# alertTemplate
Displays important information to the user.
## Overview
Use the `alertTemplate` element to display important information, such as a message
telling the user to perform an action before continuing. At a minimum, provide a
description of the alert and a button so the user can take any required actions.
The following figure shows the basic layout for an `alertTemplate` page. The theme
for the alert template defaults to the system preference.
### Main Elements
The following listing shows the main elements of the `alertTemplate` element in TVML
format:
```xml
…
…
…
…
```
#### Element Descriptions
- [background](/documentation/TVML/background): Background elements, such as audio.
- [button](/documentation/TVML/button): A button that typically allows the user to dismiss the alert
or to bring up a new template page. The button element contains a text element that
shows the name of the button.
- [description](/documentation/TVML/description): The main text for the alert.
- [text](/documentation/TVML/text): A brief description of what the button does.
- [title](/documentation/TVML/title): The title of the alert, which should briefly communicate its
purpose.
### Example
The following listing shows the TVML for an `alertTemplate` example:
```xml
Update Available
Get the latest tvOS version
```
The following figure shows the output for the above example:
## Topics
### Valid TVML Attributes
[autoHighlight](/documentation/TVML/autohighlight)
Specifies that the element should initially be in focus.
[binding](/documentation/TVML/binding)
Associates information in a data item with an element.
[layoutDirection](/documentation/TVML/layoutdirection)
Specifies the direction in which text is displayed.
[prototype](/documentation/TVML/prototype)
Associates a data item type with an element.
[theme](/documentation/TVML/theme)
Sets the color scheme for an element.
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