In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to use the organizational messages feature in Microsoft Intune to create messages on your user’s tasks bar, in the notifications area and on the Get Started app in Windows 11.
Having the ability to create an organizational message on users’ devices is a great way to relay urgent or necessary information to the user’s machine. Also having the ability to ensure the notification cannot be dismissed without user action is especially important if you need to user to action something (such as ensuring they restart their device to install updates over a lunch break, or reading the updated company handbook).
What are organizational messages?
organizational messages are used with Microsoft Intune to send important information to users who are running Windows 11 devices and are managed through Microsoft Intune. It is a great way to ensure users stay informed about changes, learn more about their organization during onboarding and take action to meet compliance.
Pre-written templates are made available to administrators to send to your end users in a variety of ways. Your custom domain can then be provided in the message with a specific path to organizational information. For example, you may want new users to read your privacy policy or login into a company portal.
What types of organizational messages can I send?
There are 3 different types of messages you can publish to your users, these are:
- Taskbar messages
- Notification area messages
- Get Started app messages
Each message type can be used for a particular purpose. For example:
Taskbar messages could be used to ask users to perform an action such as rebooting their computer to finalise a critical security update.
Notification area messages could be used to relay company news information to your users such as financial updates or handbook updates.
Get Started app messages could be used to relay information to new users such as how they can get access company resources or how to use their new equipment.
Pre-requisites for deployment
Take a careful read through the requirements to use organizational messages.
License requirements:
- Microsoft 365 E3
- Microsoft 365 E5
- Endpoint Management + Security E3 and Windows Enterprise E3
- Endpoint Management + Security E5 and Windows Enterprise E5
Administrator permissions (least to most)
- Organizational messages writer (Azure AD role)
- Organizational messages manager (Microsoft Intune role)
- Intune administrator
- Global administrator
Logo
You must upload a custom (company) logo when creating your message. Your logo must meet the following requirements
- Type: PNG
- Transparent background
- Size:
- Taskbar: 64 x 64px
- Notification area: 48 x 48 px
- Get Starter app: height 50px, width 100px
Your marketing team should be able to assist in providing the requirement images.
Custom domain
If you are already using Microsoft 365 services, then you likely already have a custom domain configured. However, if you want to deliver message links to a different domain, you must add this as a custom domain in Microsoft 365 or Azure AD.
Workstation
The user’s workstation should be running Windows 11, be logged in with the user’s company account and be enrolled in Intune.
How to create a popup taskbar notification with Microsoft Intune
Let’s take a look at how we can create a pop-up notification on the taskbar of a user’s device which is enrolled in Microsoft Intune.
- Start by signing in to the Microsoft Intune admin center: https://endpoint.microsoft.com/
2. From the left-hand menu, select Tenant administration > Organizational messages.
3. Select the Message tab, then click create.
4. A new window will appear on the right. Set the message type to Taskbar, the theme currently can only be set to Mandatory update, then click Ok.
5. On the Message page:
- Upload your logo next to Add logo.
- Select your custom domain next to Provide a link for the message.
- Choose a language next to Choose a language to preview.
Then click Next: Schedule.
6. On the Schedule page, choose a start and end date for your message, then select the repeat frequency for in the event the message is dismissed. Then click Next: Assignments.
7. Now assign your organizational message to either a group of users or all users. (You can only assign to users, not devices. Groups containing users and devices are not supported)
8. Now click Next: Review + Create, then click Create.
You will now see your organizational message from the message page. It will display useful information such as the times shown, times clicked and the click-through rate.
Currently, at the time of writing this tutorial, the only theme for the taskbar notification is the Mandatory update theme. Hopefully, there will be more custom themes to come soon.
How to create a notification area message with Microsoft Intune
To create a notification area message you can follow the same steps as the taskbar area message, however when you select the message type, instead select Notification area.
Be sure to choose the desired theme and click OK. You can choose from any of the following themes:
The rest of the steps are identical to the previous ones, with the exception of the logo needing to be 48 x 48 pixels (instead of 64 x 64).
Click HERE, to scroll up to the previous section to follow the steps again.
How to create a Get Started app message with Microsoft Intune
The Get Started app message settings are slightly different to the other two methods.
Start by following the initial steps, but this time select the message type of Get Started app and click Ok.
Click Browse and upload your company logo. Take note that it must be 50 pixels in height and 100 pixels in width.
Next to Select messages, you have two options, Add your first message and Add your second message. Here you can add two custom messages and custom links to the Get Started app.
Select Add your first message.
A new window will then appear on the right, select your message, then provide a link and a path to the necessary information.
You can then follow the same process for your second message. Once you have added both messages you can click Next: Schedule.
On the Schedule page, you will notice there is only one option to turn it Always on. This is because the message will only appear once when the Get Started app runs after the device is enrolled into Intune.
The remainder of the steps are the same as the first message type, click HERE to take you to the next step.
Hello it’s just on win 11 ? what about win 10 ?