> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://withforerunner.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing warnings

> Flag properties and objects so your team sees what matters before they act

A warning is a flag that sits on a property or object and tells your team something before they act on it: the structure is in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), its improvement costs are over your Substantial Improvement threshold, it is a Repetitive Loss property, or anything else your community wants called out.

Forerunner ships a set of warnings that keep themselves up to date from your data, and you can add your own.

## Where warnings appear

**Property and object profiles** - Applied warnings are listed in the **Warnings** section, most severe first. Selecting one opens its full text. The mobile app shows the same section on a property or object.

**Maps** - Warning layers highlight the properties that carry a warning. See [Map layers](/docs/maps/map-layers).

**Tables** - Filter a properties table by warning to build a working list, for example every property over the SI/SD threshold. See [Creating views](/docs/tables/creating-views).

**Public website** - Only warnings set to **Shown to public** appear on a property's public page. Everything else stays internal.

## Built-in warnings

Built-in warnings apply and clear themselves as a property's data changes. Nobody has to keep them current.

| Group | What it flags |
| - | - |
| **FIRM** | Properties in the SFHA, properties mapped into or out of the SFHA on the Preliminary FIRM, and flood zone or Base Flood Elevation changes between the Effective and Preliminary FIRMs |
| **Compliance** | A Lowest Floor Elevation or lowest machinery elevation below the NFIP requirement or below your local regulatory standard |
| **Improvement** | Improvement costs nearing or exceeding your community's Substantial Improvement threshold |
| **Preliminary Damage Assessment** | Damage recorded on a PDA: affected, minor, major, or destroyed |
| **Repetitive Loss** | Repetitive Loss and Severe Repetitive Loss designations from the data on file with the NFIP |

For a built-in warning you can change its severity and visibility and make it inactive. Its group, object type, title, and text are fixed, and it can't be deleted.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/forerunner-adbfa36e/YJmtMDWuO6j5n168/images/administration/warnings-settings-01.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=YJmtMDWuO6j5n168&q=85&s=e0882047d66a02ece3aa250fba95f422" alt="Warning settings page listing warnings by group, each showing whether it is shown to the public, hidden, or inactive" width="1600" height="1000" data-path="images/administration/warnings-settings-01.png" />
</Frame>

<Note>
  Repetitive Loss warnings are sensitive. They can't be shown to the public, and internally they're visible only to users with the **Can view** PII permission. See [Managing repetitive loss](/docs/administration/managing-repetitive-loss).
</Note>

## Create a custom warning

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open warning settings">
    Go to **Settings** > **Account** > **Warnings**. The page lists every warning in your account with its current visibility. Anyone can view it, but only Managers and Creators can add, edit, or delete warnings.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select Add warning">
    Choose **Add warning** in the top right.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the group and object type">
    Pick a **Warning group**. Most custom warnings go in **Custom**, but you can file one under any group except Repetitive Loss so it sits next to related built-in warnings. Under **Object type**, choose the properties or objects the warning can apply to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write the title and text">
    The **Warning title** is what shows in the Warnings section and on the map. The **Warning text** is the detail someone reads when they open it, so say what the person should do about it, not just what is true.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the severity">
    **High (red)**, **Medium (yellow)**, or **Low (grey)**. Severity sets the color and sorts the Warnings section, so keep red for things that should stop work.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the visibility">
    **Shown to Public** or **Hidden from Public (internal only)**. This choice appears once your public website is enabled. Improvement warnings stay hidden while **Show Substantial Improvement / Substantial Damage** is off in your public website settings.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/forerunner-adbfa36e/YJmtMDWuO6j5n168/images/administration/warnings-create-01.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=YJmtMDWuO6j5n168&q=85&s=e9bf52ec7214362cc574f9b07201e73f" alt="Create account warning form with the group, object type, title, text, severity, and visibility fields filled in" width="1464" height="1860" data-path="images/administration/warnings-create-01.png" />
</Frame>

Custom warnings can't be created in the Repetitive Loss group.

<Warning>
  If you hide a warning from the public while a public saved view uses it, Forerunner blocks the save and asks you to update those views first. Otherwise the change would break what the public site is showing.
</Warning>

## Apply a warning

Custom warnings don't apply themselves. There are two ways to put one on a property or object:

**By hand** - Open the property or object, select **Edit warnings** in the Warnings section, and switch the warning on. The same modal switches a warning back off. Managers and Members see this button. In the mobile app, use **Edit** in the Warnings section.

**With an automation** - Add an **Update a warning** action to an automation and choose **Apply warning** or **Clear warning**. This is how you keep a warning in step with your records, for example applying a "Do not issue permit" warning when a code case opens and clearing it when the case closes. See [Building automations](/docs/automations/building-automations).

## Retire a warning

**Make a warning inactive** when you want it out of the way but want to keep the history. Choose **Make warning inactive** from the warning's menu. It disappears from property profiles and from the Edit warnings modal, and you can make it active again at any time.

**Delete a warning** to remove it permanently. Only custom warnings can be deleted. Deleting takes it off every property and object it was applied to, along with those entries in the activity history.

## Related topics

* [Map layers](/docs/maps/map-layers) - Warning layers on the map
* [Building automations](/docs/automations/building-automations) - Applying and clearing warnings automatically
* [Managing repetitive loss](/docs/administration/managing-repetitive-loss) - Repetitive Loss data and permissions
* [User roles](/docs/administration/user-roles) - Who can create and edit warnings


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