Heed Desktop App General Overview

With the Heed Desktop App you can receive real-time desktop notifications, ensuring you never miss important updates or messages. Additionally, the Heed Desktop App provides quick access to the Heed portal, allowing users to interact with your content and stay engaged with your organization, all from the convenience of your desktop. Experience enhanced productivity and communication with this essential tool.

What notifications can I expect?

The Heed Desktop App offers a variety of desktop notifications, each appearing in different positions on your screen. Below, you'll find a summary of the various notification types:

Simple Card

A basic card notification will appear in the top right-hand corner of your screen (top left-hand corner on Mac). 

Content creators have the flexibility to fully design these notifications, but typically, they include one or more action buttons. In the example below, there are two buttons: "OK, got it" and "Tell me more."

The action buttons usually dismiss the notification, but they can also serve additional purposes:

• Display a confirmation dialog before dismissing.
• Open a feedback form in a new window, where you can provide additional information.
• Direct you to a web address in your default browser.
• Access further content, such as a survey (as shown below).
• Execute an action within an external application, such as acknowledging the receipt of a message.

Simple Card Center Screen

A basic card can also appear at the center of your screen, typically for more crucial messages. Similar to simple cards, center screen cards are fully customizable and can include one or more action buttons.

For users with multiple monitors, center screen cards can span across all screens, ensuring that vital notifications are prominently displayed in critical scenarios.

Ticker

A ticker notification is a unique type of notification that is designed to display information efficiently, especially when the text content is lengthy. It appears either at the top or bottom of the screen and is characterized by its ability to scroll the text horizontally if it exceeds the available space.

Key features of a ticker notification include:

1. Position: It can be positioned at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on user preferences and design choices.
2. Text Scroll: When the notification content exceeds the width of the notification area, the text scrolls horizontally, allowing users to read the entire message.
3. Dynamic Content: Ticker notifications are versatile and can display various types of information, from news headlines and stock updates to real-time notifications from applications and services.
4. Unobtrusive: Ticker notifications are designed to be unobtrusive, allowing users to stay informed without disrupting their primary tasks.

Overall, ticker notifications are an effective way to deliver important information without taking up too much screen real estate and are particularly useful when conveying continuously updated or lengthy messages.

Video Notification

A video notification is a variation of a simple card notification that includes video content, providing users with a dynamic and engaging way to receive information or messages. 

Here are the key features and characteristics of a video notification:

1. Video Integration: Video notifications seamlessly embed video content within the notification card. This allows users to view video clips, presentations, or other multimedia content directly from the notification.
2. Thumbnail Preview: Typically, a video notification displays a thumbnail preview or poster frame from the video to give users a glimpse of its content before they click to play it.
3. Play Button: To initiate playback, users can click on a prominent play button within the notification. This action triggers the video to start playing within the notification card.
4. Customization: Content creators can customize video notifications with specific video content, titles, descriptions, and additional information to provide context to viewers.
5. Dismissal: Users can typically dismiss video notifications once they've viewed the content or if they want to remove it from their screen.

Video notifications are an effective way to deliver engaging and informative content to users, whether it's for educational purposes, marketing, or sharing important updates. They combine the convenience of notifications with the visual impact of video, enhancing user engagement and communication.

Survey

A survey notification is another variation of a simple card notification. Typically, the card notification introduces the user to the survey and includes an action button that initiates the survey. The following example illustrates this concept with an employee engagement survey:

By clicking the 'Start' button, the survey will open in a new window. Here's an example of a survey consisting of four questions.

Fullscreen

A fullscreen notification is exclusively used for emergency situations, like fire or severe weather warnings. It covers the entire screen, ensuring high visibility, and includes urgent information, such as the type of emergency and recommended actions. These notifications are typically regulated and can override other content on the device to convey essential information during emergencies.

The system tray icon

The system tray icon of the "Heed" app serves as a visual indicator of the application's status and provides users with essential information at a glance. It dynamically changes its appearance to convey three distinct states: online, offline, and active notification. Below illustrates the app in an online state.

For Mac users, the Heed App icon will be visible on the top taskbar.

Clicking on the system tray icon will open the Active Notifications window. This window will display a list of your top three active notifications, along with an option to open the Heed Portal.

Heed Portal

The Heed Portal is your go-to platform for managing notifications. It offers a concise view of both active and actioned notifications, allowing you to stay informed and track your notification history. Interactive elements enable you to take quick actions, and search/filter options streamline notification management. It's a secure and efficient hub for effective communication and task tracking.