Group chat - Group chat with one user is allowed in confirmation page, but not in contact list

[lanitochka17]

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Version Number: 1.4.58-4 Reproducible in staging?: Y Reproducible in production?: N If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail: N/A Issue reported by: Applause - Internal Team

Action Performed:

1. Go to staging.new.expensify.com
2. Go to FAB > Start chat
3. Click Add to group with one user
4. Click Create chat
5. Note that user lands on 1:1 DM
6. Go to FAB > Start chat
7. Select Add to group with the same user in Step 3 and another user
8. Click Next
9. In confirmation page, unselect the other user and click Start group

Expected Result:

If app allows to create a group with just one user, Step 3 should result in the creation of a new group

Actual Result:

n Step 3, app does not allow the creation of group chat with one user when clicking Add to group with just one user in contact list. However, in Step 7, when user selects two users in contact list and unselects one user in confirmation page, app allows to create group chat in one user

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Which of our officially supported platforms is this issue occurring on?

• [x] Android: Native
• [x] Android: mWeb Chrome
• [x] iOS: Native
• [x] iOS: mWeb Safari
• [x] MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• [x] MacOS: Desktop

Screenshots/Videos

Add any screenshot/video evidence

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/78819774/ba594a0d-175f-4a3c-aa77-c465a3429fd7

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[melvin-bot[bot]]

Triggered auto assignment to @puneetlath (DeployBlockerCash), see https://stackoverflowteams.com/c/expensify/questions/9980/ for more details.

[github-actions[bot]]

:wave: Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

1. Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
2. Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
3. Fix the issue yourself.

[lanitochka17]

We think that this bug might be related to #vip-vsp

[lanitochka17]

@puneetlath FYI I haven't added the External label as I wasn't 100% sure about this issue. Please take a look and add the label if you agree it's a bug and can be handled by external contributors

[gijoe0295]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Can create a group chat with one user in confirmation page.

What is the root cause of that problem?

In NewChatConfirmationPage, the condition to show Create group button is incorrect:

https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/24cf044fad3e7e2ee5d63203f7377af750b2f173/src/pages/NewChatConfirmPage.tsx#L135

selectedOptions in this page also includes the group creator.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We have several approaches for this:

1. Change the condition in RCA to selectedOptions.length > 2.
2. Disable selection if the selected options list has less than or equal 3 (i.e. the group creator and 2 other members) here. By this, user cannot remove any member from the list when there are only 2 other members. The isDisabled condition will be isAdmin || selectedOptions.length <= 2.
3. Show an error message when press Create group if the group size is not enough. To do this, we should create an error state variable and inside createGroup function here, we check if selectedOptions.length <= 2 to set the appropriate error message. We then use DotIndicatorMessage to display that error.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

NA

[ShridharGoel]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Allow users to create group chats with only 1 other user + with 0 other users.

What is the root cause of that problem?

Kind of a new feature.

The current behaviour checks for selectedOptions.length > 1

https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/ae6cc4927ce57e5be59e024109436909ed7e1bb5/src/pages/NewChatPage.tsx#L296

onConfirmSelection is also dependent on selectedOptions

https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/ae6cc4927ce57e5be59e024109436909ed7e1bb5/src/pages/NewChatPage.tsx#L298

In NewChatConfirmPage, confirm button is shown only if selectedOption length is > 1.

https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/ae6cc4927ce57e5be59e024109436909ed7e1bb5/src/pages/NewChatConfirmPage.tsx#L135

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

In BaseOptionsSelector, add a new prop called shouldShowConfirmButtonWithoutSelection.

This will be passed as true from NewChatPage, which will lead to showing the footer button even if nothing is selected.

New condition for shouldShowFooter:

const shouldShowFooter =
        !this.props.isReadOnly && (this.props.shouldShowConfirmButton || this.props.footerContent) && (!(this.props.canSelectMultipleOptions && _.isEmpty(this.props.selectedOptions)) || shouldShowConfirmButtonWithoutSelection);

We'll update the confirm text:

confirmButtonText={selectedOptions.length > 0 ? translate('common.next') : 'Proceed with only yourself'} // Add it in en.ts and es.ts and use translate

onConfirmSelection will also need an update, we don't want to check for selectedOptions.length > 1 now,

onConfirmSelection={navigateToConfirmPage}

In NewChatConfirmPage, we'll change the showConfirmButton logic so that the button shows even if there's only the creator of the group present.

showConfirmButton={selectedOptions.length > 0}

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/35566748/312928d2-b036-48e5-8dc2-73024ee3b92e

[allgandalf]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

We allow user user to create group chat with just 2 users

What is the root cause of that problem?

Currently, we allow the user to unselect the participants of the group without checking the number of selected participants: https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/14ff9445d22bd92d0645abd456ac805cedc06c28/src/pages/NewChatConfirmPage.tsx#L91-L97

But in the main contact page, if you check the video, we will not allow the user to create a group, we will take them to 1:1 DM.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

So here as per the design, i think it's best to disable deselecting participants if the length is 3:

onst unselectOption = (option: ListItem) => {
        if (!newGroupDraft || selectedOptions.length <= 3) {
            return;
        }
        const newSelectedParticipants = newGroupDraft.participants.filter((participant) => participant.login !== option.login);
        Report.setGroupDraft(newSelectedParticipants);
    };
    

This way we maintain the group screen also allowing the user to unselect users if the length is more than 3.

We can also show a error message at the bottom stating that you cannot create a group of less than 3 members, if you want to add more members then go back to the contact page and add more participants.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

N/A

[marcaaron]

Gonna remove the blocker here as there is not really any bad thing that will happen if the user creates a 1:1 DM.

I sort of agree that we could give them the option to create a Group Chat with just one user - but it feels like the more likely thing is that they will create a 1:1 with them.

Not too sure we need to do anything here right now. cc @JmillsExpensify to see if he has any thoughts.

[ShridharGoel]

@marcaaron @JmillsExpensify Can you check my proposal? I've suggested how we can provide a good experience by converting the group chat flow to normal chat creation flow if the user unselects some options. There's a video showing the flow as well.

[marcaaron]

@ShridharGoel I'm not 100% sure if that's what we want, but doesn't look too bad. Will wait to get @JmillsExpensify thoughts on this before continuing here.

@shawnborton, @dubielzyk-expensify, @dannymcclain might want to weigh in on this one as well.

I think it is implied by pressing on "Add to Group" that we want to make a Group whether it has one or more users.

[dannymcclain]

🤔 Hmm yeah, do we need to just decide if we want to let people create a group of 2 (that is distinct from their DM with each other)?

I kinda think you should be able to create a group with just 2 people, I think. But I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

[shawnborton]

Yeah, I think a Group can be 2 people because at a later date you might invite more people to it.

[dubielzyk-expensify]

I actually kinda think we shouldn't. Cause it allows you to create the same thing as a DM. I even think that if you just add one person to a group, we should toss you over to a DM with them.

Messenger does something similar, but forces you to not create a group with 1 person.

I know it doesn't specifically impact IOUs, but having a DM with Danny and a Group named Danny and Jon, then the IOU goes to my DM with Danny just feels like more confusion.

I don't feel super strongly here so definitely happy to lean on consensus here.

[JmillsExpensify]

Phew, tough one. I mostly think it's ok that you can create a group with one person, which might also be someone that you also have a DM with. That's why the original scope calls for requiring at least one other person, no matter if you have an existing DM with them or not. Equally, the group chat avatar is distinct from the DM avatar, so even if you accidentally created a group there are several UI patterns that help you understand that one is not the same as the other.

All in all, I think the solution is for us to update the Group Chat creation flow, as I think the existing pattern is confusing and already being deprecated for Splits, so we should deprecate it for Groups too, though it's out of scope for this issue.

[shawnborton]

Yeah.... I can see both sides but one use case that comes to mind: let's say a friend and I are planning an event, and we first want to make a Group chat and grab the QR code so that anyone who is coming to the event can join. If we require at least 3 people to make a Group, that means we'd need another organizer to jump in before we can make the group and get our shareable QR code for others to jump in.

So I mean wild 🌶️ take... but could a group be created with even just one person?! Maybe it should be its own item in the global create flow, and the first step is just naming the group (and updating the avatar if you want), and then we ask for group members as an optional piece.

[dubielzyk-expensify]

Well, I'm convinced 😄 I think you make a compelling argument there @shawnborton. If we push it at places like conventions then creating a group ahead of time seems like a valid use case.

[dannymcclain]

Yeah.... I can see both sides but one use case that comes to mind: let's say a friend and I are planning an event, and we first want to make a Group chat and grab the QR code so that anyone who is coming to the event can join. If we require at least 3 people to make a Group, that means we'd need another organizer to jump in before we can make the group and get our shareable QR code for others to jump in.

So I mean wild 🌶️ take... but could a group be created with even just one person?! Maybe it should be its own item in the global create flow, and the first step is just naming the group (and updating the avatar if you want), and then we ask for group members as an optional piece.

@shawnborton my thinking was the exact same. I almost mentioned creating a group with no one else in it but didn't want to stir the pot too hard 🤣

[marcaaron]

Great points all around (especially find myself agreeing with @shawnborton's take on being able to create a Group of 1 via Global Create or shortcut of some kind).

I do think this is sort of obvious enough for now:

How do we feel about a plan like this:

1. Patch this for now so that the "Next" button appears when even just one other person is selected.
2. We'll revisit some of the ideas in this thread and keep discussing how to optimize this.

?

[dubielzyk-expensify]

Sounds good to me!

[abzokhattab]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

enable the "Next" button to show up if 1 or more contacts are selected.

What is the root cause of that problem?

according to the discussion conclusion above , we need to modify the behavior of showing the "Next" button in the start chat page, where we need to make it appears when 1 or more contacts are selected.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

we need to modify the confirmButtonText here to: https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/d4da2d7cadbe1c620c0c4b9c0760ac1775b64b9f/src/pages/NewChatPage.tsx#L297

confirmButtonText={translate('common.next')}

OR

confirmButtonText={selectedOptions.length > 0 ? translate('common.next') : translate('newChatPage.createChat')}

and the onConfirmSelection condition to: https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/d4da2d7cadbe1c620c0c4b9c0760ac1775b64b9f/src/pages/NewChatPage.tsx#L299

onConfirmSelection={selectedOptions.length > 0 ? navigateToConfirmPage : createChat}

this way we allow the user to create a group with 1 or more other contacts.

..........................................................................................................................................................

Extra: to enable creating a group that consist of only one person, we need to modify the showConfirmButton in the group confirm page so that it shows up even if there is only one person in the group setup https://github.com/Expensify/App/blob/4ea37b6c8eb7eb7a2ee4a7678face11a69c0d535/src/pages/NewChatConfirmPage.tsx#L135

showConfirmButton={selectedOptions.length > 0}

[ShridharGoel]

Proposal

Updated based on the new discussion.

[ShridharGoel]

Also included a video. My proposal also includes the case when only the group creator is there (only the admin is present).

[melvin-bot[bot]]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~01dea4375c99aa51fe

[melvin-bot[bot]]

Current assignee @s77rt is eligible for the External assigner, not assigning anyone new.

[marcaaron]

@s77rt @abzokhattab adding you guys to this one too since we are already working together on https://github.com/Expensify/App/issues/39560

[abzokhattab]

will open a PR today.

[abzokhattab]

Sorry for the delay and thanks for your understanding i was super busy the last few days ... The PR is now ready. please have a look and let me know if you have any comments.

[mvtglobally]

Issue not reproducible during KI retests. (First week)

[melvin-bot[bot]]

This issue has not been updated in over 15 days. @s77rt, @marcaaron, @abzokhattab eroding to Monthly issue.

P.S. Is everyone reading this sure this is really a near-term priority? Be brave: if you disagree, go ahead and close it out. If someone disagrees, they'll reopen it, and if they don't: one less thing to do!

[s77rt]

PR deployed to production 2 weeks ago. This is awaiting payment