Siri Shortcuts in Xamarin.iOS

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In iOS 10, Apple introduced SiriKit, making it possible to build messaging, VoIP calling, payments, workouts, ride booking, and photo search apps that interact with Siri.

In iOS 11, SiriKit gained support for more types of apps and greater flexibility for UI customization.

iOS 12 adds Siri Shortcuts, allowing all types of apps to expose their functionality to Siri. Siri learns when certain app-based tasks are most relevant to the user and uses this knowledge to suggest potential actions via shortcuts. Tapping on a shortcut or invoking it with a voice command will open an app or run a background task.

Shortcuts should be used to accelerate a user's ability to accomplish a common task – in many cases without even opening the app in question.

Sample app: Soup Chef

To better understand Siri Shortcuts, take a look at the Soup Chef sample app. Soup Chef allows users to place orders from an imaginary soup restaurant, view their order history, and define phrases to use when ordering soup by interacting with Siri.

Tip

Before testing Soup Chef on an iOS 12 simulator or device, enable the following two settings, which are useful when debugging shortcuts:

  • In the Settings app, enable Developer > Display Recent Shortcuts.
  • In the Settings app, enable Developer > Display Donations on Lock Screen.

These debug settings make it easy to find recently-created (instead of predicted) shortcuts on the iOS lock screen and search screen.

To use the sample app:

  • Install and run the Soup Chef sample app on an iOS 12 simulator or device.
  • Click the + button in the upper right corner to create a new order.
  • Select a type of soup, specify a quantity and options, and tap Place Order.
  • On the Order History screen, tap the newly created order to view its details.
  • At the bottom of order details screen, tap Add to Siri.
  • Record a voice phrase to associate with the order and tap Done.
  • Minimize Soup Chef, invoke Siri, and place the order again by using the voice phrase you recorded.
  • After Siri completes the order, reopen Soup Chef and notice that the new order is listed on the Order History screen.

The sample app demonstrates how to:

Info.plist and Entitlements.plist

Before digging more deeply in to the Soup Chef code, take a look at its Info.plist and Entitlements.plist files.

Info.plist

The Info.plist file in the SoupChef project defines the Bundle Identifier as com.xamarin.SoupChef. This bundle identifier will be used as a prefix for the bundle identifiers of the Intents and Intents UI extensions discussed later in this document.

The Info.plist file also contains the following entry:

<key>NSUserActivityTypes</key>
<array>
    <string>OrderSoupIntent</string>
    <string>com.xamarin.SoupChef.viewMenu</string>
</array>

This NSUserActivityTypes key/value pair indicates that Soup Chef knows how to handle an OrderSoupIntent, and an NSUserActivity having an ActivityType of "com.xamarin.SoupChef.viewMenu".

Activities and custom intents passed to the app itself, as opposed to its extensions, are handled in the AppDelegate (a UIApplicationDelegate by the ContinueUserActivity method.

Entitlements.plist

The Entitlements.plist file in the SoupChef project contains the following entries:

<key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key>
<array>
    <string>group.com.xamarin.SoupChef</string>
</array>
<key>com.apple.developer.siri</key>
<true/>

This configuration indicates that the app uses the "group.com.xamarin.SoupChef" app group. The SoupChefIntents app extension uses this same app group, which allows the two projects to share NSUserDefaults data.

The com.apple.developer.siri key indicates that the app interacts with Siri.

Note

The SoupChef project's build configuration sets Custom Entitlements to Entitlements.plist.

Using an NSUserActivity shortcut to open an app

To create a shortcut that opens an app to display specific content, create an NSUserActivity and attach it to the view controller for the screen you'd like the shortcut to open.

Setting up an NSUserActivity

On the menu screen, SoupMenuViewController creates an NSUserActivity and assigns it to the view controller's UserActivity property:

public override void ViewDidLoad()
{
    base.ViewDidLoad();
    UserActivity = NSUserActivityHelper.ViewMenuActivity;
}

Setting the UserActivity property donates the activity to Siri. From this donation, Siri gains information about when and where this activity is relevant to the user and learns to better suggest it in the future.

NSUserActivityHelper is a utility class included in the SoupChef solution, in the SoupKit class library. It creates an NSUserActivity and sets various properties related to Siri and search:

public static string ViewMenuActivityType = "com.xamarin.SoupChef.viewMenu";

public static NSUserActivity ViewMenuActivity {
    get
    {
        var userActivity = new NSUserActivity(ViewMenuActivityType)
        {
            Title = NSBundleHelper.SoupKitBundle.GetLocalizedString("ORDER_LUNCH_TITLE", "View menu activity title"),
            EligibleForSearch = true,
            EligibleForPrediction = true
        };

        var attributes = new CSSearchableItemAttributeSet(NSUserActivityHelper.SearchableItemContentType)
        {
            ThumbnailData = UIImage.FromBundle("tomato").AsPNG(),
            Keywords = ViewMenuSearchableKeywords,
            DisplayName = NSBundleHelper.SoupKitBundle.GetLocalizedString("ORDER_LUNCH_TITLE", "View menu activity title"),
            ContentDescription = NSBundleHelper.SoupKitBundle.GetLocalizedString("VIEW_MENU_CONTENT_DESCRIPTION", "View menu content description")
        };
        userActivity.ContentAttributeSet = attributes;

        var phrase = NSBundleHelper.SoupKitBundle.GetLocalizedString("ORDER_LUNCH_SUGGESTED_PHRASE", "Voice shortcut suggested phrase");
        userActivity.SuggestedInvocationPhrase = phrase;
        return userActivity;
    }
}

Note the following features in particular:

  • Setting EligibleForPrediction to true indicates that Siri can predict this activity and surface it as a shortcut.
  • The ContentAttributeSet array is a standard CSSearchableItemAttributeSet used to include an NSUserActivity in iOS search results.
  • SuggestedInvocationPhrase is a phrase that Siri will suggest to the user as a potential choice when assigning a phrase to a shortcut.

Handling an NSUserActivity shortcut

To handle an NSUserActivity shortcut invoked by a user, an iOS application must override the ContinueUserActivity method of the AppDelegate class, responding based on the ActivityType field of the passed-in NSUserActivity object:

public override bool ContinueUserActivity(UIApplication application, NSUserActivity userActivity, UIApplicationRestorationHandler completionHandler)
{
    // ...
    else if (userActivity.ActivityType == NSUserActivityHelper.ViewMenuActivityType)
    {
        HandleUserActivity();
        return true;
    }
    // ...
}

This method calls HandleUserActivity, which finds the segue to the menu screen and invokes it:

void HandleUserActivity()
{
    var rootViewController = Window?.RootViewController as UINavigationController;
    var orderHistoryViewController = rootViewController?.ViewControllers?.FirstOrDefault() as OrderHistoryTableViewController;
    if (orderHistoryViewController is null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Failed to access OrderHistoryTableViewController.");
        return;
    }
    var segue = OrderHistoryTableViewController.SegueIdentifiers.SoupMenu;
    orderHistoryViewController.PerformSegue(segue, null);
}

Assigning a phrase to an NSUserActivity

To assign a phrase to an NSUserActivity, open the iOS Settings app and choose Siri & Search > My Shortcuts. Then, select the shortcut (in this case, "Order Lunch") and record a phrase.

Invoking Siri and using this phrase will open Soup Chef to the menu screen.

Using a custom intent shortcut to perform a task

Defining a custom intent

To provide a shortcut that allows a user to quickly complete a specific task related to your app, create a custom intent. A custom intent represents a task a user may want to complete, parameters relevant to that task, and potential responses resulting from the task's execution. Depending on how a custom intent is defined, invoking it can either open your app or run a background task.

Use Xcode 10 to create custom intents. In the SoupChef repository, the custom intent is defined in OrderSoupIntentCodeGen, an Objective-C project. Open this project and select the Intents.intentdefinition file in the Project Navigator to view the OrderSoup intent.

Notice the following features:

  • The intent has a Category of Order. There are various pre-defined categories that can be used for custom intents; select the one that most closely matches the task your custom intent will enable. Since this solution is a soup ordering app, OrderSoupIntent uses Order.
  • The Confirmation checkbox indicates whether or not Siri must request confirmation before executing the task. For the Order Soup intent in Soup Chef, this option is enabled since the user is making a purchase.
  • The Parameters section of the .intentdefinition file defines the parameters relevant to a shortcut. To place a soup order, Soup Chef must know the type of soup, its quantity, and any associated options. Each parameter has a type; parameter that cannot be represented by a predefined type are set as Custom.
  • The Shortcut Types interface describes the various parameter combinations Siri can use when suggesting your shortcut. The associated Title and Subtitle sections allow you to define the messages Siri will use when presenting a suggested shortcut to the user.
  • The Supports Background Execution checkbox should be selected for any shortcut that can be executed without opening the app for further user interaction.

Defining custom intent responses

The Response item nested below the OrderSoup intent represents the potential responses that result from a soup order.

In the OrderSoup intent's response definition, note the following features:

  • A response's Properties can be used to customize the message communicated back to the user. The OrderSoup intent response has soup and waitTime properties.
  • The Response Templates specify the various success and failure messages that can be used to indicate status after an intent's task has completed.
  • The Success checkbox should be selected for responses that indicate success.
  • The OrderSoupIntent success response uses the soup and waitTime properties to provide a friendly and useful message describing when the soup order will be ready.

Generating code for the custom intent

Building the Xcode project containing this custom intent definition causes Xcode to generate code that can be used to interact programmatically with the custom intent and its responses.

To view this generated code:

  • Open AppDelegate.m.
  • Add an import to the custom intent's header file: #import "OrderSoupIntent.h"
  • In any method in the class, add a reference to OrderSoupIntent.
  • Right-click on OrderSoupIntent and choose Jump to Definition.
  • Right-click in the newly opened file, OrderSoupIntent.h, and select Show in Finder.
  • This action will open a Finder window that contains a .h and .m file containing the generated code.

This generated code includes:

  • OrderSoupIntent – A class that represents the custom intent.
  • OrderSoupIntentHandling – A protocol that defines the methods that will be used to confirm that the intent should be executed and the method that actually executes it.
  • OrderSoupIntentResponseCode – An enum that defines various response statuses.
  • OrderSoupIntentResponse – a class that represents the response to an intent's execution.

Creating a binding to the custom intent

To use the code generated by Xcode in a Xamarin.iOS app, create a C# binding for it.

Creating a static library and C# binding definitions

In the SoupChef repository, take a look in the OrderSoupIntentStaticLib folder, and open the OrderSoupIntentStaticLib.xcodeproj Xcode project.

This Cocoa Touch Static Library project contains the OrderSoupIntent.h and OrderSoupIntent.m files generated by Xcode.

Configuring the static library project build settings

In the Xcode Project Navigator, select the top-level project, OrderSoupIntentStaticLib, and navigate to Build Phases > Compile Sources. Notice that OrderSoupIntent.m (which imports OrderSoupIntent.h) is listed here. In Link Binary With Libraries, notice that Intents.framework and Foundation.framework are included. With these settings in place, the framework will build correctly.

Building the static library and generating C# bindings definitions

To build the static library and generate C# bindings definitions for it, follow these steps:

  • Install Objective Sharpie, the tool used to generate bindings definitions from the .h and .m files created by Xcode.

  • Configure your system to use Xcode 10 Command Line Tools:

    Warning

    Updating the selected Command Line Tools impacts all installed versions of Xcode on your system. When you are done using the Soup Chef sample app, be sure to revert this setting to its original configuration.

    • In Xcode, choose Xcode > Preferences > Locations and set Command Line Tools to the most current Xcode 10 installation available on your system.

  • In the terminal, cd to the OrderSoupIntentStaticLib directory.

  • Type make, which builds:

    • The static library, libOrderSoupIntentStaticLib.a
    • In the bo output directory, C# bindings definitions:
      • ApiDefinitions.cs
      • StructsAndEnums.cs

The OrderSoupIntentBindings project, which relies on this static library and its associated bindings definitions, builds these items automatically. However, manually running through the above process will ensure that it builds as expected.

For more information about creating a static library and using Objective Sharpie to create C# bindings definitions, take a look at the Binding an iOS Objective-C library walkthrough.

Creating a bindings library

With the static library and the C# bindings definitions created, the remaining piece necessary to consume the Xcode-generated intent-related code in a Xamarin.iOS project is a bindings library.

In the Soup Chef repository, open the SoupChef.sln file. Among other things, this solution contains OrderSoupIntentBinding, a bindings library for the static library generated earlier.

Notice in particular that this project includes:

  • ApiDefinitions.cs – A file generated earlier by Objective Sharpie and added to this project. This file's Build Action is set to ObjcBindingApiDefinition.

  • StructsAndEnums.cs – Another file generated earlier by Objective Sharpie and added to this project. This file's Build Action is set to ObjcBindingCoreSource.

  • A Native Reference to libOrderSoupIntentStaticLib.a, the static library built earlier. Update the native reference properties and specify the following values:

    1. Frameworks = Foundation Intents
    2. Smart Link = On
    3. Force Load = On
    4. Kind = Static

Note

Both ApiDefinitions.cs and StructsAndEnums.cs contain attributes such as [Watch (5,0), iOS (12,0)]. These attributes, generated by Objective Sharpie, have been commented out since they aren't necessary for this project.

For more information about creating a C# bindings library, take a look at the Binding an iOS Objective-C Library walkthrough.

Notice that the SoupChef project contains a reference to OrderSoupIntentBinding, which means that it can now access, in C#, the classes, interfaces, and enums it contains:

  • OrderSoupIntent
  • OrderSoupIntentHandling
  • OrderSoupIntentResponse
  • OrderSoupIntenseResponseCode

Creating a Swift framework

The intent definition native code is generated by Xcode by default using the language of your native project. If you define the Intents.intentdefinition file in a Swift project, Xcode will generate you a single Swift file with all the required classes, which you can use to create a Swift framework.

Tip

You can select a desired language for the generated intent code in the Xcode build settings. Go to Intent target > Build Settings > Intent Definition Compiler - Code Generation and select either Swift or Objective-C. You can also keep it automatic to match your target language.

The process of creating a Swift framework is similar to the one described earlier:

  1. Create a new Swift framework project.
  2. Copy the automatically generated Swift file with intent code to this project, you can find this file as described here.
  3. Enable the Objective-C bridging header, so the framework is automatically generated with the required by Objective-C sharpie header file.

Once the framework is built, follow the same steps described earlier to create a Xamarin binding. You can read more about creating a binding for a Swift framework here.

Adding the intent definition file to your solution

In the C# SoupChef solution, the SoupKit project contains code shared between the app and its extensions. The Intents.intentdefinition file has been placed in the Base.lproj directory of SoupKit, and it has a Build Action of Content. The build process copies this file into the Soup Chef app bundle, where it is required for the app to function correctly.

Donating an intent

In order for Siri to suggest a shortcut, it must first understand when the shortcut is relevant.

To give Siri this understanding, Soup Chef donates an intent to Siri each time the user places a soup order. Based on this donation – when it was donated, where it was donated, the parameters it contains – Siri learns when to suggest the shortcut in the future.

SoupChef uses the SoupOrderDataManager class to place donations. When called to place a soup order for a user, the PlaceOrder method in turn calls DonateInteraction:

void DonateInteraction(Order order)
{
    var interaction = new INInteraction(order.Intent, null);
    interaction.Identifier = order.Identifier.ToString();
    interaction.DonateInteraction((error) =>
    {
        // ...
    });
}

After fetching an intent, it is wrapped in an INInteraction. The INInteraction is given an Identifier that matches the unique ID of the order (it will be helpful later when deleting intent donations that are no longer valid). Then, the interaction is donated to Siri.

The call to the order.Intent getter fetches an OrderSoupIntent that represents the order by setting its Quantity, Soup, Options, and image, and an invocation phrase to use as a suggestion when the user records a phrase for Siri to associate with the intent:

public OrderSoupIntent Intent
{
    get
    {
        var orderSoupIntent = new OrderSoupIntent();
        orderSoupIntent.Quantity = new NSNumber(Quantity);
        orderSoupIntent.Soup = new INObject(MenuItem.ItemNameKey, MenuItem.LocalizedString);

        var image = UIImage.FromBundle(MenuItem.IconImageName);
        if (!(image is null))
        {
            var data = image.AsPNG();
            orderSoupIntent.SetImage(INImage.FromData(data), "soup");
        }

        orderSoupIntent.Options = MenuItemOptions
            .ToArray<MenuItemOption>()
            .Select<MenuItemOption, INObject>(arg => new INObject(arg.Value, arg.LocalizedString))
            .ToArray<INObject>();

        var comment = "Suggested phrase for ordering a specific soup";
        var phrase = NSBundleHelper.SoupKitBundle.GetLocalizedString("ORDER_SOUP_SUGGESTED_PHRASE", comment);
        orderSoupIntent.SuggestedInvocationPhrase = String.Format(phrase, MenuItem.LocalizedString);

        return orderSoupIntent;
    }
}

Removing invalid donations

It's important to remove donations that are no longer valid so that Siri does not make unhelpful or confusing shortcut suggestions.

In Soup Chef, the Configure Menu screen can be used to mark a menu item as unavailable. Siri should no longer suggest a shortcut to order the unavailable menu item, so the RemoveDonation method of SoupMenuManager deletes donations for menu items that are no longer available. The app implements this functionality by:

  • Finding orders associated with the now-unavailable menu item.
  • Grabbing their identifiers.
  • Deleting interactions that have the same identifiers.
void RemoveDonation(MenuItem menuItem)
{
    if (!menuItem.IsAvailable)
    {
        Order[] orderHistory = OrderManager?.OrderHistory.ToArray<Order>();
        if (orderHistory is null)
        {
            return;
        }

        string[] orderIdentifiersToRemove = orderHistory
            .Where<Order>((order) => order.MenuItem.ItemNameKey == menuItem.ItemNameKey)
            .Select<Order, string>((order) => order.Identifier.ToString())
            .ToArray<string>();

        INInteraction.DeleteInteractions(orderIdentifiersToRemove, (error) =>
        {
            if (!(error is null))
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"Failed to delete interactions with error {error.ToString()}");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Successfully deleted interactions");
            }
        });
    }
}

Validating successful donations

The solution includes multiple projects and specific configuration. In some cases, the application can crash because of incomplete configuration, in other cases, it can silently fail to donate an interaction. It's important to validate successful donations and iOS Developer settings helps with it. Navigate to Settings > Developer and enable the following developer options to see recent donations and shortcuts:

  • Display Recent Shortcuts
  • Display Donations on Lock Screen

Once enabled, every successful donation will appear on the lock screen and below the Siri suggestions options. If after running your application you don't see the donations there, review the following troubleshooting cases:

  1. An app fails to create the OrderSoupIntent with the following error:

    Could not create an native instance of the type 'NativeLibrary.OrderSoupIntent': the native class hasn't been loaded.

    This error means that Xamarin is unable to load the native class via the Xamarin binding. To fix that, verify that the native library includes the required code, referenced by the binding project, and proper flags are set, as described here, set the Force Load flag to On.

  2. An app fails to initialize the loaded native instance of the intent class with the following error:

    Could not initialize an instance of the type 'NativeLibrary.OrderSoupIntent': the native 'init' method returned nil.

    The issue is related to the missing intent definition file. The Xamarin app should include the original intent definition file with the Content type, as described here.

  3. An app creates the intent and calls the donate method without a crash but console output shows a warning about unknown intent type and no donation is made:

    Cannot donate interaction with OrderSoupIntent that has no valid shortcut types

    To fix the issue the intent has to be properly defined in the plist, Siri entitlement has to be enabled and selected for current build configuration via project settings.

    The info.plist of the app:

    <key>NSUserActivityTypes</key>
<array>
    <string>ScheduleMeetingIntent</string>
</array>

    The Entitlements.plist of the app with the Siri capability:

    <key>com.apple.developer.siri</key>
<true/>

    Custom entitlements should be selected for the targeted build configuration. Go to Project settings > Build > iOS Bundle Signing and set Custom Entitlements to the Entitlements.plist file containing the required entitlements.

Creating an Intents extension

The code that runs when Siri invokes an intent is placed in an Intents extension, which can be added as a new project to the same solution as an existing Xamarin.iOS app such as Soup Chef. In the SoupChef solution, the extension is called SoupChefIntents.

SoupChefIntents – Info.plist and Entitlements.plist

SoupChefIntents – Info.plist

The Info.plist in the SoupChefIntents project defines the Bundle Identifier as com.xamarin.SoupChef.SoupChefIntents.

The Info.plist file also contains the following entry:

<key>NSExtension</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSExtensionAttributes</key>
    <dict>
        <key>IntentsRestrictedWhileLocked</key>
        <array/>
        <key>IntentsSupported</key>
        <array>
            <string>OrderSoupIntent</string>
        </array>
        <key>IntentsRestrictedWhileProtectedDataUnavailable</key>
        <array/>
    </dict>
    <key>NSExtensionPointIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.apple.intents-service</string>
    <key>NSExtensionPrincipalClass</key>
    <string>IntentHandler</string>
</dict>

In the above Info.plist:

  • IntentsRestrictedWhileLocked lists intents to be handled when the device is unlocked.
  • IntentsSupported lists the intents handled by this extension.
  • NSExtensionPointIdentifier specifies the type of app extension. For more information, see Apple's documentation.
  • NSExtensionPrincipalClass specifies the class that should be used to handle intents supported by this extension.
SoupChefIntents – Entitlements.plist

The Entitlements.plist in the SoupChefIntents project has the App Groups capability. This capability is configured to use the same app group as the SoupChef project:

<key>com.apple.security.application-groups</key>
<array>
    <string>group.com.xamarin.SoupChef</string>
</array>

Soup Chef persists data with NSUserDefaults. In order to share data between the app and the app extension, they reference the same app group in their Entitlements.plist files.

Note

The SoupChefIntents project's build configuration sets Custom Entitlements to Entitlements.plist.

Handling an OrderSoupIntent background task

An Intents extension executes the necessary background tasks for a shortcut based on a custom intent.

Siri calls the GetHandler method of the IntentHandler class (defined in Info.plist as the NSExtensionPrincipalClass) to get an instance of a class that extends OrderSoupIntentHandling, which can be used to handle an OrderSoupIntent:

[Register("IntentHandler")]
public class IntentHandler : INExtension
{
    public override NSObject GetHandler(INIntent intent)
    {
        if (intent is OrderSoupIntent)
        {
            return new OrderSoupIntentHandler();
        }
        throw new Exception("Unhandled intent type: ${intent}");
    }

    protected IntentHandler(IntPtr handle) : base(handle) { }
}

OrderSoupIntentHandler, defined in the SoupKit project of shared code, implements two important methods:

  • ConfirmOrderSoup – Confirms whether or not the task associated with the intent should actually be executed
  • HandleOrderSoup – Places the soup order and responds to the user by calling the passed-in completion handler

Handling an OrderSoupIntent that opens the app

An app must properly handle intents that do not run in the background. These intents are handled in the same way as NSUserActivity shortcuts, in the ContinueUserActivity method of AppDelegate:

public override bool ContinueUserActivity(UIApplication application, NSUserActivity userActivity, UIApplicationRestorationHandler completionHandler)
{
    var intent = userActivity.GetInteraction()?.Intent as OrderSoupIntent;
    if (!(intent is null))
    {
        HandleIntent(intent);
        return true;
    }
    // ...
}

Providing a user interface for a custom intent

An Intents UI extension provides a custom user interface for an Intents extension. In the SoupChef solution, SoupChefIntentsUI is an Intents UI extension that provides an interface for SoupChefIntents.

SoupChefIntentsUI – Info.plist and Entitlements.plist

SoupChefIntentsUI – Info.plist

The Info.plist in the SoupChefIntentsUI project defines the Bundle Identifier as com.xamarin.SoupChef.SoupChefIntentsui.

The Info.plist file also contains the following entry:

<key>NSExtension</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSExtensionAttributes</key>
    <dict>
        <key>IntentsSupported</key>
        <array>
            <string>OrderSoupIntent</string>
        </array>
        <!-- ... -->
    </dict>
    <key>NSExtensionPointIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.apple.intents-ui-service</string>
    <key>NSExtensionMainStoryboard</key>
    <string>MainInterface</string>
</dict>

In the above Info.plist:

  • IntentsSupported indicates that the OrderSoupIntent is handled by this Intents UI extension.
  • NSExtensionPointIdentifier specifies the type of app extension. For more information, see Apple's documentation.
  • NSExtensionMainStoryboard specifies the storyboard that defines the primary interface of this extension

SoupChefIntentsUI – Entitlements.plist

The SoupChefIntentsUI project does not need an Entitlements.plist file.

Creating the user interface

Since the Info.plist for SoupChefIntentsUI sets the NSExtensionMainStoryboard key to MainInterface, the MainInterace.storyboard file defines the interface for the Intents UI extension.

In this storyboard, there is a single view controller, of type IntentViewController. It references two views:

  • invoiceView, of type InvoiceView
  • confirmationView, of type ConfirmOrderView

Note

The interfaces for invoiceView and confirmationView are defined in Main.storyboard as secondary views. Visual Studio for Mac and Visual Studio 2017 does not provide support for viewing or editing secondary views; to do so, open Main.storyboard in Xcode's Interface Builder.

IntentViewController implements the IINUIHostedViewControlling interface, used to provide a custom interface when working with Siri Intents. The ConfigureView method is called to customize the interface, displaying the confirmation or the invoice, depending on whether the interaction is being confirmed (INIntentHandlingStatus.Ready) or has been executed successfully (INIntentHandlingStatus.Success):

[Export("configureViewForParameters:ofInteraction:interactiveBehavior:context:completion:")]
public void ConfigureView(
    NSSet<INParameter> parameters,
    INInteraction interaction,
    INUIInteractiveBehavior interactiveBehavior,
    INUIHostedViewContext context,
    INUIHostedViewControllingConfigureViewHandler completion)
{
    // ...
    if (interaction.IntentHandlingStatus == INIntentHandlingStatus.Ready)
    {
        desiredSize = DisplayInvoice(order, intent);
    }
    else if(interaction.IntentHandlingStatus == INIntentHandlingStatus.Success)
    {
        var response = interaction.IntentResponse as OrderSoupIntentResponse;
        if (!(response is null))
        {
            desiredSize = DisplayOrderConfirmation(order, intent, response);
        }
    }
    completion(true, parameters, desiredSize);
}

Tip

For more information about the ConfigureView method, watch Apple's WWDC 2017 presentation, What's New in SiriKit.

Creating a voice shortcut

Soup Chef provides an interface to assign a voice shortcut to each order, making it possible to order soup with Siri. In fact, the interface used to record and assign voice shortcuts is provided by iOS and requires little custom code.

In OrderDetailViewController, when a user taps the table's Add to Siri row, the RowSelected method presents a screen to either add or edit a voice shortcut:

public override void RowSelected(UITableView tableView, NSIndexPath indexPath)
{
    // ...
    else if (TableConfiguration.Sections[indexPath.Section].Type == OrderDetailTableConfiguration.SectionType.VoiceShortcut)
    {
        INVoiceShortcut existingShortcut = VoiceShortcutDataManager?.VoiceShortcutForOrder(Order);
        if (!(existingShortcut is null))
        {
            var editVoiceShortcutViewController = new INUIEditVoiceShortcutViewController(existingShortcut);
            editVoiceShortcutViewController.Delegate = this;
            PresentViewController(editVoiceShortcutViewController, true, null);
        }
        else
        {
            // Since the app isn't yet managing a voice shortcut for
            // this order, present the add view controller
            INShortcut newShortcut = new INShortcut(Order.Intent);
            if (!(newShortcut is null))
            {
                var addVoiceShortcutVC = new INUIAddVoiceShortcutViewController(newShortcut);
                addVoiceShortcutVC.Delegate = this;
                PresentViewController(addVoiceShortcutVC, true, null);
            }
        }
    }
}

Based on whether or not an existing voice shortcut exists for the currently displayed order, RowSelected presents a view controller of type INUIEditVoiceShortcutViewController or INUIAddVoiceShortcutViewController. In each case, OrderDetailViewController sets itself as the view controller's Delegate, which is why it also implements IINUIAddVoiceShortcutViewControllerDelegate and IINUIEditVoiceShortcutViewControllerDelegate.

Testing on device

To run Soup Chef on a device, follow the instructions in this section. Also read the note about automatic provisioning.

App Group, App IDs, Provisioning Profiles

In the Certificates, IDs & Profiles section of the Apple Developer Portal, do the following steps:

  • Create an app group to share data between the Soup Chef app and its extensions. For example: group.com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef

  • Create three App IDs: one for the app itself, one for the Intents extension, and one for the Intents UI extension. For example:

    • App: com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef

      • To this App ID, assign the SiriKit and App Groups capabilities.

    • Intents extension: com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef.Intents

      • To this App ID, assign the App Groups capability.

    • Intents UI extension: com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef.Intentsui

      • This App ID needs no special capabilities.

  • After creating the above App IDs, edit the App Groups capability assigned to the app and the Intents extension, specifying the specific app group created earlier.

  • Create three new development provisioning profiles, one for each of the new App IDs.

  • Download these provisioning profiles and double-click each one to install it. If Visual Studio for Mac or Visual Studio 2017 is already running, restart it to make sure it registers the new provisioning profiles.

Editing Info.plist, Entitlements.plist, and source code

In Visual Studio for Mac or Visual Studio 2017, do the following steps:

  • Update the various Info.plist files in the solution. Set the app, Intents extension, and Intents UI extension Bundle Identifier to the App IDs defined earlier:

    • App: com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef
    • Intents Extension: com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef.Intents
    • Intents UI Extension: com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef.Intentsui

  • Update the Entitlements.plist file for the SoupChef project:

    • For the App Groups capability, set the group to the new app group created earlier (in the above example, it was group.com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef).
    • Make sure that SiriKit is enabled.

  • Update the Entitlements.plist file for the SoupChefIntents project:

    • For the App Groups capability, set the group to the new app group created earlier (in the above example, it was group.com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef).

  • Finally, open NSUserDefaultsHelper.cs. Set the AppGroup variable to the value of your new app group (for example, set it to group.com.yourcompanyname.SoupChef).

Configuring the build settings

In Visual Studio for Mac or Visual Studio 2017:

  • Open the options/properties for the SoupChef project. On the iOS Bundle Signing tab, set Signing Identity to automatic and Provisioning Profile to the new app-specific provisioning profile you created earlier.

  • Open the options/properties for the SoupChefIntents project. On the iOS Bundle Signing tab, set Signing Identity to automatic and Provisioning Profile to the new Intents extension-specific provisioning profile you created earlier.

  • Open the options/properties for the SoupChefIntentsUI project. On the iOS Bundle Signing tab, set Signing Identity to automatic and Provisioning Profile to the new Intents UI extension-specific provisioning profile you created earlier.

With these changes in place, the app will run on an iOS device.

Automatic provisioning

You can use automatic provisioning to accomplish many of these provisioning tasks directly in the IDE. However, automatic provisioning does not set up app groups. You will need to manually configure the Entitlements.plist files with the name of the app group you would like to use, visit the Apple Developer Portal to create the app group, assign that app group to each App ID created by automatic provisioning, regenerate the provisioning profiles (app, Intents extension, Intents UI extension) to include the newly created app group, and download and install them.