Notification System

9 min read

Updated 2 days ago

Notification System

Overview

The Notifications module provides a centralized system for viewing and managing system notifications. Notifications keep administrators informed about important events, security alerts, system updates, user actions, and other critical information. The system supports different notification types and priority levels, with visual indicators to help you quickly identify and respond to important alerts.

Accessing Notifications

Navigation path: Dashboard > Communication > Notifications

Required permission: notifications.view

Quick Access: Click the bell icon in the top navigation bar to see recent unread notifications

Key Features

Real-Time Alerts: Receive instant notifications about important system events
Priority Levels: Visual indicators for info, warning, error, and critical notifications
Notification Types: Categorized by type (backup failed, security alert, system update, user action)
Read/Unread Tracking: Track which notifications you've reviewed
Bulk Actions: Mark all notifications as read with one click
Dismissible Notifications: Remove notifications that are no longer relevant
Auto-Expiration: Time-sensitive notifications automatically expire
Visual Indicators: Color-coded backgrounds and icons based on priority level
Timestamp Display: See when notifications were created with human-readable time (e.g., "2 hours ago")

Main Interface

Notifications List

The main page displays all notifications in a vertical list format. Each notification card includes:

Icon: Visual indicator based on notification level
Title: Brief summary of the notification
"New" Badge: Displayed on unread notifications
Message: Detailed description of the event or alert
Metadata: Timestamp and notification type
Action Buttons: Mark as read and delete (if dismissible)

Visual Indicators by Level

Info (Blue):

Icon: Information circle
Background: Light blue
Border: Blue
Use: General information, updates, tips

Warning (Yellow):

Icon: Exclamation triangle
Background: Light yellow
Border: Yellow
Use: Important notices that require attention but aren't critical

Error (Red):

Icon: Times circle
Background: Light red
Border: Red
Use: Errors that need to be addressed

Critical (Dark Red):

Icon: Exclamation circle
Background: Darker red
Border: Dark red
Use: Urgent issues requiring immediate action

Notification Types

The system supports several notification types:

Backup Failed: Alerts when scheduled backups fail to complete
Security Alert: Notifications about security events (failed logins, suspicious activity)
System Update: Information about system updates and maintenance
User Action: Notifications about important user activities

Common Tasks

Task 1: Viewing Notifications

Navigate to Dashboard > Communication > Notifications
All notifications are displayed in chronological order (newest first)
Unread notifications are marked with a "New" badge
Read the notification title and message
Check the timestamp to see when the event occurred
Review the notification type to understand the category

Alternative: Click the bell icon in the top navigation to see a dropdown of recent notifications.

Task 2: Marking a Notification as Read

Locate the unread notification (marked with "New" badge)
Click the checkmark icon button on the right side of the notification
The notification is marked as read
The "New" badge disappears
The notification becomes slightly transparent (opacity reduced)
The unread count in the navigation bar decreases

Expected result: The notification remains visible but is no longer highlighted as new.

Task 3: Marking All Notifications as Read

Navigate to Dashboard > Communication > Notifications
If you have unread notifications, a button appears in the top right showing the count
Click Mark All as Read ([count])
Confirm the action in the popup dialog
All notifications are marked as read
The page refreshes to show the updated status

Use case: Quickly clear all notifications after reviewing them in bulk.

Task 4: Dismissing a Notification

Locate the notification you want to remove
Check that the notification is dismissible (trash icon appears)
Click the trash icon button on the right side
Confirm the deletion in the popup dialog
The notification fades out and is removed from the list
The unread count updates if the notification was unread

Note: Only dismissible notifications can be deleted. Critical system notifications may not be dismissible.

Task 5: Checking Unread Count

In Navigation Bar:

Look for the bell icon in the top navigation
A red badge shows the number of unread notifications
Click the bell to see recent unread notifications

On Notifications Page:

The "Mark All as Read" button shows the unread count
Unread notifications have the "New" badge

Task 6: Understanding Notification Priority

Review the visual indicators:

Critical (Dark Red): Address immediately
- System failures
- Security breaches
- Data loss risks
Error (Red): Address soon
- Failed operations
- Configuration errors
- Integration failures
Warning (Yellow): Review and plan action
- Approaching limits
- Deprecated features
- Performance issues
Info (Blue): Informational only
- Successful operations
- System updates
- General notices

Best practice: Prioritize your response based on the notification level.

Settings and Options

Notification Properties (Read-Only)

Type: Category of the notification (backup_failed, security_alert, system_update, user_action)
Level: Priority level (info, warning, error, critical)
Title: Brief summary of the notification
Message: Detailed description of the event
Created At: When the notification was generated
Read At: When you marked the notification as read (if applicable)
Is Dismissible: Whether the notification can be deleted
Expires At: When the notification will automatically expire (if applicable)

Notification Data

Some notifications include additional structured data in JSON format, which may contain:

Event details
Affected resources
Action links
Related user information
Error codes or stack traces

Permissions

The following permissions control access to the Notifications module:

notifications.view: Can view notifications
notifications.update: Can mark notifications as read
notifications.delete: Can delete dismissible notifications

Note: All administrators typically have view access to notifications. Update and delete permissions may be restricted based on role.

Tips and Best Practices

Check regularly: Review notifications at least once per day to stay informed
Prioritize by level: Address critical and error notifications first
Don't ignore warnings: Warning notifications often indicate issues that will become errors if not addressed
Mark as read promptly: Keep your notification list clean by marking reviewed notifications as read
Dismiss when appropriate: Remove notifications that are no longer relevant to reduce clutter
Understand notification types: Learn what each notification type means to respond appropriately
Monitor trends: If you see repeated notifications of the same type, investigate the root cause
Set up email alerts: Configure email notifications for critical alerts (if available)
Document actions: When responding to notifications, document what you did in audit logs or notes
Share with team: Communicate important notifications to relevant team members

Troubleshooting

Problem: Not receiving notifications

Solution:

Verify you have the notifications.view permission
Check that the notification system is enabled in settings
Ensure your user account is active and not restricted
Check if notifications are being generated (ask other administrators)
Review system logs for notification service errors

Problem: Notification count doesn't update

Solution:

Refresh the page to reload the notification count
Clear your browser cache
Check browser console for JavaScript errors
Ensure you're marking notifications as read correctly
Try logging out and back in

Problem: Cannot dismiss notifications

Solution:

Verify you have the notifications.delete permission
Check if the notification is dismissible (some system notifications cannot be deleted)
Ensure you're confirming the deletion in the popup dialog
Try refreshing the page and attempting again
Contact an administrator if the issue persists

Problem: Too many notifications

Solution:

Use "Mark All as Read" to clear old notifications
Dismiss notifications that are no longer relevant
Check if there's a system issue causing excessive notifications
Review notification settings to reduce frequency (if available)
Consider implementing notification filters or preferences

Problem: Missing important notifications

Solution:

Check that notifications aren't being automatically dismissed
Verify notification expiration settings aren't too aggressive
Review your notification preferences (if available)
Check spam/junk folders if email notifications are enabled
Ensure the notification service is running properly

Problem: Notifications not showing correct time

Solution:

Check your browser's timezone settings
Verify the server timezone is configured correctly
Refresh the page to update relative timestamps
Check if your system clock is accurate
Contact an administrator to verify server time settings

Related Modules

Audit Logs: View detailed logs of system events that trigger notifications
Security Events: Monitor security-related notifications
Backups: Manage backups that generate failure notifications
General Settings: Configure notification preferences (if available)

New Features (Recently Implemented)

Email Notifications ✅

Critical notifications are now automatically sent via email to ensure they're not missed. Users can configure email preferences for each notification type.

Navigation: Dashboard > Communication > Notifications > Preferences

Features:

Automatic email alerts for critical notifications
Level-based email sending (info, warning, error, critical)
Visual indicators in email subjects (🔴 CRITICAL, ⚠️ ERROR, etc.)
Queue-based delivery with retry logic
Email tracking (sent status, timestamp, errors)

Notification Preferences ✅

Users can now customize which notification types they receive and how they receive them.

Navigation: Dashboard > Communication > Notifications > Preferences

Features:

Per-type preferences (backup_failed, security_alert, system_update, user_action, custom)
In-app notification toggle
Email notification toggle
Email priority levels (all, critical, error_and_above, critical_only, none)
Bulk preference updates
Reset to defaults option

Notification Rules ✅

Set up automatic actions for notifications based on conditions.

Navigation: Dashboard > Communication > Notifications > Rules

Features:

Multiple trigger types (notification type, level, keyword, time-based)
Multiple action types (auto-read, auto-dismiss, escalate, forward email, webhook)
Priority-based execution
Active/inactive toggle
Audit trail of rule executions

Example Rules: