Info: This article is work in progress and subject to change.
A Notification is the panel’s voice. It tells the user — quietly or loudly — where they are, what to do next, what they have got wrong, or what they should be aware of before they act. Notifications are the single most under-used component in panels reviewed by support, and the highest-leverage one when used well.
This article is the technical reference for the Notification component. For the conceptual material on why Notifications matter, see 02b — Component types and 04a — A design methodology. For Lucene, the language used in display conditions, see 02d — How conditions work and 12a — Lucene query quick reference.
How a Notification works
A Notification is rendered on the panel only when its display condition is met. The condition is a Lucene query against the metadata of the currently selected asset or collection. When the query returns true, the notification appears; when it returns false, the notification is hidden. There is no other rendering rule.
If the visibility checklist (the Applies to option) excludes the current selection, the Notification is also hidden — the asset-kind check runs first, then the display condition.
| Combination | Result |
|---|---|
| Asset kind matches Applies to, display condition true | Notification visible |
| Asset kind matches Applies to, display condition false | Notification hidden |
| Asset kind does not match Applies to | Notification hidden, regardless of display condition |
| No asset selected, No asset ticked, display condition true | Notification visible |
| No asset selected, No asset unticked | Notification hidden |
Options shared by every Notification
| Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Message type | The visual treatment. Info, Warning, Error, or Blank — see the section below |
| Notification text | The message shown to the user. Supports plain text only — no {fieldName} substitution |
| Display condition | A Lucene query. The Notification appears when the query is true |
| Applies to (visibility checklist) | The asset kinds for which the Notification can appear. Tick No asset to allow the Notification to show with nothing selected |
Note: Notification text is plain — substitution from selected-asset metadata is not supported in the message body. If your message needs to vary by asset, use multiple Notifications with different display conditions, each with its own static message.
Message types
The Notification component supports four message types, each with its own visual treatment.
| Message type | Colour | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Info | Blue | Helpful context the user should know but does not need to act on. Example: “This asset is part of the spring catalogue” |
| Warning | Yellow | A condition that needs attention but does not block work. Example: “This asset is missing a credit — please fill before publish” |
| Error | Red | A condition that should stop the user from acting. Example: “This asset is in a region your account is not licensed for” |
| Blank | None | Neutral message where the colour treatment of Info is too prominent. Useful for routine guidance or always-on instructions |
Tip: Reserve Error for conditions that genuinely block the workflow. A panel where every Notification is red trains users to ignore red. Use Warning for “you need to do something” and Error only for “you cannot proceed.”
A library of display-condition patterns
These are the conditions you will reach for most often. Combine them with AND, OR, and NOT to build the condition you need.
| Pattern | Lucene | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Field is empty | fieldName:"" |
Show the Notification when a field has no value |
| Field is set | fieldName:* |
Show the Notification when a field has any value |
| Field equals a value | status:"Final" |
Show when the status is Final
|
| Field is not a value | NOT status:"Final" |
Show when the status is anything other than Final
|
| Several conditions all true | status:"Awaiting publish" AND NOT credit:* |
Show when awaiting publish and credit is empty |
| Either of two conditions | status:"Draft" OR status:"Review" |
Show in Draft or Review |
| Asset is in a folder | ancestorPaths:"/Project/WIP and Final" |
Show only for assets in this folder |
| Asset is not an image | NOT assetDomain:image |
Show for everything except images. Useful for “this panel is for images” Info notifications |
| Asset is locked | lockState:locked |
Show when the asset is locked. Pair with an Error type |
Three example Notifications, end to end
The same three patterns appear on most well-designed panels. Build each as a separate Notification component.
Onboarding Info notification. Tells the user what the panel is for the first time they see it.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Message type | Info |
| Notification text | Image details panel — review and update the credit, then click Show all images by this credit to find related assets. |
| Display condition | assetDomain:image |
| Applies to | Image, plus No asset so it shows on first load |
Missing-data Warning notification. Catches the user before they publish without a required value.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Message type | Warning |
| Notification text | This asset has no credit yet. Add one in the Credit field below before publishing. |
| Display condition | assetDomain:image AND credit:"" |
| Applies to | Image |
Blocking Error notification. Stops the user from acting on an asset that is locked.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Message type | Error |
| Notification text | This asset is locked for review. Editing is not available until review ends. |
| Display condition | lockState:locked |
| Applies to | Image, Video, Audio, Document — every kind the panel applies to |
Stacking and ordering Notifications
A panel can show several Notifications at the same time. They render in the order they appear in the configuration — the first one in the section comes first, the last one in the section comes last.
When stacking, two habits help the user:
- Put the most important Notification first. Errors first, then Warnings, then Info
- Resolve, do not duplicate. If two Notifications are saying overlapping things, merge them. The user should never have to read three messages to understand one situation
Common mistakes and what to do instead
| Mistake | Effect | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Notification with no display condition | Always visible — users learn to ignore it | Always set a display condition. If a message should always be visible, it is probably a section description, not a Notification |
| Wrong message type for the situation | Users learn that red means nothing | Reserve Error for blocks, Warning for things to fix, Info for context |
Notification text contains {fieldName}
|
The substitution is shown literally to the user | Substitution is not supported in Notifications. Write a static message, or use multiple Notifications |
| Applies to does not include No asset for an onboarding Notification | The user does not see the Notification on first load | Tick No asset for any Notification that introduces the panel |
Cross-references
- 02b — Component types — Action is one of three component types
- 02d — How conditions work — Lucene primer for Disable condition and Query option
- 04a — A design methodology — why Notifications matter
- 04b — Patterns and anti-patterns — Approve / Reject pattern and the Confirmation-popup habit
- 05a — Fields reference — for the data layer the Actions read and write
- 05b — Actions and buttons reference — for the disabled-message companion to a Notification
- 12a — Lucene query quick reference — the full query vocabulary
Revisions
- 8 May 2026: First publication of the manual
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