Any Way Around Facebook Bots Button Template Limit?

Question

It appears (undocumented) that for a button message type in the Facebook Bots chat system, there is a max of 3 buttons. This seems arbitrary and limiting. Does anyone know if there is a way to have more than 3 buttons?

To be clear, I'm referring to the following message JSON:

{
  "recipient":{
    "id":"USER_ID"
  },
  "message":{
    "attachment":{
      "type":"template",
      "payload":{
        "template_type":"button",
        "text":"What do you want to do next?",
        "buttons":[
          {
            "type":"web_url",
            "url":"https://petersapparel.parseapp.com",
            "title":"Show Website"
          },
          {
            "type":"postback",
            "title":"Start Chatting",
            "payload":"USER_DEFINED_PAYLOAD"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Thibeault

No there is no way around the limit – Candelabra

I would not call it arbitrary. Facebook does a lot of UX research on their products, and if they place limits on functionality, that is usually well thought through, and not just willy-nilly. They probably simply don’t want you to confuse the user with a sh*tload of buttons. – Trenton

Answer 1

There's no way to bypass this limit. Facebook has clearly documented the limits of a generic template here:

Title: 80 characters

Subtitle: 80 characters

Call-to-action title: 20 characters

Call-to-action items: 3 buttons

Bubbles per message (horizontal scroll): 10 elements

There can be maximum 3 buttons in one bubble. you can add another bubble with 3 more buttons. For example:

{
  "recipient": {
    "id": "RECIPIENT_ID"
  },
  "message": {
    "attachment": {
      "type": "template",
      "payload": {
        "template_type": "generic",
        "elements": [
          {
            "title": "Swipe left/right for more options.",
            "buttons": [
              {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "Button 1",
                "payload": "button1"
              },
              {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "Button 2",
                "payload": "button2"
              },
              {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "Button 3",
                "payload": "button3"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "title": "Swipe left/right for more options.",
            "buttons": [
              {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "Button 4",
                "payload": "button4"
              },
              {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "Button 5",
                "payload": "button5"
              },
              {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "Button 6",
                "payload": "button6"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

You can add maximum 10 bubbles in one generic template.

OR

You can use quick replies.

Unattended

Facebook has now deleted this info from their website, so that's useful that you copied it here. thanks. – Goto

@Mukarram Khalid, is it same for list? I am having problem list not display under following condition: Let say there are 10 items in elements, and each element has 1 button, but end up the list not display – Litigable

Answer 2

You can also use the "Quick Replies" : https://developers.facebook.com/docs/messenger-platform/send-api-reference/quick-replies

Quick replies allows you to display up to 11 options in buttons in a single row :

Succulent

Answer 3

You can use botframework approach. It sends options using generic template. options part 1, options part 2

"attachment": {
    "type": "template",
    "payload": {
        "template_type": "generic",
        "elements": [{
            "title": "group of options part 1",                    
            "buttons": [ {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "option 1",
                "payload": "option 1",
            }, ...,
            {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "option 3",
                "payload": "option 3",
            }],
        }, ..., 
        {
            "title": "group of options 10",
            "buttons": [{
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "option 28",
                "payload": "option 28",
            }, ...,
            {
                "type": "postback",
                "title": "option 30",
                "payload": "option 30",
            }],
        }]
    }
}

Indiscipline

Answer 4

You can try this:

 "text": msg,
        "quick_replies": [
        {

            "content_type": "text",
            "title": "What happens to my healthcare benefits?",
            "payload": "HEALTHCARE_BENEFITS"

        },
        {
            "content_type": "text",
            "title": "What happens to my service credit purchases?",
            "payload": "SERVICE_CREDIT_PURCHASE"

        },
        {
            "content_type": "text",
            "title": "Am I eligible for enhanced contributions?",
            "payload": "ENHANCED_CONTRIBUTIONS"

        },
        {
            "content_type": "text",
            "title": "What is the New Hybrid Plan?",
            "payload": "NEW_HYBRID_PLAN"

        }
    ]

    }
}

Frum