Efox.Notify.ChatBot.AspNet4 1.0.7

Notifier.ChatBot.AspNet4

Notifier ChatBot for ASP.NET Framework 4.x applications.

This package provides a click-only cascading chatbot and a matching training page for:

• ASP.NET MVC
• ASP.NET Web Forms
• any other ASP.NET Framework 4.x site that can consume System.Web assets

What you get

• Notifier/Api.ashx
• Notifier/Chat.aspx
• Notifier/Train.aspx
• Views/Shared/_NotifierChatBot.cshtml
• Views/Notifier/Chat.cshtml
• Views/Notifier/Train.cshtml
• WebForms/NotifyChatBot.ascx
• Notifier/assets/notifier-chatbot.css
• Notifier/assets/notifier-chatbot.js
• SQL schema bootstrap helpers
• SQL tables and stored procedures with the NotifyTable_ and NotifyProc_ prefixes

The primary experience is the floating widget popup that can appear on any page. The dedicated Chat.aspx and Train.aspx pages are support views for full-screen access and admin training.

How it works

The chatbot uses a cascading menu tree instead of free typing.

• The user clicks an option
• The selected option either opens the next question or returns a plain text answer
• The flow can go up to 5 levels deep
• Each question can show up to 3 options
• Duplicate menu labels are blocked within the same branch
• If no answer is found, a default fallback message is shown

Configuration

Add these keys to web.config:

<appSettings>
  <add key="Notifier_ConnectionStringName" value="Realstring" />
  <add key="Notifier_ThemeColor" value="#0e79b2" />
  <add key="Notifier_ThemeColorDark" value="#095f8c" />
  <add key="Notifier_DefaultFallbackMessage" value="Sorry, I could not find an answer for that." />
  <add key="Notifier_ApiPath" value="~/Notifier/Api.ashx" />
  <add key="Notifier_ChatPagePath" value="~/Notifier/Chat.aspx" />
  <add key="Notifier_TrainPagePath" value="~/Notifier/Train.aspx" />
  <add key="Notifier_MaxDepth" value="5" />
  <add key="Notifier_MaxOptionsPerNode" value="3" />
</appSettings>

The connection string name is taken from:

<connectionStrings>
  <add name="Realstring" connectionString="..." providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>

Startup

No host-app startup code is required for normal use.

The package initializes itself when the chat page, training page, handler, or widget is used.

MVC usage

Place the widget in your shared layout:

@Html.Partial("_NotifierChatBot")

This adds the small chat launcher to the page using the shared theme color.

To open the full chat or training screens, use the pages installed by the package:

• /Notifier/Chat.aspx
• /Notifier/Train.aspx

If your app wants extensionless URLs such as /Notifier/Chat and /Notifier/Train, map them in your existing route setup. That is optional.

Web Forms usage

Use the installed pages directly:

• ~/Notifier/Chat.aspx
• ~/Notifier/Train.aspx

For the floating chatbot on master pages or content pages, register the control:

<%@ Register Src="~/WebForms/NotifyChatBot.ascx" TagPrefix="notify" TagName="ChatBot" %>
<notify:ChatBot runat="server" ID="NotifyChatBot1" />

You can place links to those pages anywhere in the host app and protect them with your own role checks.

Training page workflow

The training page is for building the cascade tree.

1. Create the root question.
2. Add up to 3 options under that question.
3. Each option must either:
   • point to another question, or
   • return a plain text answer
4. Continue until the tree reaches the required depth, up to 5 levels.

The theme color used by training and chatting is shared, so the admin page and the widget stay visually aligned.

Database objects

The package creates these SQL objects:

Tables:

• NotifyTable_BotNode
• NotifyTable_BotOption

Stored procedures:

• NotifyProc_EnsureSchema
• NotifyProc_GetBootstrap
• NotifyProc_GetTree
• NotifyProc_GetChildren
• NotifyProc_UpsertNode
• NotifyProc_UpsertOption
• NotifyProc_DeleteBranch

Rules enforced by the package

• SQL Server only
• click-only conversation flow
• max 5 levels
• max 3 options per node
• no duplicate question text within the same parent branch
• no duplicate option text within the same question
• no answer guessing
• fallback message when no answer exists

Suggested first test

1. Install the package into a test ASP.NET Framework 4.x app.
2. Add the Notifier_* appSettings values.
3. Confirm the connection string name exists.
4. Open /Notifier/Chat.aspx.
5. Open /Notifier/Train.aspx.
6. Create one root question and a few child options.
7. Add @Html.Partial("_NotifierChatBot") to the MVC layout or open the Web Forms pages directly.

Notes

• The host app keeps authentication and authorization.
• The package only provides the chatbot UI and data logic.
• The default theme color is #0e79b2.