Conversations

Conversations refer to the interactions between the bot and the user. Here's how a basic conversation may look like:

const flow = {
  start: {
    message: "Who are you?",
    path: "end"
  },
  end: {
    message: (params) => `Hi ${params.userInput}!`,
    chatDisabled: true
  }
}

In a conversation, there are 4 important properties to take note of and they are the Flow (conversation flow), Block (conversation block), Attributes and Params. Below, we observe how these properties interact with each other:

We will walk through the short example code snippet above to give you a better idea of a conversation flow:

1. Upon the start of a conversation flow, the chatbot immediately pre-processes the start block. In the example above, the message attribute is processed and the message "Who are you?" is sent by the bot into the chat. Following which, it patiently waits for a user input.
2. When the user sends a message (or uploads a file), the current block is retrieved and post-processing is done for it. If a next path is found during post-processing, the conversation flow moves to the next block. In the example above, the flow moves into the end block as specified by the path attribute.
3. Upon entering a new block (end block in this case), pre-processing of attributes are immediately done. The message attribute in the end block accesses params.userInput to retrieve the user's previous input and sends a message to greet the user.
4. Once the pre-processing of the new block is done, the chatbot again waits for the next user input.

In short, each user input triggers post-processing of a current block and pre-processing of the next block (if applicable)! In between the pre-processing and post-processing of a block is where the chatbot waits for the user input. Now that you have a high level idea of a conversation structure, let us quickly take a look at the details for individual properties.

Flow

Passed in the flow prop of the ChatBot, it can contain any number of blocks to build up an entire conversation. it is compulsory that a flow has minimally the start block which is the default entry point to a conversation.

Apart from the start block, there are no rules for the naming of other blocks although it is advisable to name your block clearly after its use (e.g. end block for the final block in your conversation). In the code snippet shown below, the flow contains 2 blocks - the start and end block:

const flow = {
  start: {
    message: "What is your age?",
    path: "end"
  },
  end: {
    message: (params) => `I see you are ${params.userInput}!`,
    chatDisabled: true
  }
}

Block

Sometimes used interchangeably with a path (as conversations paths from one block to another), it represents the current state of a conversation and contains attributes (e.g. message, path).

Note that the type of attributes available for pre-processing and post-processing are different. In the start block below, message is an attribute that belongs to pre-processing while path is an attribute that belongs to post-processing. The list of attributes along with their use and categorisation is covered below and may also be found in the API documentation.

start: {
  message: "What is your age?",
  path: "end"
}

Attributes

Attributes defines the various actions that can be taken within a specific block of conversation between the bot and the user. They are categorised into pre-processing attributes which runs before a user input and post-processing attributes which runs after a user input. The following are considered as user input:

• User sends a message in chat (either by typing/voice)
• User selects an option provided by the bot
• User submits checkbox selection(s) provided by the bot
• User uploads a file

The pre-processing attributes and post-processing attributes provided are as below:

Pre-processing Attributes

The following attributes are processed before user input:

• message
• options
• checkboxes
• component
• chatDisabled
• isSensitive
• transition

Post-processing Attributes

The following attributes are processed after user input:

• function
• file
• path

To understand the specifics and how to utilize each attribute, you can consult the API documentation for attributes. You have the freedom to include any combination of these attributes in a block, whether it's all of them, some of them, or none at all. It's important to note that the attributes are handled in the order they are stated, except for the path attribute, which is always processed last during post-processing, if it exists.

In the provided snippet of the end block, both the message and chatDisabled attributes are categorized under pre-processing. Since message is declared first, it will be processed before chatDisabled.

end: {
  message: (params) => `I see you are ${params.userInput}!`,
  chatDisabled: true
}

caution

As the library does not enforce any of these attributes to be compulsory, it is possible to have an empty block but you should note that it will be a dead end that the chatbot will not be able to exit from.

Params

Parameters contain information/functions that can be passed into attributes for usage/decision making and they are as listed below:

• userInput
• currPath
• prevPath
• goToPath
• injectMessage
• streamMessage
• endStreamMessage
• removeMessage
• setTextAreaValue
• showToast
• dismissToast
• openChat
• files (only available for file attribute)

As shown in the end code snippet, the parameter used in its message attribute is userInput, accessed via the params object:

end: {
  message: (params) => `I see you are ${params.userInput}!`,
  chatDisabled: true
}

For details and usage on each of these parameters, you may consult the API documentation for params.

Message

Not to be confused with message from the section on Attributes, the Message component here represents the interactions between the user and the bot. Every element in the chatbot body (including custom components) are considered a Message (as outlined in red on the image above). Within a message you will find 5 properties:

• id (required) - an auto-generated uuidv4 string, uniquely identifying a message
• content (required) - a string or JSX.Element, representing the content of the message
• sender (required) - a string representing message sender (can be user, bot or system)
• type (required) - a string that specifies "string" (for plain text) or "object" (for JSX elements)
• timestamp (required) - a string representing the time the message was sent in UTC

Info

For manipulating messages, it is recommended that you utilize injectMessage and streamMessage provided in params or hooks. If you are directly manipulating the messages array (not recommended), which is possible via the useMessages hook, you need to specify all 5 fields yourself.

Toast

Toasts are strictly speaking not essential for chatbot conversations. However, they are oftentime useful in providing feedback to users (as outlined in red on the image above). For example, the rcb-input-validator-plugin uses toasts to inform users of any input validation errors. A toast comprises of 3 properties:

• id (required) - an auto-generated uuidv4 string, uniquely identifying a toast
• content (required) - a string or JSX.Element, representing the content of the toast
• timeout (optional) - specifies the duration that the toast is shown for before it is automatically dismissed

Info

For manipulating toasts, it is recommended that you utilize showToast and dismissToast which are provided in params or hooks. If you are directly manipulating the toasts array (not recommended), which is possible via the useToasts hook, you need to specify at least the 2 required fields yourself.

Summary

Does that sound like a lot to take in? Fret not! Let us take one final look at the code snippet we saw at the beginning and put things all together. Notice that the ChatBot takes in the flow that we have just gone through above. Tinker with the live editor below and try out the result for yourself!

Live Editor

const MyComponent = () => {
  const flow = {
    start: {
      message: "Who are you?",
      path: "end"
    },
    end: {
      message: (params) => `Hi ${params.userInput}!`,
      chatDisabled: true
    }
  }

  const settings = {
    general: {
      embedded: true
    },
    chatHistory: {
      storageKey: "conversations_summary"
    }
  }

  return (
    <ChatBot settings={settings} flow={flow}/>
  );
};

render(
  <div style={{display: "flex", justifyContent: "center", alignItems: "center"}}>
    <MyComponent/>
  </div>
)

Result

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