Configuring Notification Center In OS X [Guide]

The latest version of OS X, Yosemite has over 200 new features integrated into it. One of the most prominent features is Notification Center. Notification Center existed in the iOS and it has been incorporated in OS X since 2012. The Notification Center has its own setting panel and is easy to access. There are two methods to access the Notification Center; either by clicking on the icon of Notification Center on the right hand side of the screen or by dragging it from the right edge of the screen towards the left.

Configuration of Notification Center can be done from the System Preferences. The Notification Center generates two types of alerts. The first type of alert displays Banners on the top right hand side corner of the screen and after a few seconds these notifications slide off into Notification Center.

NOTIFICATION CENTER SPECIFICATIONS

The Notification Center is split in two panels, Notifications and Today. In the Today panel, details of widgets and system information are displayed. In this panel, users can make changes to the options such as do not disturb and mute notifications. Today panel can be configured by clicking the Edit button placed at the bottom. Widgets can be added by clicking on the green plus buttons and can be removed using the red minus buttons.

In the Notifications Panel, the actual notifications are displayed. The notifications which appear on the screen are stored on the Notifications Panel. You can remove these notifications by clicking on the ‘X’ on the top right hand side corner.

CONFIGURING NOTIFICATION CENTER

DO NOT DISTURB OPTION:

The Notification Center has a do not disturb setting which allows delay in notifications thereby ensuring that the users are not disturbed because of notifications while performing other tasks. To change these settings, you need to open Notification Center and scroll down with the two fingers to the bottom where a toggle switch is pulled down. Once this is done, you will not receive any notifications until the next day or till you switch it back on.

TWITTER INTEGRATION:

Notification Center has a easy Twitter integration and it has a Tweet button. You are required to add your Twitter account under the ‘Systems Preferences’ menu and click on the button under the Mail, Contacts and Calendar option.

CONFIGURING ALERT STYLES:

You can choose to view the alerts only when the screen is locked and hence, the previews will not be shown if this option is selected. You may also choose for these notifications to appear when unlock the computer or choose the option so that these previews are never displayed.

CHANGING NOTIFICATION SETTINGS:

You can turn on or off notification for apps, make changes to the display badge app icons and specify the number of recent notifications to be displayed. In the instances when the badge app icons are selected, the badges will be displayed overlapping the application icons. You can also specify whether the notifications appear by dates or manually. In case of manual selection, you can drag the apps in the order of your choice.

Along with these, you can do hell lots of modification in Notification panel, all depending upon your own set of preferences.