How to track portal link opens

eCourtDate records an open when a client opens the portal link in a message your agency sent. Open tracking lives on the message, not on the portal, so you review it from **Dashboard** > **Messages**.

### Overview

An open answers one question for your agency: did the client open the link you sent? Each recorded open captures when the link was opened, the IP address behind the request, and the device, browser, and operating system that made it.

Opens surface in four places:

- The **Messages** list shows an **OPENED** badge in the **Status** column.
- The message record shows a **Last Opened** card with the time, an approximate location, the ISP, and the device line.
- The message feed on a client record shows an **OPENED** badge with how long ago the open happened.
- **Metrics** shows **Opened** counts and an **Open Rate**, calculated for text and email only.

There is no Opens page under **Admin** > **Portals**. The **Portals** tab strip has no Opens tab, and portal level visit totals are not collected yet.

### Prerequisites

- Access to **Dashboard** in the top navigation, which holds the **Messages** and **Metrics** tabs
- At least one portal under **Admin** > **Portals**
- Outbound messages that carry a portal link

### How-To Steps

#### Find messages that were opened

1. Click **Dashboard** in the top navigation.
2. Click the **Messages** tab.
3. Enter your send window in **From Date** and **To Date**.
4. Select a value in **Channel** or **Direction** to narrow the list further.
5. Click **Search**.
6. Scan the **Status** column for the **OPENED** badge.

#### Open the message record

1. Click the message row to expand it.
2. Click **Edit Message** in the expanded panel.

#### Read the Last Opened card

1. Scroll to the **Last Opened** card, which names how long ago the link was opened.
2. Click the location link, which begins with **Near**, to open the **IP Lookup** page for that IP address.
3. Read the **ISP** line under the location for the network that requested the link.
4. Read the device line at the bottom of the card for the platform (Mobile or Desktop), browser, and operating system.

The card appears only after an open is recorded for that message.

#### Confirm which link was tracked

1. Click **Portals** at the top of the message record.
2. Select a portal from the dropdown to open the message's portal link on that portal.

#### Review opens for one client

1. Click **Clients** in the top navigation.
2. Open the client record.
3. Scroll to the message feed on the right side of the record.
4. Look for the **OPENED** badge under a sent message.
5. Click the message text to open its message record.

#### Measure open rates across channels

1. Click **Dashboard** in the top navigation.
2. Click the **Metrics** tab.
3. Set **From Date** and **To Date** to the window you want to measure.
4. Select a channel in **Channel**, or leave it set to **All**.
5. Read the **Open Rate** tile and the **Opened** and **Open Rate** columns in the **By Channel** table.
6. Click **Export CSV** to download the figures.

### What to Expect

The **Last Opened** card reports the most recent open for that message rather than a list of every visit. Reload the message record to pick up an open that happened after you loaded the page.

On **Metrics**, **Open Rate** covers text and email only. Voice rows show a dash in **Opened** and **Open Rate** because voice reports no open signal, so it is excluded rather than counted as unopened. The **How these numbers are calculated** card on that page states the formula and notes that a message counts as opened whenever it was ever opened, including after the date window closed.

The **Portal Traffic** card on **Metrics** shows a dash for **Visits**, **Unique Visitors**, and **Page Views**. That data is not collected yet.

### Best Practices

- Set **From Date** and **To Date** to your send window before searching **Messages**, rather than scrolling the full list.
- Treat open rate as a floor. The **Metrics** page notes that opens come from tracking pixels and link clicks, which undercount recipients who block images or read without tapping a link.
- Use **Metrics** for rates across a window and the message record for the detail behind a single open.
- Click **Portals** on a message record to see the exact link the client received before you follow up about it.
- Click **Export CSV** on **Metrics** when you need the figures outside the platform.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Where is the Opens page under Portals?**

A: There is not one. The **Portals** tab strip has no Opens tab. Opens are recorded on the message that carried the link, so start at **Dashboard** > **Messages**.

**Q: Does the Last Opened card list every time the link was opened?**

A: No. It shows the most recent open for that message, with the time, location, ISP, and device from that open.

**Q: Why do voice rows show a dash in the Opened column on Metrics?**

A: Open Rate is calculated for text and email only. Voice calls report no open signal, so **Metrics** excludes them instead of counting them as unopened.

**Q: Can I see how many people visited a portal overall?**

A: Not yet. The **Portal Traffic** card on **Metrics** shows a dash for **Visits**, **Unique Visitors**, and **Page Views** and states that portal traffic data is not yet collected.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** A message has no **Last Opened** card.

**Symptoms:** The message record shows the content and status, but no card with an open time.

**Solution:**

1. Confirm the message carries a portal link by looking for the **Portals** button at the top of the message record. If that button is missing, the message has no tracked portal link, so no open can be recorded.
2. Reload the message record in case the open arrived after the page loaded.

**Issue:** The **Last Opened** card shows a time but no location.

**Symptoms:** The card shows how long ago the link was opened and the device line, but no **Near** link and no **ISP** line.

**Solution:**

The location block renders only when the IP lookup returns a city for that address. The open is still recorded, and the time and device line still confirm it.

**Issue:** Open Rate reads above 100 percent.

**Symptoms:** The **Open Rate** tile or an **Open Rate** cell in the **By Channel** table exceeds the delivered count it is measured against.

**Solution:**

Open the **How these numbers are calculated** card on **Metrics**. A message whose status advanced to opened is no longer counted under delivered, so an open rate slightly above 100 percent is expected.

> **Important:** If you continue to experience issues after following these troubleshooting steps, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to Search for Outbound Messages Using Filters](/how-to-search-for-outbound-messages-using-filters)
- [How to Track Geolocation on Portal Visits](/how-to-track-geolocation-on-portal-visits)
- [How to create trackable redirect links](/how-to-create-trackable-redirect-links)
- [How to Manage Portal Check-ins](/how-to-manage-portal-check-ins)