Bot Framework Composer makes it easier to collect and validate a variety of data types, and handle instances when users input invalid or unrecognized data. The AskingQuestionsSample has examples of all of the prompt types and is referenced throughout this article. Below is a screenshot of the options in the Ask a Question menu in Composer:
Composer currently has seven prompts you can utilize to collect user data.
Prompt users for their name, favorite color, and other text data using Text input. To prompt a user for text click the + button under your trigger, mouse over Ask a Question and click Text input.
As seen in the TextInput dialog the user is prompted for their name in the Prompt box in the Bot Asks section in the Propery panel.
The user's response is stored in Property to fill in the User Input section as user.name. Note that you can change the Output Format if you want to save the text as trimmed (leading and trailing whitespace removed), uppercase, or lowercase.
Prompt users for their age and other numerical values using Number input. To prompt a user for a number click the + button under your trigger, mouse over Ask a Question and click Number input.
As seen in the NumberInput dialog the user is prompted for two numbers: their age stored as user.age and the result of 2*2.2stored as a user.result. When using number prompts you can set the Output Format to either float or integer.
Confirmation prompts are useful after you've asked the user a question, prompt or otherwise, and want to confirm their choice. Unlike Multiple choice prompt which allows bots to ask users for an answer out of a set, confirmation prompts ask the user to make a binary decision. To create a confirmation prompt click the + button under your trigger, mouse over Ask a Question and click Confirmation.
As seen in the ConfirmInput dialog the bot asks the user "yes or no" as the Initial Prompt and the Property to fill as user.confirmed. In the User Answers section in the Property panel you will notice Confirm Options, which can be used to set how to output your confirmation options and set synonyms. You generally do not need to change these setting for confirmation prompts.
Multiple choice makes it easy to define a set of choices for users to choose from. To create a prompt with multiple choice options click the + button under your trigger, mouse over Ask a Question and click Multiple choice.
In the ChoiceInput dialog you will see the Property to fill is set to user.style, the Output Format is set to value (meaning the value, not the index will be used) the locale is set to en-us, and the List style is set to Auto. The locale sets the language the recognizer should expect from the user (US English in this sample). The List style sets the style for how the choice options are displayed. The table below shows the differences in appearance for the three choices:
| List style | Appearance | Description |
|---|---|---|
| None |  |
displays none of the options |
| Auto |  |
displays options with autoformatting, usually buttons |
| Inline |  |
displays options using inline separators set in User Answers |
| List |  |
displays options as list, or a numbered list if Include numbers is checked |
| Suggested Action |  |
displays options as Suggested Action buttons |
| Hero Card |  |
displays Hero Card with options as buttons within card |
In the User Input section in the properties panel you will notice Choice Options, which can be used to add more choices and their synonyms. You can set the choice options in Static or Dynamic format. For Static format, you need to write each choice option manually; for Dynamic format, you can set the options to an array and then retrieve the value dynamically.
You'll also see three boxes related to inline separation, or how your bot separates the text of your choices:
- Inline separator - character used to separate individual choices when there are more than two choices, usually
,. - Inline or - separator used when there are only two choices, usually
or. - Inline or more - separator between last two choices when there are more than two options, usually
, or.
You'll also see boxes for Include numbers which should be checked if you want your list of options to be numbered, and Append choices, which composes an output activity containing the set of choices. Both of these are checked in the sample.
Users can upload images, videos, and other media after being prompted with File or attachment. To prompt a user for an attachment click the + button under your trigger, mouse over Ask a Question and click File or attachment.
In the AttachmentInput dialog you will see the Property to fill is set to dialog.attachments. You can set the Output Format tofirst (only the first attachment will be output) or all (all attachments will be output).
Prompt users for their birthday, the date they want to take a flight, and other dates using Date or time. To prompt a user for a date click the + button under your trigger, mouse over Ask a Question and click Date or time.
In the DateTimeInput dialog you will see the Property to fill is set to user.date and the Default locale is set to en-us.
Prompts in the Composer come with components to validate prompt responses and deal with instances where users supply a response that is invalid or unrecognized. Prompt Settings can be found on the bottom of the Property panel and contain the following settings:
- Max turn count: maximum number of re-prompt attempts before the default value is selected.
- Default value: the value to return if the expression cannot be validated.
- Allow interruptions: boolean that determines whether parent should be able to interrupt child dialog
- Always prompt: collect information even if specified property isn't empty.
Composer simplified reprompting when users fail to input data that is invalid and of the correct type. The following in the Others tab to the right of User Answers in the Property panel are used to deal with the above situations:
- Unrecognized Prompt: message to send to a user if their response was not recognized
- Validation Rules: Common Expression Language rules used to validate the user's response
- Invalid Prompt: message to respond with when a user inputs an invalid data type, like a number instead of a date
- Value: gets or sets expression used to initialize the input prompt
- Default Value Response: message to send when max turn count has been hit and default value is selected
- Learn how to manage conversation flow using conditionals and dialogs.