Output channel - Notification balloon - Shell commands documentation

# Output channel: Notification/Error balloon A temporary message balloon that pops up in the top right corner of the Obsidian window. This is the default for all commands' `stderr` output. ![[Output-notification-and-error-balloons.png]] You can identify an *error balloon* by the brackets `[` `]` preceding the output message. The brackets indicate the exit code (aka error number) that the shell command returned at the end, e.g. *0* in the image above. A *notification balloon* does not have the brackets nor an exit code. **Good for**: Short output that can be discarded after a short period of time. Suits for a small amount of multi line output, too. # Notification settings Global settings for notifications created from all shell commands can be configured in the plugin's main settings panel's _Output_ tab: ![[Settings-main-output-tab.png]] ## Notification durations You can customize for how long *notification balloons* and *error balloons* are visible in the plugin's settings panel. These durations affect both messages originating from shell command execution, and also the plugin's own messages. ## Monospace formatting Outputted text from shell commands can be formatted using a monospace font that has an equal width for every character. It might be good for short, technical output or error messages, but not so readable for long natural texts. This is controlled by the _Outputting to Notification/error balloon uses monospace formatting_ setting. This feature uses _Monospace font_ defined in Obsidian's settings: _Appearance_ -> _Monospace font_. If you have the _Shell commands_ plugin's settings pane and the _Output_ tab open, you can take a shortcut to the monospace font setting by clicking the icon with tooltip _Manage Obsidian's Monospace font_. # Differences in *realtime* mode If you define your shell command's [[Realtime output handling|output to be handled in realtime mode]], the output might show up a bit differently than in [[Realtime output handling#Wait until finished|wait until finished]] mode. > [!tldr] _Notification balloon_ - realtime mode differences: > - Output is tried to be inserted into a single notification balloon, meaning that when new output is received, it's added to an existing notification. > - If a previous notification balloon was already closed, a new balloon is created, and it will contain **all** output content, not only new content. > - If both `stdout` and `stderr` are directed to a notification/error balloon, they will share the same balloon in *realtime* mode. This is for trying to keep both of these outputs in the same order they have appeared in. It may cause confusion if you need to know explicitly if certain output came via `stdout` or `stderr`. As a comparison, when in *wait* mode, notification/error balloon will create separate balloons for `stdout` and `stderr`. > - A stop icon can be clicked to terminate execution before it's finished: > ![[Icon-Terminate-execution-Notification-balloon.png]] > (Sends a `SIGTERM` signal to the process.) > ^differences-in-realtime # History - [0.23.0 - 2024-11-09](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#0230---2024-11-09): Monospace formatting now uses the _Monospace font_ defined in Obsidian's settings. ([#431](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/issues/431)). - [0.20.0 - 2023-06-25](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#0200---2023-06-25): Notifications have monospace formatting now. ([#329](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/issues/329)). - [0.17.0 - 2022-11-26](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#0170---2022-11-26): - The output channel can now handle output in [[Realtime output handling|realtime mode]], too. ([#275](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/issues/275)). - Added a button for terminating long-running shell commands - only appears in realtime mode. ([#289](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/issues/289)). - [0.5.1 - 2021-10-09](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#051---2021-10-09): Error balloon: Fixed exit code being sometimes null. ([#67](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/issues/67)). - [0.5.0 - 2021-10-02](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#050---2021-10-02): The output channel was released. ([#34](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands/issues/34)). > [!page-edit-history]- Page edit history: 2021-11-25 ➔ 2024-11-08 > - [2024-11-08](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/1a53367973a10728d030bbd5f29b9feefbd252ab): [[Output channel - Notification balloon]]: Monospace font can now be configured. > - [2024-11-02](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/15fd0a3a71ae4691aa7b183e1214b3963693fa42): [[Output channel - Notification balloon.md]]: Forgot to add a history record. > - [2024-11-02](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/1faebb9e5cdab82bee3bf0346a84c489f8bf907b): [[Output channel - Notification balloon.md]]: Add information about monospace formatting. > - [2022-11-26](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/c96937ed11df76038408f3b8e89529e6732878fc): 0.17.0 is released. > - [2022-11-26](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/51befca61156a26873f502966d42de2d98b382fe): 'Ask after execution' and 'Notification balloon': Mention an icon that can be used to terminate processes. > - [2022-11-05](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/ba41cfb111b3cfd904f82df2746ef4689d9abba3): Realtime output handling. > - [2021-11-25](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/64f383151f457c2fc72d844566d8a8a4d92a2b3c): Output channels: Add version history. > - [2021-11-25](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commit/e98d750bc24d867629c6de1fa5019c31b6e87f49): Exract output channels to separate files. > > [See this list of commits on GitHub](https://github.com/Taitava/obsidian-shellcommands-documentation/commits/main/Output%20handling/Output%20channel%20-%20Notification%20balloon.md). > ^page-edit-history