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Push Notification

Push notifications are an efficient way to deliver real-time messages and alerts directly to a user’s mobile phone or desktop device via their chosen web browser. This feature allows applications to engage users with timely updates or important information, ensuring effective communication without requiring users to actively check for updates.

Push notifications are messages that appear in the notification bar of a device, even when the application is not actively in use. These notifications can target a specific user or all users within the same tenant by leveraging the PushNotification Rule. This rule allows the sender to define specific parameters to tailor the notification content and delivery.

Use Cases for Push Notifications

Push notifications can be utilized for various scenarios, such as:

  • Informing users about important events, like maintenance updates or transactional alerts.
  • Notifying users about account activities, such as low balance warnings.
  • Delivering live updates during critical operations without requiring the user to refresh the page.

How Does It Work?

The push notification feature uses SignalR technology to deliver messages efficiently. SignalR is a robust and open-source library for Microsoft ASP.NET that enables server-side code to send asynchronous notifications to client-side applications in real time. With SignalR:

  • Notifications are delivered instantly as the server pushes content to connected clients.
  • Users can receive updates without the need to reload or refresh the web page.

By integrating this feature into an application, users benefit from seamless access to live data, ensuring a smooth and interactive experience.

Push notifications are a powerful tool for enhancing user engagement and ensuring critical information is conveyed promptly.

Notifications can be sent using two primary methods:

  1. Via Rule
  2. Via API

Notification Sending Methods

1. Via Rule

Users can configure notifications through the PushNotification Rule within a form. The rule triggers notifications based on specified events or control actions. Here are the details:

  • Syntax of the Rule: The rule requires parameters such as AssignedTo, Message, Title, Icon, and HideFromNavigation.
    • Required Parameters:
      • AssignedTo: Specifies the recipient(s) of the notification.
      • Message: The message content.
    • Optional Parameters:
      • Title: The title of the notification.
      • Icon: Icon displayed with the notification.
      • HideFromNavigation: Determines whether the notification is visible in the navigation menu.
      • CustomData: To update the notification with a custom HTML template, this parameter can be used. The HTML template has to be updated in the notification settings screen.

Once configured, the form can be rendered, and notifications can be sent to specific users, groups, or all users within a tenant.

Fig 1: Syntax of PushNotification Rule

2. Via API

Push notifications can also be initiated using an API. This allows external systems to send notifications.

For details on how to configure push notifications with API, please contact AppForms Support at mailto:[email protected]

Note: Use Token-based Authentication for Forms Authentication and Basic Authentication for Windows Authentication sites.

Notification Configuration

Designer Configuration

  1. Enabling Notification Settings:
    • Enable notifications in the Beta version of Tenant Settings.
    • Configure Notification Settings via the “Manage” link under Basic Settings.
  2. Global Header Configuration:
    • Ensure AppForms Branding is applied to enable the notification bell icon.

Fig 2: Items in Notification Settings

3.  Notification Settings Features:

  1. Maximum Notification Count: Define the maximum number of notifications displayed.
  2. Remind Me Indicator: Enable a pin icon to allow users to mark notifications as reminders.
  3. Notification Duration (In Days): Specify the retention period for notification data in the database. Use the “Archive” button to archive data exceeding this duration.Default archive count is 10.
  4. Notification Template: Define custom HTML for notification items. If left blank, the default template is used:
    <div class=’notify-avatar’>
      <i class='{{Icon}}’></i>
    </div>
    <div class=’notify-info’>
        <h5>{{Title}}</h5>
        <p>{{Message}}</p>
    </div>
  5. Latest Notifications Title: This field helps update the “Latest Notifications” title in the notifications pop-up loaded upon clicking the bell icon in the suite bar on the homepage.
  6. All Notification Mapping: Allows users to map a form to view all notifications.
  7. Notification Item Mapping: Allows users to map a form and receive a trigger in a control when clicking on a notification item.
  8. Default Trigger: The default trigger, NotificationReceived, allows users to define logic based on received notifications.

Notification Configuration for Initiators

Notifications can be sent to a single user, multiple users/groups, or all users within a tenant. Initiators can send notifications using either the PushNotification() rule or by making an API call. The rule parameters include AssignedTo, Message, Title, Icon, and HideFromNavigation, as explained in the previous section.

1. Notifications to Specific User(s)

To send notifications to specific users, the list of recipients should be provided in the AssignedTo parameter of the PushNotification() rule. 

Examples are shown below:

Fig 3: Notification to Specific User(s) – Case 1


Fig 4: Notification to Specific User(s) – Case 2

2. Notifications to All Users

To send notifications to all users within a tenant, the value “Everyone” should be specified in the AssignedTo parameter of the PushNotification() rule.

Fig 5: Notification to All Users

3. Hidden Notifications

In addition to regular visible notifications, notifications can also be sent as client-side notifications that are not displayed in the navigation menu. To achieve this, set the HideFromNavigation parameter to true in the PushNotification() rule, as shown below:

Fig 6: Hidden Notification

This hidden notification type is useful for triggering the NotificationReceived event, enabling the execution of specific business logic.

Notification Configuration for Receiver

To receive notifications, the receiver must enable the notification bell icon as described in the “Designer Part” section above. When the receiver is actively using the web part or workflow dashboard page, notifications will be delivered instantly. If the receiver is not logged in at the time the notification is sent, they will receive it upon their next login, and the notification will be updated accordingly.

A bell icon with an alert and count will appear in the global header when a notification is received. Clicking on the bell icon will slide down a popup displaying the latest notifications. At the bottom of this section, a “View All” hyperlink is available for accessing the complete notification history.

  1. The user can view all notifications on the “All Notifications” page/popup or configure a form to display them.
  2. Notifications can be deleted individually or in bulk from the “All Notifications” page/popup.
  3. Each notification can be set as a reminder using the pin icon.

Fig 7: Notification Popup

Fig 8: All Notifications Popup

Fig 9: All Notifications Popup with Delete Option

Notification Types

In addition to the notification popup, there are two additional ways to display notifications:

  1. Glimpse Notification:
    A glimpse of the received notification is displayed on the site page in a tile format below the bell icon.


Fig 10: Glimpse Notification

  1. Background/Desktop Notification:


Notifications are sent to the user in the form of desktop or background alerts. The user interface of these notifications depends on the browser in which the user is logged in.

Fig 11: Background Notification Received by a User in Chrome Browser