BurntToast

One of the most important challenges developers face is figuring out how to mold their products according to users’ needs, from the services they provide to the accessibility of their features. As such, when engaging themselves in various activities held in the digital realm, many users prefer to maintain focus on the task at hand, which is why designing interactive notifications for your apps through which actions can be executed without leaving the foreground program may benefit the overall user experience, a feat that can be achieved through a neat utility known as BurntToast.

Being a PowerShell module, installation should be relatively straightforward for those experienced with the terminal’s workflow, as long as the current execution policy allows for running downloaded scripts signed by a trusted publisher. Once imported, notifications can be tested with ease through simple command lines, thus avoiding any cumbersome interfaces with steep learning curves. Otherwise, those without the necessary administrative privileges can also manually place the application contents in the terminal’s dedicated folders.

Before adding support for notifications to your app, it may be useful to explore the ways in which they are rendered, which can be done through a variety of ways with BurntToast. For instance, reminders and alarms can go hand-in-hand in terms of interaction, which is why the app’s built-in features include the option for buttons such as “Snooze” for postponing non-urgent items on to-do-lists, or “Dismiss” for times when actions are completed earlier.

Moreover, the module also lets you add your application’s logo to preview its rendering method, which may come in handy for making adjustments to your program’s icon when trying to ensure its visibility within the notification itself. Finally, the scripts’ extensive documentation provides a more in-depth look at its capabilities, for those looking to make the most of its options, such as support for showing thumbnails of images received through instant messaging platforms, depending on the app.

Whether you want to find out how well toast notifications are rendered in the latest versions of Windows, depending on the operating system’s theme or display resolution, or you simply wish to experiment with some concepts to test out their accessibility before implementing them within the app you are currently developing, BurntToast may be a solid choice, given its relative ease of use and terminal-based interaction patterns.