Customizing Windows-11 Notifications: How to Make Them Work for You
Notifications play a significant role in keeping you informed about important events, alerts, and updates on your Windows-11 computer.
Windows-11 provides a range of customization options that allow you to personalize and control how notifications are displayed and managed. In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of customizing Windows-11 notifications to make them work for you.
Step 1: Open the Settings app
Click on the Start button located at the bottom left corner of your screen. From the Start menu, click on the gear icon above it to open the Settings app.
Step 2: Access Notification settings
In the Settings app, click on "System" from the left-hand side panel. Then select "Notifications & actions" from below it. This will take you to the notification settings page.
Step 3: Customize notification preferences
On this page, you will find various options to customize your notification preferences. Let's go through some key settings:
- Choose which apps can send notifications:
Scroll down until you see a list of apps under "Get notifications from these senders." You can toggle each app's switch on or off based on whether or not you want to receive its notifications.
- Set priority level:
By default, most apps use normal priority for their notifications.
- Manage notification banners:
To control how long a banner stays visible when it appears at the top-right corner of your screen after receiving a new notification, scroll down further until reaching "Notification banners." Here, you can choose to keep them for 5 seconds, 7 seconds, or have them persist until dismissed.
- Silence notifications during focus assist:
Focus Assist is a feature in Windows-11 that allows you to minimize interruptions by temporarily suppressing notifications. You can set it up to activate automatically during specific hours or when running full-screen applications. To configure this, scroll down and find "Focus assist" under the "Notifications & actions" menu.
Step 4: Customize quick actions
Quick actions are the buttons that appear when you expand the notification center from the taskbar. They allow you to perform common tasks directly without opening an app. To customize these quick actions:
- Scroll back up on the "Notifications & actions" page.
- Underneath "Quick Actions," click on "Edit your quick actions."
- Enable or disable any action by toggling their switches.
- You can also rearrange them according to your preference by dragging and dropping each item.
Step 5: Manage notification sounds
Windows-11 provides various sound options for different types of notifications. To customize notification sounds:
- Scroll back up on the "Notifications & actions" page.
- Underneath "Sounds," click on individual events (such as app notifications or system errors) and select a sound from the drop-down menu.
Step 6: Customize notification behavior per application
In addition to global settings, Windows-11 also allows you to customize notification behavior for individual apps:
- Navigate back to the main Notifications settings page (Settings > System > Notifications & actions).
- Click on an app listed under "Get notifications from these senders."
- Adjust its individual settings such as priority level, banner style, and sound preferences.
That's it! By following these steps, you should be able to customize Windows-11 notifications according to your preferences and make them work for you without being disruptive or overwhelming. Experiment with different settings until you find the perfect balance between staying informed and maintaining focus on your work.