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19.custom-dialogs

README.md

This sample demonstrates how to sub-class the Dialog class to create different bot control mechanism like simple slot filling.

To try this sample

  • Clone the repository 
    git clone https://github.com/microsoft/botbuilder-samples.git
  • In a terminal, navigate to samples/javascript_nodejs/19.custom-dialogs 
    cd samples/javascript_nodejs/19.custom-dialogs
  • Install modules and start the bot 
    npm i && npm start
    Alternatively you can also use nodemon via 
    npm i && npm run watch

Testing the bot using Bot Framework Emulator

Microsoft 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 from here

Connect to bot using Bot Framework Emulator V4

  • Launch Bot Framework Emulator
  • File -> Open Bot Configuration and navigate to javascript_nodejs/21.custom-dialogs
  • Select custom-dialogs.bot file

Deploy this bot to Azure

You can use the MSBot Bot Builder CLI tool to clone and configure any services this sample depends on.

To install all Bot Builder tools -

Ensure you have Node.js version 8.5 or higher

npm i -g msbot chatdown ludown qnamaker luis-apis botdispatch luisgen

To clone this bot, run

msbot clone services -f deploymentScripts/msbotClone -n <BOT-NAME> -l <Azure-location> --subscriptionId <Azure-subscription-id> --appId <YOUR APP ID> --appSecret <YOUR APP SECRET PASSWORD>

NOTE: You can obtain your appId and appSecret at the Microsoft's Application Registration Portal

Custom Dialogs

BotBuilder 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.

Further reading