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README.md

Custom Dialogs

Bot Framework v4 custom dialogs bot sample

This bot has been created using Bot Framework, it shows how to sub-class the Dialog class to create different bot control mechanism like simple slot filling.

BotFramework provides a built-in base class called Dialog. By subclassing Dialog, developers can create new ways to define and control dialog flows used by the bot.

This sample is a Spring Boot app and uses the Azure CLI and azure-webapp Maven plugin to deploy to Azure.

Prerequisites

  • Java 1.8+
  • Install Maven
  • An account on Azure if you want to deploy to Azure.

To try this sample

  • From the root of this project folder:
    • Build the sample using mvn package
    • Run it by using java -jar .\target\bot-customdialogs-sample.jar

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 latest Bot Framework Emulator 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

Interacting with the bot

BotFramework provides a built-in base class called Dialog. By subclassing Dialog, developers can create new ways to define and control dialog flows used by the bot. By adhering to the features of this class, developers will create custom dialogs that can be used side-by-side with other dialog types, as well as built-in or custom prompts.

This example demonstrates a custom Dialog class called SlotFillingDialog, which takes a series of "slots" which define a value the bot needs to collect from the user, as well as the prompt it should use. The bot will iterate through all of the slots until they are all full, at which point the dialog completes.

Deploy the bot to Azure

As described on Deploy your bot, you will perform the first 4 steps to setup the Azure app, then deploy the code using the azure-webapp Maven plugin.

1. Login to Azure

From a command (or PowerShell) prompt in the root of the bot folder, execute:
az login

2. Set the subscription

az account set --subscription "<azure-subscription>"

If you aren't sure which subscription to use for deploying the bot, you can view the list of subscriptions for your account by using az account list command.

3. Create an App registration

az ad app create --display-name "<botname>" --password "<appsecret>" --available-to-other-tenants

Replace <botname> and <appsecret> with your own values.

<botname> is the unique name of your bot.
<appsecret> is a minimum 16 character password for your bot.

Record the appid from the returned JSON

4. Create the Azure resources

Replace the values for <appid>, <appsecret>, <botname>, and <groupname> in the following commands:

To a new Resource Group

az deployment sub create --name "customDialogsBotDeploy" --location "westus" --template-file ".\deploymentTemplates\template-with-new-rg.json" --parameters appId="<appid>" appSecret="<appsecret>" botId="<botname>" botSku=S1 newAppServicePlanName="customDialogsBotPlan" newWebAppName="customDialogsBot" groupLocation="westus" newAppServicePlanLocation="westus"

To an existing Resource Group

az deployment group create --resource-group "<groupname>" --template-file ".\deploymentTemplates\template-with-preexisting-rg.json" --parameters appId="<appid>" appSecret="<appsecret>" botId="<botname>" newWebAppName="customDialogsBot" newAppServicePlanName="customDialogsBotPlan" appServicePlanLocation="westus" --name "customDialogsBot"

5. Update app id and password

In src/main/resources/application.properties update

  • MicrosoftAppPassword with the botsecret value
  • MicrosoftAppId with the appid from the first step

6. Deploy the code

  • Execute mvn clean package
  • Execute mvn azure-webapp:deploy -Dgroupname="<groupname>" -Dbotname="<bot-app-service-name>"

If the deployment is successful, you will be able to test it via "Test in Web Chat" from the Azure Portal using the "Bot Channel Registration" for the bot.

After the bot is deployed, you only need to execute #6 if you make changes to the bot.

Further reading