Flash Messages

Flash messages provide contextual feedback to users about their actions and system events. Laravolt's flash message system automatically detects validation errors and session flash messages to display elegant toast notifications.

Overview

Flash messages (also known as toast notifications) are temporary messages that appear after user actions or system events to provide immediate feedback. They typically disappear after a few seconds or can be manually dismissed by the user.

Laravolt provides a seamless integration with Laravel's session and validation systems to automatically display these notifications with minimal configuration.

Installation

Flash message functionality is included by default in Laravolt. During the Laravolt installation process, the middleware Laravolt\Middleware\DetectFlashMessage is automatically added to the web middleware group in your application's app/Http/Kernel.php file.

To verify that it's properly installed, check your middleware configuration:

// app/Http/Kernel.php
protected $middlewareGroups = [
    'web' => [
        // ... other middleware
        \Laravolt\Middleware\DetectFlashMessage::class,
        // ... other middleware
    ],
];

Basic Usage

Form Validation Messages

One of the most common uses for flash messages is displaying form validation errors. Laravolt automatically detects Laravel validation errors and displays them as flash messages without requiring any additional code.

public function store(Request $request)
{
    // Validation errors will automatically be displayed as flash messages
    $request->validate([
        'name' => 'required|min:3',
        'email' => 'required|email|unique:users',
        'password' => 'required|min:8|confirmed',
    ]);
    // Process the validated data...
    User::create($request->all());
    return redirect()->route('users.index');
}

Session Flash Messages

For more explicit control, you can set flash messages directly in your controller by using Laravel's session flash methods. These messages will be displayed on the next request, making them perfect for use with redirects.

public function update(Request $request, User $user)
{
    $user->update($request->validated());
    // Flash message will be displayed after redirection
    return redirect()
        ->route('users.index')
        ->with('success', 'User profile updated successfully');
}

Available Message Types

Laravolt supports four types of messages, each with distinctive styling to convey different levels of information:

Advanced Features

Current Request Flash Messages

Sometimes, you may want to display a flash message for the current request instead of waiting for the next request. You can do this using Laravel's session()->now() method:

public function dashboard()
{
    // These messages will be displayed immediately
    session()->now('info', 'Welcome to your dashboard');
    if (!auth()->user()->hasCompletedProfile()) {
        session()->now('warning', 'Please complete your profile information');
    }
    return view('dashboard');
}

Multiple Messages

You can set multiple flash messages of different types, and all will be displayed:

return redirect()->route('home')
    ->with('success', 'Your settings have been saved')
    ->with('info', 'You might want to check out our new features');

HTML Content in Messages

By default, flash messages support plain text only. If you need to include HTML in your messages, you'll need to customize the flash message template.

Customization

Message Duration

You can modify how long flash messages stay visible before automatically dismissing by publishing and editing the Laravolt configuration:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=laravolt-config

Then edit the config/laravolt/ui.php file:

'flash' => [
    'display_duration' => 5000, // Duration in milliseconds
],

Message Templates

To customize the appearance of flash messages, you can publish the view files:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=laravolt-views

Then edit the flash message template located at resources/views/vendor/laravolt/flash.blade.php.

Best Practices

Keep Messages Clear and Concise

• Use simple, action-oriented language
• Keep messages under 10 words when possible
• Make the feedback specific to the action that was performed

Use Appropriate Message Types

• info for general information that doesn't require action
• success for confirmation of completed actions
• warning for non-critical issues that might need attention
• error for critical issues that prevented an action from completing

Avoid Overusing Flash Messages

• Reserve flash messages for important information
• Don't display notifications for routine actions that don't need confirmation

Troubleshooting

Flash Messages Not Appearing

If your flash messages aren't appearing, check the following:

1. Verify that the DetectFlashMessage middleware is properly registered in your app/Http/Kernel.php file
2. Check that your layout template includes the flash message component:
   PHP

   @include('laravolt::_flash')

3. Inspect your browser console for any JavaScript errors that might prevent the flash messages from displaying

Messages Displaying Incorrectly

If flash messages appear but don't look right:

1. Ensure you're using the correct message type (info, success, warning, error)
2. Check if you've customized the flash message template and revert to the default if needed
3. Verify that the required CSS and JavaScript assets are being loaded

Related Components

• Forms - Form components that integrate with validation
• Tables - Table components with action feedback
• Action Buttons - Buttons that can trigger flash messages