Notification Logger User Manual | Complete Guide & Documentation

1 Introduction

Welcome to Notification Logger! This manual will guide you through all the features and functionality of the application.

Notification Logger is a powerful tool for Windows 10/11 that creates a persistent history of all your notifications. Whether you've accidentally dismissed an important alert or need to find a specific message from days ago, this app has you covered.

Key principle: Notification Logger works silently in the background. Once installed and granted permissions, it automatically saves every incoming notification — you don't need to do anything.

2 Getting Started

Installation

Notification Logger is available for free on the Microsoft Store. Search for "Notification Logger" or follow the direct link.

Granting Permissions

For the app to function, it needs permission to access your Windows notifications. Follow these steps:

Open Windows Settings
Navigate to Privacy & security → Notifications
Ensure "Allow apps to access your notifications" is toggled On
In the app list below, find Notification Logger and toggle it On

Once permissions are granted, the app will immediately begin logging all new incoming notifications. Notifications received before installation cannot be recovered.

3 The Main Window

The main window is where you interact with your notification history. It consists of a grid view with the following components:

Search Bar

Quickly find notifications by typing keywords. Searches across all logged notification content.

Filters

Filter by app name, notification text, date and time, or ID to narrow down results.

Notification Grid

The central area displaying your notifications — shows app name, title, content, and timestamp.

Favorites

Mark specific notifications as favorites for easy access. Favorited notifications are never deleted automatically.

Toolbar

Buttons for Refresh, Export, Settings, and toggling the Favorites filter.

4 Key Features

4.1 Searching and Filtering

Use the Search Bar at the top to instantly find any notification. For advanced use, enable regular expressions in Settings to power-search your history. The date range selector lets you filter notifications to a specific time period.

4.2 Grouping Notifications

Click the Group button to collapse notifications into expandable groups by app name. This makes it easy to browse notifications from a specific application.

4.3 Favorites

Mark important notifications as Favorites using the star icon. Use the Favorites filter button in the toolbar to show only starred notifications.

To delete a favorited notification, you must un-favorite it first. Favorites are protected from automatic deletion regardless of your data retention settings.

4.4 Exporting Your History

Export your notification history as a CSV file for backup or external analysis:

Click the Export button in the toolbar
The Export dialog will appear — you can copy the output folder path to clipboard
Click Save to export

5 Settings

Open Settings by clicking the gear icon in the toolbar. Available options:

Setting	Description
Language	Switch between 15 supported languages
Theme	Toggle between light and dark theme
Auto-refresh	Automatically refresh the notification grid at a set interval (in seconds)
Regular expressions	Enable regex support in the Search Bar for advanced queries
Copy cell text	Double-click any cell to copy its text to clipboard
Data retention	Set how many days to keep notification history. Default: 14 days. Favorites are never deleted.

6 Frequently Asked Questions

Does Notification Logger need to be running all the time?

No. Notification Logger works in the background even if you've closed the app window. It will capture all notifications as long as it has the necessary permissions.

Can I see notifications I received before installing the app?

No. The app can only save notifications that arrive after it has been installed and granted the necessary permissions. Past dismissed notifications cannot be recovered.

Will I see a notification in the app even if I dismiss it from Action Center?

Yes — that is the primary purpose of the app. Once captured by Notification Logger, a notification remains in your history regardless of whether you dismiss it from the Windows Action Center.

Is my data secure and private?

Yes. All notification data is stored locally on your device. The app does not collect or transmit your data anywhere. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

How long does the app store my notifications?

By default, notifications are kept for 14 days. You can change this in Settings under "Clean notifications older than _ days". Favorited notifications are stored indefinitely.

Can I change where exported CSV files are saved?

No — the export folder is fixed, but the Export dialog shows you the path and lets you copy it to clipboard so you can navigate there easily.

Can Notification Logger re-show old notifications as pop-ups?

No. It is a historical log for review only. It does not re-issue or re-create pop-up alerts for already-logged notifications.

My notification list is empty after installing. What's wrong?

You need to grant notification access. Go to Settings → Privacy & security → Notifications, enable "Allow apps to access your notifications", and turn on Notification Logger in the list. New notifications will appear after this.