Input area

The Chat UI input area is managed by NCChatSessionInputBarControl, which integrates text input, voice, emoji, extension panels, and @mentions by default.

NCChannelViewController includes a built-in input area instance, typically accessed directly through chatSessionInputBarControl.

Configure input bar layout

The input bar supports multiple layout combinations, configurable through setInputBarType:style:.

Layout options

Layout pattern	Enum value
Voice switch - Input box - Extensions	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_SWITCH_CONTAINER_EXTENTION
Extensions - Input box - Voice switch	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_EXTENTION_CONTAINER_SWITCH
Input box - Voice switch - Extensions	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_CONTAINER_SWITCH_EXTENTION
Input box - Extensions - Voice switch	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_CONTAINER_EXTENTION_SWITCH
Voice switch - Input box	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_SWITCH_CONTAINER
Input box - Voice switch	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_CONTAINER_SWITCH
Extensions - Input box	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_EXTENTION_CONTAINER
Input box - Extensions	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_CONTAINER_EXTENTION
Input box only	NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_CONTAINER

Example

Objective C

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

    [self.chatSessionInputBarControl
        setInputBarType:NCChatSessionInputBarControlDefaultType
                  style:NC_CHAT_INPUT_BAR_STYLE_SWITCH_CONTAINER_EXTENTION];
}

To completely disable input, use NCChatSessionInputBarControlNoAvailableType.

Default input mode

Supported default input modes:

• NCChatSessionInputBarInputText
• NCChatSessionInputBarInputVoice
• NCChatSessionInputBarInputExtention

Objective C

controller.defaultInputType = NCChatSessionInputBarInputText;

Common input area properties

Property	Description
inputTextView	Text input field
switchButton	Text/voice toggle button
recordButton	Voice recording button
emojiButton	Emoji button
additionalButton	Extension panel button
pluginBoardView	Extension panel view
emojiBoardView	Emoji panel view
draft	Current draft text
maxInputLines	Maximum input lines (1-6)
mentionedInfo	Parsed @mention information
mentionedUserIdList	List of mentioned user IDs
isMentionedEnabled	Whether @mentions are enabled

Hide emoji button

Objective C

self.chatSessionInputBarControl.inputContainerView.hideEmojiButton = YES;

To completely disable system emoji, set this on the channel view controller:

Objective C

controller.disableSystemEmoji = YES;

Extension panel

The + panel in the input area is provided by NCPluginBoardView. The following built-in tags are exposed:

Feature	Tag
Album	PLUGIN_BOARD_ITEM_ALBUM_TAG
Camera	PLUGIN_BOARD_ITEM_CAMERA_TAG
File	PLUGIN_BOARD_ITEM_FILE_TAG
Voice call	PLUGIN_BOARD_ITEM_VOIP_TAG
Video call	PLUGIN_BOARD_ITEM_VIDEO_VOIP_TAG
Voice input	PLUGIN_BOARD_ITEM_VOICE_INPUT_TAG
Business card	PLUGIN_BOARD_ITEM_CARD_TAG

Add custom extension items

Avoid using tags in the 1XXX range to prevent conflicts with SDK reserved tags.

Objective C

[self.chatSessionInputBarControl.pluginBoardView
    insertItem:[UIImage imageNamed:@"plugin_custom"]
highlightedImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"plugin_custom_highlighted"]
          title:@"Custom"
            tag:20001];

Insert at specific position

Objective C

[self.chatSessionInputBarControl.pluginBoardView
    insertItem:[UIImage imageNamed:@"plugin_custom"]
highlightedImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"plugin_custom_highlighted"]
          title:@"Custom"
         atIndex:0
            tag:20001];

Update and remove extension items

Objective C

[self.chatSessionInputBarControl.pluginBoardView
    updateItemWithTag:20001
          normalImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"plugin_custom_new"]
     highlightedImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"plugin_custom_new_highlighted"]
                title:@"New entry"];

[self.chatSessionInputBarControl.pluginBoardView removeItemWithTag:20001];

Handle extension item clicks

Objective C

- (void)pluginBoardView:(NCPluginBoardView *)pluginBoardView clickedItemWithTag:(NSInteger)tag {
    if (tag == 20001) {
        // Custom extension logic
        return;
    }

    [super pluginBoardView:pluginBoardView clickedItemWithTag:tag];
}

@mentions and user selection

The input area exposes key interfaces for @mention functionality:

Objective C

self.chatSessionInputBarControl.isMentionedEnabled = YES;
[self.chatSessionInputBarControl addMentionedUser:userInfo];

By default, typing @ in a group channel triggers the SDK's user selection flow. To use a custom user selection page, override this method in your channel view controller and call the appropriate block when the selection finishes or is cancelled:

Objective C

- (void)showChooseUserViewController:(void (^)(NCChatUIUserInfo *selectedUserInfo))selectedBlock
                              cancel:(void (^)(void))cancelBlock;

For complete details about @mentions, see Message mentions.