--- title: "Create a Recurring Whiteboard Plan" slug: "create-a-recurring-whiteboard-plan" updated: 2025-12-10T14:09:42Z published: 2025-12-10T14:09:42Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mapp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create a Recurring Whiteboard Plan ## Goal Set up a recurring whiteboard that automates tasks at defined intervals. --- ## Prerequisites You must meet the following requirements before you create a recurring whiteboard: - Whiteboards are enabled in your system. - You have the required permissions for whiteboards and automations: - Permission 1600: View all whiteboards. - Permission 1602: View and edit all whiteboards. - Permission 356: Activate or deactivate whiteboards. - Prepare required resources, such as segments or messages. These must be created in their respective areas before setting up the whiteboard. --- ## Whiteboard Behavior and Rules As you work on the whiteboard, the system displays only the events, jobs, and filters that are valid for the current step. Options that are not allowed in a specific location are hidden. **General rules for recurring whiteboards** - The minimum interval between recurrences is one hour. - The first task begins at the specified date and time, enrolling contacts into the plan. - You can schedule tasks to start at specific times. - Contacts in the audience can enter the whiteboard with each recurrence unless restrictions are applied. - Use the “Only Once” setting to prevent a contact from being enrolled multiple times in the same recurrence. **Rules for start jobs** - The [Whiteboard Audience](/v1/docs/whiteboard-audience) start job is mandatory. The [Import Contacts](/v1/docs/jobs-import-contacts) start job is optional. - If you use both start jobs, Import Contacts must be the first step, and Whiteboard Audience the second step. - If the plan starts with an Import Contacts job, add a [Wait](/v1/docs/wait) step of at least one hour. Import times vary from minutes to several hours. For imports larger than 500k contacts, a six-hour wait is recommended. - If the whiteboard begins with an [Import Contacts](/v1/docs/jobs-import-contacts) job, the audience is automatically set to the import’s target group. --- ## Procedure ### A) Creating the whiteboard 1. Go to *Automations > Whiteboards*. 2. Click **Create new Whiteboard**. 3. Choose how you want to create the whiteboard. Available options are: - Start from scratch - Reuse a Whiteboard - Create from template 4. In the **Create new Whiteboard** window, select **Recurring**. 5. Enter a unique name (up to 100 characters) and, optionally, a description (up to 1,000 characters). 6. Click **Create**. 7. Click **Setup** to configure the plan. - In the **Recur on scheduled dates and times** area: - **Activation**: Define when the whiteboard starts. - **Recurrence rules**: - **Period**: Select “Hourly,” “Daily,” “Weekly,” or “Monthly.” - **Frequency**: Specify the rate (for example, every four hours, every two days, or every third Sunday). - **Deactivation**: Set an end date or number of repetitions. - In the **Whiteboard Goal** area, select the goal event that ends a contact’s journey. - All standard whiteboard events can be used as a goal event. - Goal events cannot be split. - If the same event appears both as the goal and as a step on the plan, the goal event takes priority and the journey does not continue beyond that step. 8. Click **Apply**. --- ### B) Configuring whiteboard steps 1. Click **Add First Step** on the whiteboard canvas. 2. Add one or more start jobs: **Import Contacts** Adds contact data stored on an FTP server to an existing group. The group that receives the imported contacts becomes the whiteboard audience group. For more information, see **Import Contacts (Job)**. **Whiteboard Audience** Defines when the plan starts and who can enter it. Only contacts who are active members of the audience group when the first step begins can enter. Contacts who join afterward are not enrolled. 3. Click **Apply**. 4. Click **Add Next Step** to add additional steps. These steps define the marketing interactions in your plan. 5. Continue adding steps until your whiteboard is complete. --- ### C) Validation, Activation, and Remaining Settings 1. In the **Whiteboard Settings** window, define additional settings for your recurring whiteboard: - **Sendout Settings**: Exclude specific days or hours from sendout. - **Notifications**: Enable an expiry notification 30 days before deactivation. - **Whiteboard Time Zone**: Set the time zone used by the system for automation calculations. 2. To check your whiteboard plan, click **Validate** in the **Actions** menu. 3. To execute the whiteboard one time, click **Run Once** in the **Actions** menu. - This executes the plan immediately without changing its status or schedule. - A confirmation message appears when the run is completed. If errors occur, the system sends an email to the whiteboard owner. 4. To save your whiteboard plan, click **Save**. - The system saves the plan with status “Inactive.” Steps on an inactive plan are not executed and can be edited. 5. To activate your recurring whiteboard, click **Activate**. - Activation is only possible when the plan is logically correct, and all required fields are completed. - Active recurring whiteboards cannot be edited. To modify steps or recurrence rules, deactivate the plan first. - When a whiteboard is deactivated, all contacts currently in the plan exit immediately. ## Related - [Whiteboards: Create](/whiteboards-create.md)