I am having a strange problem while making app requests. I understand that when an app request is made through my app, it also puts a notification in the top saying so and so has sent a request from this app. Now, while I can successfully make the request, the bookmark count goes up but I do no get a notification at all. Is there something i could be missing? I'm following instructions from this blog post on Facebook developer site - http://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/464/. I am new to Facebook development so if it's something simple, please point me in the right direction.
Thank You.
I've had issues with this in the past but it looks like Facebook have very recently acknowledged this and brought about correcting the issue.
http://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/540/
App to User Requests now display messages
Previously, when apps sent notifications to users (available by posting a request to the apprequests connection of the User Graph object, as documented in Social Channels), the bookmark counters were incremented, but the message included with the notification was not shown. As of this week, if you send an app to user notification, we will also display the notification message in the apps or games dashboards. This provides app developers a more effective way to communicate application-level updates to users. Note that the ticker count is now shown in bookmarks, hovercards and, for games, in the games ticker. As a result of this change, your users may see an increased number of notification messages from your application.
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Im currently building a simple time based quiz game with Javascript. In this game im looking to enable the option of being able to challenge your facebook friends.
This has naturally had me look at the Facebook (API) tools available that would allow me to interact with the targeted friends to be challenged.
Im wondering if anyone could comment on my approach of the Facebook tools intended to be used and whether there's actually some better approach or even Facebook tools that I have missed and should consider in my setup.
My intention is to interact and engage with the friends I challenge / invite using the most relevant Facebook tools available.
1. FB Login - USER CREATE / LOGIN
The user connects through Facebook login - either creating a
user profile or automatically getting logged in upon visit, if the
fb_uid already exists in the DB. We get access token, email and all the basic stuff.
2. FB Request dialog - CHALLENGE YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS
The user clicks a "Challenge your friends" button and the Facebook Request dialog is initiated showing the inbuilt Facebook multi friend invite selector box. The user click some friends and submits.
= RESULT - A request to the friend is now viewable and visible in the App center
3. FB App Notifications - Engage more "visible" with your challenges friend
Upon submit from step nr 2, we would also initiate a App Notification call to the Graph API, that would eneable us to "post" a notification direct into the challenged notification tray.
There are some restrictions on which user you can post directly into the tray at, which would leave us to do some pre-checking on the basis of:
3.1 - First check if the challenged/invited user already has authorized the app
3.2 - If 3.1 is true, then initiate the App notifications Graph API call = notification posted to the tray.
One important note to this step - i've read that before you can initiate this call, then you need to fetch the Access token of the app itself and make the call to the Graph API with the app access token and not the user access token - not sure if anyone can confirm this.
3.3 - If 3.1 is false, then we're just left with the request to the app center.
QUESTIONS:
Q1. The intended interaction of challenging/inviting your friends in step nr 2 "worries" me a bit. Seeing the request ends up in the App center ONLY, the only way the user will see the notification is "accidently" seeing a number next to the App center left menu link. To me it seems unlikely few people will react to this??
Q2. The real engaging interaction seems to be in App Notifications - however you can only use this with users that ALREADY have accepted your app, leaving out a big chunk of people to interact more "visible" with.
I do know this restriction is probably due to spammy behaviour.
Are this really the most optimal approach of the Facebook toolset I can use in my little game?
The general idea of your approach seems fine. I've never had any experience with App Center, so i can't really comment on how effective and easy it would be implementing that approach, but there is an alternative.
Instead of inviting friends through App Center, you can simply leave a message on their wall using JS feed dialog, asking them to join you in the game (Leave a link or something that will handle the challenge part)
I am using the normal setup for sending invites through the requests dialogue:
FB.ui(
{
method: 'apprequests',
message: "Please add me, I am doing the same, thanks!"
},
function(response) {
console.log(response);
}
);
The response is successful, response.to shows multiple ids. So sending these invites works like it should. The problem is that these apprequests are not shown up as notifications like they usually do, instead the only place to find them here.
Has the API changed? Looking for answers has given me no results, though I did find this bug report from February 15th 2013.
Is Facebook just testing yet again, or has the API changed but not the documentation? I am truly grateful for any insights!
There's two simple things that might cause that problem.
One is that you application is missing the Canvas. Just add it from the your App panel in Facebook Developers.
The second one - make sure your app is NOT in SandBox Mode. If it is it won't send any notifications. I lost hours before figuring that out and changing the code in all possible ways.
Hope that helps.
Its not facebook bug its a problem in your facebook app configuration :
Follow the below configuration and its working like a charm.
You just need to go in to the Facebook developer and select your app and goes in to the setting of your app and click "Add Platform" and select "App On Facebook" and than add canvas url in it. now try to send invitation and it will show the notification.
Thanks
Sagar
or go to facebook developers,
Change 111 to your APP ID
-Fedmich
This was posted yesterday in facebook bugs site.
However, it is still not working for me even though I'm utilizing the exact code that the FB comment is referencing.
I realize this is not complete answer to the question and should be put in the comments. However I am a newbie and don't have enough reputation on StackOverflow to post comments. Emil, could you please let me know if you resolve this issue.
Had same issue, I added Secure Canvas URL, etc. But problem was I haven't provided iPhone Store ID inside iOS section in Settings.
As of Graph API 2.3, Game requests are only available to games.
As mentioned in Game Requests description, you have to create Facebook Web Games in App Portal, then you will get the notification with Game Request. Not for website anymore.
I had to implement facebook ‘apprequests’ instead of the deprecated ‘appinvites’ in an existing cordova app and spent hours debugging.
‘apprequests’ are only available in Facebook Apps categorized as ‘games’.
You can send notifications only to platforms (iOS, Android, Facebook web games) that are involved with the facebook app. That means, you will never receive a notification in your browser if you miss ‘facebook web games’ as platform. My expectation was to be notified in the facebook browser app if I was invited from a Mobile app.
iOS devices don’t get notifications.
In my case, I’ve missed to fill the app store id in the Facebook app platform configuration. After that, notifications appeared instantly.
If you like notifications in the fb browser app, you have to add ‘Facebook web games’ (formerly known as ‘canvas’) as plattform.
You can save yourself a lot trouble by creating test users in the app role category of your facebook app.
I've noticed that some Facebook apps, like BranchOut, have customized notifications messages. When an app request is sent and appears in the top left notification center the text on the notification is something they seem to control on their own, instead of the default "Name sent you a request".
From what I find the the documentation this isn't possible. Custom messages are only shown for users already using the app, otherwise you get Facebooks default invite message.
Does anyone know how they are doing this? Do they simply have a deal with Facebook, or are they sending something other than an App Request?
Just in case someone else finds this question, it appears you can no longer control this message. There are some stuff floating around on other questions but none of them work anymore.
According to the docs, only whitelisted apps are allowed to edit the app request message that shows in the notification itself.
You can send custom notifications with the Notifications API:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/concepts/notifications/
These can only be sent to users who already have the app installed.
If you wish to invite someone to the app then you must use apprequest which doesn't allow you to customise the message.
I have a question about increasing visibility of Facebook app notifications.
As far as I can tell, there are only 2 places where Facebook app requests appear for users who don't click the "Apps & Games" section - in the top right section (https://skitch.com/nicksoman/8172w/facebook) or in the jewel (https://skitch.com/nicksoman/81737/2-facebook) - I believe the wording is a bit different on this one if recipients haven't used the app, as it references an invite rather than a request.
As other have noted, neither of these channels provides any context around the request. In the past I've seen context for apps like BranchOut and FarmVille, but I can't replicate this behavior by sending invites from these apps now (can anyone)?
Has anyone found a Facebook-approved way to either provide more context around these app requests or make them more visible?
I'm familiar with the history of Facebook tweaking channels due to abusive apps - just want to make sure I'm current on best practices today.
Are you referring to users who haven't authorized your app or users who did?
Basically, facebook calls this Social Channels and you have a few options, again, depending on if the user is already using your app or not.
If the user is using your app, you have the bookmarks bar which can be used by issuing a App-generated requests.
If the user isn't using your app then a friend of his that is using your app can send him a User-generated request.
You can and should encourage your users to publish your app stories to their friends' feed and/or to send them to friends.
There's that "Automatic Channels" which is discussed in the first link in this answer.
More options are to use the Social Plugins in your website, and to have a mobile version of your app.
I have a website where we use the request dialog to allow users to invite their friends to check us out. From the inviters side everything works as expected. The person being invited does get the notification, but it is immediately deleted. So they would see the red 1 over the globe for only a half a second, but it immediately dissapears and the message does not stay in their list of notifications. They do get the invite in the apps and games section. This used to work, but for some reason it has stopped. Is this possibly a config thing with the app settings within facebook? Any insight would be appreciated.
SOLVED
A little more detail on this. I created this as a web app in facebook apps. It looks like it also needs to have the App on Facebook setting checked with values added for the canvas url. It works as expected now. Heres a link to what pointed me in the right direction
Notification for facebook app requests not showing up