# One daily digest of list changes, and an instant alert for blocked tasks

Source: [https://docs.virtosoftware.com/docs/alerts-and-reminders-by-virto/virto-alerts-use-cases/daily-change-digest/](https://docs.virtosoftware.com/docs/alerts-and-reminders-by-virto/virto-alerts-use-cases/daily-change-digest/)
Product: Virto Alerts & Reminders App
Updated: 2026-10-23


Several people edit our project list every day. An email per edit would bury the team, so we want one email a day with every changed task in a single table, and a separate email only for the change that cannot wait: a task that becomes **Blocked**. We will use the [Virto Alerts & Reminder App](https://www.virtosoftware.com/microsoft-365/virto-alerts-and-reminders-app/).

[Open the interactive demo](https://app.storylane.io/demo/wdeacjo8ezr7)

**Interactive demo walkthrough**
1. The day's changes, once — A project list in SharePoint: one summary email a day, and a separate email only when a task is blocked.
2. A project list that several people edit every day: tasks by workstream, with who they are assigned to, their status, due date and priority.
3. Instead of an email per edit, the alert sends a daily summary at 13:15 on working days, with only the latest state of each task.
4. You decide what the table shows: a header row with the column names and one row of field tags. The task name becomes a link to its item.
5. At the end of the day the team gets one email instead of eight: a row per changed task, with the columns from the template and who changed it.
6. A change that cannot wait gets its own rule: when a task's status becomes Blocked, an email goes out within minutes, not at the end of the day.
7. Get the day's changes in one email — Virto Alerts & Reminder App runs in your Microsoft 365 tenant; the tasks stay in the SharePoint list.

## The list

A **Project tasks** list with the columns **Title**, **Workstream**, **Assigned to**, **Status**, **Due date** and **Priority**.

## Step 1. The daily digest

On the **My alerts** page, click **Add alert**, choose **Project tasks** and fill in the blocks as described in [How to create an alert](https://docs.virtosoftware.com/docs/alerts-and-reminders-by-virto/configuration-and-usage/creating-an-alert/index.md):

- **General**: change type **All changes**, or **New items are added** and **Existing items are modified** if deletions do not matter.
- **Options**: **Apply to all items**. Under **When To Send Alerts**, choose **Send a daily summary**, set the hour and tick the working days. Changes made on other days are sent on the next ticked day. Tick **Show latest version only**, so a task edited several times during the day is reported once, as it stands at send time.
- **Message view**: the subject "Project tasks: changes today" and a body that holds only one table: a header row you type (Task, Status, Assigned to, Due date, Priority, Changed by) and, under it, a row of field values. Make the first cell a link to the item with the task title as its text. The table rules are in [How to merge summary alerts in one alert with a table](https://docs.virtosoftware.com/docs/alerts-and-reminders-by-virto/configuration-and-usage/special-options-for-an-alert-or-reminder-message/how-to-merge-summary-alerts-in-one-alert-with-a-table/index.md), and the link in [Complex links](https://docs.virtosoftware.com/docs/alerts-and-reminders-by-virto/configuration-and-usage/special-options-for-an-alert-or-reminder-message/complex-links/index.md).

At the end of the day the team gets one email with a row per created or changed task, the columns from the template, and the name of the person who changed each task.

To show what a field was before the change, add it a second time with the type **Old**; see [The value before and after the change](https://docs.virtosoftware.com/docs/alerts-and-reminders-by-virto/configuration-and-usage/creating-an-alert/message-view/index.md#the-value-before-and-after-the-change).

## Step 2. The instant alert for blocked tasks

Create a second alert on the same list:

- **General**: change type **Existing items are modified**.
- **Options**: **Use condition(s)** with **Status** equals **Blocked**, and **Send notification immediately**.
- **Recipients**: the project lead, and the **Assigned to** column if the assignee should hear too.

The email goes out within minutes of the change, with the task, its assignee, its due date and who changed it. Every other change stays in the daily table.

## When something else fits better

For a weekly overview for a sponsor, use the same alert with **Send a weekly summary**. A few named people who want an email at every change can use the built-in rules of SharePoint and Microsoft Lists, which send one email per change. A change that has to start an approval with several steps is a job for Power Automate.