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In-App Messages with Iterable's React Native SDK

Iterable's React Native SDK makes it possible to display in-app messages, customize them, and track events related to their usage.

Table of contents

Overview

By default, Iterable's React Native SDK displays all in-app messages that it receives, and tracks events when a user interacts with them.

Alternatively, you can customize your app so that it skips the display of certain in-app messages and then displays them later (in whatever order you wish). To manually display an in-app message, you can take one of two approaches:

  • Using the SDK's default display functionality
  • With custom rendering that you provide (when you render a message in this way, you'll also need to track events and consume the messages).

The methods described in this document help you customize your app's handling of in-app messages.

Identify the user

Before you call the methods described below, identify your app's user so that Iterable knows which profile to update.

Showing or skipping an incoming in-app message

When Iterable retrieves in-app messages, it passes them to the function stored in the inAppHandler property of the IterableConfig object that was passed to the SDK's initialize method.

  • Property declaration:

    inAppHandler?: (message: IterableInAppMessage) => IterableInAppShowResponse
    Parameter Name Description
    message The incoming in-app message (an IterableInAppMessage object).

  • Description

    Implement this property to override default in-app message behavior. For example, you might use the custom payload associated with an incoming message to choose whether or not to display it, or you might inspect the priorityLevel property to determine the message's priority.

  • Example:

    config.inAppHandler = (message: IterableInAppMessage) => {
    return IterableInAppShowResponse.show
}

    This example simply returns IterableInAppShowResponse.show for all incoming messages, indicating that the SDK should display them in the app. Alternatively, you could specify IterableInappShowResponse.skip.

Getting the local queue of message

To get a list of the current user's in-app messages, call the getMessages method on the static inAppManager property (an IterableInAppManager object) of an Iterable instance.

  • Method declaration:

    getMessages(): Promise<Array<IterableInAppMessage>>

    This method returns a Promise. Use then to get the array of IterableInAppMessage objects.

  • Description:

    Returns the user's list of in-app messages. This method does not cause the app to immediately check for new in-app messages on the server, since the SDK keeps the list in sync.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.getMessages().then(messages => {
  messages.forEach(message => {
    console.log(JSON.stringify(message, null, 2))
  });
})

    This example grabs the user's list of messages and outputs them to the console. For example, on the console, a single message would look something like this:

    {
  "campaignId": 1348743,
  "messageId": "9c438a20d26e4e9f8ad4edea23f811cd",
  "trigger": {
    "type": 0
  },
  "createdAt": "2020-07-14T16:46:44.463Z",
  "expiresAt": "2020-10-12T16:46:44.463Z",
  "saveToInbox": false,
  "customPayload": {
    "promotion": "summer sale"
  },
  "read": false
}

Getting the local queue of inbox messages

To get a list of the current user's in-app messages designated for the mobile inbox, call the getInboxMessages method on the static inAppManager property (an IterableInAppManager object) of an Iterable instance.

  • Method declaration:

    getInboxMessages(): Promise<Array<IterableInAppMessage>>

    This method returns a Promise. Use then to get the array of IterableInAppMessage objects.

  • Description:

    Returns the user's list of in-app messages designated for the mobile inbox. This method does not cause the app to immediately check for new in-app messages on the server, since the SDK keeps the list in sync.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.getInboxMessages().then(messages => {
  messages.forEach(message => {
    console.log(JSON.stringify(message, null, 2))
  });
})

    This example grabs the user's list of messages and outputs them to the console. For example, on the console, a single message would look something like this:

    {
  "campaignId": 1348743,
  "messageId": "9c438a20d26e4e9f8ad4edea23f811cd",
  "trigger": {
    "type": 0
  },
  "createdAt": "2020-07-14T16:46:44.463Z",
  "expiresAt": "2020-10-12T16:46:44.463Z",
  "saveToInbox": false,
  "customPayload": {
    "promotion": "summer sale"
  },
  "read": false
}

Showing an in-app message that was previously skipped

If you skip showing an in-app message when it arrives, you can show it at another time by calling the static showMessage method on the inAppManager property (an object of type IterableInAppManager) on an Iterable instance.

  • Method Declaration:

    showMessage(message: IterableInAppMessage, consume: boolean): Promise<string | undefined>
    Parameter Name Description
    message The message to show (an IterableInAppMessage object).
    consume Whether or not the message should be consumed from the user's message queue.

    This method returns a Promise. Use then to get the string it returns, which corresponds to the URL of the button or link a user tapped in the in-app message to close it.

  • Description:

    Uses the SDK to render an in-app message, and consumes it if necessary.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.showMessage(message, false).then(url => {
  console.log("url: " + url)
});

Removing an in-app message from the current user's queue

To remove an in-app message from the current user's queue, call the removeMessage method on the static inAppManager property (an object of type IterableInAppManager) on an Iterable instance. This method calls the inAppConsume method internally.

  • Method Declaration:

    removeMessage(message: IterableInAppMessage, location: IterableInAppLocation, source: IterableInAppDeleteSource): void
    Parameter Name Description
    message The message to remove (an IterableInAppMessage object).
    location The message's location—whether or not it's in a mobile inbox. An IterableInAppLocation object.
    source How a user deleted the message. An IterableInAppDeleteSource object.

  • Description:

    Removes the specified in-app message from the user's message queue.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.removeMessage(message, IterableInAppLocation.inApp, IterableInAppDeleteSource.unknown);

Setting the read status of an in-app message

To set the read status of an in-app message, call the setReadForMessage method on the static inAppManager property (an object of type IterableInAppManager) of an Iterable instance.

  • Method Declaration:

    setReadForMessage(message: IterableInAppMessage, read: boolean): void
    Parameter Name Description
    message The message to set status for. An IterableInAppMessage object.
    read Boolean value indicating if an in-app message is read.

  • Description:

    Sets the read status of a specified in-app message.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.setReadForMessage(message, true);

Getting the HTML content of an in-app message

To get the HTML content of an in-app message, call the getHtmlContentForMessage method on the static InAppManager property (an object of type IterableInAppManager) of an Iterable instance.

  • Method Declaration:

    getHtmlContentForMessage(message: IterableInAppMessage): Promise<IterableHtmlInAppContent>
    Parameter Name Description
    message The message to get HTML content from. An IterableInAppMessage object.

    This method returns a Promise. Use then to get the HTML content of the specified in-app message as an IterableHtmlInAppContent object.

  • Description:

    Gets the HTML content of a specified in-app message.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.getHtmlContentForMessage(message);

Pausing or unpausing the automatic display of incoming in-app messages

To pause or unpause the automatic display of incoming in-app messages, call the setAutoDisplayPaused method on the static InAppManager property (an object of type IterableInAppManager) of an Iterable instance.

  • Method Declaration:

    setAutoDisplayPaused(paused: Boolean): void
    Parameter Name Description
    paused Boolean value that indicates whether or not to pause the automatic display of in-app messages.

  • Description:

    Pauses or unpauses the automatic display of incoming in-app messages. By default, automatic displaying is enabled.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.setAutoDisplayPaused(paused);

Inspecting the custom payload attached to an in-app message

To access the custom payload attached to an in-app message, use the customPayload property of the IterableInAppMessage instance.

  • Property declaration:

    readonly customPayload?: any

  • Description:

    When building out the template for an in-app message, you can attach a custom payload of JSON data. Use this data to provide any extra information that might be useful to the app.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppManager.getMessages().then((messages) => {
  console.log("messages: " + messages.length);
  messages.forEach((message) => {
    console.log(JSON.stringify(message.customPayload, null, 2));
  });
})

    This example outputs the JSON payload associated with each in-app message in the users's queue.

Displaying an in-app message in a custom way

To display an in-app message in a custom way:

  1. Send the message with a custom payload that includes any data you'll need to display when rendering the in-app message.

    To indicate that the in-app message requires custom display, you might include a customDisplay property (along with any other relevant data) in its custom payload:

    {
  "customDisplay": true,
  "promotionTitle": "Summer Sale",
  "promotionText": "Everything is 50% off."
}

    TIP

    When using Iterable to specify the custom payload for an in-app message, use merge parameters to include dynamic data. For example, this custom payload includes the user's email in the custom payload:

    {
  "email": "{{email}}"
}

  2. In your mobile app, use the inAppHandler to skip the default display for messages that require custom rendering. For example, to check for the customDisplay boolean in the message's payload:

    config.inAppHandler = (message: IterableInAppMessage) => {
  if (message.customPayload.customDisplay == true) {
    return IterableInAppShowResponse.skip
  } else {
    return Iterable.InAppShowResponse.show
  }
};

  3. Whenever your app decides to show the custom in-app message, render it with a custom interface of your own design. As a trivial example, this code uses an alert to display information from the example in-app message described above:

    Alert.alert(message.customPayload.promotionTitle, message.customPayload.promotionText);

  4. Be sure to handle event tracking and to consume the in-app message after the user views it.

Tracking in-app message opens

Iterable's SDK automatically tracks in-app message opens when you use the SDK's default rendering. However, it's also possible to manually track these events by calling the static trackInAppOpen method on the Iterable class:

  • Method declaration:

    static trackInAppOpen(
  message: IterableInAppMessage, 
  location: IterableInAppLocation
)
    Parameter Name Description
    message The in-app message (an IterableInAppMessage object).
    location The location of the in-app message (an IterableInAppLocation object). Useful for determining if the messages is in a mobile inbox.

  • Description:

    Creates an inAppOpen event on the user's profile.

  • Example:

    Iterable.trackInAppOpen(messages, IterableInAppLocation.inApp)

Tracking in-app message clicks

Iterable's SDK automatically tracks in-app message clicks when you use the SDK's default rendering. However, you can also manually track these events by calling the static trackInAppClick method on the Iterable class.

  • Method declaration:

    static trackInAppClick(
  message: IterableInAppMessage, 
  location: IterableInAppLocation, 
  clickedUrl: string
)
    Parameter Name Description
    message The in-app message (an IterableInAppMessage object).
    location The location of the in-app message (an IterableInAppLocation object). Useful for determining if the messages is in a mobile inbox.
    clickedUrl The URL clicked by the user.

  • Description:

    Creates an inAppClick event on the user's profile.

  • Example:

    Iterable.trackInAppClick(message, IterableInAppLocation.inapp, "https://example.com")

Tracking in-app message closes

Iterable's SDK automatically tracks in-app message close events when you use the SDK's default rendering. However, it's also possible to manually track these events by calling the static trackInAppClose method on the Iterable class.

  • Method declaration:

    static trackInAppClose(
  message: IterableInAppMessage, 
  location: IterableInAppLocation, 
  source: IterableInAppCloseSource, 
  clickedUrl: string
)
    Parameter Name Description
    message The in-app message (an IterableInAppMessage object).
    location The location of the in-app message (an IterableInAppLocation object). Useful for determining if the messages is in a mobile inbox.
    source How the in-app message was closed (an IterableInAppCloseSource object).
    clickedUrl The URL clicked by the user.

  • Description:

    Creates an inAppClose event on the user's profile.

  • Example:

    Iterable.trackInAppClose(message, IterableInAppLocation.inApp, IterableInAppCloseSource.back, "https://example.com")

    This example creates an inAppClose event, for the provided message.

Consuming an in-app message

After a user has read an in-app message, you can consume it so that it's no longer in their queue of messages. When you use the SDK's default rendering for in-app messages, it handles this automatically. However, you can also use this method to do it manually (for example, after rendering an in-app message in a custom way).

  • Method declaration:

    static inAppConsume(message: IterableInAppMessage, location: IterableInAppLocation, source: IterableInAppDeleteSource) {
    Parameter Name Description
    message The in-app message to consume (an IterableInAppMessage object).
    location The message's location (whether or not it's in a mobile inbox (an IterableInAppLocation object).
    source How a user chose to delete the message. Use with a mobile inbox (an IterableInAppDeleteSource object).

  • Description:

    Creates an inAppDelete event (unless otherwise specified) and removes the specified message from the user's message queue.

  • Example:

    Iterable.inAppConsume(message, IterableInAppLocation.inApp, IterableInAppDeleteSource.unknown)

    This example consumes the message stored in the message variable. Specifying a source of IterableInAppDeleteSource.unknown prevents an inAppDelete event from being created.

Helper classes

The methods described in this guide rely on various classes, described below.

IterableConfig

A set of configuration options passed to the SDK's initialize method. Includes properties such as pushIntegrationName, autoPushRegistration and inAppDisplayInterval. Source code.

IterableInAppManager

A class that manages in-app messages. Can be used to get access to a list of a user's in-app messages, show a message, remove a message, or mark a message as read (locally). Source code.

IterableInAppLocation

An enum that describes the various places that an in-app message can exist: inApp or inbox. Source code.

IterableInAppCloseSource

An enum that describes the various ways in which an in-app message might have been closed: back, link or unknown. Source code.

IterableInAppDeleteSource

An enum that describes the various ways in which an in-app message might have been deleted: inboxSwipe, deleteButton or unknown. Source code.

IterableInAppShowResponse

An enum that describes two display options for an incoming in-app message: show or skip. Source code.

IterableInAppMessage

A class that represents an in-app message. Contains various properties, such as campaignId, templateId and customPayload. Source code.

Further reading

Related articles

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