How to set typing indicator in azure bot

Riham Mushmush 0

I work with c# making azure bot have web chat and teams channels. I want to make a typing indicator for the web chat user if the teams user is typing and another one for teams user if the web chat user typing. I can get it that if the bot talking to the teams user or web chat user than the last two get the typing indicator.

navba-MSFT 19,480 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-05-31T03:58:36.8133333+00:00
@Riham Mushmush Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum, Thank you for posting your query here!

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To set a typing indicator in an Azure bot using C#, you can use the Activity.CreateTypingActivity() method. Here’s a sample code snippet:

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public async override Task OnTurnAsync(ITurnContext turnContext, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) { ITypingActivity replyActivity = Activity.CreateTypingActivity(); await turnContext.SendActivityAsync((Activity)replyActivity); await Task.Delay(5000); await base.OnTurnAsync(turnContext, cancellationToken); }

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More info here.

The above code will send a typing activity to the user, wait for 5 seconds, and then continue with the rest of the bot’s activities.

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However, customizing the typing indicator (like changing the typing symbol to a custom message) is not straightforward. For the WebChat channel, you might be able to modify the CSS to change the appearance of the typing indicator.

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Please refer this thread: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/320951/how-to-add-customized-typing-indicator-using-c-in

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62293920/bot-framework-net-add-typing-indicator-on-bot

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/66671643/how-to-add-customized-typing-indicator-using-c-sharp-in-azure-bot

Hope this helps. If you have any follow-up questions, please let me know. I would be happy to help.
navba-MSFT 19,480 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-06-03T08:59:57.1+00:00

@Riham Mushmush Just following up to check if my suggestion helped. Please let me know if you have any further queries. I would be happy to help.
Riham Mushmush 0 Reputation points

2024-06-04T10:33:37.28+00:00

Thanks for answering, but I meant that my bot has multiple channels and the typing indicator is sent if the bot is typing. Can the bot handle my typing activity? I want the users on other channels, like the web chat, to know that I am typing when I am actually writing in Teams, not just a fake timer typing indicator.

navba-MSFT 19,480 Microsoft Employee

@Riham Mushmush Thanks for getting back and clarifying the ask.

To achieve the real-time typing indicator synchronization between users on different channels (Teams and Web Chat), you'll need to extend the bot's functionality to detect and propagate typing activities across channels. Here's a detailed approach to implement this:

Detect Typing Activity:
- In Microsoft Teams, you can detect when a user is typing using the typing event.
- For the Web Chat channel, detect the typing activity from the user.
Broadcast Typing Activity:
- Once a typing activity is detected from a user on one channel, broadcast this activity to users on the other channels.
- You can use the ActivityHandler.OnTypingActivityAsync method in your bot to handle typing activities.
Relay Typing Indicator:
- Send a typing activity to the other channel to indicate that a user is typing.

Here is a sample implementation in C#:

Step 1: Extend OnTurnAsync to Handle Typing Activities

public class TypingIndicatorBot : ActivityHandler

{

    public override async Task OnTurnAsync(ITurnContext turnContext, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)

    {

        if (turnContext.Activity.Type == ActivityTypes.Typing)

        {

            // If a typing activity is detected, relay it to the other channel

            await HandleTypingActivityAsync(turnContext, cancellationToken);

        }

        else

        {

            await base.OnTurnAsync(turnContext, cancellationToken);

        }

    }

    private async Task HandleTypingActivityAsync(ITurnContext turnContext, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

    {

        var typingActivity = Activity.CreateTypingActivity();

        typingActivity.From = turnContext.Activity.From;

        // Depending on the channel, relay the typing activity to the other channel

        if (turnContext.Activity.ChannelId == "msteams")

        {

            // Relay typing indicator to Web Chat users

            // You need to implement the logic to find the conversation reference for the Web Chat users

            await RelayTypingToWebChatUsers(typingActivity, cancellationToken);

        }

        else if (turnContext.Activity.ChannelId == "webchat")

        {

            // Relay typing indicator to Teams users

            // You need to implement the logic to find the conversation reference for the Teams users

            await RelayTypingToTeamsUsers(typingActivity, cancellationToken);

        }

    }

    private async Task RelayTypingToWebChatUsers(IActivity typingActivity, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

    {

        // Implement logic to send typing activity to Web Chat users

        // For example, you can use the conversation reference of the Web Chat users

        var conversationReference = ... // get the conversation reference for Web Chat users

        await turnContext.Adapter.ContinueConversationAsync(

            botAppId,

            conversationReference,

            async (context, token) => await context.SendActivityAsync((Activity)typingActivity),

            cancellationToken);

    }

    private async Task RelayTypingToTeamsUsers(IActivity typingActivity, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

    {

        // Implement logic to send typing activity to Teams users

        // For example, you can use the conversation reference of the Teams users

        var conversationReference = ... // get the conversation reference for Teams users

        await turnContext.Adapter.ContinueConversationAsync(

            botAppId,

            conversationReference,

            async (context, token) => await context.SendActivityAsync((Activity)typingActivity),

            cancellationToken);

    }

}

Step 2: Handle Conversation References

To send activities across channels, you need to store and retrieve conversation references for users in different channels. You can use a database or an in-memory store to manage these references.

Step 3: Integrate with Bot Framework

Ensure your bot is properly configured to handle multiple channels and has the necessary permissions to send messages across these channels.

Hope this answers.

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