macOS Catalina: The Missing Manual

Chapter 10. Notifications

A notification is an important status message or warning. On a smartphone, you get one every time a text message comes in, an alarm goes off, a calendar appointment is imminent, or your battery is running low. It’s no different on your Mac. Mail and Messages might want to let you know a new message has arrived. The Calendar app might want to remind you an important meeting is about to start.

In macOS, you know when some app is trying to get your attention: A message bubble slides into view at the top right of your screen. Some of these alerts slide away again after five seconds; others require you to click a button, like Close, Snooze, or Show (which opens the program that’s waving its little hand in your face).

Note

Only apps you got from the Mac App Store can tap into the Notification Center. Other programs use whatever alert mechanisms they always have—pop-up dialog boxes, for example.

You’re also notified this way when one of your App Store apps has been automatically updated, or when that update requires you to quit the app or restart the Mac (and you’re offered a Later button).

All kinds of warnings—dying battery, failed Time Machine backups, disks ejected improperly—appear in these subtle notification bubbles, rather than bleating their news in showstopping dialog boxes.

Insta-Respond to Bubbles

Some of those notification bubbles aren’t just the Mac’s way of speaking to you; they’re interactive. That’s particularly handy when the bubble represents ...