Introducing ChatView: Enhance Your Flutter Chat Experience

Are you looking to integrate a powerful and customizable chat view into your Flutter app? Look no further! With the ChatView Flutter package, you can effortlessly add a feature-rich chat interface to your application. Whether you need a one-on-one chat, a group chat, or advanced messaging features like reactions and link previews, ChatView has got you covered. In this blog post, we will explore the capabilities of ChatView and guide you through its installation and usage.

Features of ChatView

ChatView comes with a wide range of features that enable you to create a seamless and engaging chat experience for your users. Here are some of the key features:

• One-on-one and group chat support: Easily implement both one-on-one and group chats in your app.
• Message reactions: Allow users to react to messages with emojis, adding an extra layer of expression to their conversations.
• Reply messages: Enable users to reply to specific messages, enhancing the context and clarity of conversations.
• Link preview: Automatically generate preview information for shared URLs, giving users a glimpse of the linked content.
• Configurable overall view: Customize the appearance and behavior of the chat view to align with your app's design and requirements.

Installation

To get started with ChatView, follow these simple steps:

1. Add the ChatView dependency to your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  chatview2: <latest-version>

1. Retrieve the latest version of the package from pub.dev or the "Installing" tab on the package's page.
2. Import the package into your Flutter project:

import 'package:chatview2/chatview2.dart'; 

Usage

Once you have installed the package and imported it into your project, you can begin using ChatView. Here's a basic example of how to integrate ChatView into your app:

1. Set up a ChatController:

final chatController = ChatController(
  initialMessageList: messageList,
  scrollController: ScrollController(),
  chatUsers: [ChatUser(id: '2', name: 'Simform')],
);

1. Add the ChatView widget to your UI:

ChatView(
  currentUser: ChatUser(id: '1', name: 'Flutter'),
  chatController: chatController,
  onSendTap: onSendTap,
  chatViewState: ChatViewState.hasMessages,
)

1. Define a messageList with initial messages:

List<Message> messageList = [
  Message(
    id: '1',
    message: "Hi",
    createdAt: createdAt,
    sendBy: userId,
  ),
  Message(
    id: '2',
    message: "Hello",
    createdAt: createdAt,
    sendBy: userId,
  ),
];

1. Implement the onSendTap callback to handle sending messages:

void onSendTap(
    String message, ReplyMessage replyMessage, Message messageType) {
  final message = Message(
    id: '3',
    message: "How are you",
    createdAt: DateTime.now(),
    sendBy: currentUser.id,
    replyMessage: replyMessage,
    messageType: messageType,
  );
  chatController.addMessage(message);
}

This is just a basic example to help you get started. ChatView provides many customization options to tailor the chat view to your specific needs. You can configure message types, platform-specific settings, chat bubble styles, swipe gestures, message reactions, link previews, and more.

Documentation and Examples

For a more comprehensive understanding of ChatView and its various configuration options.

Messages types compability

Message Types Android iOS MacOS Web Linux Windows

Text messages ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️

Image messages ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️

Voice messages ✔️ ✔️ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌

Custom messages ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️

Platform specific configuration

For image Picker

iOS

• Add the following keys to your Info.plist file, located in <project root>/ios/Runner/Info.plist:

    <key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
    <string>Used to demonstrate image picker plugin</string>
    <key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
    <string>Used to capture audio for image picker plugin</string>
    <key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
    <string>Used to demonstrate image picker plugin</string>

For voice messages

iOS

• Add this two rows in ios/Runner/Info.plist

    <key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
    <string>This app requires Mic permission.</string>

• This plugin requires ios 10.0 or higher. So add this line in Podfile

    platform :ios, '10.0'

Android

• Change the minimum Android sdk version to 21 (or higher) in your android/app/build.gradle file.

    minSdkVersion 21

• Add RECORD_AUDIO permission in AndroidManifest.xml

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO"/>

Some more optional parameters

1. Enable and disable specific features with FeatureActiveConfig.

ChatView(
  ...
  featureActiveConfig: FeatureActiveConfig(
    enableSwipeToReply: true,
    enableSwipeToSeeTime: false,
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding an appbar with ChatViewAppBar.

ChatView(
  ...
  appBar: ChatViewAppBar(
    profilePicture: profileImage,
    chatTitle: "Simform",
    userStatus: "online",
    actions: [
      Icon(Icons.more_vert),
    ],
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding a message list configuration with ChatBackgroundConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  chatBackgroundConfig: ChatBackgroundConfiguration(
    backgroundColor: Colors.white,
    backgroundImage: backgroundImage,
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding a send message configuration with SendMessageConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  sendMessageConfig: SendMessageConfiguration(
    replyMessageColor: Colors.grey,
    replyDialogColor:Colors.blue,
    replyTitleColor: Colors.black,
    closeIconColor: Colors.black,
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding a chat bubble configuration with ChatBubbleConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  chatBubbleConfig: ChatBubbleConfiguration(
    onDoubleTap: (){
       // Your code goes here
    },
    outgoingChatBubbleConfig: ChatBubble(      // Sender's message chat bubble 
      color: Colors.blue,
      borderRadius: const BorderRadius.only(  
        topRight: Radius.circular(12),
        topLeft: Radius.circular(12),
        bottomLeft: Radius.circular(12),
      ),
    ),
    inComingChatBubbleConfig: ChatBubble(      // Receiver's message chat bubble
      color: Colors.grey.shade200,
      borderRadius: const BorderRadius.only(
        topLeft: Radius.circular(12),
        topRight: Radius.circular(12),
        bottomRight: Radius.circular(12),
      ),
    ),
  )
  ...
)

1. Adding swipe to reply configuration with SwipeToReplyConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  swipeToReplyConfig: SwipeToReplyConfiguration(
    onLeftSwipe: (message, sendBy){
        // Your code goes here
    },
    onRightSwipe: (message, sendBy){
        // Your code goes here
    },              
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding messages configuration with MessageConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  messageConfig: MessageConfiguration(
    messageReactionConfig: MessageReactionConfiguration(),      // Emoji reaction configuration for single message 
    imageMessageConfig: ImageMessageConfiguration(
      onTap: (){
          // Your code goes here
      },                          
      shareIconConfig: ShareIconConfiguration(
        onPressed: (){
           // Your code goes here
        },
      ),
    ),
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding reaction pop-up configuration with ReactionPopupConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  reactionPopupConfig: ReactionPopupConfiguration(
    backgroundColor: Colors.white,
    userReactionCallback: (message, emoji){
      // Your code goes here
    }
    padding: EdgeInsets.all(12),
    shadow: BoxShadow(
      color: Colors.black54,
      blurRadius: 20,
    ),
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding reply pop-up configuration with ReplyPopupConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  replyPopupConfig: ReplyPopupConfiguration(
    backgroundColor: Colors.white,
    onUnsendTap:(message){                   // message is 'Message' class instance
       // Your code goes here
    },
    onReplyTap:(message){                    // message is 'Message' class instance
       // Your code goes here
    },
    onReportTap:(){
       // Your code goes here
    },
    onMoreTap:(){
       // Your code goes here
    },
  ),
  ...
)

1. Adding replied message configuration with RepliedMessageConfiguration class.

ChatView(
   ...
   repliedMessageConfig: RepliedMessageConfiguration(
     backgroundColor: Colors.blue,
     verticalBarColor: Colors.black,
     repliedMsgAutoScrollConfig: RepliedMsgAutoScrollConfig(),
   ),
   ...
)

1. For customizing typing indicators use typeIndicatorConfig with TypeIndicatorConfig.

ChatView(
  ...

  typeIndicatorConfig: TypeIndicatorConfiguration(
    flashingCircleBrightColor: Colors.grey,
    flashingCircleDarkColor: Colors.black,
  ),
  ...
)

1. For showing hiding typeIndicatorwidget use ChatController.setTypingIndicaor, for more info see ChatController.

/// use it with your [ChatController] instance.
_chatContoller.setTypingIndicator = true; // for showing indicator
_chatContoller.setTypingIndicator = false; // for hiding indicator

1. Adding linkpreview configuration with LinkPreviewConfiguration class.

ChatView(
  ...
  chatBubbleConfig: ChatBubbleConfiguration(
    linkPreviewConfig: LinkPreviewConfiguration(
      linkStyle: const TextStyle(
        color: Colors.white,
        decoration: TextDecoration.underline,
      ),
      backgroundColor: Colors.grey,
      bodyStyle: const TextStyle(
        color: Colors.grey.shade200,
        fontSize:16,
      ),
      titleStyle: const TextStyle(
        color: Colors.black,
        fontSize:20,
      ),
    ),
  )
  ...
)

1. Adding pagination.

ChatView(
  ...
  isLastPage: false,
  featureActiveConfig: FeatureActiveConfig(
    enablePagination: true,
  ),
  loadMoreData: chatController.loadMoreData,
  ...
)

1. Add image picker icon configuration.

ChatView(
  ...
  sendMessageConfig: SendMessageConfiguration(
    imagePickerIconsConfig: ImagePickerIconsConfiguration(
      cameraIconColor: Colors.black,
      galleryIconColor: Colors.black,
    )
  )
  ...
)

1. Add ChatViewState customisations.

ChatView(
  ...
  chatViewStateConfig: ChatViewStateConfiguration(
    loadingWidgetConfig: ChatViewStateWidgetConfiguration(
      loadingIndicatorColor: Colors.pink,
    ),
    onReloadButtonTap: () {},
  ),
  ...
)

1. Setting auto scroll and highlight config with RepliedMsgAutoScrollConfig class.

ChatView(
    ...
    repliedMsgAutoScrollConfig: RepliedMsgAutoScrollConfig(
      enableHighlightRepliedMsg: true,
      highlightColor: Colors.grey,
      highlightScale: 1.1,
    )
    ...
)

1. Callback when a user starts/stops typing in TextFieldConfiguration

ChatView(
    ...
      sendMessageConfig: SendMessageConfiguration(
       
          textFieldConfig: TextFieldConfiguration(
            onMessageTyping: (status) {
                // send composing/composed status to other client
                // your code goes here
            },   

            
        /// After typing stopped, the threshold time after which the composing
        /// status to be changed to [TypeWriterStatus.typed].
        /// Default is 1 second.
            compositionThresholdTime: const Duration(seconds: 1),

        ),
    ...
  )
)

1. Passing customReceipts builder or handling stuffs related receipts see ReceiptsWidgetConfig in outgoingChatBubbleConfig.

ChatView(
   ...
      featureActiveConfig: const FeatureActiveConfig(
            /// Controls the visibility of message seen ago receipts default is true
            lastSeenAgoBuilderVisibility: false,
            /// Controls the visibility of the message [receiptsBuilder]
            receiptsBuilderVisibility: false),            
       ChatBubbleConfiguration(
          inComingChatBubbleConfig: ChatBubble(
            onMessageRead: (message) {
              /// send your message reciepts to the other client
              debugPrint('Message Read');
            },

          ),
          outgoingChatBubbleConfig: ChatBubble(
              receiptsWidgetConfig: ReceiptsWidgetConfig(
                      /// custom receipts builder 
                      receiptsBuilder: _customReceiptsBuilder,
                      /// whether to display receipts in all 
                      /// message or just at the last one just like instagram
                      showReceiptsIn: ShowReceiptsIn.lastMessage
              ),
            ), 
        ), 
        
  ...
 
)

How to use

Check out blog for better understanding and basic implementation.

Also, for whole example, check out the example app in the example directory or the 'Example' tab on pub.dartlang.org for a more complete example.