I'm wondering if it is possible to allow a user to invite friends to join my app, even though it is registered as a fitness app and not a game through facebook. Does this even matter?
I'd like to use the facebook requests dialog, but I am being tripped up by the wording in the info section of this page: http://goo.gl/zfx4R where it says that the request dialog is only available to games on facebook.com.
If the requests dialog is not the answer, how should I go about allowing a user to invite their friends? If there is a PHP solution I'd prefer it.
Thanks for the help in advance
As far as I know, there are no features which are restricted to the "type" of app, so game versus app should make no difference.
You can open the FB.ui({method: 'apprequests'}) Facebook Javascript dialog on any web page, the app doesn't need to be in a canvas or page tab. The wording may be confusing, but what is meant is that, when a user does accept an invitation, they will be sent to the app canvas.
This means that you will need to configure your Facebook app to have a namespace (apps.facebook.com/<namespace>) and you will need to handle users coming from invitations at that point. What you do with them afterwards is up to you, you could redirect them to your website if you wish.
You should be aware that the Facebook Requests process is deliberately quite cryptic to avoid gaining information from users who don't want to be involved in your app. Unless you have a specific reason to track invitations, I suggest using the FB.ui({ method: 'feed'}) dialog with a target_id.
Because of this, there isn't and will not be a way in PHP to perform this. You will need to load the JS SDK onto your page and invoke the dialog, then allow the user to make their decision (whether using the 'feed' or 'apprequests' dialog).
Related
I have spent a lot of time reading FB dev docs and tutorials but I am still very confused with what canvas app and page tab are and how to use them.
What I am expecting from using FB SDK in my site is to have "continue with facebook" button on login screen , have a couple of share and like buttons and send notifications to facebook if user have allowed that. My site has internal messaging system and I want to notify users that new message or activity has happened in my site. In this way users would not have to check my site every day for activity which is important user experience as I expect rare activity(approx. few activities per week).
I have everything running but after user clicks on notification he is taken to canvas app. FB docs and tutorials focuses on code examples but I have not found anywhere description on what canvas app really is. Without this fundamental understanding I can not complete my notification logic, can not understand the terms involved like "secure canvas url" and basically does not feel confident about user experience(which I would want to make as great as possible).
If I google "what is facebook canvas app" I get "Canvas is an immersive and expressive experience on Facebook for businesses to tell their stories and showcase their products.". Apparently from comment below thats something else...
I would appreacite If someone could explain in plain word and maybe example what is canvas app and how should I use if taking into account that my main goal is to notify users about acitivity in my site to their fb account.
I am using CI framework PHP SDK v5.
Background
In Facebook, you create "apps" that run on "platforms". As a quick, very simplified summary, the three primary types of "platforms" that apps can run are:
A website that you host and control, but integrated with the Facebook Graph API (has Facebook Login, posting etc), but otherwise looks like a normal website. You host these on your own servers.
A website designed to sit inside an iFrame on the Facebook Platform. These apps will also generally interact with Facebook Graph. You still host them on your own servers but you have the added advantage that but can get limited information about the user when the page loads.
Stand alone programs (including mobile applications) that also interact with the Facebook Graph.
What you are talking about is the second of these - the iFrame on Facebook.
Facebook provide two ways to embed the application iFrame:
one is a canvas app. This has minimal surrounds for Facebook Header, Footer and a few ads on the right. It maximises your space. (e.g. https://apps.facebook.com/candycrush/?fbs=-1&fb_appcenter=1)
the other is a "page tab" (https://developers.facebook.com/docs/pages/tabs). This is smaller and designed to sit in a company's "Facebook Page" so has less space. As a marketer, however, it keeps everything more branded to your company. (Example: https://www.facebook.com/NutellaANZ/app/595447743881506/)
Note that a single app can run across all the above - canvas, a page tab and a stand-alone HTML page. With some shifting of the API, you can also wrap the same code for mobile and put on the app stores. A user can log in on your mobile app and you can have them logged in on websites and vice-versa (within some limits, but you'll need to explore those).
Games Only?
You are right in that most of the Facebook docs relating to apps refer to games.
Indeed a good place to start is https://developers.facebook.com/docs/games/gamesonfacebook which is where help leads you for Canvas Apps now.
But it doesn't have to be a game - so long as you're using the APIs anything will work. As you mention PHP, have a look at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/php/howto/example_access_token_from_canvas - no mention of a game, but is how you get information from the iFrame in PHP. (There's a lot more reading to do!).
Reading notifications
When clicking on the notification, Facebook will add parameters to the URL. Some of these are determined by the notification (see https://developers.facebook.com/docs/games/services/appnotifications) and others will help you get information about the user (https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/login/signed-request, https://developers.facebook.com/docs/php/SignedRequest/5.0.0).
So use this information server-side to work out who the user is and how you want to handle the user. But what experience you want to give the user once you're in the Facebook eco-system is up to you.
I have a contest App. And many users have installed the app. I have stored the offline_access tokens of these users. I want to send a message to all users of app at the end of contest. What is the best way to do it. Because when I do it in a while loop the page never loads and browser just shows loading animation gif on tab.
You don't even need the user access tokens to accomplish something similar to what you're trying to do.
First off, mass-wall posting is both a violation of the Facebook Platform Policies (specifically IV.2, IV.3), but it's also really spammy and users will react negatively, probably blocking your app and ultimately it may get banned from Facebook. So don't do that.
Instead, you should utilise the intended social channel for notifying users of new content, App to user Requests.
This is pretty simple to do, as per the Graph API docs for apprequests you just make the following API call:
https://graph.facebook.com/USERID/apprequests?app_access_token=APPTOKEN
Where USERID is each user's Facebook ID and APPTOKEN is always your applications unique access token (see the documentation here if you do not know how to obtain one of those). You will also need to include parameters such as message, which you can read more about in the docs.
For several years i have managed to sort things out without posting my own question, but by readings others instead. However, after reading over 200 useless posts, i've decided it's time i get some help.
I'm building a facebook app, and what i wan't to do is extremelly simple to explain. I wan't to notify a certain user about some event in real-time. For example, "the tv show you want to watch starts in an hour". Unfortunately, facebook doesn't allow apps to send private messages to users (which was my first choice). The standard way of publishing on a users wall on HIS BEHALF is not good either, because no notification is triggered. Therefore, my idea is to post on his wall on behalf of the app (or any similar action that will trigger a notification).
I know about app requests, but they are not what i'm looking for either, as you can see, they do not match what i want to do.
Also please note that the event may be particular for each user, so making a post or something for EVERYBODY to see is not an option ("Peter, you have dinner with stacy in an hour").
Firstly, i want to know if posting on the apps behalf (or facebook page, or any other idea) is possible.
If it isn't, i would like to see any other ideas to sort this out. Remember, it's extremelly important to trigger the notification.
Thanks for your time reading this, but i have one last request.
Although what i want to do is pretty simple, there are plenty of similar issues being disscused, which may lead to confusion, so please be SURE that you fully understood what i am asking before answering.
Thanks again
What about opening an event and auto inviting the specific user to the event?
Events invites trigger a notification and the only thing you need is the user's email address which you can easily get.
I am not 100% sure if an app posting on your wall initiates a notification*. Although posting to a users wall on behalf of an app is certainly possible.
You can follow the instructions on this link, under the "App Login" title, and with that retrieve the correct access token you need to make calls as your app.
In order to have the functionality you specified, you'll have to request the offline_access permission from your users - this will allow you to post to your users wall even when he/she is not currently in or using your app. (or even logged into facebook)
*
Usually these posts on behalf of an app are user initiated - ie the user pressed "post to my wall."
This is not duplicate, as it may seam from the title. Continue reading.
So what I want is to create JS script, which would automatically send an invitation to a certain user to become a friend.
How do I approach this?
Basically, user will need to copy my JS code to browser URL bar, which will append JS directly to the Facebook session. (meaning that now I can send POST request on behalf of the user)
Of course, users are aware about the final result. (it is sort of blind-dating what I am thinking to make)
Is this theoretically possible?
Edit: I think the best way to implement something like this is to use Facebook Connect to authenticate users on your site and connect the users that way. Once the users have connected on your site, invite them to connect on Facebook too (by using the method below or just linking to their profile). This way, you're controlling the "meet", like you want, but you're also allowing them to connect on Facebook in a legitimate way.
Give this dialog a shot, and just direct the user to:
http://www.facebook.com/dialog/friends/?id=<USER_ID_TO_BE_ADDED>&app_id&<APP_ID>&redirect_uri=<ADDRESS_IN_YOUR_DOMAIN>
Alternatively, you could simply open a popup with that URL using window.open.
From what you suggested in your question though, it doesn't sound like you wish to use the feature like Facebook intended. From the usage notes:
This feature is intended to help users become friends on Facebook with people that they are connected to in real life. You should not use this feature to encourage users to friend other users that they are not connected to in real life. If your app is found to be encouraging this behavior, your usage of this feature may be disabled.
I'm developing this Facebook Application and I was wondering if it's possible (and how) to programmatically, through the Facebook PHP Graph API, press some 'Like' button on some page?
Of course, this is optional on my application... I'm still not ready to really explain what application I'm doing, but it would be interesting to code such a feature.
Is it possible somehow?
By your description it sounds like you're trying to get a user to like something without the users knowingly clicking a like-button. This sort of interaction is not condoned by Facebook, I think. There are various black-hatty ways to accomplish this though, one fairly elaborate one is descriped here: http://www.liquidrhymes.com/2010/08/25/smoking-hot-bartender-is-some-smoking-hot-facebook-spam/
UPDATE Sorry, I might be wrong. If you get stream_publish extended permissions from the user, you might be able to like posts on their behalf by doing a POST to /POST_ID/likes. See Publishing to Facebook in http://developers.facebook.com/docs/api
You cannot do this. Facebok wont let you do a POST to /POST_ID/likes, you can only do a get request to retrieve their likes. What you are trying to do is a violation of facebook's TOS. I would suggest just adding a like button and "forcing" them to like before they continue with your application. However, in my opinion even that is kind of silly because they can instantly go unlike it after they have used your application.
i was looking for the same thing, but not to force a user into liking something, but actually for their own protection.
here is where i come from: on a web site (maybe on multiple pages) there is an "I Like" button, implemented as described by facebook.
each time a user goes to that page, the browser will make a request to facebook, throught the iframe that contains the button, providing all the info that we are used to from a web server log file.
if the user has in the past logged in facebook and not cleared the cache. the request will also contain the cookie indentifying the facebook user.
so even more then analytics, facebook know all about the user activity on those pages.
so i wanted the user to only give this info when they decide to.
my solution was to have a button (as graphic only) on the page. when the user clicks it a new frame should open and only there the facebook code should be executed.
obviously on the new frame i could not put the normal "i like" code, since that would require a 2nd click for the user. at this point i would need the "programmatically clicking of the i like button".
it is not an opengraph solution, but it works: the frame just does a redirect to
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=URL