How to Send Notifications from ConfigMgr Console using RCT

In this post, I will show you how you can send notifications from ConfigMgr console using RCT (Right Click Tools) to remote computers. With Right Click Tools, you can send custom notifications to a single device or entire device collection that you select in the ConfigMgr Console.

It’s a great feature of Recast’s Right Click Tools to be able to send custom notifications from the ConfigMgr console. From the SCCM console, you can quickly send a critical message or piece of information to a remote device using RCT (Right Click Tools).

For example, you can send a custom notification to multiple devices requesting users to perform an activity such as logging off their computers. Or you can send out a notification to restart the device to complete the installation of an update.

The Configuration Manager console doesn’t have any options for sending custom notifications. You can do it with some PowerShell scripts, but it’s difficult. However, with Right Click Tools integrated with ConfigMgr, you can easily send notifications to remote computers from the SCCM console.

Quick Tip: You can also send custom notifications using Intune (Endpoint Manager). Microsoft Intune can be used to send custom notifications to managed iOS/iPadOS and Android devices. You can send notifications to a single user or even include an Azure AD group to target notifications to multiple users.

Right Click Tools: Send Notification Tool

After you install the Right Click Tools for Configuration Manager, the send notification tool appears under Right Click Tools > Console Tools. You can launch the send notification tool only from ConfigMgr console.

If you haven’t tried the Recast software products, you can get a quote for your enterprise. If you need any clarification about Recast Team’s products, I suggest getting in touch with them.

By default, the send notification tool will attempt to use the custom “Recast Toast” notification, which includes the ability to add an icon. If it is unable to send a notification that way, it will attempt to send a notification through the Configuration Manager client. Sending a Windows notification will be the last resort if that fails.

You can also configure a logo for the notifications sent out by Right Click Tools. This is very similar to configuring the Software Center notification logo in Configuration Manager.

Also Read: How to Enable Microsoft Notifications in SCCM

Send Notifications from ConfigMgr Console using RCT

Let’s look at the steps to send notifications from ConfigMgr console to a remote device using RCT (Right Click Tools). The remote computer must be online in order to receive the notification from the SCCM console.

To launch the send notification tool, right-click a device or a device collection and select Right Click Tools > Console Tools > Send Notification.

The Send Notification tool comes with a set of options that you can customize before sending out a custom message to the remote computer.

• Advanced Settings: You can select the methods to attempt to send notification. The Send notification tool uses multiple attempts to send a notification.
  • Send Recast Toast Notification
  • Send CM Client Toast Notification
  • Send Windows Popup Message
• Title: Enter the title for the Custom Notification.
• Message: Enter the message that you want to send it as notification to users of a single device or at scale with many devices.
• Logo Image: Optionally, you may select a Logo Image to send with your Recast Toast Notification. This image should be in PNG, JPG, or BMP format.

When you’re ready to send the notification, click the Send Notification button.

The Send Notification Tool attempts to send the notification to the remote computer along with a title and message. If you have sent out a custom notification to a device collection, the tool will attempt to send the notification to every device in the device collection.

You can track the status of the notification from the Status window. In the below example, we see the Recast Toast Notification has been sent to the remote computer.

“A toast notification with Title, Message, and Logo image was successfully sent to these devices using the Recast Toast Utility“.

The below screenshot illustrates how a Recast Toast Notification Message appears on the client computer when triggered from the SCCM console. There are two examples of custom notifications, one with a logo and the other without a logo.

Send Notification: Windows Popup Message

In the Send Notification window, you have an advanced settings section where you can select the method to send notifications. You can select the advanced settings and choose to attempt to send the notification in a specific way.

For example, let’s try sending a notification from the ConfigMgr console using the Windows Popup message option. Launch the Send Notification tool and, under Advanced Settings, select “Send Windows Popup Message“. A custom notification’s title and a brief message should be entered before pressing the Send Notification button.

The Windows Popup message appears on the client computer with the title and message as a pop-up, and the user can now acknowledge the message by clicking the OK button.

Conclusion

The Right Click Tools by Recast Software is an excellent console extension for Configuration Manager that comes with many tools. One such tool is the Send Notification utility that allows you to send custom notifications to remote computers from the Configuration Manager console. Do try out this tool and let me know your experience in the comments section.

If you haven’t tried the Recast software products, you can get a quote for your enterprise. If you need any clarification about Recast Team’s products, I suggest getting in touch with them.