NodeJS Bot Agent Connector - Azure Functions Bot (Quick Start Guide)

This article introduces the Live Assist for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Bot Agent Connector API, running as a Node JS Bot within the Azure Functions Bot Framework.

The examples contained here do not provide a detailed guide for developing bots within the Microsoft Azure framework. We assume that the developer has experience of Javascript, Node JS, and the Microsoft Azure Framework, and that they are able to use this quick start guide as a starting point to become familiar with the Live Assist Bot Agent Connector API.

Note: The Microsoft Functions Bot Framework is currently in development. You may need to make some changes in the steps, or the code, for your development effort.

The Javascript code shown here, is almost identical to that shown in the Web App Bot article.

This bot acts as an Agent, using the Azure Direct Channel connection, and requires appropriate configuration and license allocation in the Live Assist Administration Portal.

Step 1—Creating a Node JS Basic Function Bot

1. In Azure, create a new Basic Node JS Function Bot.
2. Set the appropriate Storage and Billing requirements for your application (F0 is adequate for development).
   
   
   
   The significant parts of this process are:
   • Selecting a name which is unique within Azure
   • Selecting the Node JS (Basic) Application
   
   This process may take Azure a few minutes to build.

Step 2—Downloading the Bot in Azure Functions

• When the Function Bot has been created, you can build and download the Azure Functions'project as a zip file to develop it locally.
  

Step 3—Build the Project Locally for Azure Deployment using Funpack

1. Open the source code locally with your preferred IDE.
   
   
2. Install funcpack: npm install -g azure-functions-pack.
   (using Node JS package manager https://www.npmjs.com/get-npm )
3. Install the dependency (botbuiler) by running npm install inside messages folder.
4. Edit the code of the Bot under messages\index.js which just contains your Bot logic:
    

   "use strict";
   var builder = require("botbuilder");
   var botbuilder_azure = require("botbuilder-azure");
   var path = require('path');
   
   var useEmulator = (process.env.NODE_ENV == 'development');
   
   var connector = useEmulator ? new builder.ChatConnector() : new botbuilder_azure.BotServiceConnector({
       appId: process.env['MicrosoftAppId'],
       appPassword: process.env['MicrosoftAppPassword'],
       openIdMetadata: process.env['BotOpenIdMetadata']
   });
   
   /*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   * Bot Storage: This is a great spot to register the private state storage for your bot. 
   * We provide adapters for Azure Table, CosmosDb, SQL Azure, or you can implement your own!
   * For samples and documentation, see: https://github.com/Microsoft/BotBuilder-Azure
   * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
   
   var tableName = 'botdata';
   var azureTableClient = new botbuilder_azure.AzureTableClient(tableName, process.env['AzureWebJobsStorage']);
   var tableStorage = new botbuilder_azure.AzureBotStorage({ gzipData: false }, azureTableClient);
   
   var bot = new builder.UniversalBot(connector);
   bot.localePath(path.join(__dirname, './locale'));
   bot.set('storage', tableStorage);
   
   const TRANSFER_MESSAGE = 'transfer to ';
   
   bot.dialog('/', function (session) {
       session.send('XXX' + session.message.text);
       switch(session.message.sourceEvent.type)
       {
           case "visitorContextData":
               //process context data if required. This is the first message received so say hello.
               session.send('Hi, I am an echo bot and will repeat everything you said.');
               break;
   
           case "systemMessage":
               //react to system messages if required
               break;
   
           case "transferFailed":
               //react to transfer failures if required
               break;
   
           case "otherAgentMessage":
               //react to messages from a supervisor if required
               break;
   
           case "visitorMessage":
               // Check for transfer message
                           if(session.message.text.startsWith(TRANSFER_MESSAGE)){
                                   var transferTo = session.message.text.substr(TRANSFER_MESSAGE.length);
                                   var msg = new builder.Message(session).sourceEvent({directline: {type: "transfer", agent: transferTo}});
                                   session.send(msg);
                           }else {
                                   session.send('You said ' + session.message.text);
                           }
               break;
   
           default:
               session.send('This is not a Live Assist message ' + session.message.sourceEvent.type);
       }
   });
   
   if (useEmulator) {
       var restify = require('restify');
       var server = restify.createServer();
       server.listen(3978, function() {
           console.log('test bot endpont at http://localhost:3978/api/messages');
       });
       server.post('/api/messages', connector.listen());    
   } else {
       module.exports = connector.listen();
   }
   
   
   

   
    
5. Package the code by running funcpack pack ./ in bot-src:

   PS ..\NodeJSFuncBot-src\bot-src> funcpack pack ./
   info: Generating project files/metadata
   info: Webpacking project
   info: Complete!
   

Step 4—Upload the .funpack/index.js to f messages in Azure Functions Editor

Click Build > Open this bot in Azure Functions > f messages  and replace the large index.js with your new local .funpack/index.js

Step 5—Save and Run your bot

• When the code is ready, you can Save and Run the bot. Compilation Errors are shown in the Error/Warning Log at the bottom of the screen. Also, Function Bots record invocation logss under the Monitor window. From here can get the status of any messages sent to the bot:

Step 6—Creating a Direct Line Channel Connector

See: Creating a Direct Line Channel Connector

Step 7—Configuring an Engagement

If you are developing bots on a production organization, be aware that the bot may answer any chats that are started, unless the bot user is allocated to a Skill Group within the Engagement Portal, then set up an engagement that routes to this skill.

1. In the Engagement Portal, create a new Skill called BotSkill:
   
2. Allocate the skill to the Bot User:
   
3. Assign the BotSkill to the Engagement:
   
4. In the same way, create a Skill Group MySkill and assign it to one of your human agents, to test the transfer.
   

Step 8—Testing the Bot

The bot is now be ready to test using a Live Assist for Microsoft Dynamics 365 engagement.

Note: You can use the Trial Engagement for testing, if required.

1. Visitor Side:
   
2. When the User types: 'tranfer to MySkill' the chat is routed through to the MySkill Group and the assigned Agent can answer it:
   

Debugging Web App Bots

There are numerous ways to debug your bot application. The following Microsoft documents may assist you with this:

• Diagnosing runtime issues with the Failed Request Traces option.
  See: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/web-sites-enable-diagnostic-log
• The Kudu Console also provides access to the file system where logs are written.

Pre-Chat Survey

If your engagement has a pre-chat survey, the information collected is available to an agent in the Chat Activity, after the bot has transferred the chat.

Post-chat Survey

Information collected on a post-chat survey is added to the Chat Activity

The transcript clearly labels the bot, agent and visitor, as well as other Information.