Google Cloud Messaging: How to show an icon and group messages

Question

I have two questions regarding Google Cloud Messaging:

(My push script is PHP, and my client is Corona SDK.)

1. PUSH ICON: Currently, my push messages are displayed on the screen with an icon that looks like an inverted triangle with an exclamation mark inside. How do I make it show my own icon? (Can I dictate the icon from the server, or must this be done on the client?)

2. GROUPING MESSAGES: Currently, if I send three push messages to the phone, they are shown individually in the push list, whereas in other apps, subsequent push messages all replace the previous one, so they only take up one place in the list. How do I accomplish this? Is this the collapse_key value?

Thanks!

Answer 1

First of all, you should have specified "Google Cloud Messaging" (or C2DM in case) in the title of this thread, rather than "Android Push"...

1) If you don't set any custom icon, devices borrow, I don't know why, icons from other installed apps (the icon of Google Talk, sometimes). You can set your own icon from client with the following code:

    String app_name = context.getString(R.string.app_name);
    int icono = R.drawable.ic_stat_notify;
    long time = System.currentTimeMillis();
    Notification notification = new Notification(icono, app_name, time);

And you should follow the official Android Design Guideline to design that custom icon, usually designing three versions of the icon (one for devices running v2.2, another for devices running from v2.2 to v3.0 and another for devices running from v3.0).

2) Yes, that's exactly the collapse_key purpose.