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How to Track Portal Opens

PortalsUpdated 6 min read

eCourtDate records an open when a client taps a portal link in a text or email your agency sent. You review that activity on the message itself, and you review open rates for the whole agency on the Metrics page.

Overview​

  • What it is: Open tracking on outbound text and email messages that carry a portal link. Each message keeps the most recent open, with the time, the IP address, and the device the client used.
  • Why it matters: Knowing that a client opened the link tells you the message reached someone and was acted on, which supports follow-up decisions and documentation.
  • Who uses it: Case managers, pretrial officers, court clerks, and administrators who need to confirm that a client engaged with a portal link.
  • Expected outcomes: An OPENED badge on messages that recorded an open, a Last Opened card on the message record, and an Open Rate figure on Metrics.

Prerequisites​

  • Access to the Dashboard > Messages tab
  • Access to the Dashboard > Metrics tab to review open rates
  • At least one outbound text or email message that includes a portal link
  • An understanding that voice calls report no open signal, so only text and email record opens

How-To Steps​

Find messages that recorded an open​

  1. Go to Dashboard > Messages.
  2. Enter a date range in From Date and To Date in the Search Messages card.
  3. Select a delivery status in Status, or leave it blank to see every message.
  4. Click Search.
  5. Scan the Status column for the OPENED badge, which marks each message that recorded an open.
  6. Click a row to expand it.
  7. Click Edit Message in the expanded row to open the full message record.

Review the open on a message record​

  1. Read the Status line in the message details card. The short description under the badge explains what that status means.
  2. Scroll to the Last Opened card, which appears only after an open is recorded and shows how long ago the client opened the link.
  3. Click the location link (it reads Near followed by the city) to open the IP Lookup page for that IP address.
  4. Read the ISP line under the location for the network the client used.
  5. Read the device line at the bottom of the card for the platform (Mobile or Desktop), the browser, and the operating system.

Check opens from a client record​

  1. Go to Clients and open the client record.
  2. Scroll to the message feed on the right side of the record.
  3. Look for the OPENED badge, which shows how long ago that message was opened.
  4. Click the message text to jump to its full record.

Review open rates for your agency​

  1. Go to Dashboard > Metrics.
  2. Set From Date and To Date.
  3. Select a Channel, or leave it on All.
  4. Read the Open Rate card, which compares opens against messages delivered to text and email.
  5. Compare the Opened and Open Rate columns in the channel table and the type table.
  6. Click Export CSV to download the delivery, open, and failure figures for the current filters.
  7. Read the How these numbers are calculated card at the bottom of the page for the exact formulas.

What to Expect​

Opens are recorded automatically, with no setup on your part and no action from the client. A message that has been opened shows an OPENED badge everywhere the message appears, including the Messages list, the client message feed, and the Dashboard feed. The message record keeps the most recent open only, so it tells you that a client opened the link and when they last did, not how many times they visited. Reload the message record to pick up an open that arrived after you loaded the page.

On Metrics, a message counts as opened whenever it was ever opened, including after the reporting window closed, so re-running an earlier date range later can report a higher open rate than it did at the time. Opens come from tracking pixels and link clicks, which undercount recipients who block images or read without tapping a link.

Best Practices​

  • Check the Last Opened card before you follow up, so your outreach reflects what the client already saw.
  • Narrow the Messages list with From Date, To Date, and Status instead of scrolling the full list.
  • Treat the location as approximate. Open the IP Lookup page when you need the detail behind it.
  • Compare Open Rate by channel on Metrics before you change how your agency sends portal links.
  • Leave voice out of any open comparison, since a phone call reports no open signal.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Where do I see whether a client opened the portal link I sent?

Open the message record from Dashboard > Messages and look for the Last Opened card. In the list itself, an opened message carries an OPENED badge in the Status column.

Can I see every time a client opened the link?

No. The message record shows the most recent open only. The OPENED badge confirms that at least one open was recorded.

What does the opened status mean on a message?

The description under the Status badge reads that the recipient clicked a trackable link in the message, and that for email this can also mean the recipient opened the email.

Why do voice messages show no open count on Metrics?

A voice call reports no open signal, so Metrics leaves voice out of the Open Rate rather than counting those calls as unopened. The Opened column stays empty for voice rows.

Troubleshooting​

No Last Opened card appears on a message the client says they opened.

Symptoms: The message record shows a Status badge, and no Last Opened card appears below the message details.

Solution: The card renders only after an open is recorded for that message. Reload the record to fetch the latest open. Confirm the message went out over text or email, because a voice call never records one, and confirm the message actually contained a portal link.

The Open Rate on Metrics reads higher than 100 percent.

Symptoms: The Open Rate card or a row in the channel table reports a rate above 100 percent.

Solution: This is expected. A message whose status advances to opened is no longer counted under delivered, and Open Rate divides opens by delivered messages. The How these numbers are calculated card on the same page explains the formula.

The Last Opened card shows a time but no location or device.

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

Solution: The location link renders only when the IP address resolves to a city, and the device line renders only when a browser identifier was captured with the open. When neither is present, the timestamp is all that was recorded for that visit.