SDK Configuration

Install time configurations

unityGameObject

The unityGameObject option is used to tell the Helpshift SDK which Game object to send the Unity messages to. Callbacks such as didReceiveInAppNotificationCount and didReceiveNotificationCount will be called on the object specified via this option.

For example

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
var configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("unityGameObject", "Cube");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

notificationIcon

By default the application icon is used as the notification icon. You can customize the notification icon using the config in the install call.

You do not need to specify the file extension for the icon image. If your icon image's file name is "icon.png", you just need to pass "icon" to helpshift config and add the "icon.png" file at <project-dir>/Assets/Plugins/Android/helpshift/res/drawable.

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
var configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("notificationIcon", <icon-image-file-name>);
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

largeNotificationIcon

By default the application icon is used as the notification icon. If you want to specify the large notification icon also to show up in the notification tray, you can specify that using the config in the install call.

You do not need to specify the file extension for the icon image. If your icon image's file name is "large_icon.png", you just need to pass "large_icon" to helpshift config and add the "large_icon.png" file at <project-dir>/Assets/Plugins/Android/helpshift/res/drawable.

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
var configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("largeNotificationIcon", <large-icon-image-file-name>);
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

notificationSound

By default the default device notification sound is used for helpshift notifications. You can customize the notification sound using the config in the install call.

You do not need to specify the file extension for the sound file. If your sound file name is "notificaton_sound.mp3", you just need to pass "notification_sound" to helpshift config and and add the "notificaton_sound.mp3" file at <project-dir>/Assets/Plugins/Android/helpshift/res/raw.

For example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
var configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("notificationSound", <sound-file-name>);
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

Notification channels

Starting from Android Oreo, Helpshift notifications will create a default channel named In-app Support. If you want to customize the name and description for the default channel, you can do so by using the following resources in your strings.xml file:

<string name="hs__default_notification_channel_name">Example Support Name</string>
<string name="hs__default_notification_channel_desc">Example Support Description</string>

If you want to customize the notification channels, you can create your own custom channels and provide their channel IDs using the following config keys:

• supportNotificationChannelId
• campaignsNotificationChannelId

For Example-

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
var configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("supportNotificationChannelId", "<support-channel-id>");
configMap.Add("campaignsNotificationChannelId", "<campaigns-channel-id>");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

enableDialogUIForTablets

If enableDialogUIForTablets is set to yes, Helpshift SDK will be opened in Dialog mode on tablet devices. show me

For Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("enableDialogUIForTablets", "yes");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

enableInAppNotification

If you do not want the in-app notification support provided by the Helpshift SDK, you can set the flag to false. The default value of this flag is yes i.e., in app notification will be enabled.

Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("enableInAppNotification", "yes");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

enableDefaultFallbackLanguage

You can enable or disable the SDK default fallback language when showing FAQs using this flag. When set to false, the Helpshift SDK will not fallback to the default language that is English, when showing FAQs.

Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("enableDefaultFallbackLanguage", "yes");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

Using Custom Fonts

Add the font to your assets folder of the android app. Pass the font location relative to the assets folder during SDK "install" api call. If the font file DancingScript-Regular.ttf lies in the fonts folder inside the assets folder, then your path is fonts/DancingScript-Regular.ttf.

For Example:

private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("font", "fonts/DancingScript-Regular.ttf");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

Test the font in simulator. Errors in font names are ignored by the SDK —

screenOrientation

The screen orientation of Helpshift SDK screens can be fixed by setting the screenOrientation to constants available in the ActivityInfo class. For example, you may want to fix the orientation to ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT for mobile users and ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE for tablet users.

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("screenOrientation", 1);
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

enableLogging

Upon setting enableLogging to yes, Helpshift SDK logs will be generated in the Android logcat. Turning on logging can help developers resolve common integration issues.

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("enableLogging", "yes");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

enableInboxPolling

Controls whether the application should poll for Campaign messages in addition to relying on push notifications. If your application does not use this option, the SDK will use both push notifications and polling to receive Campaign messages. If you want to use only push notifications for Campaigns, set this options to no.

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("enableInboxPolling", "yes");
help.install("apiKey","domainName","appId", configMap);

API Options

enableContactUs

The enableContactUs flag controls the visibility of Contact Us button -

To override the default value you can pass the arguments in the options dictionary. Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, string> configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("enableContactUs", CONTACT_US_AFTER_VIEWING_FAQS);
help.showFAQs(configMap);

This flag has no effect for the showConversation API call, since there is no Contact Us button in the conversation screen.

gotoConversationAfterContactUs

The gotoConversationAfterContactUs flag will determine whether the user lands up in the conversation screen after starting a new conversation via "Contact Us". This only makes sense if the enableContactUs flag takes on the default value.

Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, string> configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("gotoConversationAfterContactUs", "yes");
help.showConversation(configMap);

requireEmail

• Flag: requireEmail
• Values: "yes" / "no"
• Default: "no"

The requireEmail flag will determine whether the email field is compulsory while starting a new conversation.

Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, string> configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("requireEmail", "yes");
help.showConversation(configMap);

hideNameAndEmail

The hideNameAndEmail flag will hide the name and email fields when the user starts a new conversation.

When the flag is set to yes the name and email fields will be hidden. If set to no the default behaviour will resume.

For example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("hideNameAndEmail", "yes");
help.showFAQs(configMap);

If the requireEmail flag is set to yes and email is not available to the SDK, then hideNameAndEmail flag will be ignored.

Interaction with Helpshift settings on agent dashboard

If "New Issue Forwarding" is ON then this flag will be ignored when name and email are not available to the SDK. You can use the setNameAndEmail API, to supply the SDK with name and email in this case.

If "Allow anonymous issues" is ON, under app settings in the agent dashboard, then this flag will be ignored.

conversationPrefillText

The conversationPrefillText API option will prefill a new conversation description, with the supplied string. This is useful where you might want your users to send you diagnostic information in the conversation description, for example if the app hits an exception, etc.

Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
string preFillString = exceptionData;
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("conversationPrefillText", preFillString);
help.showConversation(configMap);

enableFullPrivacy

In scenarios where the user attaches objectionable content in the screenshots, it becomes a huge COPPA concern. The enableFullPrivacy option will help solve this problem.

If enableFullPrivacy option is set to YES, HS SDK does the following:

1. Disables user-initiated screenshots - players cannot send images without being requested by an Agent.
2. Does not collect any of the following personal information:
   • Map with "private-data" key inside custom meta-data.
   • Country code.
   • Carrier name.

To send personally identifiable information through custom meta-data, the information must be added inside a dictionary with a "private-data" key. If this option is set to YES, this data will be removed when the user starts a new conversation.

Example:

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("enableFullPrivacy", "yes");
help.showConversation(configMap);

Best Practices

In your registration process, ask your user for his/her age. If the user's age is 13 or younger, set enableFullPrivacy to YES. This way, you comply with COPPA for your children users, but collect valuable user and device data for your other users.

showSearchOnNewConversation

If showSearchOnNewConversation flag is set to yes, the user will be taken to a view which shows the search results relevant to the conversation text that he has entered upon clicking the 'Send' button. This is to avoid tickets which are already answered in the FAQs. The user will still be able to start a new conversation with the same text. He can also go through one of the FAQs and find a solution to his query, and exit the session without submitting a ticket.

Default value is no, ie., this feature will not be enabled unless you explicitly pass yes for this flag.

For example

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("showSearchOnNewConversation", "yes");
help.showConversation(configMap);

showConversationResolutionQuestion

For v4.0+

This SDK configuration is deprecated with v4.0+ and default value will be treated as False. If you want to use this feature, you can turn the feature on and off ("Resolution Question") from the In-App Configuration page.(Settings > App settings) show me

For Older SDK versions 3.0 and below, please read the following:

By default the Helpshift SDK will not show the conversation resolution question to the user, to confirm if the conversation was resolved. On resolving the conversation from the admin dashboard will now take the user directly to the "Start a new conversation" state. If you want to enable the conversation resolution question, set showConversationResolutionQuestion to yes.

Default value is no, ie., this feature will not be enabled unless you explicitly pass yes for this flag.

Example :

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("showConversationResolutionQuestion", "yes");
help.showConversation(configMap);

customContactUsFlows

This configuration allows you to override the Contact Us buttons inside the Helpshift SDK and show Guided Issue Filing when a user taps on the Contact Us buttons.

Example :

Let’s say you want the users to see a particular FAQ section, a single FAQ and 2 different Contact Us flows with different prefill texts when they tap the Contact Us buttons within the Helpshift SDK. In this case, you would configure the showHelp button (a button which triggers Helpshift SDK) in the following way :

using Helpshift;
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public void showHelp() {

    Dictionary<string, object> faqSectionFlow = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    faqSectionFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowType, HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTypeFaqSection);
    faqSectionFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTitle, "FAQ section");
    faqSectionFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowData, "1509");

    Dictionary<string, object> faqFlow = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    faqFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowType, HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTypeSingleFaq);
    faqFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTitle, "FAQ");
    faqFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowData, "2998");

    Dictionary<string, object> showConversationFlow1 = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    showConversationFlow1.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowType, HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTypeConversation);
    showConversationFlow1.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTitle, "Converse 1");
    Dictionary<string, object> conversationConfig1 = new Dictionary<string, object>() { {"conversationPrefillText" , "Contact Us about our app"} };
    showConversationFlow1.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowConfig, conversationConfig1);

    Dictionary<string, object> showConversationFlow2 = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    showConversationFlow2.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowType, HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTypeConversation);
    showConversationFlow2.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTitle, "Converse 2");
    Dictionary<string, object> conversationConfig2 = new Dictionary<string, object>() { {"conversationPrefillText" , "Contact Us about in-app purchases"} };
    showConversationFlow2.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowConfig, conversationConfig2);

    Dictionary<string, object>[] flows =  new Dictionary<string, object>[] {
        faqSectionFlow,
        faqFlow,
        showConversationFlow1,
        showConversationFlow2
    };

    Dictionary<string, object> faqConfig = new Dictionary<string, object>();

    faqConfig.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsCustomContactUsFlows, flows);
    _support.showFAQs (faqConfig);
}

Anytime the Helpshift SDK is presented via showHelp with this configuration, the Contact Us buttons in the SDK will redirect to Guided Issue Filing with the flows provided in the customContactUsOptions list.

Once a particular flow is selected, the subsequent Contact Us buttons will redirect to nested customContactUsFlow if configured else to default contact us screen.

Custom flows can be nested by passing another custom flows configuration while creating a flow.

Example :

Let’s say you want to configure singleFAQFlow in the above example to show showConversationFlow1 and showConversationFlow2 through the Contact Us buttons inside it. In this case, you would configure the showHelp button (a button which triggers Helpshift SDK) in the following way :

using Helpshift;
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public void showHelp() {

    Dictionary<string, object> showConversationFlow1 = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    showConversationFlow1.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowType, HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTypeConversation);
    showConversationFlow1.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTitle, "Converse 1");
    Dictionary<string, object> conversationConfig1 = new Dictionary<string, object>() { {"conversationPrefillText" , "Contact Us about our app"} };
    showConversationFlow1.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowConfig, conversationConfig1);

    Dictionary<string, object> showConversationFlow2 = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    showConversationFlow2.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowType, HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTypeConversation);
    showConversationFlow2.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTitle, "Converse 2");
    Dictionary<string, object> conversationConfig2 = new Dictionary<string, object>() { {"conversationPrefillText" , "Contact Us about in-app purchases"} };
    showConversationFlow2.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowConfig, conversationConfig2);

    Dictionary<string, object> faqFlow = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    faqFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowType, HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTypeSingleFaq);
    faqFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowTitle, "FAQ");
    faqFlow.Add(HelpshiftSdk.HsFlowData, "2998");
    faqFlow.Add((HelpshiftSdk.HsCustomContactUsFlows,, new Dictionary<string, object>[] {showConversationFlow1, showConversationFlow2});

    _support.showFAQs (faqFlow);
}

With this configuration, the Contact Us buttons in singleFAQFlow View will redirect to Guided Issue Filing with showConversationFlow1 and showConversationFlow2.

showConversationInfoScreen

The showConversationInfoScreen flag will determine if users can see the Conversation info screen for an ongoing Conversation. If set to "yes", the Conversation info icon will be shown in the active Conversation screen. Clicking on it will show the Conversation info screen.

Example :

private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, object> configMap = new Dictionary<string, object>();
configMap.Add("showConversationInfoScreen", "yes");
help.showConversation(configMap);

enableTypingIndicator

A graphical typing indicator is shown to the end user if an Agent is currently replying to the same Conversation. The enableTypingIndicator flag will enable/disable the aforementioned indicator.

Example :

using Helpshift;
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private HelpshiftSdk help;
this.help = HelpshiftSdk.getInstance();
Dictionary<string, string> configMap = new Dictionary<string, string>();
configMap.Add("enableTypingIndicator", "yes");
help.showConversation(configMap);

Configuration Summary

Flexible permissions adaptive to Android M and older versions

Starting from Android 6.0 (API level 23), users grant permissions to apps while the app is running, not when they install the app. The storage permissions can be removed from AndroidManifest.xml in case you do not want to use them. You can remove the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission with the following line in your final AndroidManifest.xml file:

    <uses-permission android:name=“android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE” tools:node=“remove”/>

Instructions on how to override the AndroidManifest.xml file for Unity project is documented here.

The Helpshift SDK has 4 features that require storage permissions. The following is the behavior for these 4 features based on whether the permission is present in AndroidManifest.xml or not.

User side attach screenshot flow

Starting from Helpshift SDK v2.9.0, user's screenshots can be attached independent of the storage permission being present in the manifest.

Agent side attachment downloads

Image caching in single question screen

Profile persistence across uninstalls for multi login