Message
Audience:
Low-code EngineersSkill Prerequisites:
Actions,Tokens,HTML
The Message actions tell the user something. They show a confirmation, an error or a short toast on the page, send a message to users' DNN inbox, or send text to the browser as a file.
Choosing an action
| Action | What it does | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| Display Message | Shows a message and ends execution. After a submit, it replaces the form. It can show form buttons under the message. | Confirm a submission, or show a message instead of the form from On Init. |
| Display Error Message | Shows an error and ends execution. The form or listing stays on screen, so the user can fix the problem and try again. | Stop a submit when a business rule fails, or show an error returned by an earlier action. |
| Display Toast Message And Stop Execution | Shows a short notification in a small popup that closes by itself, and ends execution. | Confirm a save as the last action of a button. |
| Display Toast Message And Continue Execution | Shows the same toast right away, and the next actions keep running. | Tell the user a long step has started, or show progress between steps. |
| Send DNN Message | Sends a message to the DNN inbox of users or roles, with optional portal file attachments. | Notify a manager or a role, such as Approvers, in their site inbox. |
| Send Plain Text as File Download | Sends text built from tokens to the browser as a CSV, TXT, HTML or XML file, and ends the action list. Nothing is saved on the server. | Let users download a CSV export built with Create CSV from List. |
Where they're available
| Action | Forms | Listings | User Guides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display Message | Yes | No | Yes |
| Display Error Message | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Both Display Toast Message actions | Yes | Yes | No |
| Send Plain Text as File Download | Yes | Yes | No |
None of the on-page actions are available in API endpoints or workflows. To fail a workflow or an API call, use Throw Exception.
Which message to show
- Display Message is for the end of a successful submit. It hides the form, except in
On Validation Failed. - Display Error Message keeps the form and its values, so the user can correct them. For a single field, use the field's own validation instead.
- Toasts take little space and close by themselves after a set time. Don't use them for a long or important message the user shouldn't miss.
The Stop toast, Display Message and Display Error Message all end execution. Give them a condition, or they always stop. The Continue toast is shown as soon as it runs while the server keeps running the next actions, so it can't report the result of those actions.
HTML and tokens
The message parameters accept HTML and tokens. Token values are inserted as they are, so text a user typed that contains HTML is shown as HTML. The one exception is Display Error Message in Listings, where turning off Allow HTML code in Message encodes token values. Keep technical details, such as SQL or IDs, out of messages, since every user sees the same text.
Other ways to reach users
- Email. Send DNN Message only delivers to the DNN inbox. Whether users also get an email copy depends on DNN's messaging settings and each user's preferences. To send an email yourself, use Send Email.
- Logs. To debug, write to the log with Log Error or Log Debug Message instead of showing a message.
- Stopping quietly. To end execution without showing anything, use Stop Execution.
See also the Flow, Email, Logging and Redirect actions.
Revised 10/02/2026