Notifications
Settings → Notifications sets up where TalkBar sends notifications and shared content. The page has two sections: Delivery Channels and Desktop Notifications. For what gets sent and when, see Notifications.
Delivery Channels
A delivery channel is a destination outside TalkBar: an email account, a Telegram bot, a Slack or Microsoft Teams channel, or your own webhook. Channels are used for the notifications you choose for each channel and for sharing. You can create as many channels as you like and turn each one on or off.
There are two ways to add a channel:
- Add Channel at the top of the page opens a step-by-step setup that explains where to get each credential and lets you send a test before you finish.
- Create channel in the Delivery Channels section opens the same fields as a single form.
Passwords, bot tokens, webhook URLs and header values are stored encrypted on this computer.
Channel types
| Channel type | What you need |
|---|---|
| An email account that can send through SMTP. Choose Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or Custom SMTP. Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo need an app password, and the setup links to where you create one. | |
| Telegram | A bot token from @BotFather. The setup can verify the token and detect the chats the bot can post to. |
| Slack | An incoming webhook URL from Slack. |
| Microsoft Teams | A webhook URL from a Teams Workflows webhook trigger. |
| Custom webhook | Any HTTPS endpoint, with optional authentication headers. |
Channel fields
Which fields appear depends on the channel type.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Channel type | The kind of channel. Shown only when you create a channel. | |
| Channel name | The name shown in channel lists and share dialogs. Required. | — |
| Provider | Email only: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or Custom SMTP. Choosing a provider fills in the server settings. | Gmail |
| SMTP host | Email only. The outgoing mail server. | smtp.gmail.com (filled in from the provider) |
| SMTP port | Email only. | 587 |
| Security | Email only: STARTTLS, TLS or None. | STARTTLS |
| SMTP username | Email only. Usually your email address. | — |
| SMTP password | Email only. Your app password or SMTP password. | — |
| From name | Email only. The sender name recipients see. | — |
| From email | Email only. The sender address. | — |
| Default email recipients (optional) | Email only. Where notifications and test sends go by default. Separate addresses with a comma or a new line. If your organization allows email only to certain domains, addresses outside them are refused. | — |
| Bot token | Telegram only. Required. | — |
| Bot username (optional) | Telegram only. | — |
| Default delivery chat IDs (optional) | Telegram only. The chats the bot sends TalkBar notifications to by default. | — |
| Webhook URL | Slack, Microsoft Teams and Custom webhook. Required. Must use HTTPS. | — |
| Authentication headers | Custom webhook only. Click Add authentication header to add a Header name and Header value (up to 16). | None |
| Automatic notifications | The updates this channel receives: Session completed, Summary ready, System alerts and Application events. To send full summaries, use automatic sharing rules instead. | None selected |
| Enable | Shown when you edit a channel. A disabled channel sends nothing. | On |
Managing channels
Each channel in the list shows its type and has:
- an on/off switch to enable or disable the channel;
- Send Test, which sends a test message. You can enter a destination for this single test, or leave it blank to use the channel defaults;
- Edit, where you can change fields and Replace credentials;
- Delete, which permanently deletes the channel.
A channel that failed its last delivery shows Delivery error with the reason. If TalkBar can't read a saved password or token on this computer, the channel asks you to enter it again.
Desktop Notifications
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop Notifications | The switch in the section header. While it is on, TalkBar shows reminders and activity as desktop notifications. | On |
| System Settings | Opens your operating system's notification settings, where you can allow or silence TalkBar. | — |
| Send Test | Shows a test desktop notification. Available while desktop notifications are on. | — |