# views.open The `views.open` method opens a modal for a user. Modals are focused surfaces that can be used for a variety of interactions, including forms, alerts, and more. ## Usage To open a modal, you need a `trigger_id` which is a short-lived token received after a user interaction (e.g., clicking a button, using a shortcut). ```typescript import { WebClient } from '@microfox/slack'; const token = process.env.SLACK_TOKEN; const web = new WebClient(token); (async () => { // trigger_id is received from an interaction payload const triggerId = '12345.98765.abcd2358fdea'; try { const result = await web.views.open({ trigger_id: triggerId, view: { type: 'modal', title: { type: 'plain_text', text: 'My Awesome Modal' }, submit: { type: 'plain_text', text: 'Submit' }, blocks: [ { type: 'input', element: { type: 'plain_text_input' }, label: { type: 'plain_text', text: 'What is your name?' } } ] } }); console.log(result.view); } catch (error) { console.error(error); } })(); ``` ## Arguments - `trigger_id` (string): Exchange a trigger to post to the user. - `view` (object): A view payload. This must be a JSON-encoded string. ## Response A successful call returns a `view` object. ### View Object Schema | Field | Type | Description | | ----------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `id` | String | The unique identifier for the view. | | `team_id` | String | The ID of the team that the view belongs to. | | `type` | String | The type of view. Set to `modal` for modals. | | `title` | Object | The title that appears in the top-left of the modal. Must be a `plain_text` text element with a max length of 24 characters. | | `submit` | Object | A `plain_text` element that defines the text displayed in the submit button at the bottom-right of the view. `submit` is required when an input block is within the blocks array. Max length of 24 characters. | | `blocks` | Array | An array of blocks that defines the content of the view. Max of 100 blocks. | | `private_metadata`| String | A string that will be sent to your app in `view_submission` and `block_actions` events. Max length of 3000 characters. | | `callback_id` | String | An identifier to recognize interactions and submissions of this particular view. Don't use this to store sensitive information (use `private_metadata` instead). Max length of 255 characters. | | `external_id` | String | A custom identifier that must be unique for all views on a per-team basis. | | `state` | Object | An object that contains the state of any interactive components in the view. | | `hash` | String | A unique value that is used to ensure that the correct view is being updated. | | `clear_on_close` | Boolean | When set to true, clicking on the close button will clear all views in a modal and close it. Defaults to `false`. | | `notify_on_close` | Boolean | Indicates whether Slack will send your request URL a `view_closed` event when a user clicks the close button. Defaults to `false`. | | `root_view_id` | String | The ID of the root view. | | `app_id` | String | The ID of the app that created the view. | | `bot_id` | String | The ID of the bot user that created the view. | ### Error Response ```json { "ok": false, "error": "invalid_arguments", "response_metadata": { "messages": [ "invalid `trigger_id`" ] } } ``` ## Errors | Error | Description | | --- | --- | | `duplicate_external_id` | The given `external_id` has already been used. | | `exchanged_trigger_id` | The `trigger_id` was already exchanged in a previous call. | | `expired_trigger_id` | The `trigger_id` has expired. | | `invalid_trigger_id` | The `trigger_id` is invalid. | | `view_too_large` | The provided view is greater than 250kb. | | `not_authed` | No authentication token provided. | | `invalid_auth` | Some aspect of authentication cannot be validated. | | `account_inactive` | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace. | | `token_revoked` | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed. | | `no_permission` | The workspace token used in this request does not have the permissions necessary to complete the request. | | `invalid_arg_name` | The method was passed an argument whose name falls outside the bounds of accepted or expected values. | | `invalid_array_arg` | The method was passed an array as an argument. | | `invalid_charset` | The method was called via a POST request, but the charset specified in the `Content-Type` header was invalid. | | `invalid_form_data` | The method was called via a POST request with `Content-Type` `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` or `multipart/form-data`, but the form data was either missing or syntactically invalid. | | `invalid_post_type` | The method was called via a POST request, but the specified `Content-Type` was invalid. | | `missing_post_type` | The method was called via a POST request and included a data payload, but the request did not include a `Content-Type` header. | | `request_timeout` | The method was called via a POST request, but the POST data was either missing or truncated. | | `ratelimited` | The request has been ratelimited. | | `accesslimited` | Access to this method is limited on the current network. | | `fatal_error` | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering a catastrophic error. | | `internal_error` | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering an error. | | `service_unavailable` | The service is temporarily unavailable. |