ChatElementFactory

The ChatFactory class provides means for changing the default visual elements and data items in the RadChat control. If you need to customize any of the Chat UI's elements or items you can create a descendant of the ChatFactory class, override the corresponding methods and replace the default elements with custom ones.

Depending on the type of the BaseChatDataItem, the possible visual item elements are listed below:

Data item	Visual item element
TextMessageDataItem	TextMessageItemElement
CardMessageDataItem	CardMessageItemElement
CarouselMessageDataItem	CarouselMessageItemElement
MediaMessageDataItem	MediaMessageItemElement
ChatTimeSeparatorDataItem	ChatTimeSeparatorItemElement

Depending on the type of the BaseChatCardDataItem, the possible visual card elements are listed below:

Card item	Visual card element
ChatFlightCardDataItem	ChatFlightCardElement
ChatImageCardDataItem	ChatImageCardElement
ChatProductCardDataItem	ChatProductCardElement
ChatWeatherCardDataItem	ChatWeatherCardElement

For the ToolbarActionDataItem, the visual element is ToolbarActionElement and for the SuggestedActionDataItem, the visual element is SuggestedActionElement.

The following example demonstrates how to create a custom ChatFactory, override the CreateItemElement, CreateCardElement, CreateToolbarActionElement, CreateSuggestedActionElement and CreateDataItem methods and create the desired visual element or data item considering the required type. It illustrates how the default elements and data items are created actually. If you need to implement your own, feel free to create a descendant of the desired element/item introducing the required functionality. Then, replace it in the proper method.

Creating a custom ChatFactory

public void SetCustomFactory()
{
    this.radChat1.ChatElement.ChatFactory = new CustomChatFactory();
}
public class CustomChatFactory : ChatFactory
{
    public override BaseChatItemElement CreateItemElement(BaseChatDataItem item)
    {
        if (item.GetType() == typeof(TextMessageDataItem))
        {
            return new TextMessageItemElement();
        }
        else if (item.GetType() == typeof(CardMessageDataItem))
        {
            return new CardMessageItemElement();
        }
        else if (item.GetType() == typeof(CarouselMessageDataItem))
        {
            return new CarouselMessageItemElement();
        }
        else if (item.GetType() == typeof(MediaMessageDataItem))
        {
            return new MediaMessageItemElement();
        }
        else if (item.GetType() == typeof(ChatTimeSeparatorDataItem))
        {
            return new ChatTimeSeparatorItemElement();
        }
        return base.CreateItemElement(item);
    }
    public override BaseChatCardElement CreateCardElement(BaseChatCardDataItem cardDataItem)
    {
        if (cardDataItem.GetType() == typeof(ChatFlightCardDataItem))
        {
            return new ChatFlightCardElement(cardDataItem as ChatFlightCardDataItem);
        }
        else if (cardDataItem.GetType() == typeof(ChatImageCardDataItem))
        {
            return new ChatImageCardElement(cardDataItem as ChatImageCardDataItem);
        }
        else if (cardDataItem.GetType() == typeof(ChatProductCardDataItem))
        {
            return new ChatProductCardElement(cardDataItem as ChatProductCardDataItem);
        }
        else if (cardDataItem.GetType() == typeof(ChatWeatherCardDataItem))
        {
            return new ChatWeatherCardElement(cardDataItem as ChatWeatherCardDataItem);
        }
        return base.CreateCardElement(cardDataItem);
    }
    public override ToolbarActionElement CreateToolbarActionElement(ToolbarActionDataItem item)
    {
        return new ToolbarActionElement(item);
    }
    public override SuggestedActionElement CreateSuggestedActionElement(SuggestedActionDataItem item)
    {
        return new SuggestedActionElement(item);
    }
    public override BaseChatDataItem CreateDataItem(ChatMessage message)
    {
        ChatTextMessage textMessage = message as ChatTextMessage;
        if (textMessage != null)
        {
            return new TextMessageDataItem(textMessage);
        }
        ChatMediaMessage mediaMessage = message as ChatMediaMessage;
        if (mediaMessage != null)
        {
            return new MediaMessageDataItem(mediaMessage);
        }
        ChatCardMessage cardMessage = message as ChatCardMessage;
        if (cardMessage != null)
        {
            return new CardMessageDataItem(cardMessage);
        }
        ChatCarouselMessage carouselMessage = message as ChatCarouselMessage;
        if (carouselMessage != null)
        {
            return new CarouselMessageDataItem(carouselMessage);
        }
        return base.CreateDataItem(message);
    }
}

Public Sub SetCustomFactory()
    Me.radChat1.ChatElement.ChatFactory = New CustomChatFactory()
End Sub
Public Class CustomChatFactory
    Inherits ChatFactory
    Public Overrides Function CreateItemElement(ByVal item As BaseChatDataItem) As BaseChatItemElement
        If item.[GetType]() = GetType(TextMessageDataItem) Then
            Return New TextMessageItemElement()
        ElseIf item.[GetType]() = GetType(CardMessageDataItem) Then
            Return New CardMessageItemElement()
        ElseIf item.[GetType]() = GetType(CarouselMessageDataItem) Then
            Return New CarouselMessageItemElement()
        ElseIf item.[GetType]() = GetType(MediaMessageDataItem) Then
            Return New MediaMessageItemElement()
        ElseIf item.[GetType]() = GetType(ChatTimeSeparatorDataItem) Then
            Return New ChatTimeSeparatorItemElement()
        End If
        Return MyBase.CreateItemElement(item)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function CreateCardElement(ByVal cardDataItem As BaseChatCardDataItem) As BaseChatCardElement
        If cardDataItem.[GetType]() = GetType(ChatFlightCardDataItem) Then
            Return New ChatFlightCardElement(TryCast(cardDataItem, ChatFlightCardDataItem))
        ElseIf cardDataItem.[GetType]() = GetType(ChatImageCardDataItem) Then
            Return New ChatImageCardElement(TryCast(cardDataItem, ChatImageCardDataItem))
        ElseIf cardDataItem.[GetType]() = GetType(ChatProductCardDataItem) Then
            Return New ChatProductCardElement(TryCast(cardDataItem, ChatProductCardDataItem))
        ElseIf cardDataItem.[GetType]() = GetType(ChatWeatherCardDataItem) Then
            Return New ChatWeatherCardElement(TryCast(cardDataItem, ChatWeatherCardDataItem))
        End If
        Return MyBase.CreateCardElement(cardDataItem)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function CreateToolbarActionElement(ByVal item As ToolbarActionDataItem) As ToolbarActionElement
        Return New ToolbarActionElement(item)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function CreateSuggestedActionElement(ByVal item As SuggestedActionDataItem) As SuggestedActionElement
        Return New SuggestedActionElement(item)
    End Function
    Public Overrides Function CreateDataItem(ByVal message As ChatMessage) As BaseChatDataItem
        Dim textMessage As ChatTextMessage = TryCast(message, ChatTextMessage)
        If textMessage IsNot Nothing Then
            Return New TextMessageDataItem(textMessage)
        End If
        Dim mediaMessage As ChatMediaMessage = TryCast(message, ChatMediaMessage)
        If mediaMessage IsNot Nothing Then
            Return New MediaMessageDataItem(mediaMessage)
        End If
        Dim cardMessage As ChatCardMessage = TryCast(message, ChatCardMessage)
        If cardMessage IsNot Nothing Then
            Return New CardMessageDataItem(cardMessage)
        End If
        Dim carouselMessage As ChatCarouselMessage = TryCast(message, ChatCarouselMessage)
        If carouselMessage IsNot Nothing Then
            Return New CarouselMessageDataItem(carouselMessage)
        End If
        Return MyBase.CreateDataItem(message)
    End Function
End Class

See Also

• How to Select and Copy Text in Chat Messages
• Messages
• Cards
• Overlays
• Suggested Actions