Mention users

The Mentions feature lets users tag specific individuals within a chat or conversation.

Chat SDK lets one user tag another user by adding @ and typing at least three first letters of the username they want to mention. As a result, they get a list of suggested usernames when typing such a suggestion, like @Mar.

The list of returned users depends on your app configuration - these can be either all members in the channel where you write a message or all users of your app (user data taken from the Admin Portal keyset for your app). The number of returned suggested users for the mention also depends on your app configuration and can show up to 100 suggestions. The names of the suggested users can consist of multiple words and contain up to 200 characters.

You can configure your app to let users mention up to 100 users in a single message (default value is 10) and configure mentions to be shown as links or display user details when highlighted (for example, by hovering over them).

For @ to be treated as a mention in the message, you must first map a given @ character to a specific user. Without it, @ will be treated as a regular string and will be shown as plain text.

You can implement mentions in your app in a similar way you would implement channel referencing.

Requires App Context

To mention users from a keyset, you must enable App Context for your app's keyset in the Admin Portal.

A sample implementation of mentions could include the following:

  • Configure how a message with mentions (called "draft message") should behave - what should be the user metadata source and what should be the maximum number of mentions allowed in a single message.
  • Add the onChange listener for the message input to track if there are any mentions in a message to handle.
  • Decide how many suggested users you want to show after typing the required string (@ and at least three characters).
  • Add users to the list of mentioned users or remove users when at least one character of the mention is deleted.
  • Handle draft messages publishing (text with mentioned user metadata).
  • Optionally, show mentions in the published message as links and show user details when highlighting mentions.

Interactive demo​

Check how a sample implementation could look like in a React app showcasing user mentions and channel references.

Want to implement something similar?

Read how to do that or go straight to the demo's source code.

Test it out​

Type in @Mar or @Man in the input field and select one of the suggested users to mention.

Create message with mentions​

createMessageDraft() creates a message draft with mentioned users.

Whenever you mention a user, this user is added to the list of all mentioned users inside the MessageDraft object. This draft contains the text content and all mentioned users and their names from the selected user metadata source (all channel members or all users on the app's keyset). Once you send this message (send()), that information gets stored in the message metadata.

Method signature​

Head over to the Drafts documentation for details on the method signature, input, and output parameters.

Basic usage​

Create a message mentioning channel members @James, Sarah and @Twain, Mark.

const newMessageDraft = this.channel.createMessageDraft({ userSuggestionSource: "channel" })
const suggestedUsers = []
const lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex = -1

async handleInput(text: string) {
const response = await newMessageDraft.onChange(text)
suggestedUsers = response.users.suggestedUsers
lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex = response.users.nameOccurrenceIndex
}

handleInput("Hello @James, Sarah")
newMessageDraft.addMentionedUser(suggestedUsers[0], lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex)
handleInput("@Twain, Mark")
newMessageDraft.addMentionedUser(suggestedUsers[0], lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex)

Track mentions​

onChange() attached to the input message lets you control if there are any @ in the text followed by at least three letters.

If there are @, you can configure your app to return suggested users whose names match the typed text and later add these suggested users to the correct @.

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Under the hood

Method signature​

This method has the following signature:

messageDraft.onChange(text: string): Promise<{
    users: {
        nameOccurrenceIndex: number;
        suggestedUsers: User[];
    };
    channels: {
        channelOccurrenceIndex: number;
        suggestedChannels: Channel[];
    };
}>

Input​

ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
textstringYesn/aTyped in a message containing @ that is mapped to a specific user's name (or # for a channel reference).

Output​

ParameterTypeDescription
Promise<>objectReturned object containing these fields: users (for @mentions) and channels (for #references).
usersobjectReturned object containing these fields for mentioned users: nameOccurrenceIndex and suggestedUsers.
 → nameOccurrenceIndexnumberSpecific occurrence of @ in the message (like 3) that is mapped to a given user.
 → suggestedUsersUser[]List of users that match the typed text after @, like Mark for @Mar.
channelsobjectReturned object containing these fields for referenced channels: channelOccurrenceIndex and suggestedChannels.
 → channelOccurrenceIndexnumberSpecific occurrence of # in the message (like 3) that is mapped to a given channel.
 → suggestedChannelsChannel[]List of channels that match the typed text after #, like Support for #Sup.

Basic usage​

Track mentions for messages on the current channel.

const newMessageDraft = this.channel?.createMessageDraft()

  async handleInput(text: string) {
    const response = await newMessageDraft.onChange(text)

    const suggestedUsers = response.users.suggestedUsers
    const lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex = response.users.nameOccurrenceIndex
  }

Get user suggestions​

getUserSuggestions() returns all suggested users that match the provided 3-letter string from a selected data source (channel members or global users on your app's keyset).

For example, if you type Sam, you will get the list of users starting with Sam like Samantha or Samir. The default number of returned suggested usernames is 10 which is configurable to a maximum value of 100.

Method signature​

This method can be called on two Chat SDK objects and has the following signature:

  • Called on the Channel object

    channel.getUserSuggestions(
      text: string,
      {
        limit: number
      }
    ): Promise<Membership[]>

  • Called on the Chat object

    chat.getUserSuggestions(
      text: string,
      {
        limit: number
      }
    ): Promise<User[]>

Input​

ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
textstringYesn/aAt least a 3-letter string typed in after @ with the user name you want to mention.
limitnumberYes10Maximum number of returned usernames that match the typed 3-letter suggestion. The default value is set to 10, and the maximum is 100.

Output​

TypeReturned on Channel objectReturned on Chat objectDescription
Promise<Membership[]>YesNoReturned array of Membership objects.
Promise<User[]>NoYesReturned array of User objects.

Basic usage​

Return five channel users whose names start with Mar.

chat.getUserSuggestions(
  "@Mar, can you look at this ticket?",
  { limit: 5  }
)

Add mentioned user​

For @ to be treated as a mention in the message, you must first map a given @ character to a specific user. Use the addMentionedUser() method to create this mapping. Without it, @ will be treated as a regular string and will be shown as plain text.

Method signature​

This method has the following signature:

messageDraft.addMentionedUser(
  user: User,
  nameOccurrenceIndex: number
): void

Input​

ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
userUserYesn/aUser object that you want to map to a given occurrence of @ in the message.
nameOccurrenceIndexnumberYesn/aSpecific occurrence of @ in the message (like 3) that you want to map to a given user.

Output​

TypeDescription
voidMethod returns no output data.

Basic usage​

Map @Twain, Mark to the third @ in the message.

const response = await messageDraft.onChange("Hello @twai")
// let's say it returns { suggestedUsers: [user Mark Twain, someOtherUser...], nameOccurrenceIndex: 0 }
messageDraft.addMentionedUser(response.suggestedUsers[0], response.nameOccurrenceIndex)

Remove mentioned user​

Use the removeMentionedUser() method to remove the mapping between a specific occurrence of @Some User in the message and a given user. Once you remove at least one character from a mention, this mention is automatically deleted, and @Some Us becomes a regular string.

Method signature​

This method has the following signature:

messageDraft.removeMentionedUser(
  nameOccurrenceIndex: number
): void

Input​

ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
nameOccurrenceIndexnumberYesn/aSpecific occurrence of @ in the message (like 3) that you want to unmap from a given user.

Output​

TypeDescription
voidMethod returns no output data.

Basic usage​

Remove @Twain, Mark from the third @ in the message.

messageDraft.removeMentionedUser(3)

Send message with mentions​

send() publishes the text message with mentioned users and emits events of type mention.

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Under the hood

Method signature​

Head over to the Drafts documentation for details on the method signature, input, and output parameters.

Basic usage​

Send the previously drafted message in which you mention users @James, Sarah and @Twain, Mark.

const newMessageDraft = this.channel.createMessageDraft({ userSuggestionSource: "channel" })
const suggestedUsers = []
const lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex = -1

async handleInput(text: string) {
  const response = await newMessageDraft.onChange(text)
  suggestedUsers = response.users.suggestedUsers
  lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex = response.users.nameOccurrenceIndex
}

handleInput("Hello @James, Sarah")
newMessageDraft.addMentionedUser(suggestedUsers[0], lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex)
handleInput("Hello @James, Sarah and @Twain, Mark")
newMessageDraft.addMentionedUser(suggestedUsers[0], lastAffectedNameOccurrenceIndex)

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Get mentioned users​

Use the mentionedUsers getter method to return all users mentioned in a message.

Method signature​

This method has the following signature:

message.mentionedUsers: {
  id: string;
  name: string
}[]

Properties​

PropertyTypeDescription
mentionedUsersarrayMethod can return a value of any type.

Properties​

PropertyTypeDescription
objectarrayList of key-value pairs that stand for specific mentioned users.
 → idstringUnique identifier of the mentioned user.
 → namestringName of the mentioned user.

Basic usage​

Check if the last message on the support channel contains any mentions.

// reference the "support" channel
const channel = await chat.getChannel("support")
// get the last message on the channel
const lastMessage = (await channel.getHistory({count: 1})).messages[0]
// check if it contains any user mentions
message.mentionedUsers

Show user details on highlighting​

getHighlightedMention() returns the specific user details when moving the cursor above the mentioned user or returns null if you move the cursor away.

Method signature​

This method has the following signature:

messageDraft.getHighlightedMention(selectionStart: number): {
    mentionedUser: null;
    nameOccurrenceIndex: number;
} | {
    mentionedUser: User;
    nameOccurrenceIndex: number;
}

Input​

ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
selectionStartnumberYesn/aPosition of the cursor above the given mention (@) in the message.

Output​

ParameterTypeDescription
mentionedUserUser or nullMentioned user mapped to the number of mention (nameOccurrenceIndex) in the message, or a null value if no user is returned.
nameOccurrenceIndexnumberSpecific occurrence of @ in the message (like 3) that is mapped to a given user.

Basic usage​

Highlight a mention (if any) of the current caret position.

handleCaret(event: any) {
  this.currentlyHighlightedMention = this.newMessageDraft.getHighlightedMention(
    this.userInput?.nativeElement.selectionStart
  )
}

getMessageElements() renders a user mention (like @Twain, Mark) as a clickable link in the final, published message. If you want to customize the way these mentions render, you can create custom functions.

This is the same method that lets you render plain or text links or show referenced channels as links.

Method signature​

Head over to the Links documentation for details on the method signature, input, and output parameters.

Basic usage​

Show all linked mentions in a message as clickable links.

message.getMessageElements()

Other examples​

Check how you can customize the default behavior of the Chat SDK methods and render the mentions differently.

Add a link to a PubNub profile under each user mention.

const renderMessagePart = (messagePart: MixedTextTypedElement) => {
  if (messagePart.type === "mention") {
    // assuming messagePart.content.id is the user ID
    const pubnubProfileUrl = `https://pubnub.com/profiles/${messagePart.content.id}`;
    return (
      <span>
        <a href={pubnubProfileUrl}>{messagePart.content.name}</a>
        {" "}
        {/* add a space after the user mention */}
      </span>
    );
  }
  return "";
}

Modify display color​

Change the mentions display color from the default blue to green.

const renderMessagePart = (messagePart: MixedTextTypedElement) => {
  if (messagePart.type === "mention") {
    const linkStyle = {
      color: "green", // set the color to green
      // add any other desired styles here, e.g., textDecoration: "underline"
    };

    return (
      <a href={`https://pubnub.com/${messagePart.content.id}`} style={linkStyle}>
        {messagePart.content.name}
      </a>
    );
  }

  return "";
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Show linked mention preview​

getMessagePreview() returns a list of message draft elements, such as: text, user mentions, referenced channels, plain URLs, or text URLs. You can decide how you want to render these elements in your app and format them separately. For example, you could use this method to map user mentions in your message to render as links to these users' profiles.

Method signature​

Head to the Links documentation for details on the method signature, input, and output parameters.

Basic usage​

Show a preview of the linked mention.

messageDraft.getMessagePreview()

For examples of how you can customize linked mention previews, refer to the getMessageElements() method that's similar in structure but is meant for final, published messages.

The getCurrentUserMentions() method lets you collect in one place all instances when a specific user was mentioned by someone - either in channels or threads. You can use this info to create a channel with all user-related mentions.

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Under the hood

Method signature​

This method has the following signature:

chat.getCurrentUserMentions({
    startTimetoken?: string;
    endTimetoken?: string;
    count?: number;
}): Promise<{
    enhancedMentionsData: UserMentionData[];
    isMore: boolean;
}>

Input​

ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
startTimetokenstringNon/aTimetoken delimiting the start of a time slice (exclusive) to pull messages with mentions from. For details, refer to the Fetch History section.
endTimetokenstringNon/aTimetoken delimiting the end of a time slice (inclusive) to pull messages with mentions from. For details, refer to the Fetch History section.
countnumberNo100Number of historical messages with mentions to return in a single call. Since each call returns all attached message reactions by default, the maximum number of returned messages is 100. For more details, refer to the description of the includeMessageActions parameter in the JavaScript SDK docs.

Output​

ParameterTypeDescription
Promise<>objectReturned object containing two fields: enhancedMentionsData and isMore.
 → enhancedMentionsDataUserMentionData[] (ChannelMentionData or ThreadMentionData)Array listing the requested number of historical mention events with a set of information that differ slightly depending on whether you were mentioned in the main (parent) channel or in a thread.

For mentions in the parent channel, the returned ChannelMentionData includes these fields: event (of type mention), channelId where you were mentioned, message that included the mention, userId that mentioned you.

For mentions in threads, the returned ThreadMentionData includes similar fields, the only difference is that you'll get parentChannelId and threadChannelId fields instead of just channelId to clearly differentiate the thread that included the mention from the parent channel in which this thread was created.
 → isMorebooleanInfo whether there are more historical events to pull.

Basic usage​

List the last ten mentions for the current chat user.

await chat.getCurrentUserMentions(
    {
        count: 10
    }
)

Show notifications for mentions​

You can monitor all events emitted when you are mentioned in a parent or thread channel you are a member of using the listenForEvents() method. You can use this method to create pop-up notifications for the users.

Events documentation

To read more about the events of type mention, refer to the Chat events documentation.

Method signature​

This method has the following parameters:

chat.listenForEvents({
    user: string;
    type?: "mention";
    callback: (event: Event<"mention">) => unknown;
}): () => void
Input​
ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
userstringYesChannel equal to user IDChannel to listen for new mention events. In the case of mention events, this channel is always the current user's ID. You can refer to it through chat.currentUser.id.
typestringNon/aType of events. mention is the type defined for all mention-created events.
callbackn/aYesn/aCallback function passed as a parameter. It defines the custom behavior to be executed whenever a mention event type is detected on the specified channel.
channelstringYesChannel equal to user IDThis parameter is deprecated. Use user instead.

Channel to listen for new mention events. In the case of mention events, this channel is always the current user's ID. You can refer to it through chat.currentUser.id.
methodstringNon/aThis parameter is deprecated. You no longer have to provide a method used to send this event type as the method is now passed automatically.

PubNub method used to send events you listen for. Use publish for all events related to reporting.
Output​
TypeDescription
() => voidFunction you can call to disconnect (unsubscribe) from the channel and stop receiving mention events.

Basic usage​

Print a notification for a mention of the current chat user on the support channel.

const chat = {
    listenForEvents: async (config) => {
        const simulateEvent = () => {
            const event = "mention";
            const eventData = {
                channel: "support",
                user: "John",
                message: "You have a new support request!",
            };
            if (event === config.type) {
                config.callback(eventData);
            }
        };

        // simulate a single event when listening starts
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Alternative method

This method is deprecated. Use getMessageElements() instead.

getLinkedText() renders a user mention (like @Twain, Mark) as a clickable link in the final, published message. If you want to customize the way these mentions render, you can create custom functions.

This is the same method that lets you render plain or text links or show referenced channels as links.

Method signature​

Head over to the Links documentation for details on the method signature, input, and output parameters.

Basic usage​

Show all linked mentions in a message as clickable links.

message.getLinkedText()

Other examples​

Check how you can customize the default behavior of the Chat SDK methods and render the mentions differently.

Add a link to a PubNub profile under each user mention.

const renderMessagePart = (messagePart: MixedTextTypedElement) => {
  if (messagePart.type === "mention") {
    // assuming messagePart.content.id is the user ID
    const pubnubProfileUrl = `https://pubnub.com/profiles/${messagePart.content.id}`;
    return (
      <span>
        <a href={pubnubProfileUrl}>{messagePart.content.name}</a>
        {" "}
        {/* add a space after the user mention */}
      </span>
    );
  }
  return "";
}

Modify display color​

Change the mentions display color from the default blue to green.

const renderMessagePart = (messagePart: MixedTextTypedElement) => {
  if (messagePart.type === "mention") {
    const linkStyle = {
      color: "green", // set the color to green
      // add any other desired styles here, e.g., textDecoration: "underline"
    };

    return (
      <a href={`https://pubnub.com/${messagePart.content.id}`} style={linkStyle}>
        {messagePart.content.name}
      </a>
    );
  }

  return "";
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