<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/" type="topic" id="howto_notifications">
  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="index#reviewing"/>
    <link type="next" xref="howto_bookmarks" />
    <title type="sort">5. Notifications</title>
    <desc>Reading previously-received messages</desc>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>Joanmarie Diggs</name>
      <email>joanied@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>
    <license>
      <p>Creative Commons Share Alike 3.0</p>
    </license>
  </info>
  <title>Notifications</title>
  <p>
    The GNOME Desktop includes a "notification area" which can be used by
    applications to present information to the user. Examples of notifications
    include incoming chat messages, the details associated with the song your
    media player is starting to play, and warnings that your battery level is
    getting low.
  </p>
  <p>
    Because notifications are intended to present information to users without
    interrupting what the user is doing, these messages tend to appear and
    disappear relatively quickly. They are also not focusable. While
    <app>Orca</app> will present these messages to you as they come in, it is
    far too easy to interrupt <app>Orca</app>'s announcement accidentally by
    continuing to type or to change focus. For this reason, <app>Orca</app> has
    three commands which you can use to access previously-displayed notification
    messages:
  </p>
  <list>
    <item>
      <p>Present the last (most recent) notification message</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Present the previous notification message</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Present list of all notification messages</p>
    </item>
  </list>
  <p>
    The first two commands are designed mainly for quick access to a message
    you just received. The last command is the most powerful as it stores your
    notification message history.
  </p>
  <p>
    When you enter the list of notification messages, you will be told the size
    of the list and prompted with the following choices:
  </p>
  <list>
    <item><p>Press H for help.</p></item>
    <item><p>Use Up, Down, Home or End to navigate in the list.</p></item>
    <item><p>Press Escape to exit.</p></item>
    <item><p>Press Space to repeat the last message read.</p></item>
    <item><p>Press one digit to read a specific message.</p></item>
  </list>
  <p>
    Note that the most recently-received message is at the top of the list.
  </p>
  <p>
    Each of <app>Orca</app>'s notification review commands is unbound by
    default. You can bind any or all of them to the shortcut or shortcuts
    you choose. How to do so is described in the
    <link xref="howto_key_bindings">Introduction to Key Bindings</link>.
  </p>
</page>
