Notify the user when their computer is being backed up with Retrospect.

This used to work out of the box, but Windows 8 removed the ability for background services to show UI, so the dialog boxes never appear.

• Requirements
• Installation
• Appearance

• Windows 8 or later
• .NET Framework 4.8 runtime
• Retrospect Client for Windows
  • Tested with 7.7.114
• Retrospect Server
  • Tested with 7.7.620

1. Download retroeventhandler.exe from this repository's latest Release.
2. Save it to your Retrospect installation directory.
   • The default installation directory for Retrospect Client is %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Retrospect\Retrospect Client\.
   • The default installation directory for Retrospect Server is %ProgramFiles%\Retrospect\Retrospect 7.7\.

You only need to install this program on the machine which you want to show notifications.

• If you have a server that backs up a client, install it on the client.
• If you have a server that backs itself up, install it on the server.

A native Windows toast notification is shown for a few seconds with a message telling you a backup is starting.

If you don't want this notification to appear, you can disable it from Settings › System › Notifications & actions › Get notifications from these senders.

A tray icon is visible in the notification area. The tooltip shows the time the backup started.

If you don't want this icon to appear, you can right-click on it and hide it, either once or forever.

Another toast notification appears, and it describes the quantity and size of the files that were backed up, as well as how long it took.

If you missed a notification or want to see it again, you can see the most recent one in the Windows 10 Action Center (Win+A, or click ) or Windows 11 Notifications (Win+N, or click the clock).