Projects/Usability/HIG/Notifications
Purpose
A notification is an information that is not directly relevant to the user's current task. It is displayed via a certain notification mechanism on a panel above/below the taskbar notification area. Notifications inform users about non-critical problems, but they don't prevent them.
Examples
Guidelines
Is this the right control
- Use a notification to inform about a non-critical problem that is not directly relevant to the user's current task.
- Do not use notifications for user assistance (consider to use tool-tips for short information, or refer to help system for extended text).
- Do not use notifications for context relevant information that might interfere with the actual workflow (consider to use a message dialog).
Behavior
- Notifications disappear after a short period automatically (unless the cursor hovers over them), but can be closed by the user at any point.
- Stack multiple notifications vertically.
- Provide access to the configuration for each notification per button next to the close button.
Appearance
- Make sure to make the origin of the notification clear from the notification title. For instance: "Amarok: Now playing" or "Konsole: Event".
- Keep the notification content concise (no more than about three simple sentences).
- Provide actionable information (e.g. "Low battery power: Approximately 13 min (2%) capacity remaining.").