Use this pattern for a discrete event such as M&A, a regulatory decision, a management transition, a guidance change, or an activist stake.
For events across a fixed coverage list, add the companies. For a market-wide topic with no company list, use the Monitor topics or events path only when the account shows it, as described in Create a Monitor without companies. If it is absent, keep the Monitor company-scoped or contact the team; do not leave the company set empty.
Configure the pattern
- Create a Monitor and add the intended companies, or choose the company-free topic path.
- Define the event, its effective date if relevant, and what would count as a match.
- Choose the source types and email cadence supported by that scope. Company-free Monitors do not support the Web or Podcasts source switches.
- Review the configuration before saving. On accounts with usage enforcement, review the displayed usage estimate too. If Portrait rejects the projected commitment, it creates no Monitor; review Settings → Usage and reduce the scope or contact your account team.
Example signal:
Alert me to new information published after 2 November 2025 that could materially change the assumptions in my model. Identify the affected assumption and attribute the source.
For company-scoped Monitors, choose Real-time when the event requires prompt review, or a digest when individual matches do not justify interruption. For company-free Monitors, choose Morning, Evening, or both; see Create a Monitor without companies for the evaluation cycles and UTC timing. Email cadence does not guarantee immediate detection or delivery.
Verify and refine
Confirm the saved event definition, date boundary, companies, source set, and cadence. Review the first matching update against its source. Narrow a noisy event definition or widen one that depends on wording the source is unlikely to use.
An initial Monitor launch brief provides background, not evidence of a newly captured event. See Manage a Monitor for source start dates and stopping coverage, or Export Monitor updates to retain a PDF of results.