Concepts
In the world of artificial intelligence (AI), providing a visually engaging and interactive user interface is essential for effectively communicating information. This is where Adaptive Cards come into play. Adaptive Cards allow developers to create flexible and customizable card designs that can be rendered on various platforms and devices.
In this article, we will explore how to implement Adaptive Cards in a Microsoft Azure AI solution. We will cover the basics of Adaptive Cards, how to design and create them, and how to integrate them into your AI solution.
What are Adaptive Cards?
Adaptive Cards are a declarative, open-source, and platform-agnostic UI framework. They provide a way to define the visual appearance and behavior of a card, which can then be rendered on various platforms such as web, mobile, and even within chatbots.
The key benefit of using Adaptive Cards is that they adapt to the host application’s capabilities and constraints. This means that regardless of whether the card is rendered on a small mobile screen or a desktop web app, it will adjust itself to fit the available space and provide a consistent user experience.
Designing Adaptive Cards
To design Adaptive Cards, you need to define the JSON structure that describes the card’s content. The Microsoft Adaptive Cards designer provides an intuitive and visual way to design the cards without having to write the JSON directly.
To start designing your Adaptive Card, follow these steps:
- Open the Microsoft Adaptive Cards designer in your web browser.
- On the left-hand side, you’ll find a selection of pre-built card templates. Choose the one that best suits your requirements or start with a blank card.
- Drag and drop elements from the toolbox onto the canvas to design your card. Elements include text, images, buttons, inputs, and more.
- Customize the properties of each element by selecting it on the canvas and modifying the properties in the property panel on the right-hand side.
- Preview the card by clicking the “Preview” button to see how it will look when rendered.
Once you’re satisfied with the design, click the “Code” button to get the JSON representation of your Adaptive Card. You can then use this JSON to render the card in your Azure AI solution.
Integrating Adaptive Cards in Azure AI Solutions
To integrate Adaptive Cards into your Azure AI solution, you can follow these steps:
- Retrieve the JSON representation of your Adaptive Card from the designer as described in the previous section.
- In your Azure AI solution code, you can use the Adaptive Cards SDK to work with Adaptive Cards. Install the SDK by running the following command in your command prompt or terminal:
npm install adaptivecards
- Create a new HTML file or modify an existing one to render the Adaptive Card. Add the following HTML code to create a basic structure:
// JSON representation of your Adaptive Card
var cardJson = {
// Paste your Adaptive Card JSON here
};
// Create a new Adaptive Card instance
var adaptiveCard = new AdaptiveCards.AdaptiveCard();
// Parse the JSON and render the Adaptive Card
adaptiveCard.parse(cardJson);
var renderedCard = adaptiveCard.render();
// Append the rendered card to the container
document.getElementById('adaptiveCardContainer').appendChild(renderedCard);
- Replace the commented line “// Paste your Adaptive Card JSON here” with the JSON representation of your Adaptive Card.
- Save the HTML file and open it in a web browser. You should see your Adaptive Card rendered in the web page.
Conclusion
Adaptive Cards provide a powerful way to create visually appealing and platform-agnostic UI experiences in Azure AI solutions. By harnessing the flexible nature of Adaptive Cards, you can deliver consistent user experiences across various platforms. Whether you’re building a chatbot, a mobile app, or a web application, Adaptive Cards can enhance the interaction between users and your AI solution.
In this article, we learned about the basics of Adaptive Cards, how to design them using the Microsoft Adaptive Cards designer, and how to integrate them into an Azure AI solution. Now you have the knowledge and tools to leverage Adaptive Cards in your own AI projects and deliver engaging user interfaces. Happy coding!
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
Which of the following platforms can you use to implement Adaptive Cards for multi-platform support?
a) Azure AI
b) Microsoft Teams
c) Azure Cognitive Services
d) Microsoft Office
e) All of the above
Correct answer: e) All of the above
True or False: Adaptive Cards can only be used for displaying static content and cannot include dynamic elements like user input fields or buttons.
Correct answer: False
Adaptive Cards are based on which open standard?
a) JSON
b) XML
c) HTML
d) Markdown
Correct answer: a) JSON
True or False: Adaptive Cards can be used in web applications but not in mobile applications.
Correct answer: False
Which of the following languages can be used for implementing Adaptive Cards?
a) C#
b) JavaScript/TypeScript
c) Python
d) All of the above
Correct answer: d) All of the above
Adaptive Cards can be used to create interactive UI components in which of the following Microsoft services?
a) Microsoft Azure Bot Service
b) Microsoft Power Apps
c) Microsoft Outlook
d) Microsoft SharePoint
e) All of the above
Correct answer: e) All of the above
How can you render an Adaptive Card in a web application using JavaScript/TypeScript?
a) Use the Adaptive Cards JavaScript SDK
b) Use the Azure Cognitive Services REST API
c) Use the Azure Bot Framework SDK
d) Use the Azure App Service
Correct answer: a) Use the Adaptive Cards JavaScript SDK
True or False: Adaptive Cards can only be rendered in a standalone format and cannot be embedded within other UI components.
Correct answer: False
Adaptive Cards can be used for which of the following scenarios?
a) Displaying chat messages in a conversational bot interface
b) Collecting user feedback through a form
c) Displaying dynamic weather information in a weather app
d) All of the above
Correct answer: d) All of the above
Which of the following tools can you use to design and author Adaptive Cards?
a) Adaptive Cards Designer
b) Visual Studio Code with Adaptive Cards extension
c) Microsoft Power Automate
d) All of the above
Correct answer: d) All of the above
Great post! Adaptive Cards have really streamlined the user experience in our project. Thanks for sharing!
Can someone explain how to bind data dynamically to an Adaptive Card in Azure Bot Service?
Thanks for the insightful article!
Very informative. Helps a lot in preparing for the AI-102 exam.
In the context of Adaptive Cards, what’s the difference between ‘version’ and ‘type’ properties?
Any tips for optimizing the performance of Adaptive Cards?
How do you handle input validation in Adaptive Cards?
This blog is exactly what I needed. Thanks!