Start Application Commands via Buttons

[perzeuss]

The Problem

Application commands are great, but I got the feedback that its hard for people to use them, especially on mobile devices, when there are lots of options.
With 25 options an application command can have, there is a lot to type when using the command.

A Solution

A solution for that problem could be buttons for application commands with pre filled values for options.

NAME	VALUE	COLOR	REQUIRED FIELD
Command	6	grey, start an application command	commandId

Example:

Given you have an application command /some-command option1: someValue option2: someValue option3: someValue
You could have a Button "Start a Command!" and when the user presses the button, the application command UI opens for the command "some-command" and the options option1 and option2 are pre filled with default values.
Now, the user only has to fill in the value for option 3.

Code:

"components": [
                    {
                        "type": 2,
                        "label": "Start a Command!",
                        "style": 6,
                        "custom_id": "invoke_some_command",
                        "command_id": "884151755258021464",
                        "defaults": {
                          "option1":"some value",
                          "option2": 8
                        },
                    }
                ]

Style:

The Button Style could be similar to Link Buttons

Optional: A Modal to prevent abuse

It may be possible abuse this to make people invoke commands with values, they dont want to. To prevent this, a simple modal could help. But that's not really required because the user still has to press enter/send to execute the application command.

Benefits

• Users do not have to type in as much
• More complex application commands are possible with better user experience, because we can use buttons to fill options
• A new way to use application commands
• Alternative to the context menu
• It'd be possible to change the default option-values on buttons during interactions, so it has huge potential
• Backwards compatibility
• Only small api changes needed

[NovaFox161]

Great suggestion, but will be redundant with the "form interactions" that have been mentioned a few times as something they plan to implement (or at least have teased they want to do it)

Discussion #3334
Best to probably bring this conversation there to help fight the pr/issue/discussion rot

[perzeuss]

I don't see how forms would help? The goal is to fill application command options, client side, with values depending on interactions.

[NovaFox161]

Forms would make it so that using application commands for something like this isn't needed.

Start an interaction (via app command or button or whatever) and then forms allow pre-filled fields and just better UI/UX for something that would take a lot of options/lots of commands.

[perzeuss]

That would be an alternative but would make it more complex to use:
Instead of just sending a button with an array of application command option values, I'd have to create a form and create a handler for that form instead of using existing application command logic.
API usage would also increase.

Even with forms, there are still situations in which it'd be better to use slash commands with some pre filled values.

So, having forms would not make this suggestion obsolete.

[perzeuss]

Also, Buttons could be sent via webhooks. I don't think that this will be possible with forms.

[Longhouse81]

For defaults, you can actually work with optional values and don't require them, if not defined parameters you load in standard parameters and instead of confirming the slash command you first serve a message with the buttons, place a default in the description of the command so people know what the default is... (This is already possible today)

For starting a slash command with a button i would rather say to just link it to the attachment button or new button in the default UI.

I do love the idea of default parameters, but i rather have discord to not sort the values themselves in the option selectors so as bot developers you can adjust commands based on popularity once every 24h... , or place the default value at the top, making it, even more custom and easy to use.

[perzeuss]

Yeah that would work for defauls aka fallback values.

What I mean are default values that can be set dynamically, depending on interactions. So you can have one command and 10 differen buttons, each button sets different values for the options the command have.

[Longhouse81]

You mean something depending on the previous choice the values in the list change?

[perzeuss]

No I mean the values for the command options you enter in the text input.

To make it clear, another example:
A button "Report Discord Api Docs Bug" that starts an application command to create a Bug Issue in a github project like this:
/github create-issue type: bug organisation: discord project: discord-api-docs title: Bug Ticket from Discord User description:.

When you click the button, these values are already set in your text input and you only have to enter the description and press enter to use the application command.

[Longhouse81]

I think forms would be a great way to do this, you click a button and generate a form with loading in the username who clicked the button and stuff, you don't actually need a slash command any more than, where a user only adjust the values needed and you can set defaults easier that way, sadly forms are not available yet...

[Longhouse81]

As i noticed today it seems the attachment button changed to also start slash commands, i expect soon we get a sorting in that menu like i had seen in previous examples, making it easier and eliminating a step...

[Skillz4Killz]

I proposed something similar to discord when Context Menus were being released, which didn't make it through sadly.

On top of buttons starting slash commands, imo a cool thing would be for Context Menus to initiate Slash commands. In fact, Context Menus are basically Slash commands at its core just limited to 1 parameter. Anything you can do in a Context Command you can do in a Slash command. But that could have been a huge way to expand user experience imo. For example, a poll or giveaway or reaction role or whatever command you have that requires a Message ID you could make a Context Menu for users to simply right click and initiate this command and the message id would be prefilled. This way end users would never need to have to enable developer mode to copy message ids. Click a message click Create Reaction Role > slash command options open with the message id parameter being prefilled. Too many times do bot support people need to teach users how to enable developer mode to get ids for things.

[Longhouse81]

I'm a bit confussed with this one TBH, when you pick one of the max 5 options you already have the message, while in a user friendly poll, giveaway, reaction role and other stuff like that the bot would create that message in a nice embed for you depending the parameters given.

Why would they add more functionality on top of the existing functionality that runs ok for a few years now?
There are 200 million reasons (Playstation dollars) they are adding easier auto completion (slash commands future), easy navigatable stuff like buttons and dropdowns because that would limit as much as possible keyboard input...
I think it's time to think out the existing box and as bot developers be ready for a new audiance with controllers joining discord, not able to type as easy as regular pc and mobile users...

Am i wrong? Good question, but i feel a slash command on PC or mobile means nothing compared the regular commands bots have today, you could argue user input limitations but than i ask myself the question why we can't set min max and other stuff on numeric inputs, is picking something out of a list faster on PC or mobile, i can't say more than that it looks cooler, but in general i don't feels discord is updating API after API the last year to have it looking a bit more sleeker, this is money speaking, getting ready for 2022...