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proactive messages

Bot Framework v4 proactive messages bot sample

This bot has been created using Bot Framework, it shows how to send proactive messages to users by capturing a conversation reference, then using it later to initialize outbound messages.

Concepts introduced in this sample

Typically, each message that a bot sends to the user directly relates to the user's prior input. In some cases, a bot may need to send the user a message that is not directly related to the current topic of conversation. These types of messages are called proactive messages.

Proactive messages can be useful in a variety of scenarios. If a bot sets a timer or reminder, it will need to notify the user when the time arrives. Or, if a bot receives a notification from an external system, it may need to communicate that information to the user immediately. For example, if the user has previously asked the bot to monitor the price of a product, the bot can alert the user if the price of the product has dropped by 20%. Or, if a bot requires some time to compile a response to the user's question, it may inform the user of the delay and allow the conversation to continue in the meantime. When the bot finishes compiling the response to the question, it will share that information with the user.

This project has a notify endpoint that will trigger the proactive messages to be sent to all users who have previously messaged the bot.

Prerequisites

  • .NET Core SDK version 2.1

    # determine dotnet version
dotnet --version

To try this sample

  • Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/microsoft/botbuilder-samples.git

  • In a terminal, navigate to samples/csharp_dotnetcore/16.proactive-messages

  • Run the bot from a terminal or from Visual Studio, choose option A or B.

    A) From a terminal

    # run the bot
dotnet run

    B) Or from Visual Studio

    • Launch Visual Studio
    • File -> Open -> Project/Solution
    • Navigate to samples/csharp_dotnetcore/16.proactive-messages folder
    • Select ProactiveBot.csproj file
    • Press F5 to run the project

Testing the bot using Bot Framework Emulator

Bot Framework Emulator is a desktop application that allows bot developers to test and debug their bots on localhost or running remotely through a tunnel.

  • Install the Bot Framework Emulator version 4.3.0 or greater from here

Connect to the bot using Bot Framework Emulator

  • Launch Bot Framework Emulator
  • File -> Open Bot
  • Enter a Bot URL of http://localhost:3978/api/messages

With the Bot Framework Emulator connected to your running bot, the sample will not respond to an HTTP GET that will trigger a proactive message. The proactive message can be triggered from the command line using curl or similar tooling, or can be triggered by opening a browser windows and nagivating to http://localhost:3978/api/notify.

Using curl

  • Send a get request to http://localhost:3978/api/notify to proactively message users from the bot.

     curl get http://localhost:3978/api/notify

  • Using the Bot Framwork Emulator, notice a message was proactively sent to the user from the bot.

Using the Browser

  • Launch a web browser
  • Navigate to http://localhost:3978/api/notify
  • Using the Bot Framwork Emulator, notice a message was proactively sent to the user from the bot.

Proactive Messages

In addition to responding to incoming messages, bots are frequently called on to send "proactive" messages based on activity, scheduled tasks, or external events.

In order to send a proactive message using Bot Framework, the bot must first capture a conversation reference from an incoming message using TurnContext.getConversationReference(). This reference can be stored for later use.

To send proactive messages, acquire a conversation reference, then use adapter.continueConversation() to create a TurnContext object that will allow the bot to deliver the new outgoing message.

Deploy this bot to Azure

To learn more about deploying a bot to Azure, see Deploy your bot to Azure for a complete list of deployment instructions.

Further reading