Facebook – Using Facebook API to invite friends

facebookfacebook-friendsfacebook-graph-apifacebook-invitefacebook-javascript-sdk

I want an "Invite Friends" link on my website where you click it and you get a Facebook dialog that asks you to choose which of your friends you'd like to invite. Those friends then either get an application request, Facebook email or at least a wall post inviting them to join my website.

I'm a bit confused over what is the proper way to do this. It seems the only non-deprecated way now is through the Requests Dialog. So I call the FB.ui Javascript method like the example they give:

FB.ui({
    method: 'apprequests', 
    message: 'You should learn more about this awesome game.',
    data: 'tracking information for the user'
});

Then the invitees will get application requests when they login to Facebook. When they "accept" that request, they'll be directed to my Facebook canvas application where I read the initial request id passed from Facebook so I know what this is about and then I guess I can redirect the user to my website? I don't like this as I now have to learn how to build a canvas application, but is this the proper way to have an invite friends through Facebook feature?

Ideally the invite friends button brings up the Facebook friend selector (or login if the user isn't logged in to FB yet) and then posts on those friends' walls. That message posted would have a simple link back to my website. Is this possible?

Best Answer

I had same problem. Though it is very late for answering question, it will help somebody. That's why answering this question.

Call this Javascript function when want to send invitations.

function sendRequestViaMultiFriendSelector() {
    FB.ui({
        method: 'apprequests',
        message: "This message is displayed in invitation"
    },send_wall_invitation);

}

function send_wall_invitation(response) {
   // alert(response.to);
    var send_invitation_url=base_url+'send_invitation';
    jQuery.ajax({
        url:send_invitation_url,
        data:{
            to:response.to
            },
        dataType:"json",
        type: 'POST',
        success: function(data){
//            alert("");
        }

    })
}

Sending array of friends invited by ajax and then send post for each friend.

~~I can post on the user's friends walls via the PHP API. Try this :~~

$facebook->api('/[FRIEND_ID]/feed', 'post', array( 'message' => 'test message', 'link' => 'http://google.com', 'name' => 'test name', 'caption' => 'test caption', 'description' => 'test long description', ));

Posting on friends wall is not possible now by Feb 2013. How to post on a friend's Timeline after the February 2013 migration takes effect?

$facebook->api('/[Loggedin_user_id]/feed', 'post', array(
              'message' => 'test message',
              'link' => 'http://google.com',
              'name' => 'test name',
              'caption' => 'test caption',
              'description' => 'test long description',
          ));

But user can still post on his wall and tag friends in post or image.

See :

Related Solutions

Ios – Design for Facebook authentication in an iOS app that also accesses a secured web service

I just dealt with this myself, and here's the part that bit me:

In your step 5... It's possible for a user to register for an account with you entirely separate from their Facebook ID, right? Then some other time they log in with Facebook.... And you just created them a second account and lost their first one.

There needs to be a way to be logged in to your web service, then log in to facebook, and capture the association between the facebook ID and the local account.

Apart from that, your plan sounds solid.

Update: Facebook has added a doc outlining such a scenario HERE

Facebook canvas app – invite friends

first approach:

function newInvite(){
                 var receiverUserIds = FB.ui({
                        method : 'apprequests',
                        message: 'Come on man checkout my applications.',
                 },
                 function(receiverUserIds) {
                          console.log("IDS : " + receiverUserIds.request_ids);
                        }
                 );
                 //http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/dialogs/requests/
            }

Second Approach:

<?php
     include_once "fbmain.php";
    if (isset($_REQUEST['ids'])){
        echo "Invitation Successfully Sent";
        echo '<pre>';
        print_r($_REQUEST);
        echo '</pre>';
        echo "<b>If you need to save these user ids then save these to database <br />then redirect user to the apps.facebook.com/yourapp url</b>";
        $string = "<script type='text/javascript'>top.location.href='{$fbconfig['appBaseUrl']}'; </script>";
        echo "Use the following javascript code to redirect user <br />";
        echo htmlentities($string, ENT_QUOTES);
    }
    else {
?>
<fb:serverFbml style="width: 500px;">
    <script type="text/fbml">
      <fb:fbml>
          <fb:request-form
                    action="<?=$fbconfig['baseUrl']?>/invite.php"
                    target="_top"
                    method="POST"
                    invite="true"
                    type="Demo Application  Learning API"
                    content="Checkout this demo application and learn iframe base facebook application development. <fb:req-choice url='<?=$fbconfig['appBaseUrl']?>' label='Accept' />"
                    >

                    <fb:multi-friend-selector
                    showborder="false"
                    actiontext="Checkout this demo application">
        </fb:request-form>
      </fb:fbml>
    </script>
  </fb:serverFbml>
<?php } ?>

third approach(using PHP-SDK):

     $app_id = "YOUR_APP_ID";

     $canvas_page = "YOUR_CANVAS_PAGE_URL";

     $message = "Would you like to join me in this great app?";

     $requests_url = "http://www.facebook.com/dialog/apprequests?app_id=" 
            . $app_id . "&redirect_uri=" . urlencode($canvas_page)
            . "&message=" . $message;

     if (empty($_REQUEST["request_ids"])) {
        echo("<script> top.location.href='" . $requests_url . "'</script>");
     } else {
        echo "Request Ids: ";
        print_r($_REQUEST["request_ids"]);
     }
?>

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Ios – Design for Facebook authentication in an iOS app that also accesses a secured web service

Facebook canvas app – invite friends

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