ConnectApiHelper is an Apex class that makes it easier to do common operations with the classes in the ConnectApi namespace. It includes convenience methods to:
- Post Chatter @-mentions with Apex code.
- Post rich text and inline images with Apex code.
- Take a feed item or comment body and return an input body that matches it (useful for either editing or re-posting).
If you want to mention someone in a post that says: Hey there @Jane Doe, how are you?, you can do it in one line like this:
ConnectApi.FeedItem fi = (ConnectApi.FeedItem) ConnectApiHelper.postFeedItemWithMentions(Network.getNetworkId(), 'me', 'Hey there {005D00000015tjz}, how are you?');
... instead of this:
ConnectApi.MessageBodyInput messageInput = new ConnectApi.MessageBodyInput();
messageInput.messageSegments = new List<ConnectApi.MessageSegmentInput>();
ConnectApi.TextSegmentInput textSegment = new ConnectApi.TextSegmentInput();
textSegment.text = 'Hey there ';
messageInput.messageSegments.add(textSegment);
ConnectApi.MentionSegmentInput mentionSegment = new ConnectApi.MentionSegmentInput();
mentionSegment.id = '005D00000015tjz'; // The ID of the user to mention.
messageInput.messageSegments.add(mentionSegment);
textSegment = new ConnectApi.TextSegmentInput();
textSegment.text = ', how are you?';
messageInput.messageSegments.add(textSegment);
ConnectApi.FeedItemInput input = new ConnectApi.FeedItemInput();
input.body = messageInput;
input.subjectId = 'me';
ConnectApi.FeedItem fi = ConnectApi.ChatterFeeds.postFeedElement(Network.getNetworkId(), input);
If you want to add rich text or inline images in your post, one line will do it:
ConnectApi.FeedItem fi = ConnectApiHelper.postFeedItemWithRichText(Network.getNetworkId(),
'me', 'Have you seen this <b>gorgeous</b> view? {img:069x00000000D7m:View of the Space Needle from our office.}');
... instead of this:
ConnectApi.MessageBodyInput messageInput = new ConnectApi.MessageBodyInput();
messageInput.messageSegments = new List<ConnectApi.MessageSegmentInput>();
ConnectApi.TextSegmentInput textSegment = new ConnectApi.TextSegmentInput();
textSegment.text = 'Have you seen this ';
messageInput.messageSegments.add(textSegment);
ConnectApi.MarkupBeginSegmentInput markupBeginSegment = new ConnectApi.MarkupBeginSegmentInput();
markupBeginSegment.markupType = ConnectApi.MarkupType.Bold;
messageInput.messageSegments.add(markupBeginSegment);
textSegment = new ConnectApi.TextSegmentInput();
textSegment.text = 'gorgeous';
messageInput.messageSegments.add(textSegment);
ConnectApi.MarkupEndSegmentInput markupEndSegment = new ConnectApi.MarkupEndSegmentInput();
markupEndSegment.markupType = ConnectApi.MarkupType.Bold;
messageInput.messageSegments.add(markupEndSegment);
textSegment = new ConnectApi.TextSegmentInput();
textSegment.text = ' view? ';
messageInput.messageSegments.add(textSegment);
ConnectApi.InlineImageSegmentInput inlineImageSegment = new ConnectApi.InlineImageSegmentInput();
inlineImageSegment.fileId = '069x00000000D7m';
inlineImageSegment.altText = 'View of the Space Needle from our office.';
messageInput.messageSegments.add(inlineImageSegment);
ConnectApi.FeedItemInput input = new ConnectApi.FeedItemInput();
input.body = messageInput;
input.subjectId = 'me';
ConnectApi.FeedItem fi = ConnectApi.ChatterFeeds.postFeedElement(Network.getNetworkId(), input);
Just copy the ConnectApiHelper and ConnectApiHelperTest classes to your Salesforce org. For @-mentions, the methods to use are ConnectApiHelper.postFeedItemWithMentions and ConnectApiHelper.postCommentWithMentions and the parameters and formatting syntax are described in the method comments. To include rich text and inline images as well (starting in version 35.0), the method to use is ConnectApiHelper.postFeedItemWithRichText. You can also refer to the ConnectApiHelperTest class for more examples.
For creating input bodies from output bodies, the methods are ConnectApiHelper.createFeedItemInputFromBody and ConnectApiHelper.createCommentInputFromBody.
If you need to use API version 31.0 or earlier, be sure to use the ConnectApiHelper class that's contained in the v31AndEarlier directory.
If you need to use API versions 32.0, 33.0, or 34.0, use the one that's in the v32-v34 directory. These API versions do not support rich text segments.
If you need to use API version 35.0, use the one that's in the v35 directory.