned by an antispam organization that is used to detect spam. Antispam organizations do not sign up for mailing lists, so they consider any email sent to these addresses to be spam. Once email is sent to the spam trap, the antispam organization that owns this address will blocklist the IP that sent the email (or, less often, domains that are linked in the message).   Email administrators purchase subscriptions to various blocklists, and use the lists to block all incoming email from listed IPs or containing listed domains. From the marketer’s perspective, this can mean a high number of bounced emails leading to low lead engagement, and ultimately to weak revenue performance.   There are two types of spam traps – pristine traps, and repurposed/recycled traps. A pristine trap is an email address that was never used by a person. A repurposed trap is an email address that once belonged to someone but is no longer a valid address; these addresses will bounce as bad addresses for at least six months before an antispam organization will turn them into live traps.   How can a spam trap get into the Marketo Lead Database?   Purchased data Purchased data is unreliable. The antispam world does not like the use of purchased data so antispam administrators have made a concerted effort to get spam trap addresses into the databases of data vendors. While data vendors may say they provide opt-in data in reality consent should be direct to your company. Sending unsolicited email is prohibited by the Marketo Terms of Use because this practice has a high risk of causing blocklist issues that can destroy deliverability for multiple Marketo customers. To avoid spam traps get direct opt-in before sending email. If you have purchased data in the past we recommend setting any inactive purchased leads to marketing suspended or simply removing them from your database. Old Data Repurposed traps are email addresses that were once valid but are now owned by an antispam organization. This can happen when a company goes out of business; expired domains are often purchased by antispam organizations. Sometimes a company that has a direct partnership with an antispam organization will allow email addresses of former employees or users to become spam traps. Because antispam organizations will generally make sure future spam traps return a bounce as bad addresses for at least six months before they become spam traps you can prevent repurposed traps in your database by emailing remaining engaged with everyone in your database at least once every six months. Avoid “wake the dead” campaigns to addresses you have not contacted in more than six months.   Unconfirmed Form Entries People can unintentionally enter spam trap addresses into forms either by making a typo or by intentionally using a fake email address that happens to be a spam trap. If you use single opt-in, you may add spam traps to your mailing list. This is more likely to happen if you are a B2C company or if someone thinks they can get whitepapers or free trials simply by filling out a form with made-up information. How can I identify spam trap addresses?   Spam trap addresses are considered trade secrets by the antispam organizations. They do not share these addresses because their goal is for senders to change their mailing practices rather than to simply remove spam traps from their mailing lists.   That said, one thing we do know about spam traps is that they tend to be automated processes and do not engage. Spam traps do not click links. You can use smart list filters to identify inactive leads in Marketo. How can I prevent spam traps in my database?   Maintain active, direct opt-in for all leads. Don’t purchase data (to grow your list, sponsor events, use list rental services that send the first message for you, or use co-branded content that sends you only good leads) Email everyone you want to email at least once every six months Don’t add old data directly to your mailing list (if you need to, add in small batches and send a welcome email with a slightly different subject to each batch) Regularly clean your database of inactive leads Grant access to assets such as free trials and whitepapers as email links to discourage intentional use of fake email addresses on forms Use scripting on your forms to identify potential typos   Other Community articles for how to managage  Chronic Bounces & Non Responders:   Data Management Best Practices – Resources for Managing Bounces Data Management Strategies – Managing Chronic Non-responders (never open or click) Part I Data Management Strategies – Managing Chronic Non-responders (Never open or click) Part II Is this article helpful ? YesNo  
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(Article Updated - August 2024)   Overview   A blocklist is a database of IP addresses or domains that have been associated with the sending of unsolicited commercial email or spam.  Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and business email networks use information from blocklists to filter out unwanted email.  As a result there can be a drop to inbox delivery rates if the IPs or domains involved with sending email are listed on a blocklist. Marketo’s Email Delivery and Compliance team monitors blocklist activity on our IPs and domains daily. When an impactful listing occurs, we reach out to the blocklist, attempt to identify the sender that triggered it, and work with the blocklist organization to get the listing resolved.   There are thousands of blocklists, most will not have a significant impact on your delivery rates. Below, we have compiled a list of the blocklists that commonly appear across our sender ecosystem. Each blocklist has been grouped into a top tier (Tier I) by most impactful, to the bottom least impactful tier (Tier III). These may have little to no impact across our sender network.   Tier I Blocklist   Spamhaus​ (SBL)   Impact:   Spamhaus is the only blocklist that we categorize as a Tier I for a reason: it has by far the greatest impact on delivery. It is the most well-respected and widely used blocklist in the world. A listing at Spamhaus will have a negative effect on your ability to deliver emails to your customer’s inbox and can cause bounce rates of over 50%.  Evidence suggests that most of the top North American ISPs use Spamhaus to inform blocking decisions. How it works: Unlike many blocklists, Spamhaus lists senders manually. This means they are proactively watching sender activity, collecting data, and base listings on a number of variables. Most commonly senders are listed for mailing to spam trap addresses that Spamhaus owns. Sometimes Spamhaus will list senders based on recipient feedback as well.   Next Steps: Please note that every Spamhaus email can be quite different depending on the information provided and the nature of the listing . Because Spamhaus has multiple types of listings, the remediation steps are based on which type of blocklisting has occurred. We have listed the most common types to affect Marketo customers, from most to least impactful. Impact can range from a full block of top severity, to a partial block that is less severe (CSS Data, DBL). If remediation isn’t performed and the problem not addressed, these listings can increase in severity and turn into a full blocklisting.   Spamhaus Blocklistings Types   SBL (full blocklisting) Considered the most impactful.   Remediation steps: Our team monitors closely for Spamhaus listings. Once alerted to the listing, we send an email notifying the customer, and reach out to the Spamhaus contact to start the remediation process. Only a Marketo delivery team member should be in direct correspondence with the Spamhaus contact, to speak on behalf of the customer, and to relay their questions and instructions, ensuring quick resolution and reduced impact.  Senders that trigger this listing on a shared IP range will be moved to a more isolated, penalty range (IPB), so as not to impact the other shared senders. Those affected on a Dedicated IP, only impact their own sending and will not be moved. However, depending on the severity of the issue, our team may need to revoke a customer’s ability to send any emails until full resolution. The listing will last until Spamhaus is satisfied that the offending sender has taken the appropriate steps to mitigate the problem.   SBL CSS  Customers are alerted of the listing with an email containing all the information needed to immediately begin the remediation process. This is part of an automated trigger listing, that allows for a customer to delist directly on the Spamhaus website, after they’ve completed remediation.   Remediation steps: Customers will go to the Spamhaus IP lookup website, at https://check.spamhaus.org, where they can check on the status of their IP and continue to monitor it in real time, until it is no longer listed there. Follow the remediation and delisting instructions provided, and check for  specific details in the blocklist notification email.   DBL (Domain blocklisting) Customers will receive an email notification alerting of the company domain being listed. The email will contain specific information to help narrow down and identify which email source likely triggered it within Marketo. It’s important to note that any email sent from outside of Marketo, that contained the company domain, is suspect.  This means, if the sender uses multiple IPs and/multiple email platforms, then any of those could be the source.   Remediation steps: Follow the detailed instructions in the email, which will also provide a link to the Spamhaus Domain reputation checker webpage, to check the real time listing status of the affected domain. Once the email source is identified and cause addressed, this customer will follow the online instructions to request to be delisted.   Tier II Blocklist   SpamCop   Impact: SpamCop is not used by any of the major North American ISPs to inform blocking decisions, but it makes it to the Tier II list because it can have a significant impact on B2B email campaigns.  SpamCop is considered a Tier I one blocklist for B2B marketers but a Tier II for B2C marketers. SpamCop is a dynamic IP blocklist, that can affect a single IP or a subset of IPs Typically, the block will automatically lift within one business day, but can take longer for relisted IPs. To have triggered a SpamCop listing likely means the sender has a list management problem that should be addressed. How it works: SpamCop lists IPs for one of two reasons: Either the email hit SpamCop spam trap addresses OR A SpamCop user has reported the email unwanted. Most of SpamCop’s spam traps are previously valid addresses that have not been active for 12 months or longer.   Remediation steps: If you are seeing a significant number of bouncing emails caused by a SpamCop blocked IP but aren’t sure if your email activity triggered the listing, first identify whether you are sending on a shared sender network or not. If sending from a shared IP range when this occurs, you or any other customer sending from the same network may have contributed to the IP block. This IP block will automatically get dropped within a business day. For those on a Dedicated IP that trigger a listing, refer to the above remediation steps and resources, to address the list management issue.   Tier III Blocklist (Low/ No impact )   These are considered the lowest tier and therefore cause the least impact across the Marketo sender ecosystem. Some of these blocklists were more impactful at one time, while others are only impactful based on the sender region (Manitu). Others still can suddenly flare up (Lashback). There are also many blocklists that are ignored (0spam), and are not taken seriously because they do not provide any means to delist once on the list (NoSolicitado) or that they charge money to have the listing removed ( UCEPROTECT ). The pay-to-delist model is not well respected in the email industry. When using blocklist tool checkers, such as MXToolBox, many blocklists will appear, but very few are relevant. Here is our selection of Blocklists you may come across that are least impactful:   Project Honey Pot SpamAssassin URIBL/SURBL DrMX PSBL 0spam HostKarma Ascams ZapBL Barracuda Trendmicro Inc. Cloudmark Proofpoint Invaluement   ISP Blocklists   Some ISPs use internal blocklists to make blocking decisions. Examples include AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook and Hotmail. If your IP is being blocked by one of these networks, and those networks have a large presence in your lists, a block of this kind could have a noticeable negative impact on delivery. Marketo monitors for significant ISP blocks. Those experiencing deliverability issues with emails not making it to the Inbox and bulking in the spam folder may benefit from additional services with our Email Delivery Consultants.   Remediation Steps: Email Delivery Compliance Team works to resolve any ISP blocks. ISP blocks are are usually resolved or lifted within less than 24 hours of a delisting request. Customers experiencing significant blocks for Microsoft domains (outlook.com, live.com, microsoft.com), can submit a request to the delivery team to seek mitigation on their behalf.     Additional Resources:   Blocklist Deep Dive​ Abuse Report Deep Dive​ What is a spamtrap, or spam trap, and why does it matter? Blocklist remediation Blocklist resolution flowchart Successful lead reconfirmation What is a blocklist?
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  There are thousands of blocklists out there and all of them operate a little differently and all have varying levels of reputation.  There are only a dozen blocklists that really can impact delivery.   The blocklist that requires the most work from you when you request delisting is Spamhaus. Spamhaus is a trustworthy blocklist and if you are listed at Spamhaus you have made a mistake that will need to be directly addressed before the listing can be removed.   SpamCop is considered a tier I blocklist for B2B marketers but a tier II for B2C marketers.  Marketo responds to all SpamCop listings; researching to identify the source so we can work with the customer to educate on best practices and prevent future listings.    Some blocklists require that you pay a fee to be delisted. These blocklists are not favored in the email community because they use this tactic. For the most part, Marketo advises our customers not to mind alerts of being listed on a pay-to-delist blocklist.  These blocklists tend to have minimal impact to your deliverability.   For the most part blocklists are dynamic and resolve themselves in around 24 hours if the issue resolves. If the problematic sending continues, of course, the blocklist will continue to keep you listed until the problematic sending ends.   If you are blocklisted, your main concern at that point should be making sure it doesn't happen again. For steps on how to identify the problematic data source and improve your list hygiene in an effort to avoid blocklist issues, see our article on blocklists that matter.The article highlight those that have the potential to be the most impactful, as well as those to be largely ignored . Because blocklists are dynamic and constantly evolving, their relevancy is also subject to change within the Marketo sender ecosystem. Some had notable impact at one time but no longer are.  Therefore always make sure to check if the current blocklist(s) of concern is a reputable and relevant to the sender region and ecosystem, and become familiar with those that matter the most.  
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For a list of blocklists worth paying close attention to visit our article Top blocklists - What you need to know.
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We manage our network to provide our customers with the highest server availability and best deliverability possible.  Marketo Engage has a strong anti-spam policy and a team that handles blocklist notifications in our IP space and spam complaints.  We also cooperate with most major anti-spam providers and ISPs.  In addition, we maintain feedback loops (FBL) for many of the most popular email providers.  For more information on FBLs and ISPs with whom we have this arrangement, click here. Blocklistings are usually caused by sending mail to a spam trap email address.  For an explanation on what causes blocklisting, click here. When we receive notification of a blocklisting, we react in two ways.  First, we go through the procedures to remove the listing from that blocklist as soon as possible.  Second, we determine (if possible) which of our customers caused the blocklisting and work with them to improve their mailing lists to prevent a reoccurrence in the future.  This is usually a cooperative process, most frequently, a review of mailing policies and strategic pruning of a customer’s lead database will return them to best practices.   Blocklists: Frequently Asked Questions   Is this article helpful ? YesNo  
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If you have submitted a support case and you feel that the case was improperly handled or that the solution being offered does not meet the communicated Marketo support expectations, then we would welcome the opportunity to look deeper at your specific support engagement and work with you on delivering a better resolution. Caution: If the item you're looking to escalate is related to a Production Down incident, please call the support line for your region to receive immediate assistance. Support Manager escalations are only handled during normal business hours. The phone numbers for each region are listed below, follow the prompts for P1: Americas: +1.877.270.6586, Direct: +1.650.376.2303 Europe, Middle East, & Africa: +353 (0)1 242 3030,  UK: 0800 151 3030 Asia Pacific: +61 2 8031 8188 Japan: +81.03.4233.9014 How to Escalate: Step 1. Navigate to the "Case Management" area of the support portal either by mousing over the Support tab and selecting "Case Management" or clicking the Support tab and click on the “My Case Management” button. NOTE: You will need an open or recently closed case in order to escalate to support leadership. This is a article attached image   Step 2. From here you will need to click on either an open or a recently closed* case:   This is a article attached image   *Support Cases that have been closed for longer than 10 days are no longer eligible to be re-opened and we ask that you open a new support ticket for your current issue prior to escalating to a Support Manager. We ask that you have an open support ticket for a Support Manager to be able to address specific issues. Step 3. After selecting a case, click on the Escalate to Manager button:   This is a article attached image     Step 4. A pop up will display and you will need to the purpose for the escalation and click on the “Escalate” button.   This is a article attached image   Once your support escalation case has been submitted a Marketo Support Leader will contact you within 1 business day of your support region's support hours to address the issue.
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Issue Clicking "Automatically copy over from HTML" or "Copy from HTML" in the Email Editor fails to copy the contents over to the Text Only version of the email. Solution This can occur if there are no editable sections in the email asset. By default, Marketo automatically copies the text content of any Rich Text element that’s in your email over to the Text version. Marketo defines a Rich Text element inside of an email template as a section using either mktEditable or mktoText classes. If the email's HTML does not contain either class, then no content would automatically be copied over. Here is additional documentation related to Email Text Versions: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/marketo/using/product-docs/email-marketing/general/creating-an-email/edit-the-text-version-of-an-email.html?lang=en A quick workaround would be to manually copy and paste the content you wish in the Text Version, and in the future build/use templates to make emails with editable sections.    
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Issue Multiple alerts are sent from the same campaign.   Solution Recognize that Send Alert functions at the person level, triggering an alert for each individual in a campaign. Utilize Marketo's reporting to send a consolidated notification: Create an Email or Campaign Performance report. Tailor the report settings for the specific campaign. Schedule the report to be sent after campaign completion. This method provides a summarized notification, avoiding the repetition of alerts per campaign member.   Alternatively, use Send Alert for individual notifications where needed, such as: Alerting a lead owner of a form submission. Triggering personalized alerts for specific lead activities.  
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Issue Files uploaded to Marketo's Design Studio, like PDFs or image files, are assigned an HTTP URL instead of HTTPS. This discrepancy can trigger security warnings in emails, as modern browsers and mail clients expect secure links that match the SSL certificate's domain.   Solution To address this issue, follow these steps: Ensure you have a custom landing page rather than the default domain. See under Admin > Landing Pages. Apply an SSL certificate to any new domains added. Marketo won't do this automatically. You can contact Marketo Support to request an SSL application for your domain. Provide necessary details. After SSL implementation, send test emails to check for proper HTTPS encryption and the absence of security warnings.   By implementing these actions, asset URLs and landing pages in Marketo communications should be secure.
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Issue Learn how to design smart campaigns using triggers and filters within the same campaign. Create a campaign that reacts to several different initiating actions or conditions, such as a change in lead status, form fills, or change in data values. Find out whether triggers and filters can be used together, how to combine them effectively, and how to apply advanced filter logic to achieve the desired workflow.   Solution Marketo allows the combination of triggers and filters within a smart campaign. Triggers are considered as initiating events that start the campaign, while filters are used to further refine the selection of leads based on specific criteria. Triggers are always evaluated with an OR logic, meaning if any trigger event occurs, the campaign will consider it for further action. Filters, on the other hand, can be evaluated using AND logic, OR logic, or advanced logic, depending on the requirements. Steps for smart campaign configuration: Combining triggers and filters: In a smart list within a smart campaign, you can have multiple triggers. Each trigger is treated with OR logic, meaning if any of the triggers occur, the campaign will proceed to evaluate filters. Filters are then applied to further refine which leads or records should move through the campaign flow. By default, without advanced logic, filters are evaluated with AND logic, meaning all filters must be true for a lead to qualify. Using advanced filter logic: Advanced filter logic can be used once you have three or more filters. You cannot use advanced logic to change the inherent OR logic of triggers. Filters can be combined using AND, OR, and other complex logical conditions, but this logic applies only to filters, not to the combination of triggers and filters. Understanding the distinction between triggers and filters: Triggers are based on activities or actions, such as Data Value Changes or Person is Created. Filters are based on properties or criteria of the lead records, such as Product Interest = C or Field A = B. A trigger can only occur once per lead action, whereas filters can continuously apply to lead records based on their properties. Creating complex logic: To create a logic such as (Trigger1 AND Filter1) OR (Trigger2 AND Filter2), you would set up two separate smart campaigns or smart lists, as within a single, smart list, triggers cannot have AND logic between them or between triggers and filters. Troubleshooting smart campaigns: If a smart campaign is not running as expected, review the combination of triggers and filters to ensure the logic is set up correctly. Remember that a trigger must occur for any filters to be evaluated. Verify that the filters are correctly defined to match the leads you intend to target after the trigger event. By understanding and applying these principles, you can effectively manage smart campaigns in Marketo, ensuring that the right leads are targeted with appropriate actions based on both their activities and their attributes.
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Issue Leads were uploaded into Marketo with the wrong opt-in date and time, which also synced with Microsoft Dynamics 365.   Solution To correct the opt-in date and time, do the following. Update information in Marketo. Prepare and upload a corrected list for the leads. Confirm the opt-in field in Marketo is not blocked from updates. CRM Sync The corrected data in Marketo will auto-sync with Dynamics 365. If auto-sync fails, manually update the opt-in dates in the CRM. Additional Steps Check for any automated actions triggered by the wrong data and rectify them If needed. Confirm data accuracy in both systems after updates. Back up data before mass updates to prevent data loss.  
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Summary When attempting to approve snippet error Access Token is Invalid appears. Have the customer sign out and sign back in. Seems maybe they got logged out somehow. Issue When attempting to approve a snippet you receive  "Access Token Is Invalid" error. Solution The error can occur when your internet browser logs you out of Marketo in the background. To resolve, sign back in to Marketo and retry the approval. 
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Issue New leads created through form submissions in Marketo are not being registered by the "Fills Out Form" trigger in associated campaigns. Solution To address this issue: Verify Referrer Value: You'll see a referrer value in the Fills Out Form. Confirm that the referrer value in the Fill Out Form activity aligns with the campaign trigger criteria. Check Configuration Changes: Inspect any recent changes to URLs that may affect form submissions. Communicate these changes to the Marketing Operations team for proper adjustments. Review Campaign Setup: Ensure the campaign is set up to include the specific form and that no filters exclude new leads. By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue and have new leads correctly trigger the Fills Out Form activity in Marketo campaigns.
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Issue Tracked links in emails resolve to "Your connection is not private", or other security warnings in the browser, when clicked.     Solution The browser is expecting the branded link domain to be secured with a SSL certificate. Subscriptions without Secured Domains for Tracking Links: Please contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss purchasing a subscription to Secured Domains for Tracking Links. Subscriptions with Secured Domains for Tracking Links: Please contact Marketo Support to provision a SSL certificate onto your tracking link domain. More information can be found here Overview & FAQ: Secured Domains for Tracking Links
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Issue How to check what version of the Marketo Solution you have installed in your Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment.   Solution Navigate to the Settings section of Dynamics, and then to the 'Solutions' menu.   Under the 'Solutions' menu there is a list of all installed solutions called 'All Solutions', and once you have located the Marketo Solution in there, its version number will be listed in a column beside its name. Who This Solution Applies To Users with Microsoft Dynamics integrations.
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Issue When attempting to move a folder with a program into a different workspace, the below exception is thrown: Rule is incomplete, '<Field Name> is...' requires value In the below example, the field name is 'New Status ID':   Solution This exception is thrown when a smart list within the Folder contains an incomplete filter. To resolve, you can either: 1. Remove the Smart List filter that is incomplete 2. Set a value for the Smart List filter
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Issue When using Interactive Webinars, if a host changes the layout, previously on-camera speakers must switch on their cameras again. Is there a way to keep the camera always on when you move from one layout to another? Solution This is not supported due to privacy concerns. If a video pod is not present in a layout, the camera is turned off. If a video pod is present in the next layout again, the presenters need to switch on the camera again to consent to their video being shown again to everyone. There however is a workaround to this. A video pod can be placed on the poll pod layout but it can be positioned so that it is behind the poll pod. The size of video pod does not matters on this layout so it can be reduced so that it is completely hidden behind the poll pod. This way the video pod will be hidden and not visible to participants but since the video pod is present, the camera will not be turned off on this layout. On switching to the next layout (Intro), presenters will not need to turn their cameras on. However, they need to be cautious as their video will go live as soon as the intro layout goes live. Additional information on Interactive Webinars can be found here: Best Practices for Interactive Webinars Designing Interactive Webinars  
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