Backend API
@model DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.ViewModels.ChatViewModel
@(Html.DevExtreme().Chat()
.ID("user-chat")
.User(user => user
.Id(Model.CurrentUser.Id)
.Name(Model.CurrentUser.Name)
)
.DataSource(Model.Messages)
.ReloadOnChange(false)
.OnMessageEntered("onMessageEntered")
.OnTypingStart("userChatTypingStart")
.OnTypingEnd("userChatTypingEnd")
.OnInitialized("userChatInitialized")
)
@(Html.DevExtreme().Chat()
.ID("support-chat")
.User(user => user
.Id(Model.SupportAgent.Id)
.Name(Model.SupportAgent.Name)
.AvatarUrl(Model.SupportAgent.AvatarUrl)
)
.DataSource(Model.Messages)
.ReloadOnChange(false)
.OnMessageEntered("onMessageEntered")
.OnTypingStart("supportChatTypingStart")
.OnTypingEnd("supportChatTypingEnd")
.OnInitialized("supportChatInitialized")
)
<script>
var userChat, supportChat;
function userChatInitialized({ component }) {
userChat = component;
}
function supportChatInitialized({ component }) {
supportChat = component;
}
function onMessageEntered({ message }) {
userChat.renderMessage(message);
supportChat.renderMessage(message);
}
function userChatTypingStart({ user }) {
supportChat.option('typingUsers', [user]);
}
function userChatTypingEnd() {
supportChat.option('typingUsers', []);
}
function supportChatTypingStart({ user }) {
userChat.option('typingUsers', [user]);
}
function supportChatTypingEnd() {
userChat.option('typingUsers', []);
}
</script>
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Models.Chat;
using DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Models.SampleData;
using DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.ViewModels;
namespace DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Controllers {
public class ChatController : Controller {
public ActionResult Overview() {
return View(new ChatViewModel {
CurrentUser = SampleData.CurrentUser,
SupportAgent = SampleData.SupportAgent,
Messages = SampleData.Messages,
});
}
}
}
using DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Models.Chat;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Models.SampleData {
public partial class SampleData {
private static readonly DateTime todayDate = DateTime.Now.Date;
private static DateTime GetTimestamp(DateTime date, int offsetMinutes = 0) {
DateTime adjustedDate = date.AddMinutes(offsetMinutes);
return adjustedDate;
}
public static ChatUser CurrentUser = new ChatUser {
Id = "c94c0e76-fb49-4b9b-8f07-9f93ed93b4f3",
Name = "John Doe"
};
public static ChatUser SupportAgent = new ChatUser {
Id = "d16d1a4c-5c67-4e20-b70e-2991c22747c3",
Name = "Support Agent",
AvatarUrl = "../../Content/Images/petersmith.png"
};
public static readonly IEnumerable<Message> Messages = new[] {
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, -9),
Author = SupportAgent,
Text = "Hello, John!\nHow can I assist you today?",
},
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, -7),
Author = CurrentUser,
Text = "Hi, I'm having trouble accessing my account.",
},
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, -7),
Author = CurrentUser,
Text = "It says my password is incorrect."
},
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, -7),
Author = SupportAgent,
Text = "I can help you with that. Can you please confirm your UserID for security purposes?"
},
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, 1),
Author = CurrentUser,
Text = "john.doe1357"
},
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, 1),
Author = SupportAgent,
Text = "✅ Instructions to restore access have been sent to the email address associated with your account."
}
};
public static readonly IEnumerable<Message> MessagesWithAttachments = new[] {
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, -7),
Author = CurrentUser,
Text = "Hi! I'm having trouble accessing my account.\nThe website says my password is incorrect. I'm sending a few screenshots so you can see where I get the error.",
Attachments = new[] {
new MessageAttachment {
Name = "Pic1.png",
Size = 5842,
Url = "../../Content/images/Chat/Pic1.png",
},
new MessageAttachment {
Name = "Pic2.png",
Size = 6083,
Url = "../../Content/images/Chat/Pic2.png",
},
new MessageAttachment {
Name = "Pic3.png",
Size = 6180,
Url = "../../Content/images/Chat/Pic3.png",
}
},
},
new Message {
Timestamp = GetTimestamp(todayDate, -7),
Author = SupportAgent,
Text = "Hello! Thanks for including screenshots. To restore access, please follow instructions in the attached file.\nLet me know if you need anything else.",
Attachments = new[] {
new MessageAttachment {
Name = "Instructions.png",
Size = 5499,
Url = "../../Content/Images/Chat/Instructions.png",
}
},
}
};
}
}
using DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Models.Chat;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.ViewModels {
public class ChatViewModel {
public IEnumerable<Message> Messages { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<Message> MessagesWithAttachments { get; set; }
public ChatUser CurrentUser { get; set; }
public ChatUser SupportAgent { get; set; }
}
}
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
namespace DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Models.Chat
{
public class Message {
[JsonPropertyName("id")]
public string Id { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("timestamp")]
public DateTime Timestamp { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("author")]
public ChatUser Author { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("text")]
public string Text { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("isDeleted")]
public Boolean IsDeleted { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("isEdited")]
public Boolean IsEdited { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("attachments")]
public IEnumerable<MessageAttachment> Attachments { get; set; }
}
}
using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
namespace DevExtreme.MVC.Demos.Models.Chat
{
public class ChatUser {
[JsonPropertyName("id")]
public string Id { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("avatarUrl")]
public string AvatarUrl { get; set; }
}
}
.demo-container {
display: flex;
gap: 20px;
}
.dx-chat {
height: 710px;
}
.dx-avatar {
border: 1px solid var(--dx-color-border);
}
Messages
To specify an initial message, you can populate the items array (shown in this demo) or use a dataSource.
Use the following API to render new messages:
- If using items, update the array with the new message.
- If using a dataSource, implement load and insert operations.
Users
To specify the chat owner, set the user property. Owner messages align to the right (or left in RTL mode) and do not display a name or avatar.
Each message includes information about the sender (author): name, avatar, and alternative avatar text. If no avatar is set, the user's initials are displayed instead.
Events
If a user enters a message, the Chat component raises the messageEntered event. Use the event handler to process the message. For example, you can display the message in the message feed and send the message to the server for storage.
When users start or complete text entry, our Chat component raises typingStart and typingEnd events. Use these events to manage the typingUsers array. The DevExtreme Chat uses this array to display a list of active users.