How to Set [Activity.From.Id] , [member.Id] or [activity.Recipient.Id] using DirectLine?

Question

I'm using MS directline to integrate custom channel with a chatbot based on botframework.

I'm using below functions to generate token & start conversation, but none of them allows to set Context.Activity.From.Id, MembersAdded.FirstOrDefault().Id , nor Activity.Recipient.Id

• GenerateTokenForNewConversationAsync()
• StartConversationAsync()

I Know we can control the ID when we send the first user message through directline , but I want to control any of the above IDs before even sending a message from the user. I want to set a specific ID and be able to capture it on the BOT event OnTurnAsync and Activity of type ActivityTypes.ConversationUpdate .. what should I do ?

Answer 1

Regarding my comment, I decided I'd just provide how to do what you want with both packages. Again, if it isn't too much trouble to switch, I highly, highly recommend using Microsoft.Bot.Connector (newer and more frequently updated) over Microsoft.Bot.Connector.DirectLine (older, not updated in 2.5 years, and deprecated until/unless we open-source it Update: This isn't actually deprecated, yet. We're currently working on open-sourcing this, but it's a low-priority task).

Recommended: Microsoft.Bot.Connector

Create the conversation with To and From, all-in-one.

var userAccount = new ChannelAccount(toId,toName);
var botAccount = new ChannelAccount(fromId, fromName);
var connector = new ConnectorClient(new Uri(serviceUrl));

IMessageActivity message = Activity.CreateMessageActivity();
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(conversationId) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(channelId))
{
    message.ChannelId = channelId;
}
else
{
    conversationId = (await connector.Conversations.CreateDirectConversationAsync( botAccount, userAccount)).Id;
}
message.From = botAccount;
message.Recipient = userAccount;
message.Conversation = new ConversationAccount(id: conversationId);
message.Text = "Hello, this is a notification";
message.Locale = "en-Us";
await connector.Conversations.SendToConversationAsync((Activity)message);

Credit

Not Recommended: Microsoft.Bot.Connector.DirectLine

This is kind of a hacky workaround, but basically, you create the conversation and then send a ConversationUpdate activity.

//server side, retrieve token from secret
string directLineSecret = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DirectLineSecret"];
HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();
HttpRequestMessage request = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Post,$"https://directline.botframework.com/v3/directline/tokens/generate");
request.Headers.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", directLineSecret);
var fromUser = $"dl_{Guid.NewGuid()}";
request.Content = new StringContent(
    JsonConvert.SerializeObject(
        new { User = new { Id = fromUser } }),
        Encoding.UTF8,
        "application/json");
var response = await httpClient.SendAsync(request);
DirectLineToken dlToken = null;
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
    var body = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
    dlToken = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<DirectLineToken>(body);
}
string token = dlToken.token;

//create DirectLineClient from token, client side
DirectLineClient client = new DirectLineClient(token);            
var conversation = await client.Conversations.StartConversationAsync();            
new System.Threading.Thread(async () => await ReadBotMessagesAsync(client, conversation.ConversationId)).Start();

//send conversationUpdate
var user = new ChannelAccount(fromUser);
await client.Conversations.PostActivityAsync(conversation.ConversationId,
    new Activity
    {
        From = user,
        Text = string.Empty,
        Type = ActivityTypes.ConversationUpdate,
        MembersAdded = new[] { user }
    }
);
TimeSpan delayTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(dlToken.expires_in) - TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
Task.Factory.StartNew(async () =>
{
    while (!_getTokenAsyncCancellation.IsCancellationRequested)
    {
        var t = await client.Tokens.RefreshTokenAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);

        await Task.Delay(delayTime, _getTokenAsyncCancellation.Token).ConfigureAwait(false);
    }
}).ConfigureAwait(false);

Credit