Django Messages Extends

A Django app for extends Django's messages framework by adding "sticky" and "persistent" backend message storages. This also supports the notion of sending persistent messages to other users in a machine-to-user process.

Storages

Sticky Storage

A "sticky" message is a message where the user must hit the close button in order to get rid of it within that session.

• For messages that are in some middleware or is only to the current request and don't need save it.
• This is very similar to the default except that you explicitly must close the dialog to remove the message.
• This backend never save anything only simulate that do that.

Persistent Storage

A "persistent" messages is a message where a message is retained across multiple sessions until the user clicks the close button. The message is stored in the default_storage container (defaults to database).

• Only for authenticated users, messages are stored in the database.
• The messages has to be explicit read, and there are show while don't close it

Installation

This document assumes that you are familiar with Python and Django.

1. Download and unzip the app, or install using pip:

    $ pip install django-messages-extends
   

2. Make sure messages_extends is on your PYTHONPATH.

3. Add messages_extends to your INSTALLED_APPS setting.

INSTALLED_APPS = (
    ...
    'messages_extends',
)

4. Make sure Django's MessageMiddleware is in your MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES setting (which is the case by default):

MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES = (
    ...
    'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
)

5. Add the messages_extends URLs to your URL conf. For instance, in order to make messages available under http://domain.com/messages/, add the following line to urls.py.

urlpatterns = patterns('',
    (r'^messages/', include('messages_extends.urls')),
    ...
)

6. In your settings, set the message storage backendto messages_extends.storages.FallbackStorage:

MESSAGE_STORAGE = 'messages_extends.storages.FallbackStorage'

7. Set up the database tables using

    $ manage.py makemigrations
    $ manage.py migrate
   

8. If you want to use the bundled templates, add the templates directory to your TEMPLATE_DIRS setting:

TEMPLATE_DIRS = (
    ...
    'path/to/messages_extends/templates')
)

Using messages in views and templates

Message levels

Django's messages framework provides a number of message levels for various purposes such as success messages, warnings etc. This app provides constants with the same names, the difference being that messages with these levels are going to be persistent:

from messages_extends import constants as constants_messages

# default messages level
constants_messages.DEBUG = 10
constants_messages.INFO = 20
constants_messages.SUCCESS = 25
constants_messages.WARNING = 30
constants_messages.ERROR = 40

# persistent messages level
constants_messages.DEBUG_PERSISTENT = 9
constants_messages.INFO_PERSISTENT = 19
constants_messages.SUCCESS_PERSISTENT = 24
constants_messages.WARNING_PERSISTENT = 29
constants_messages.ERROR_PERSISTENT = 39

# sticky messages level
constants_messages.DEBUG_STICKY = 8
constants_messages.INFO_STICKY = 18
constants_messages.SUCCESS_STICKY = 23
constants_messages.WARNING_STICKY = 28
constants_messages.ERROR_STICKY = 38

Adding a message

Since the app is implemented as a storage backend for Django's messages framework, you can still use the regular Django API to add a message:

from django.contrib import messages
messages.add_message(request, messages.INFO, 'Hello world.')

Or use persistent messages with constants in messages_extends.constants

from django.contrib import messages
from messages_extends import constants as constants_messages
messages.add_message(request, constants_messages.WARNING_PERSISTENT, 'You are going to see this message until you mark it as read.')

Or via the shortcut method.

messages.add_persistant_error(request, 'Houston we have a problem..')

Note that this is only possible for logged-in users, so you are probably going to have make sure that the current user is not anonymous using request.user.is_authenticated(). Adding a persistent message for anonymous users raises a NotImplementedError.

And sticky messages:

from django.contrib import messages
from messages_extends import constants as constants_messages
messages.add_message(request, constants_messages.WARNING_STICKY, 'You will going to see this messages only in this request')

You can also pass this function a User object if the message is supposed to be sent to a user other than the one who is currently authenticated. User Sally will see this message the next time she logs in:

from django.contrib import messages
from messages_extends import constants as constants_messages
from django.contrib.auth.models import User
sally = User.objects.get(username='Sally')
messages.add_message(request, constants_messages.INFO_PERSISTENT, "Hola abc desde %s" %request.user, user=sally)

To persistent storages, there are other params like expires that is a datetime.

Displaying messages

Messages can be displayed as described in the Django manual. However, you are probably going to want to include links tags for closing each message (i.e. marking it as read). In your template, use something like:

{% for message in messages %}
    <div class="alert {% if message.tags %} alert-{{ message.tags }} {% endif %}">
        {# close-href is used because href is used by bootstrap to closing other divs #}
        <a class="close" data-dismiss="alert"{% if message.pk %} close-href="{% url message_mark_read message.pk %}"{% endif %}>×</a>
        {{ message }}
    </div>
{% endfor %}

You can also use the bundled templates instead. The following line replaces the code above. It allows the user to remove messages using bootstrap styling (you need use bootstrap.css and boostrap.js)

{% include "messages_extends/includes/alerts_bootstrap.html" %}

For use Ajax to mark them as read you can add the following code that works with jquery:

$("a.close[close-href]").click(function (e) {
    e.preventDefault();
    $.post($(this).attr("close-href"), "", function () {
    });
}
);

Or use:

<script src="{% static "close-alerts.js" %}"></script>

DON'T FORGET: If you have CSRF enabled, you have to add csrf code by js, see django Documentation

If you don't want see close button in sticky alerts, you can use css for hide them:

.alert.sticky .close{
  display: none;
}

Other Backends

You can use other backends, by default use:

MESSAGES_STORAGES = ('messages_extends.storages.StickyStorage',
     'messages_extends.storages.PersistentStorage',
     'django.contrib.messages.storage.cookie.CookieStorage',
     'django.contrib.messages.storage.session.SessionStorage'))

But you can add or remove other backends in your settings in order that you need execute that, remember that session storagge save all messages, then you have to put it at final.

Remember

Remember that this module is only for messages from application, to messages between users you can use postman u other framework and to messages for activity stream you can use django-activity-stream

License

Django Messages Extends is provided under The MIT License (MIT).

Credits

Django Messages Extends is a project by Ali Lozano. Additional credit goes to:

• Steven Klass

Inspired and based in django-persistent-messages