Stopping excess unwanted AEM workflow email notifications
Excessive workflow email notifications occur when AEM notification services or Dynamic Media preferences are configured to send frequent or broad alerts. This often results from enabled Notify on Complete settings, workflow steps that trigger emails, or permissive user preferences. Users may receive emails for every asset upload or workflow completion, sometimes sent to entire groups instead of individuals. The issue is resolved by identifying the notification source and updating configuration settings. Disabling unnecessary notification triggers stops unwanted emails.
Description description
Environment
- Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS)
- AEM 6.5 Managed Services
- Dynamic Media
Issue/Symptoms:
- Emails sent to all users in a group instead of a selected participant.
- Email triggered on every asset upload due to DAM Update Asset workflow.
- Multiple emails received when uploading assets in bulk.
- High volume of Dynamic Media job notification emails.
- Error while sending email: org.apache.commons.mail.EmailException: Sending the email to the following server failed : proxy.tunnel:30587
Cause:
Workflow email notifications are triggered by AEM configuration settings and workflow steps configured to send notifications. “Notify on Complete” settings, workflow email processes, and Dynamic Media user preferences can generate frequent alerts. Misconfigured or overly permissive settings cause repeated or unintended notifications.
Resolution resolution
To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
- Identify the source of the unwanted emails by reviewing the email content. If the email contains Workflow notification: WorkflowCompleted or references DAM Update Asset, the source is AEM workflow email notification service. If the email references Dynamic Media job names, the source is Dynamic Media Classic.
- Disable or refine AEM workflow email notification settings by navigating to Tools
>Operations>Web Console>OSGi Configuration. Search for Day CQ Workflow Email Notification Service and SendTransientWorkflowCompletedEmailProcess, then disable the Notify on Complete option to stop automatic workflow completion emails. - Disable DAM Update Asset workflow completion emails by opening Tools
>Workflow>Models and selecting DAM Update Asset. Locate the step Send Transient Workflow Completed Email and configure the OSGi setting to disable Notify on Complete under SendTransientWorkflowCompletedEmailProcess. - Correct group-level workflow notifications by reviewing the participant step configuration in the workflow model and setting the participant assignment mode correctly so only the intended user receives notifications.
- Resolve EMailNotificationServiceexceptions in logs by applying the hotfix in AEM 6.5 Managed Services.
- Verify logs after restarting the workflow model to confirm errors no longer appear.
- Adjust Dynamic Media Classic email preferences by logging in and navigating to Setup
>Personal Setup, then changing the preference from Receive all emails to Errors/Warnings only so only failure notifications are sent. - Remove unintended Dynamic Media job recipients by reviewing the job scheduler email configuration in the Dynamic Media Classic workspace and removing users who no longer need notifications.