Improve UI/UX for chat, documents, and home pages

- Chat page: Add empty state, clarify tooltips/placeholders, and enhance error/copy messages.
- Documents page: Add chunking/embedding info, clarify file support, show document count badge, and display empty state. Refactor table/button markup and improve upload toasts.
- Home page: Redesign with hero section, icons, workflow cards, and styled features list. Clarify README link.
- Add Home.razor.css for new visual styles.

SqlDatabaseVectorSearch/Components/Pages/Ask.razor

@@ -9,6 +9,15 @@
 <div class="card mx-auto mt-2">
     <div class="card-body">
 
+        @if (messages.Count == 0)
+        {
+            <div class="h-100 d-flex flex-column justify-content-center align-items-center text-body-secondary">
+                <Icon Name="IconName.ChatSquareQuoteFill" Color="IconColor.Primary" Size="IconSize.x4" />
+                <p class="mt-3 mb-1 fw-semibold">Chat with your documents</p>
+                <p class="small mb-0">Ask a question about the documents you have uploaded. Press the up arrow key to recall your previous question.</p>
+            </div>
+        }
+
         @foreach (var message in messages)
         {
             if (message.Role == "user")
@@ -98,18 +107,20 @@
     <div class="card-footer bg-white w-100 bottom-0 m-0 p-1">
         <div class="input-group">
             <span class="input-group-text bg-transparent border-0">
-                <Tooltip Title="Messages aren't stored in any way on either the client or the server." Color="TooltipColor.Primary" Placement="TooltipPlacement.Bottom">
+                <Tooltip Title="Messages aren't stored in any way, either on the client or on the server." Color="TooltipColor.Primary" Placement="TooltipPlacement.Bottom">
                     <Icon Class="d-flex" Color="IconColor.Success" Name="IconName.ShieldLockFill"></Icon>
                 </Tooltip>
             </span>
-            <input @ref="askInput" type="text" @bind="@question" @bind:event="oninput" placeholder="Ask me anything..." class="form-control border-0" maxlength="2000" @onkeydown="HandleKeyDown" />
+            <input @ref="askInput" type="text" @bind="@question" @bind:event="oninput" placeholder="Ask a question about your documents..." class="form-control border-0" maxlength="2000" @onkeydown="HandleKeyDown" />
             <div class="input-group-text bg-transparent border-0">
                 <Button Type="ButtonType.Submit" @ref="askButton" Color="ButtonColor.Primary" Disabled="@(isAsking || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(question))" @onclick="AskQuestion">
                     <Icon Name="IconName.Send" />
                 </Button>
+                <Tooltip Title="Start a new conversation" Color="TooltipColor.Secondary" Placement="TooltipPlacement.Bottom">
                     <Button Type="ButtonType.Reset" @ref="resetButton" Class="ms-2" Color="ButtonColor.Secondary" Disabled="@isAsking" @onclick="Reset">
                         <Icon CustomIconName="bi bi-x-lg" />
                     </Button>
+                </Tooltip>
             </div>
         </div>
     </div>
@@ -129,7 +140,7 @@
     private bool isAsking = false;
 
     private bool showCopyConfirmation = false;
-    private string toolTipText = "Copy to Clipboard";
+    private string toolTipText = "Copy to clipboard";
 
     protected override async Task OnAfterRenderAsync(bool firstRender)
     {
@@ -206,7 +217,7 @@
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
-            assistantMessage.Text = $"There was an error while processing the question: {ex.Message}";
+            assistantMessage.Text = $"There was an error while processing your question: {ex.Message}";
             assistantMessage.Status = MessageStatus.Completed;
         }
         finally
@@ -237,7 +248,7 @@
 
         await Task.Delay(3000); // Shows the checkmark for 3 seconds
 
-        toolTipText = "Copy to Clipboard";
+        toolTipText = "Copy to clipboard";
         showCopyConfirmation = false;
         await InvokeAsync(StateHasChanged);
     }

SqlDatabaseVectorSearch/Components/Pages/Documents.razor

@@ -8,10 +8,11 @@
 
 <PageTitle>Documents</PageTitle>
 
-<h4 class="mb-4">
+<h4 class="mb-1">
     <Icon Name="IconName.CloudArrowUpFill" Color="IconColor.Primary" class="me-2" />
-    Upload new document
+    Upload a new document
 </h4>
+<p class="text-body-secondary small mb-4">The document is split into chunks, and an embedding is generated and stored for each chunk.</p>
 
 <EditForm Model="Model" Enhance OnValidSubmit="UploadFile">
     <DataAnnotationsValidator />
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@
         <div class="col-md-5 col-sm-4 col-5">
             <div class="input-group">
                 <span class="input-group-text">
-                    <Tooltip Title="PDF, DOCX, TXT and MD files are supported" Color="TooltipColor.Primary" Placement="TooltipPlacement.Bottom">
+                    <Tooltip Title="PDF, DOCX, TXT and MD files are supported, up to 20 MB" Color="TooltipColor.Primary" Placement="TooltipPlacement.Bottom">
                         <Icon Class="d-flex" Color="IconColor.Info" Name="IconName.InfoCircle"></Icon>
                     </Tooltip>
                 </span>
@@ -58,8 +59,18 @@ else
     <h4 class="mt-4 mb-4">
         <Icon Name="IconName.FileEarmarkTextFill" Color="IconColor.Info" class="me-2" />
         Available documents
+        <span class="badge bg-secondary-subtle text-secondary-emphasis ms-2 align-middle">@documents.Count</span>
     </h4>
 
+    @if (documents.Count == 0)
+    {
+        <div class="text-center border rounded py-5 text-body-secondary">
+            <Icon Name="IconName.Inbox" Color="IconColor.Secondary" Size="IconSize.x3" />
+            <p class="mt-3 mb-0">No documents have been indexed yet. Upload one to get started.</p>
+        </div>
+    }
+    else
+    {
         <div class="table-responsive">
             <table class="table table-hover align-middle mb-0 border rounded overflow-hidden">
                 <thead class="table-light sticky-top">
@@ -105,6 +116,7 @@ else
                 </div>
             </div>
         </div>
+    }
 }
 
 @code {
@@ -179,7 +191,7 @@ else
             var documentId = string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(Model.DocumentId) ? null : (Guid?)Guid.Parse(Model.DocumentId);
             await vectorSearchService.ImportAsync(EmbeddingRequest.Create(stream, fileName, documentId));
 
-            ToastService.Notify(await CreateToastMessageAsync(ToastType.Success, "Upload document", $"The document {fileName} has been successfully uploaded and indexed."));
+            ToastService.Notify(await CreateToastMessageAsync(ToastType.Success, "Upload document", $"The document '{fileName}' has been successfully uploaded and indexed."));
 
             Model = new UploadDocument();
             await JSRuntime.InvokeVoidAsync("resetFileInput", "fileInput");
@@ -188,7 +200,7 @@ else
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
-            ToastService.Notify(await CreateToastMessageAsync(ToastType.Danger, "Upload error", $"There was an error while uploading the document {fileName}: {ex.Message}"));
+            ToastService.Notify(await CreateToastMessageAsync(ToastType.Danger, "Upload error", $"There was an error while uploading the document '{fileName}': {ex.Message}"));
         }
         finally
         {

SqlDatabaseVectorSearch/Components/Pages/Home.razor

@@ -3,37 +3,112 @@
 
 <PageTitle>SQL Database Vector Search</PageTitle>
 
-<h1>SQL Database Vector Search</h1>
+<div class="hero p-4 p-md-5 mb-4 rounded-3 shadow-sm">
+    <h1 class="display-6 fw-semibold mb-3">
+        <Icon Name="IconName.Search" Color="IconColor.Primary" Class="me-2" />
+        SQL Database Vector Search
+    </h1>
+    <p class="lead mb-4">
+        A Blazor Web App and Minimal API for Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and vector search using the native
+        <code>VECTOR</code> type in
+        <img src="/images/sqldatabase.svg" class="inline-logo" alt="Azure SQL Database" /> Azure SQL Database, with
+        <img src="/images/openai.svg" class="inline-logo" alt="Azure OpenAI" /> Azure OpenAI and
+        <a href="https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Microsoft Agent Framework</a>.
+    </p>
+    <div class="d-flex flex-wrap gap-2">
+        <a href="/documents" class="btn btn-primary px-4 py-2 fw-semibold shadow-sm">
+            <Icon Name="IconName.CloudArrowUpFill" Class="me-2" />Upload a document
+        </a>
+        <a href="/ask" class="btn btn-outline-primary px-4 py-2 fw-semibold">
+            <Icon Name="IconName.ChatDotsFill" Class="me-2" />Ask a question
+        </a>
+    </div>
+</div>
 
-<p class="mt-3 p-3 rounded bg-light text-dark shadow-sm">
+<h2 class="h4 mb-3">
-    A Blazor Web App and Minimal API for Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and vector search using the native VECTOR type in <img src="/images/sqldatabase.svg" style="height:1.5em;vertical-align:middle;" /> Azure SQL Database with <img src="/images/openai.svg" style="height:1.5em;vertical-align:middle;" /> Azure OpenAI and <a href="https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework" target="_blank">Microsoft Agent Framework</a>.
+    <Icon Name="IconName.Diagram3Fill" Color="IconColor.Secondary" Class="me-2" />
-</p>
+    How it works
+</h2>
 
-<p>
+<div class="row g-3 mb-4">
-    This application allows you to:
+    <div class="col-md-4">
-    <ul>
+        <div class="card h-100 border-0 shadow-sm">
-        <li>Load documents (PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD)</li>
+            <div class="card-body">
-        <li>Generate embeddings and save them as vectors in Azure SQL Database</li>
+                <Icon Name="IconName.FileEarmarkArrowUpFill" Color="IconColor.Primary" Size="IconSize.x3" />
-        <li>Perform semantic search and RAG using Azure OpenAI agents</li>
+                <h3 class="h6 mt-3 mb-2">1. Import</h3>
-        <li>Interact via a Blazor Web App or programmatically via Minimal API</li>
+                <p class="text-body-secondary mb-0 small">
-    </ul>
+                    Upload a PDF, DOCX, TXT or MD file. Its content is split into chunks, and each chunk is turned into
-    Document import, question reformulation, and RAG are orchestrated with <a href="https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework" target="_blank">Microsoft Agent Framework</a>.
+                    an embedding by an Agent Framework workflow.
-</p>
+                </p>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="col-md-4">
+        <div class="card h-100 border-0 shadow-sm">
+            <div class="card-body">
+                <Icon Name="IconName.DatabaseFillCheck" Color="IconColor.Success" Size="IconSize.x3" />
+                <h3 class="h6 mt-3 mb-2">2. Store</h3>
+                <p class="text-body-secondary mb-0 small">
+                    Embeddings are persisted in Azure SQL Database using the native <code>VECTOR</code> type, so no
+                    external vector store is required.
+                </p>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="col-md-4">
+        <div class="card h-100 border-0 shadow-sm">
+            <div class="card-body">
+                <Icon Name="IconName.ChatSquareQuoteFill" Color="IconColor.Info" Size="IconSize.x3" />
+                <h3 class="h6 mt-3 mb-2">3. Ask</h3>
+                <p class="text-body-secondary mb-0 small">
+                    Your question is reformulated with the conversation context, matched against the stored vectors, and
+                    answered with citations.
+                </p>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+</div>
 
-<h3>Supported Features</h3>
+<h2 class="h4 mb-3">
-<ul>
+    <Icon Name="IconName.ListStars" Color="IconColor.Warning" Class="me-2" />
-    <li><strong>Microsoft Agent Framework orchestration</strong>: Import documents through an embedding workflow and answer questions with dedicated reformulation and RAG agents.</li>
+    Supported features
-    <li><strong>Conversation history with question reformulation</strong>: Rewrite follow-up questions with the current conversation context before vector search.</li>
+</h2>
-    <li><strong>SQL vector-search context</strong>: Retrieve relevant chunks from Azure SQL Database through native VECTOR search.</li>
+
-    <li><strong>Information about token usage</strong>: Access token usage for reformulation and final answer generation.</li>
+<ul class="list-group list-group-flush mb-4 shadow-sm rounded overflow-hidden border">
-    <li><strong>Response streaming</strong>: Receive answer tokens in real time in the chat page and streaming API.</li>
+    <li class="list-group-item">
-    <li><strong>Markdown source citations</strong>: Get citations directly in the answer text with source name, page number when available, and a short supporting excerpt.</li>
+        <Icon Name="IconName.Diagram3Fill" Color="IconColor.Primary" Class="me-2" />
+        <strong>Microsoft Agent Framework orchestration</strong>: documents are imported through an embedding workflow,
+        and questions are answered by dedicated reformulation and RAG agents.
+    </li>
+    <li class="list-group-item">
+        <Icon Name="IconName.ArrowRepeat" Color="IconColor.Secondary" Class="me-2" />
+        <strong>Conversation history with question reformulation</strong>: follow-up questions are rewritten with the
+        current conversation context before the vector search is performed.
+    </li>
+    <li class="list-group-item">
+        <Icon Name="IconName.DatabaseFillCheck" Color="IconColor.Success" Class="me-2" />
+        <strong>SQL vector search</strong>: the most relevant chunks are retrieved from Azure SQL Database through
+        native <code>VECTOR</code> cosine-distance search.
+    </li>
+    <li class="list-group-item">
+        <Icon Name="IconName.CashCoin" Color="IconColor.Warning" Class="me-2" />
+        <strong>Token usage details</strong>: input, output and total tokens are reported for both question
+        reformulation and answer generation.
+    </li>
+    <li class="list-group-item">
+        <Icon Name="IconName.LightningChargeFill" Color="IconColor.Danger" Class="me-2" />
+        <strong>Response streaming</strong>: answers are streamed token by token in the chat page and through the
+        Server-Sent Events API.
+    </li>
+    <li class="list-group-item">
+        <Icon Name="IconName.ChatQuoteFill" Color="IconColor.Info" Class="me-2" />
+        <strong>Markdown source citations</strong>: citations are embedded in the answer with the source name, the page
+        number when available, and a short supporting excerpt.
+    </li>
 </ul>
 
-<p class="mt-3 p-3 rounded bg-light text-dark shadow-sm">
+<p class="text-body-secondary small">
-    Try <a href="/documents">uploading a document</a> or <a href="/ask">ask a question</a> to get started!
+    <Icon Name="IconName.InfoCircleFill" Color="IconColor.Info" Class="me-2" />
-</p>
+    For API usage and more details, see the
-
+    <a href="https://github.com/marcominerva/SqlDatabaseVectorSearch#how-to-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">README</a>.
-<p class="mt-4">
-    <em>For API usage and more details, see the <a href="https://github.com/marcominerva/SqlDatabaseVectorSearch#how-to-use" target="_blank">README</a>.</em>
 </p>

SqlDatabaseVectorSearch/Components/Pages/Home.razor.css

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+.hero {
+    background: linear-gradient(135deg, #eef4ff 0%, #f8f9fa 100%);
+    border: 1px solid #e3e8f0;
+}
+
+.inline-logo {
+    height: 1.5em;
+    vertical-align: middle;
+}
+
+.card:hover {
+    transform: translateY(-2px);
+    transition: transform 0.15s ease-in-out;
+}