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WelcoYour alerts, by text.

TopView alarm SMS from the email notifications you already set up

TopView alarm SMS needs one change: add your Welco address as one more TopView email recipient. When a conservation vent on Tank 14 fails at 1:26 AM, the operator on call reads the tank, the failure and the time. That beats a signed email in a desk inbox. TopView keeps its alarm logic.

Text me my TopView alarmsBook a demo

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  • Nothing installed beside TopView
  • One email recipient to add
  • No per-user fees

Works by email with

  • TopView

Published:

A historian trend for \\PLANT-OPC1\Tank Farm\T14: the T14 CB Conservation Vent Failure point steps from NORMAL to FAIL and an event frame opens. The email reaches Welco and the phone shows: “Welco: [Tank 14] Conservation vent FAILURE, check system at 1:26 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Animation: a long TopView alert email is trimmed into one short text: "Welco: [Tank 14] Conservation vent FAILURE, check system at 1:26 AM. Reply STOP to opt out."

TopView alarms before and after Welco

TopView email on its own

  • Alarm emails reach a desk inbox the night operator can't see.
  • Recipients like number@vtext.com that depend on a closing carrier gateway.
  • Every message ends with the source server, the group and a signature.
  • A plant trip sends a long chain of emails at once.

TopView email through Welco

  • The operator on call reads the tag, the state and the reading.
  • Alerts-only numbers that carry nothing but alarms.
  • The signature and source lines stay in the email.
  • Alarm flood limits keep each phone to a few texts during an upset.

Where TopView fits in your plant

TopView, from Exele, is alarm and notification software for process plants. It reads values from OPC servers (the standard way plant systems share data), PI, SQL databases and more, per Exele's site in October 2026.

When a value crosses a limit, TopView can email people. Welco turns that email into a text for the person on call tonight, just as it texts SCADA alarms. Most TopView sites already have the first item below.

  • TopView email notification working, with a mail server it can send through.
  • A verified Welco account. Start free if you're new.
  • The operators who take alarms after hours, invited by email. Each joins with their own mobile and confirms with a YES reply.

Set up TopView alarm SMS in 5 steps

Look for the email notification and recipient settings in your TopView configuration. Names can differ between versions. The person who set up TopView can do this in about 20 minutes.

  1. Note TopView's sending address

    Open a recent TopView alarm email and copy the From address. In Welco, add it to the senders allowed to text operators.

  2. Add a recipient for your Welco address

    In TopView's notification settings, add a new email recipient. Use your Welco address and a clear name, such as On-call texts.

  3. Attach it to the right alarms

    Add the new recipient to the alarm groups or areas that should text, such as the tank farm or the boiler house. Leave low-priority groups on email only.

  4. Put the alarm name first

    If you can edit the email layout, start the message with the alarm description. A phone shows the first line, so that line should say what broke. Our alert text best practices have more wording tips.

  5. Trip a test alarm

    Force a test tag over its limit and check the phone and the Welco feed. Welco test mode previews the text without sending a real one.

Your TopView alarms can reach a phone tonight

Add one email recipient in TopView and verify your company with Welco.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

Text me my TopView alarmsBook a demo

A cooling water alarm from TopView

TopView signs each email and adds the source and group. Welco keeps the alarm and the time and leaves the signature behind.

Alert email from topview@plant.example.com, subject “TopView Alarm: R3 Cooling Water Flow Low”. Welco trims it to one text of 86 characters: “Welco: [Reactor 3] Cooling water flow LOW, 41 GPM at 7:12 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [Reactor 3] Cooling water flow LOW, 41 GPM at 7:12 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters228861 credit

Animation: the alert email "TopView Alarm: R3 Cooling Water Flow Low" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [Reactor 3] Cooling water flow LOW, 41 GPM at 7:12 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

Set the trim once with a one-text alert rule, and every TopView email follows it. Tank farms and gathering sites are covered in oil and gas alarm texts.

Tips for TopView texts

TopView already filters well. These Welco settings shape what reaches the phone.

  • Different phones for different shifts

    Use on-call routing to send day alarms to the control room lead and night alarms to the on-call operator.

  • Text only what is still in alarm

    If TopView emails when an alarm clears, an alert rule can drop messages with words like Normal. The phone then only lights up for live problems.

  • A second phone for permit tags

    For tags tied to environmental permits, such as a vent or a scrubber, text the on-call operator and the shift supervisor. Each phone gets one copy.

TopView alarm texts not showing up?

These four checks find almost every problem.

0 of 4 done

Frequently asked questions

Why send TopView alarms through email instead of another channel?

TopView can already send email, and email needs no modem or phone line. If your TopView alarms went to carrier addresses like number@vtext.com, those are closing down. With Welco, TopView keeps sending email, and the alert-only number, trimming and routing are handled for you.

Does Welco connect to TopView or our OPC servers?

No. Welco never reaches into the plant. TopView sends its alarm email out through your mail server, and Welco receives it there. No agent, port or login on the TopView machine is involved.

Can the tank farm and the boiler house text different people?

Yes. Either give each area its own TopView recipient list, or send everything to one Welco address and let a Welco rule read the group name. The second way means you change people in one place when the call list changes.

Will the <Sent by TopView> line show up in the text?

Not if you trim it. A Welco rule can cut everything after the alarm and time lines. The signature, the source server and the group stay in the email. That also keeps most TopView alarms to a single text.

Do operators need a TopView login to read the alarm on their phone?

No. The alarm arrives as an ordinary text in the phone's messages app. Operators don't log in to TopView or install anything to read it. They go back to TopView only to look at trends or clear the alarm.

Can an operator reply to a TopView text?

Yes. A reply to the text comes back as an email to the address that sent the alarm. Because that is usually TopView's own sending mailbox, set it to forward to a person or a shared inbox if you want replies read. Replies do not acknowledge the alarm in TopView.

Is there a cost for each operator on the TopView list?

Not with Welco. There are no per-user fees, so the whole shift team can be on the list. Each text to each phone uses message credits, so cost follows the alarms you text, not the head count. There is no hardware or setup fee, and plans are on the pricing page.

Let TopView alarms reach the on-call phone

One new email recipient in TopView turns each alarm into a text.

Text me my TopView alarmsBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing