Update-BTNotification with -ProgressBar option

[PhilZ-cwm6]

Hi,
First many thanks for this great tool !

Is there a way to update the ProgressBar without refreshing the whole toast ?
Something like Update-BTNotification -ProgressBar $newprogress which currently throws an error

Best regards

[Windos]

Hey @PhilZ-cwm6, I think I've got some documentation on how to do this with Update-BTNotification (which you're on the right track, it is how you're meant to do it), I'll need to do some hunting to find it.

What's the error and how're you trying to use it current?

[PhilZ-cwm6]

Here's the sample test.ps1 I am trying

$FirstDataBinding = @{
    FirstLine = "Example Toast Heading"
    SecondLine = "This toast is still the original"
    ThirdLine = " "
}

$SecondDataBinding = @{
    SecondLine = "This toast has been updated!"
    ThirdLine = "hello"
}

Import-Module BurntToast
$Progress = New-BTProgressBar -Status "Backup progress..." -Value 0.4 -ValueDisplay "4/10"

New-BurntToastNotification -Text "FirstLine", "SecondLine", "ThirdLine" -UniqueIdentifier "ExampleToast" -DataBinding $FirstDataBinding -ProgressBar $Progress
Start-Sleep 10
$Progress = New-BTProgressBar -Status "Backup progress..." -Value 0.8 -ValueDisplay "8/10"
New-BurntToastNotification -Text "FirstLine", "SecondLine", "ThirdLine" -UniqueIdentifier "ExampleToast" -DataBinding $FirstDataBinding -ProgressBar $Progress

That code works perfectly, except all the toast is refreshed/recreated (as expected) when calling New-BurntToastNotification
When I call: Update-BTNotification -UniqueIdentifier 'ExampleToast' -DataBinding $SecondDataBinding -ProgressBar $Progress it would fail with:

Update-BTNotification : A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'ProgressBar'.
At ./test.ps1:88 char:88
+ ... r 'ExampleToast' -DataBinding $SecondDataBinding -ProgressBar $Progre ...
+                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (:) [Update-BTNotification], ParameterBindingException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : NamedParameterNotFound,Update-BTNotification

This is a sample test from a long backup script. Currently, I refresh the progress during backup job using the New-BurntToastNotification in a foreach loop

Well, it is just perfect as it is now for me, however, when I saw the Update-BTNotification I was curious to push it a bit more :-)

[Windos]

Ahh! You're very close!

So those data binding for the text, also apply to the progress bar itself.

For your first toast, try this:

$FirstDataBinding = @{
    FirstLine = "Example Toast Heading"
    SecondLine = "This toast is still the original"
    ThirdLine = " "
    ProgressStatus = 'Backup progress...'
    ProgressValue = 0.1
    ProgressDisplay = "1/10"
}

$Progress = New-BTProgressBar -Status "ProgressStatus" -Value 'ProgressValue' -ValueDisplay 'ProgressDisplay'

New-BurntToastNotification -Text "FirstLine", "SecondLine", "ThirdLine" -UniqueIdentifier "ExampleToast" -DataBinding $FirstDataBinding -ProgressBar $Progress

Note that the three data elements in New-BTProgressBar reference values in $FirstDataBinding.

To update it, send through an updated data binding:

$SecondDataBinding = @{
    SecondLine = "This toast has been updated!"
    ThirdLine = "hello"
    ProgressStatus = 'Backup progress...'
    ProgressValue = 0.3
    ProgressDisplay = "4/10"
}

Update-BTNotification -UniqueIdentifier "ExampleToast" -DataBinding $SecondDataBinding

And continue until it's finished:

$ThirdDataBinding = @{
    SecondLine = "This toast has been updated!"
    ThirdLine = "hello"
    ProgressStatus = 'Backup progress...'
    ProgressValue = 0.7
    ProgressDisplay = "7/10"
}

Update-BTNotification -UniqueIdentifier "ExampleToast" -DataBinding $ThirdDataBinding

$FourthDataBinding = @{
    SecondLine = "This toast has been updated!"
    ThirdLine = "hello"
    ProgressStatus = 'Backup complete'
    ProgressValue = 1
    ProgressDisplay = "10/10"
}

Update-BTNotification -UniqueIdentifier "ExampleToast" -DataBinding $FourthDataBinding

Random aside here in case it's handy for your code/usecase: remember you can re-use the databinding hashtable and just change the elements needed:

DataBinding = @{
    FirstLine = "Example Toast Heading"
    SecondLine = "This toast is still the original"
    ThirdLine = " "
    ProgressStatus = 'Backup progress...'
    ProgressValue = 0.1
    ProgressDisplay = "1/10"
}

# Do the first toast

$DataBinding['ProgressValue '] = 0.2
$DataBinding['ProgressDisplay'] = "2/10"

# Do the second toast, etc.

[PhilZ-cwm6]

Ah, now that's great yes, reusing the Databinding is what I need. However, I am not really sure how to implement it properly in my case.

I use New-BurntToastNotification @toastParams_some_status through the code with all the @toastParams defined at begin of code like this:

# NAS BurntToastNotification params
$toastParams_NAS_Offline = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    #Text = ($messageNAS_Offline), ($messageNAS_Retry10m), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Warn
}
$toastParams_NAS_Failed = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    #Text = ($messageNAS_Failed), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Error
}
$toastParams_NAS_BackOnline = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    Text = ($messageNAS_Online), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Success
}

# Backup BurntToastNotification params
$toastParams_Backup_Progress = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    #Text = ($msgBackup_Started), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Progress
}
$toastParams_Backup_Started = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    Text = ($msgBackup_Started), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Success
}
$toastParams_Backup_Success = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    Text = ($msgBackup_Success), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Success
    Button = New-BTButton -Content 'Log files...' -Arguments $FFS_Logs
}
$toastParams_Backup_Warn = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    #Text = ($msgBackup_Warn), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Warn
    Button = New-BTButton -Content 'Log files...' -Arguments $FFS_Logs
}
$toastParams_Backup_Error = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    #Text = ($msgBackup_Error), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Error
    Button = New-BTButton -Content 'Log files...' -Arguments $FFS_Logs
}
$toastParams_Backup_Cancel = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    #Text = ($msgBackup_Cancel), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Cancel
    Button = New-BTButton -Content 'Log files...' -Arguments $FFS_Logs
}
$toastParams_Backup_Unknown = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = $TargetNoticationfName
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title $TargetNoticationfName)
    #Text = ($msgBackup_Unknown), ($timestamp).ToString()
    AppLogo = $Logo_Unknown
    Button = New-BTButton -Content 'Log files...' -Arguments $FFS_Logs
}
# and so on...

That way, I can define the text messages at start of my script for easier maintenance
The toast I want to dynamically update with progress is the $toastParams_Backup_Progress

Currently, the main code is started like this in a foreach loop:

foreach ($ffs_batch_script in $ffs_batch_scripts_array) {
# backup code and call to functions checking for drive mounts and network shares availability 

# notification of progress
    $Progress_Percent = [float]($jobs_done/$total_jobs)
    $Progress = New-BTProgressBar -Status "Backup progress..." -Value $Progress_Percent -ValueDisplay "$jobs_done/$total_jobs"
    New-BurntToastNotification @toastParams_Backup_Progress -Text ("Current backup job:"), ($current_job_name), 
($timestamp).ToString() -ProgressBar $Progress -SuppressPopup 
}

So, with your way to reuse the Databinding, how can I insert it before the foreach loop at first, than update these:

DataBinding = @{
    FirstLine = "Current backup job:"
    SecondLine = $current_job_name
    ThirdLine = ($timestamp).ToString()
    ProgressStatus = "Backup progress..."
    ProgressValue = $Progress_Percent
    ProgressDisplay = $jobs_done/$total_jobs
}

the values are not known on first toast launch !
I also guess DataBinding must be set before the foreach loop than I use something like

if ($first_job) { New-BurntToastNotification ...}
else { Update-BTNotification... }

Any hints so that I can easily find a fix ? I will try some samples tomorrow and will give feedback when I am done with a working solution

Best regards

[Windos]

I can't dive in too deep atm, but one thing you can use to see if there is already a toast is Get-BTHistory:

Get-BTHistory -UniqueIdentifier $TargetNoticationfName

If you're not sure on progress bar values on first launch, you could potentially do something like:

1. Launch initial toast without progress bar (New-BurntToastNotification)
2. Replace initial toast with a new one with progress bar (New-BurntToastNotification)
3. Update new progress bar toast with updated progress info (Update-BTNotification)

[PhilZ-cwm6]

I got it with Get-BTHistory
That way, if the notif was dismissed, i can avoid Update-BTNotification failing because no toast was found

I will look at it in 1-2 days I think and give a feedback
thank you again for the support

[PhilZ-cwm6]

Your $Progress tip to use the DataBinding worked perfectly, many thanks !
However, I could not use the get-bthistory as I wanted:

Here's a sample test of what I am trying to achieve and that doesn't work.
When I try to query the contents of the toast, the Contents.InnerText values are not reported properly when using the DataBinding:

$DataBinding = @{
    FirstLine = "Current backup job:"
    SecondLine = "line2"
    ThirdLine = "line3"
}

$toastParams_Backup_Progress = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = "My Toast ID"
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title "My Toast Title")
}

New-BurntToastNotification @toastParams_Backup_Progress -Text "FirstLine", "SecondLine", "ThirdLine" -DataBinding $DataBinding
Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
$toast = get-bthistory -UniqueIdentifier "My Toast ID"
$toast_exists = $toast."Content"."InnerText".Contains("line2")
$toast_exists

$toast_exists is always false because $toast."Content"."InnerText" only has this:
{FirstLine}{SecondLine}{ThirdLine}

The entries are not populated and I tried every way to query their values, no success

When not using DataBinding, it works perfectly:

$toastParams = @{
    UniqueIdentifier = "My Toast ID"
    Header = (New-BTHeader -Id 1 -Title "My Toast Title")
}

$Progress = New-BTProgressBar -Status "Backup progress..." -Value 0.5 -ValueDisplay "3/6"
New-BurntToastNotification @toastParams -Text "line1", "line2", "line3" -ProgressBar $Progress
Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
$toast = get-bthistory -UniqueIdentifier "My Toast ID"
$toast_exists = $toast."Content"."InnerText".Contains("line1")
$toast_exists

now, it is true

Also, in both cases, I cannot query the ProgressStatus field content

Is there a way at least to fix the first issue: query the text lines contents when using DataBinding ?
Through my script, I use the same UniqueIdentifier for all the job tasks: mount drive, ping network, wait and start for encryption process, error info... So, I need to ensure I have a current progress toast displayed before updating its contents

Many thanks and best regards

[Windos]

That object returned by Get-BTHistory is a little interesting. The content can be thought of as the "template" for the toast. When using data bindings the template includes "anchors" to bind that data to (the "{FirstLine}" etc.) but when not using a binding the template just has the raw text (usually, things changed between versions and I don't recall offhand what the current behaviour is 😂)

Luckily, that object also includes the data provided by your databinding:

$toast.data.values

Key             Value              
---             -----              
ProgressValue   0.1                
ProgressDisplay 1/10               
ThirdLine       line2              
ProgressStatus  Backup progress... 
SecondLine      line1              
FirstLine       Current backup job:

That's great, but it's a weird object type and I can't figure out how to query specific values directly. Instead, you can copy the data into a hashtable (or some other collection I guess) and query that:

$ToastData = @{}

for ($i = 0; $i -lt $toast.data.Values.Key.Count; $i++) {
    $ToastData[$toast.data.Values.Key[$i]] = $toast.data.Values.Value[$i]
}

$ToastData.ProgressStatus

Backup progress...

[PhilZ-cwm6]

I get it now, was driving me crazy since no documentation is present for the Get-BTHistory and I found no examples :-)
I did not think to go into the data.values part of the object and I was focusing on the InnerText and parts with xml

Wired object in fact, seems like a simple table only object
Many thanks for all the hints. I will try to enhance my script in the next couple of days to update the notifications through my code, just for the fun :-)

Best regards

[Windos]

And thanks for raising this discussion. It's this sort of thing that helps me know what sort of documentation I should be focusing on (because there's a LOT needed) and better understand how people are using this module (which informs what to focus development time on)