Event Notifications
Stay tuned
While communicating with co-workers, it is important not to miss anything and to react promptly to new messages and other events. However, you may get distracted or become busy with other tasks. In such situations, sound and visual notifications help you keep track of conversations and draw your attention to Virola when needed.
On the other hand, there are situations when notifications that beep and blink can be annoying or even inappropriate.
In Virola Messenger, we've addressed both situations. With our configurable notifications, you won't miss important messages or be disturbed unnecessarily.
How event notifications work in Virola
New message notifications
By default, both sound and visual notifications are enabled for all new messages. This means that when a new message arrives, you:
- hear a beep if your computer's sound is on
- see a visual notification in a corner of your screen. Clicking the notification takes you to the chat room containing the new message
- see the number of unread messages displayed in a badge on the Virola taskbar icon
- see the unread message count blinking in the Virola system tray icon
A message is considered unread if it hasn't been viewed yet, or has had and attachment added to it. If a message is edited or an attachment is removed, only the less intrusive taskbar icon badge and system tray icon counter will appear.
Nudge notifications
Nudges are an aggressive way to draw your attention to the messenger. Your teammates can send them in both private and group chat rooms, and they are hard to miss. Both sound and visual notifications are enabled for nudges by default.
When you receive a nudge, you:
- hear a specific beep if your computer's sound is on
- see a visual notification in a corner of your screen. Clicking the notification takes you to the chat room from which the nudge was sent
- see either the Virola Client window rise to the foreground and shake or the Virola taskbar icon blink
Configuring notifications
Unread message indicators
The least intrusive notifications for new messages are the indicators displayed on the Virola system tray icon and taskbar icon. These indicators show the total number of unread messages across all open application profiles, including messages in muted chat rooms, regardless of their online presence status.
You can disable blinking of the system tray icon indicator or deactivate it entirely in Virola Options → General tab.
However, the taskbar icon badge remains visible whenever the Virola Client window is open.
Visual and sound notifications
You can choose between native operating system notifications and custom Virola notifications. Depending on your choice, some additional options may or may not be available, and certain limitations may apply.
Regardless of the notification system you choose, you can enable or disable both visual and sound notifications for specific online presence statuses directly in Virola Options.
Native notifications
Native notifications are used in Virola by default. This means that notifications are controlled by your operating system's settings. There, you can configure their appearance and priority, enable or disable sounds, block notifications on the lock screen, or disable notifications altogether, regardless of your Virola settings.
If notifications aren't working as expected based on your Virola settings, make sure they are configured correctly in your operating system's notification settings.
Custom Virola notifications
Custom Virola notifications are fully controlled by Virola. They ignore the operating system's Do Not Disturb (DND) mode and screen lock and appear over full-screen applications, including games and video players. This makes them ideal for those who use Virola as a communication tool for gaming communities.
By default, custom Virola notifications appear in the bottom-right corner of your screen and remain visible for 15 seconds.
You can change their position and display duration in Virola Options → Notifications.
If you're not satisfied with the default notification sounds, you can adjust the notification volume and upload custom sound files for new message and nudge notifications to replace the standard sounds. Custom sound files must be in .WAV format.
You can manage notification sounds in Virola Options → Notifications.
Muting notifications for individual chat rooms
In addition to disabling notifications for specific online presence statuses, you can mute notifications for selected chat rooms, whether private or group.
To mute all notifications for a chat room, right-click its tab and select Mute Notifications.
This disables both sound alerts and visual notifications for that chat room. However, the system tray and taskbar icon indicators will continue to work for that room.
