Set timeout for notifications.notify FireFox Addon SDK - firefox-addon

Question

Please help me with Notification in my Firefox add-on.
var notifications = require("sdk/notifications");
function showNotifcation(title, text) {
notifications.notify({
iconURL: data.url("img/icon.png"),
title: title,
text: text
});
setTimeout(notifications.close(), 1000);
}
Not work.

Answer 1

Without more information from you it is not possible to be sure as to what your problem/issue is.
However, a brief look at the sdk/notifications documentation, and source code, indicates that you are attempting to use a non-existent method: notifications.close(). There is no such method in sdk/notifications.
One possible reason for your attempt to use this method is that you are conflating the Web Notification API, more detail, with the Add-on SDK sdk/notifications.
The Add-on SDK, sdk/notifications, has no way for you to programmatically close the notification from your code. Thus, there is no way for you to set a timeout for the notification using this interface. However, in some operating systems/windowing systems there is already a default timeout for these notifications.
You will need to either display a panel on your own, or use the chrome interfaces described in User Notifications and Alerts.
In addition, it would be unusual for you to be able to just call setTimeout(). That will, under most contexts, not be defined. You would normally need to use sdk/timers with:
var { setTimeout } = require("sdk/timers");
In some contexts, you might be able to use window.setTimeout(), when window is appropriately defined (which you will probably have to set yourself).
Modifying the code from my answer to Prevent XUL notificationBox from closing when button is hit (if you want buttons, that answer will show you how to do it), and other answers of mine: Something along the lines of what I believe you desire would be (code for the timeout is at the bottom):
function showNotificationBox(text) {
//Create some common variables if they do not exist.
if (window === null || typeof window !== "object") {
// Add/remove a "/" to comment/un-comment the code appropriate for your add-on:
//* Add-on SDK:
var window = require('sdk/window/utils').getMostRecentBrowserWindow();
//*/
/* Overlay and bootstrap (from almost any context/scope):
var window=Components.classes["#mozilla.org/appshell/window-mediator;1"]
.getService(Components.interfaces.nsIWindowMediator)
.getMostRecentWindow("navigator:browser");
//*/
}
if (typeof gBrowser === "undefined") {
var gBrowser = window.gBrowser;
}
let notifyBox = gBrowser.getNotificationBox();
//appendNotification( label , value , image (URL) , priority , buttons, eventCallback )
let theNotification = notifyBox.appendNotification(text, "Test notification unique ID",
"chrome://browser/content/aboutRobots-icon.png",
notifyBox.PRIORITY_INFO_HIGH, [], null);
//* Add-on SDK:
var { setTimeout } = require("sdk/timers");
setTimeout(theNotification.close(), 10000);
//*/
/* Overlay and bootstrap:
let timerCallback = {
notify:function notify() {theNotification.close(); }
}
let closeNotificationTimer = Components.classes["#mozilla.org/timer;1"]
.createInstance(Components.interfaces.nsITimer);
closeNotificationTimer.initWithCallback(timerCallback,10000,
Components.interfaces.nsITimer.TYPE_ONE_SHOT);
//*/
}
Note: I changed the timeout to 10 seconds from the 1 second which is in the code in your question. One second is a unreasonable amount of time to expect to show anything which you actually desire the user to see and understand.
The above implements the user notification in a notificationBox. As such it shows up within the Firefox window:
It is also possible to use the nsIAlertsService which is what sdk/notifications uses. This will normally display an alert box in the bottom right of the screen, potentially outside of the Firefox window (see image on nsIAlertsService for example). The notification may show up elsewhere depending on how you have your windowing system set up (this is OS dependent). However, the documentation did not have a method to clear the notification, or set a timeout. However, the interface definition does show that a closeAlert() method does exist. The source code for the sdk/notifications does not expose this to the Add-on SDK. Thus, you would need to use the chrome interfaces. I have updated the documentation to show closeAlert().
Such as (some code taken and modified from nsIAlertsService):
//* Add-on SDK:
var {Cc, Ci} = require("chrome");
//*/
/* Overlay and bootstrap:
const Cc = Components.classes;
const Ci = Components.interfaces;
//*/
function showNotifcation(title, text) {
var alertsService = Cc["#mozilla.org/alerts-service;1"].getService(Ci.nsIAlertsService);
try {
//The second use of title is the alert name.
alertsService.showAlertNotification(icon, title, text, false, "", null, title);
} catch (e) {
// This can fail on Mac OS X
}
//* Add-on SDK:
var { setTimeout } = require("sdk/timers");
setTimeout(alertsService.closeAlert(title), 10000);
//*/
/* Overlay and bootstrap:
let alertTimerCallback = {
notify:function notify() {alertsService.closeAlert(title); }
}
let closeAlertTimer = Cc["#mozilla.org/timer;1"].createInstance(Components.interfaces
.nsITimer);
closeAlertTimer.initWithCallback(alertTimerCallback,10000,Ci.nsITimer.TYPE_ONE_SHOT);
//*/
}
I have only tested the above code with a bootstrapped/restartless Firefox add-on. Thus, the Add-on SDK code may be slightly off.