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Manage user updates

Update user details and receive events whenever someone updates them.

Requires App Context

To store data about users, you must enable App Context for your app's keyset in the Admin Portal.

Update user details​

You can edit the metadata of an existing user with Update() and UpdateUser().

Both of these methods give the same output. The only difference is that you call a given method either on the Chat (UpdateUser()) or the User (Update()) object. Depending on the object, these methods take a different set of input parameters - you either have to specify the user ID you want to update or not because it's already known.

Method signature​

These methods take the following parameters:

  • Update()

    1user.Update(ChatUserData updatedData);
    2

    3public class ChatUserData
    4{
    5    public string Username { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    6    public string ExternalId { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    7    public string ProfileUrl { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    8    public string Email { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    9    public string CustomDataJson { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    10    public string Status { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    11    public string Type { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    12}

  • UpdateUser()

    1chat.UpdateUser(
    2    string Id, 
    3    ChatUserData updatedData
    4)
    5

    6public class ChatUserData
    7{
    8    public string Username { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    9    public string ExternalId { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    10    public string ProfileUrl { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    11    public string Email { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    12    public string CustomDataJson { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    13    public string Status { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    14    public string Type { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    15}

Input​

ParameterRequired in Update()Required in UpdateUser()Description
Id
Type: string
Default:
n/a
No
Yes
Unique user identifier.
 → Username
Type: string
Default:
n/a
No
No
Display name for the user (must not be empty or consist only of whitespace characters).
 → ExternalId
Type: string
Default:
n/a
No
No
User's identifier in an external system. You can use it to match Id with a similar identifier from an external database.
 → ProfileUrl
Type: string
Default:
n/a
No
No
URL of the user's profile picture.
 → Email
Type: string
Default:
n/a
No
No
User's email address.
 → CustomDataJson
Default:
n/a
No
No
JSON providing custom data about the user. Values must be scalar only; arrays or objects are not supported. Filtering App Context data through the custom property is not recommended in SDKs.
 → Status
Type: string
Default:
n/a
No
No
Tag that lets you categorize your app users by their current state. The tag choice is entirely up to you and depends on your use case. For example, you can use status to mark users in your chat app as Invited, Active, or Archived.
 → Type
Type: string
Default:
n/a
No
No
Tag that lets you categorize your app users by their functional roles. The tag choice is entirely up to you and depends on your use case. For example, you can use type to group users by their roles in your app, such as Moderator, Player, or Support-Agent.
API limits

To learn about the maximum length of parameters used to set user metadata, refer to REST API docs.

Output​

Both methods return an awaitable Task.

Sample code​

Change the link to the user's support_agent_15 LinkedIn profile to https://www.linkedin.com/mkelly_vp2.

  • Update()

    1

  • UpdateUser()

    1

Get user updates​

You can receive updates when specific User object(s) are edited or removed on other clients using the following methods:

  • StreamUpdates() checks updates on a single User object and it's tied to an instance of the User class.
  • StreamUpdatesOn() checks updates on a User object list and it's tied to the User class.

Both methods accept a callback function as an argument. The Chat SDK invokes this callback whenever someone changes or removes user metadata.

Underneath, these methods subscribe the current user to a channel and add an objects event listener to receive all objects (known as App Context) events of type uuid.

Change types

For details on ChatEntityChangeType values (Updated and Deleted) and their meaning, see Change types.

Stream update behavior
  • StreamUpdates() enables listening for updates on a single user. Use the OnUserUpdated or OnUpdate events to handle changes.
  • StreamUpdatesOn() has two overloads:
    • StreamUpdatesOn(List<User>, Action<List<User>>) returns the complete list of users you're monitoring each time any change occurs to any of them.
    • StreamUpdatesOn(List<User>, Action<User, ChatEntityChangeType>) returns only the specific user that was updated along with the type of change (Updated or Deleted).
Method naming

Earlier versions used SetListeningForUpdates() to enable streaming. This method has been superseded by StreamUpdates(), though it remains available for backward compatibility.

Method signature​

These methods take the following parameters:

  • StreamUpdates()

    1user.StreamUpdates(bool stream)

  • OnUserUpdated

    1// event on the User entity
    2public event Action<User> OnUserUpdated;
    3// needs a corresponding event handler
    4void EventHandler(User user)

  • OnUpdate

    1// event on the User entity
    2public event Action<User, ChatEntityChangeType> OnUpdate;
    3// needs a corresponding event handler
    4void EventHandler(User user, ChatEntityChangeType changeType)

  • StreamUpdatesOn() (static) - returns all users

    1User.StreamUpdatesOn(
    2    List<User> users,
    3    Action<List<User>> listener
    4)

  • StreamUpdatesOn() (static) - returns individual user with change type

    1User.StreamUpdatesOn(
    2    List<User> users,
    3    Action<User, ChatEntityChangeType> listener
    4)

Input​

ParameterRequired in StreamUpdates()Required in OnUserUpdated / OnUpdateRequired in StreamUpdatesOn()Description
stream
Type: bool
Default:
n/a
Yes
n/a
n/a
Whether to start (true) or stop (false) listening to User object updates.
users
Type: List<User>
Default:
n/a
No
No
Yes
List of User objects for which you want to get updates.
listener
Type: Action<List<User>>
Default:
n/a
No
No
Yes (first overload)
Callback that receives the complete list of all users being monitored each time any change occurs.
listener
Type: Action<User, ChatEntityChangeType>
Default:
n/a
No
No
Yes (second overload)
Callback that receives the specific user that was updated and the type of change.
changeType
Type: ChatEntityChangeType
Default:
n/a
n/a
No (only in OnUpdate)
No (only in second overload)
Enum indicating the type of change: Updated or Deleted.

Output​

These methods don't return a value. Updates are delivered through event handlers or callback functions.

Sample code​

  • StreamUpdates() and OnUserUpdated

    Get updates on support_agent_15.

    1

  • StreamUpdatesOn() with individual user updates

    Get updates on support-agent-1 and support-agent-2. The callback receives each updated user individually along with the change type.

    1
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