TVclHelpChatAI reference

Unit Vcl.HelpChatAI · package HelpChatAIVcl · palette group Ethea HelpChatAI · Delphi 10.4 and later.

A non-visual component: it owns the engine, the transport, the bubble and the chat panel.

Published properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
Settings	THelpChatSettings		Everything the engine needs: provider, language, index, the model sections, Remote. See the Settings reference
Active	Boolean	False	Starts engine, transport and hooks. Set at design time it applies when the form is loaded at runtime
RegisterHelpViewer	Boolean	True	Register the chat as the help viewer of the application (ICustomHelpViewer): F1 on a control with help, Application.HelpKeyword, HelpShowTableOfContents
HandleF1	Boolean	True	F1 opens the chat also where nothing declares help
Caption	string	(empty)	Title of the window the chat opens in when it is not embedded. Empty = the localized "Help" / "Aiuto"
AssistantName	string	(empty)	What the assistant is called, written in the header of the panel next to its icon. Empty = the localized "Assistant" / "Assistente"
ShowBubble	Boolean	True	The round button with the assistant icon, in the bottom-right corner of the host form
Images	TCustomImageList	nil	Image list holding the bubble icon; nil uses the icons compiled into the component
ImageIndex	TImageIndex	-1	Bubble icon by position
ImageName	TImageName	(empty)	Bubble icon by name: AIAssistant_Male, AIAssistant_Female, Assistant_Male, Assistant_Female

The icon of the three properties above is also the one the panel draws in its header, left of AssistantName.

Public method	What it answers
ResolvedCaption: string	The title actually used: Caption, or the localized default
ResolvedAssistantName: string	The name actually used
AssistantIconDataUri: string	That icon as the data:image/png URI the page loads
ApplyAssistant	Re-reads all of it and pushes it to the panel; called for you when any of those properties changes
VoiceEngine	THelpChatVoiceEngine
ConfigFileName	TFileName
ActionsEnabled	Boolean
FollowVclStyle	Boolean
RememberPanelPosition	Boolean
Container	TWinControl
PanelWidth	Integer
PanelHeight	Integer

Published events

Event	Signature	When
OnGetContext	(Sender; var AContext: THelpChatContext)	The screen context has been built and can be refined
OnGetTheme	(Sender; var ATheme: THelpChatTheme)	The colours have been derived and can be adjusted
OnBeforeShowHelp	(Sender; var AContainer: TWinControl)	Before showing: set AContainer to embed the chat
OnAfterShowHelp	(Sender)	The chat is visible
OnBeforeHideHelp	(Sender)	The user closed it: hide your container
OnAfterHideHelp	(Sender)	After hiding
OnActionConfirm	(Sender; const AName; const AArgs; var AAllow)	An action marked Confirm is about to run
OnActionExecuted	(Sender; const AName; const AOutcome; const AResult)	After every action
OnOpenLink	(Sender; const AUrl; var AHandled)	A link is leaving the panel; set AHandled to open it yourself instead of the system browser
OnVoiceText	(Sender; var AText; const AFinal)	Dictated text on its way to the box: correct it, or empty it to drop it. AFinal is False for a hypothesis
OnVoiceConsentNeeded	(Sender; var AHandled)	The recognizer needs the online speech consent; set AHandled to explain it your way

Methods

Method	Description
Open	Opens the panel with the context of the current screen
OpenForCurrentScreen	Opens it and asks the localized question about this screen (F1)
OpenForHelp(AKeyword, AContext)	Opens it for a specific keyword or help context id
OpenWithQuestion(AText, ASend = True)	Opens it and sends AText, or only pre-fills it
Close	Hides the chat (the conversation stays)
Toggle	Open if closed, close if open
IsPanelVisible: Boolean	Whether the chat is on screen
OpenDocPage(APage)	Opens a page of Settings.DocFolder in the documentation view of the panel
BuildContext: THelpChatContext	Builds the context now (fires OnGetContext)
BuildTheme: THelpChatTheme	The theme that would be applied (fires OnGetTheme)
ApplyTheme	Recomputes the colours and pushes them into the open page
ActiveControlHasHelp: Boolean	class function — whether the focused control or a parent declares help

Public properties

Property	Type	Description
Actions	THelpChatActionBroker	The registry of what the assistant may do. Available from the constructor
Engine	THelpChatEngine	The engine, while active (nil before, and idle with a remote server)
Transport	IHelpChatTransport	The local server or the remote client
View	TVclHelpChatPanel	The chat control (the WebView2 host), wherever it is parented
OwnForm	TVclHelpChatForm	The component's own window, when not embedded
ActiveContainer	TWinControl	Who is hosting the chat right now
HostForm	TCustomForm	Form hosting the bubble and anchoring the window; nil = Application.MainForm. Public and not published: at design time the form of another unit is not a component of this one, so there would be nothing to choose from

Types you will meet

THelpChatContext = record
  ScreenName, ScreenLabel, ScreenType: string;
  HelpKeyword: string;
  HelpContext: Integer;
  FocusedControl: string;
  function DisplayName: string;   // the readable name of the screen
  function SearchHint: string;    // what the retriever searches with
end;

THelpChatTheme = record
  Name: string;
  IsDark: Boolean;
  Background, Surface, Text, Border, Accent: string;   // '#rrggbb'
  // ...derived colours, filled in automatically
  FontFamily: string;
end;

Minimal example

uses HelpChatAI.Types, Vcl.HelpChatAI;

procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
  HelpChatAI.Settings.Provider := 'docsearch';
  HelpChatAI.Settings.DocIndexFile := TPath.Combine(
    TPath.GetDirectoryName(ParamStr(0)), 'help-index.json');
  HelpChatAI.Settings.DocBaseUrl := 'https://help.mycompany.com/myapp/';
  HelpChatAI.Active := True;
end;