I am trying the Microsoft BOT Framework and here you can find my first experiences.
First I followed the instructions available in Create a bot with the Bot Builder SDK for .NET and in the following you can find some notes and screenshots that could help to understand, if needed, the steps explained in that quick start, and then make the sample bot run bot on the bot emulator and then deployed in Azure.
First of all, to have your VS have the templates related to the Bot, copy the Bot Application, Bot Controller, and Bot Dialog .zip files to your Visual Studio 2017 project templates directory located in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Visual Studio 2017\Templates\ProjectTemplates\Visual C#\
Insert the templates in the proper VS directory
You will then find a specific selectable Bot Application template when you will create a new project.
Boot Application template
To test with the botframework-emulator, download it, install it and run it. Set the endpoint of the BOT (e.g. http://localhost:3979/api/messages ) where the base URL can be taken both from the URL of the browser page opened when you run the bot project with Visual Studio or in the project properties: remember to add to that string the /api/messages to let the endpoint be defined properly!
From VS, run the BOT in a browser (e.g. Edge)
Page displayed when you run the BOT: it shows the port number used and remember you that the endpoint to be set must be of a specific type (https and end with /api/messages)
Properties of the project that shows the URL with the used port number
For this time, because the bot is not registered yet, in the emulator you have to leave blank the Microsoft App ID and Microsoft App Password fields: you will have to set them only after you register your bot in the MyBot section of the Bot Framework portal.
Bot emulator with the endpoint properly set as previously described
Clicking on the CONNECT button (and having the bot project running in Visual Studio), you can send messages to that bot and have it answers to you, as designed in his code.
Dialogue with the bot, using the emulator
Now, if you want to register and run that sample BOT in Azure, you have publish it: this will give you the site URL that you will have to change in https when you register this bot in the Bot Framework portal (as clearly stated in the suggestion of the Messaging endpoint input field when you register it).
Build -> Publish projectName
Set API Name, Resource Group and App Service plan and click the Create button
In the Summary you can find the base URL to be used as endpoint
Register the new bot in the dev.botframework.com portal clicking the Create a bot button
Click the Register button
Set the mandatory fields and note the suggestion about the Messaging endpoint (it must be https)
Specify the Messaging endpoint using the https, the base URL and then the path /api/messages
In the apps.dev.microsoft.com portal, generate the AppID and the app password (ion the bot registration form only APP ID is needed while both must be set in the code of the Bot)
Take note of the generated password
Set the App ID in the bot registration page
Register the bot
Bot created
The bot is already associated to two channels but you can add more
In the My bots page the new bot is listed
Open the Web.config file ot the bot project and search for the appSetting keys MicrosoftAppId and MicrosoftAppPassword
Set MicrosoftAppId and MicrosoftAppPassword keys with the proper values given when you generate an App ID and password associated to your Microsoft Account
Update the code and re-publish it (1)
Update the code and re-publish it (2)
You can test the new bot directly from the Bot Framework portal
If you now want to test/debug that bot from the emulator, you have to define in it also the App ID and password
The dialogue with the bot works again even after the setting of its App ID and password …
In the Azure Dashboard you can see the new Bot
Azure Dashboard – all resources
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Now, for sure you want to delete all the resources associated to that just created sample bot! You need to manage in the following places:
- in the Azure portal (where you could be charged for them),
- in the Application Registration portal
- in the Bot Framework portal
You can select the bot and then delete it if you don’t need anymore
Copy & past the bot name in the proper input field to let the deletion be done
Also in apps.dev.microsoft.com you still have in your app list the just tested bot with the related App ID / Client Id association: you may want to dele also that
Delete the sample bot also from the dev.botframework.com portal
That’s all, for now …
