Toast messages are a common feature in modern applications, allowing developers to display short, non-intrusive notifications to users. In C#, creating and displaying toast messages is a straightforward process, thanks to the wide range of libraries and frameworks available. In this quick guide, we will explore how to display toast messages in C# and highlight some popular libraries that can make the process even more convenient.
Creating a Basic Toast Message
To create a toast message in C#, we need to leverage the capabilities of the underlying operating system, whether it is Windows, macOS, or Linux. In this guide, we will focus on creating toast messages for Windows applications.
The first step is to create a new Windows Forms application or open an existing one. Once you have your project set up, you can proceed with the following steps:
1. Adding a Reference to the Windows.UI.Notifications Namespace
To work with toast messages, we need to add a reference to the Windows.UI.Notifications namespace in our project. To do this, right-click on your project in the Solution Explorer, select “Add” and then click on “Reference.” In the reference manager, navigate to the “Assemblies” tab and search for “Windows.ApplicationModel” in the search box. Check the “Windows.UI.Notifications” checkbox and click “OK” to add the reference.
2. Creating a Toast Template
After adding the reference, we can start designing our toast message. The toast message layout is defined using XML, which can be a bit overwhelming at first. However, Microsoft provides a Visual Studio extension called “Notifications Visualizer” that greatly simplifies the process.
To install the “Notifications Visualizer” extension, open Visual Studio and go to “Extensions” -> “Manage Extensions.” Search for “Notifications Visualizer” in the extension marketplace and click “Install” to add it to your Visual Studio installation.
Once the extension is installed, we can create a toast template by adding a new XML file to our project. Right-click on your project, select “Add” -> “New Item,” and search for “Toast Notification XML” in the item templates. Give the file a meaningful name, such as “ToastTemplate.xml,” and click “Add” to create it.
3. Designing the Toast Message
Open the newly created XML file and switch to the designer view. With the help of the “Notifications Visualizer” extension, we can easily design our toast message by dragging and dropping elements onto the canvas.
The toast message consists of various elements, such as the title, message, and an optional image. Customize the appearance of these elements by modifying their properties in the properties window.
4. Generating the Toast Message Code
Once we have designed our toast template, we need to generate the corresponding C# code that will create and display the toast message. To do this, switch back to the code view in Visual Studio.
In the code view, we will see the generated C# code to create the toast message from our XML template. We can copy this code and paste it into our application where we want to display the toast message.
5. Displaying the Toast Message
To display the toast message, we need to call the “Show” method on the ToastNotificationManager class and pass in the toast notification object as a parameter. This will make the operating system display the toast message on the user’s screen.
Using Libraries for Easy Toast Message Handling
While the above steps provide a basic way of creating and displaying toast messages in C#, there are several libraries available that can simplify the process even further. These libraries abstract away the complexities of dealing with XML templates and provide easy-to-use APIs for displaying toast messages.
One popular library is the “ToastNotifications” library, which provides a simple and intuitive API for creating toast messages. With this library, we can easily define the content, appearance, and duration of the toast message using a fluent interface.
Another noteworthy library is “NotificationsExtensions.Win10,” which is part of the Windows Community Toolkit. This library offers a rich set of APIs for creating immersive toast messages with custom actions, adaptive layouts, and more.
Using these libraries, developers can save significant time and effort by leveraging pre-built components and APIs specifically designed for handling toast messages in C# applications.
Conclusion
Displaying toast messages in C# applications is an important aspect of providing timely notifications to users. While the process can be accomplished using the Windows.UI.Notifications namespace, libraries such as “ToastNotifications” and “NotificationsExtensions.Win10” offer an easier and more robust way to handle toast messages.
Whether you choose to stick with the basic approach or leverage one of these libraries, displaying toast messages in C# is a valuable technique that enhances the user experience and keeps users informed about important events and updates.