Delphi IDE Alert Configuration and OS Focus Assist Integration

Direct answer

No. The Delphi IDE does not automatically suppress its modal alert dialogs when Windows Focus Assist is set to Priority only or Alarms only. Focus Assist limits notification banners, toasts, and sounds; it does not prevent an application from creating a modal message box. Delphi and the process being debugged are ordinary Win32 applications, so ShowMessage, MessageDlg, and debugger notify dialogs still appear and can take focus.

Confirmed facts vs. likely explanation

Confirmed OS behavior: Windows Focus Assist (renamed Focus in newer builds) suppresses notification banners and sounds and tracks quiet-time state; it does not block modal dialogs.

Likely Delphi behavior: because the IDE and the debugged process are ordinary Win32 applications, their modal dialogs continue to display while Focus Assist is enabled.

The Tools → Options → Debugger → Notify settings control which debugger events produce alerts, but they do not expose a Focus Assist or quiet-hours condition.

Supported configuration options

There is no supported registry key, IDE expert, or configuration option that ties IDE alert visibility to Focus Assist. Editing internal notification state or Focus Assist internals would be unsupported and likely to change across Windows builds.

Practical work-arounds

For your own code

Call SHQueryUserNotificationState before MessageBox or ShowMessage. If it returns QUNS_QUIET_TIME, QUNS_NOT_PRESENT, QUNS_BUSY, or QUNS_PRESENTATION_MODE, log to OutputDebugString or the Event Log instead of showing a modal.

var
  State: Integer;
begin
  if SHQueryUserNotificationState(State) = S_OK then
    if State in [QUNS_QUIET_TIME, QUNS_NOT_PRESENT, QUNS_BUSY, QUNS_PRESENTATION_MODE] then
      OutputDebugString('Alert suppressed during quiet time')
    else
      ShowMessage('Debug alert');
end;

For IDE debugger alerts

Disable nonessential breakpoint and exception notify dialogs in Debugger → Notify and rely on the IDE call stack, Event Log, OutputDebugString, or conditional breakpoint logging rather than modal stops. Modern breakpoints often stop execution and update the IDE rather than raising a modal dialog.

Verification and version assumptions

Because Focus naming and automatic rules vary by Windows version, verify the behavior in your exact RAD Studio and Windows build. A minimal test is to run a VCL app with a timer that calls ShowMessage while toggling Focus Assist modes, and to inspect Tools → Options → Debugger → Notify for any quiet-hours setting.

One diagnostic detail

Is the interrupting dialog generated by the IDE debugger (for example, an exception notification) or by your own ShowMessage/MessageDlg call? That distinction determines whether you should adjust Debugger → Notify settings or add SHQueryUserNotificationState guards in your code.