User's Guide to Community Bulletin Board
Chapter 5: Modifying The System Tree
Overview
This section discusses the workings of the Community Bulletin Board system tree in more detail, and focuses on the usage of the tree objects. In the previous chapter, you saw how the existing tree looks and works, and you got a working idea of how the tree objects perform their allotted tasks. Now you will see how modifications to the tree structure affect the way the program works. When you change the structure of the system tree, you directly change the way it works.
When you have a system tree that you want to use but you want it to work slightly differently, you may quite often modify the existing objects in the tree to bring about these changes.
Modification of tree objects includes changing scripts and speeches, as well as changing the settings of an object’s controls to alter the purpose of the tree object. In this chapter you will learn how to:
Terms
|
Application |
An application is a program that you design, build, or otherwise modify so that it does what you want it to. We design programs, while you design applications. |
|
Local Phone |
The phone that is connected to your computer. It is this phone that you use to record your system speeches. Also, callers use this phone number when calling into your system. |
|
Main speech |
This is the speech recorded on an object that the caller hears when they reach this object. |
|
Program |
The actual software that runs on your computer. You use the System Editor ‘program’ to design your Community Bulletin Board ‘application’. |
There are two types of speeches that you may record in Community Bulletin Board: main speeches, and ID speeches. The main speech is commonly an informative message, and may be recorded on any tree object other than a Control Point. ID speeches normally identify the object’s purpose, and this speech may be heard on an auto-menu (if you are using them). You may record ID speeches for any tree object other than the System Greeting and Initial Prompt.
Changing an Object’s Script and Main Speech
Changing an object’s script and recorded speech is a simple process. You use this procedure to change scripts and speeches for any tree object with speech capabilities. The Record box appears in the same form regardless of the tree object, and only the script changes from object to object (i.e., the functionality remains the same, only the speeches and scripts differ). Use the following procedure to change a script and record a speech:
|
You may also access a tree object by selecting it and pressing the Enter key. |
First, double click the tree object you wish to modify in the system tree. Move the mouse pointer to the "Script" field, then click on it. A small blinking line appears in the line of text. This blinking line is called the ‘cursor’, and it shows where your typing appears when you type in a field. |
|
Remember that you may use the arrow keys to move the cursor around the field. The Delete key allows you to remove text from a line a character at a time. |
Remove the existing text, or modify it as you see fit. Now type the script for the speech you want to record. Now you may record the script to replace the existing speech for this object. Click on the "Record" button, and the Record box appears as shown in Figure 53: |
Figure 53—The Record box
Get your announcer’s voice warmed up, then click on the "Record" button. The status line displays the message "Please pick up handset", and you may pick up your local phone.
A beep sounds, and the script begins scrolling up through the "Script" field (if the "Auto Prompting" option is enabled). Read the script as it goes by. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The recording stops, and the length of the recording displays above the Speech position scroll bar. You may hang up your phone.
To hear your new speech, pick up your phone and click the "Play" button. If you don’t like the way the speech turned out or you ‘tripped over your tongue’, you may record the speech again.
When you’re satisfied with the speech, click the "OK" button. Your newly recorded speech replaces the previous speech. Clicking "Cancel" erases your speech and keeps the existing speech.
After the Record box closes, you may then click "OK" on the object box to save your speech changes. Clicking "Cancel" at this point discards any changes to this object, including speech and script changes.
Changing an Object’s Script and ID Speech
A variation on scripts and speeches is the recording of the ID speech. Instead of using the "Script" field and the "Record" button to record, you use the "Description" field and "Record ID" button. These controls appear on Announcements, Prompts, and Control Points. The text in the "Description" field acts as the script when you record the object’s ID speech. As you may recall, an object’s ID speech plays to a caller when the "Auto-Menu" function on a Prompt is activated. For this reason, it is important to record ID speeches.
Use the following procedure to change a tree objects ID speech:
First, double click the tree object you wish to modify in the system tree.
Move the mouse pointer to the "Description" field, then click on it. A small blinking line appears in the line of text. This blinking line is called the ‘cursor’, and it shows where your typing appears when you type in a field.
|
Remember that you may use the arrow keys to move the cursor around the field. The Delete key allows you to remove text from a line a character at a time. |
Remove the existing object name, or modify it as you see fit. Now you may record the description to replace the existing ID speech for this object. Click on the "Record ID" button, and the Record box appears as shown in Figure 54: |
Figure 54—The Record box
Get your announcer’s voice warmed up, then click on the "Record" button. The status line displays the message "Please pick up handset", and you may pick up your local phone.
A beep sounds, and you read the ID description. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The recording stops, and the length of the recording displays above the Speech position scroll bar. You may hang up your phone.
To hear your new ID speech, pick up your phone and click the "Play" button. If you don’t like the way the ID speech turned out or you ‘tripped over your tongue’, you may record the speech again.
When you’re satisfied with the ID speech, click the "OK" button. Your newly recorded ID speech replaces the previous ID speech. Clicking "Cancel" erases your ID speech and keeps the existing ID speech.
After the Record box closes, you may then click "OK" on the object box to save your speech changes (or any other changes you’ve made). Clicking "Cancel" at this point discards any ID speech and script changes.
Disabling and enabling a tree object or its speech involves the use of the "Enable" controls on the object. This is a useful function if you want to close off a section of the tree. You can also use this function to suspend a specific service in your system tree. This section discusses the procedures necessary to disable and enable tree objects and their speeches, and why you might want to do so.
Disabling / Enabling Tree Objects
Concepts
Disabling a tree object comes in handy when you want to temporarily put an object ‘out of commission’ without deleting it. This means that you could later enable the object and use it again, whereas deleting the object removes it from the system tree. In practice, you could disable an old Announcement, then later update the speech and enable it. You could also close off a whole Announcement group by disabling the Prompt that the Announcements come from. (Although they wouldn’t be disabled, their parent Prompt would be).
When you ‘disable’ a tree object, the program treats the object as if it weren’t there. The advantage to this is that the object is still there (so you can use it later), whereas deleting the object removes the object from the system tree. Note that when you disable a tree object, the object’s ID speech is not included in its parent’s auto-menu. Also, the caller may not access a disabled tree object, even if they enter the touch tone for that object.
Procedures
Use the following procedure to disable or enable an object in the tree:
Double click on the object in the system tree that you wish to enable/disable. The control box for that object appears.
To disable an enabled object, you click the "Enable" check box. The "X" disappears from the check box, and the object is disabled.
To enable a disabled object, click the "Enable" check box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the tree object is enabled.
When you finish choosing a setting, click the "OK" button to save this setting and return to the system tree. If you do not wish to save these settings when you return to the system tree, click the "Cancel" button.
Concepts
Disabling the speech on a tree object means that the object performs each of is functions except playing the speech. Note that when you disable an object’s speech, the object’s ID speech is still included in an auto-menu. The system still knows the object is there, but that part of it (the speech) will be ignored. Note that an object that has some other sort of speech on it (such as an auto-menu, "Say Time", "Say Temp", or "Say Numbers List") will still be able to process those speeches. This control is not related to the main speech of the object.
Procedures
Use the following procedure to disable/enable an object’s speech:
Locate the "Enable Speech" check box in the "Script" control group.
To disable an enabled speech, you click the "Enable Speech" check box. The "X" disappears from the check box, and the main speech for this object is disabled.
To enable a disabled speech, click the "Enable Speech" check box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the speech is enabled.
When you finish choosing a setting, click the "OK" button to save this setting and return to the system tree. If you do not wish to save these settings when you return to the system tree, click the "Cancel" button.
|
If you currently have a system tree you do not wish to change, don’t worry. You may exit the Tree Editor without saving changes to the tree structure. |
The following sections discuss the procedures for configuring the System Greeting and the Initial Prompt, and for adding and configuring Prompts, Announcements, and Control Points. Each section also discusses the effects that these additions have on the tree structure, and how they change the workings of the system tree. |
System Greeting
The System Greeting is a permanent tree object, so you do not need to add it to your tree. There are a few things you may need to configure in order to make it run the way you want it to, though.
The System Greeting contains the first speech that your callers will hear, usually a brief welcome speech. It also allows you to determine the number of times that your system will wait for the phone to ring before answering, and to set up the controls for a Caller of the Week contest.
Use the following procedure to configure the System Greeting:
To begin configuring, double click on the System Greeting. The dialog box for the "System Greeting" appears as shown in Figure 55:
• The System Greeting Info control group contains the controls for the System Password, the Next Prompt, the Caller of the Week and Caller of the Week Object, the Ringo Count Before Answering, and the Current Caller count.
To change the System Password, click the "System Password" field. Use the Deleteand
keys to remove the existing text, then type in the numbers for the new password.
The "Next Prompt" field already has the default ID number 01. This means that the callers will go from the System Greeting to the Initial Prompt. This is the set up that you will use most often, but there may be a set up that you would want to use that would send callers to a different object in the tree. Enter the ID number for the next prompt here if you do.
The next control is the Caller of the Week field. Click on this text box and use the Deleteand
keys to remove the existing text. Then type in the number for the caller that you want to be your caller of the week.
What number you will use will depend on how many callers your system gets in a week, and how often you want to have winners. You may actually want to have a winner every day. Then you would select a number that is a little lower than the estimated number of callers you have each day. If you want a caller of the week, use a number that is a little less than the number of callers that you receive in a week.
For instance, suppose you have a system that gets 250 calls per day, which makes around 1750 calls per week. To have one winner each week, you would want to set the Caller of the Week number at around 1600. If you wanted to have a winner each day, you would probably want to set the number around 200.
After you set the Caller of the Week, you need to set the Caller of the Week Object, which tells the application where to send the winner. Click on the Caller of the Week text box, use the Deleteand
keys to remove any existing text, then type in the ID number for the control point that will chain the caller into a Voice Mailbox. Chaining is discussed in "Chapter 5: Modifying the System Tree," in the section on Control Points, and as an advanced feature, in the "Advanced Functions and Features" section of this manual.
• The last control that you need to set is the Ring Count before Answering. Click on this field and enter the number for how many times you want the system to let the phone ring before the application picks up. The default is two.
The last item in the System Greeting Info control box is the "Current Caller" number. This number just lets you know where the system is in the countdown to the caller of the week. This number resets at zero after the winning call is received and the system starts counting again.
• Once you have set all of the controls in the System Greeting, it is time to write and record the System Greeting speech. First, click the "Enable Speech" button in the bottom right corner of the dialog box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the speech controls are enabled. If you don’t click this button, you cannot record speech, play speech, or type the script.
To write your System Greeting speech, click in the "System Greeting Script" field. When the cursor appears, type your script.
To record the greeting speech, click the "Record" button in the System Greeting Script control group. The record box appears as in Figure 56.
Figure 56—The Record box
Notice that the entry you made in the "System Greeting Script" field appears in the Script Prompter. To record the speech, click the "Record" button. The message "Please pick up handset" appears on the status line at the bottom of the Record box.
Pick up your phone. After the tone, record the speech that appears in the Script Prompter. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The greeting speech is now recorded.
To hear the speech, click the "Play" button, then pick up your phone. If you wish to record the message again, follow the recording procedure above. If the message is fine, then click "OK" to return to the System Greeting box.
• The System Greeting is now configured. Click "OK" to return to the system tree edit screen.
Initial Prompt
The Initial Prompt is a permanent tree object, so you do not need to add it to your tree. There are a few things you may need to configure in order to make it run the way you want it to, though.
The Initial Prompt contains the first menu that your callers will hear, and general instructions for using your Community Bulletin Board system.
Use the following procedure to configure the Initial Prompt:
To begin configuring, double click on the Initial Prompt. The dialog box for the "Primary Selection Prompt" appears as shown in Figure 57:
The Prompt Info control group displays the Initial Prompt’s ID number, shows that it is enabled, and contains the controls for the Auto-Menu and the No TT Jump.
If you want to change the Description, click the "Description" field. Use the Deleteand
keys to remove the existing text, then type the new description of the Initial Prompt.
If you plan on using the auto-menu function for this Prompt, click on the "Auto-Menu" option. An "X" appears in the check box to the left of the "Auto-Menu" option when the auto-menu is active. (Remember that the auto-menu allows the caller to hear the objects under this Prompt as choices, and the corresponding numbers for these options also play.)
Many Center Owners have found that the auto-menu in the Initial Prompt is not as well received by callers as a recorded menu speech, so you may wish to leave the auto-menu function disabled.
• The No TT Jump field allows you to enter the ID number for a tree object. This control will then transfer callers who do not have touch tone phones to the object whose ID you enter into this field. This way even callers who cannot move around your system can still get something out of it.
If you want the Initial Prompt to play an Advertisement, you may click on the "Play Advertisement" check box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the Advertising is active.
Then select an Advertising Group from the "Advertising Group" drop-down list box. If you don’t have any Advertisement sponsors yet, you may opt not to use the Advertising feature. If you do decide to use Advertising anyway, there are some public service speeches recorded as Advertisements in the "All" Ad Group.
• Once you have set all of the controls in the Initial Prompt, it is time to write and record the Initial Prompt speech. First, click the "Enable Speech" button in the bottom right corner of the dialog box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the speech controls are enabled. If you don’t click this button, you cannot record speech, play speech, or type the script.
To write your Initial Prompt speech, click in the "Prompt Script" field. When the cursor appears, type your script.
To record the greeting speech, click the "Record" button in the Initial Prompt Script control group. The record box appears as in Figure 58.
Figure 58—The Record box
Notice that the entry you made in the "Initial Prompt Script" field appears in the Script Prompter. To record the speech, click the "Record" button. The message "Please pick up handset" appears on the status line at the bottom of the Record box.
Pick up your phone. After the tone, record the speech that appears in the Script Prompter. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The greeting speech is now recorded.
To hear the speech, click the "Play" button, then pick up your phone. If you wish to record the message again, follow the recording procedure above. If the message is fine, then click "OK" to return to the Initial Prompt box.
• The Initial Prompt is now configured. Click "OK" to close the dialog box and return to the system tree.
Prompts
In looking at the system tree, you learned that a Prompt usually plays a message, can play an auto-menu, and always waits for a touch tone response before doing anything. The Prompt ‘prompts’ a caller to press a button on their phone before continuing.
Adding A Prompt To The System Tree
You would add a Prompt to a system tree when you need more space for Announcements that don’t fit into any of the existing Announcement groups, or if you sell Announcement space to someone who wants their own Announcement group.
It is a simple procedure to add a Prompt to a system tree, but it requires a bit of forethought. Here are some rules for adding Prompts:
You may not add a Prompt as a branch from an Announcement or Control Point, or from the System Greeting. This means that you may add a Prompt as a branch from another Prompt, or from the Initial Prompt.
If you add a Prompt to the tree, it must have at least one tree object branching off from it. Remember that a Prompt is a parent to other tree objects. Also a Prompt may lead to another Prompt, as long as that Prompt has a group of Prompts, Announcements and/or Control Points as its children.
Use the following procedure to add a Prompt to your system tree:
|
|
First, look at the Tree Object Tools located just above the Tool Button Ribbon to the left of the screen. Position the mouse pointer over the "Prompt" tree object. Notice that the Status line at the bottom of the screen displays the message "Drag and drop Prompt to insert". This means that to add a Prompt, you press and hold down the left mouse button (while the mouse pointer is on the object you wish to drag), then continue to hold it down while you move the object to where you want it. You then release the mouse button, and the object ‘drops’. |
|
|
Drag the "Prompt" object to the area of the tree where you wish to add it. If an "X" appears on the "Prompt" object, then you can not place the "Prompt" object here. |
When you get the Prompt where you want it, drop it by releasing the left mouse button. The Insert Tree Object box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 59:
Figure 59—The Insert Tree Object box
The number that currently appears in the "Touch-Tone Number" field is the default referential ID number for this object. If you wish to change the number, type the desired number in the field.
Now click the "OK" button to insert the Prompt. If for some reason you decide not to insert the Prompt, you may click the "Cancel" button to abandon this add procedure.
|
|
After you add a Prompt, note the red "X" over the Prompt, and the designation "New Prompt". The "X" indicates that this Prompt is invalid until you add ‘children’ (in the form of Announcements, Prompts, and/or Control Points) under the Prompt. When you do, the "X" disappears. The name "New Prompt" appears for each Prompt that you add, and remains as such until you enter a name in the "Description" field in the Prompt box. |
Configuring The Added Prompt
Now you need to ‘configure’ your newly added Prompt. Configuring is merely the process of setting the controls in the Prompt box so that the Prompt works the way you want it to. Use the following procedure to configure the newly added Prompt:
To begin configuring, double click on the newly added Prompt. The Prompt box for the "New Prompt" appears as shown in Figure 60:
Figure 60—The "New Prompt" Prompt box
The Prompt Info control group displays the Prompt’s ID number, and that the Prompt is enabled.
To change the Description, click the "Description" field. Use the Deleteand
keys to remove the existing text, then type the description of the Prompt.
If you plan on using the auto-menu function for this Prompt, click on the "Auto-Menu" option. An "X" appears in the check box to the left of the "Auto-Menu" option when the auto-menu is active. (Remember that the auto-menu allows the caller to hear the objects under this Prompt as choices, and the corresponding numbers for these options also play.)
If you want this Prompt to play an Advertisement, You may click on the "Play Advertisement" check box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the Advertising is active. If you don’t have any Advertisement sponsors yet, you may opt not to use the Advertising feature. If you do decide to use Advertising anyway, there are some public service speeches recorded as Advertisements in the "All" Ad Group.
You may wish to record the ID speech for this Prompt. Click on the "Record ID" button on the right side of the Prompt box. The Record box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 61:
Figure 61—The Record box
Notice that the entry you made in the "Description" field appears in the Script Prompter. To record the ID speech for this Prompt, click the "Record" button. The message "Please pick up handset" appears on the status line at the bottom of the Record box.
Pick up your phone. After the tone, record the ID that appears in the Script Prompter. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The ID is now recorded.
To hear the speech, click the "Play" button, then pick up your phone. If you wish to record the message again, follow the recording procedure above. If the message is fine, then click "OK" to return to the Prompt box.
Now it’s time to type the script for the Prompt speech. First, click the "Enable Speech" button in the bottom right corner of the Prompt box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the speech controls are enabled. If you don’t click this button, you cannot record speech, play speech, or type the script.
Click in the "Prompt Script" field. When the cursor appears, type your script.
To record the Prompt speech, click the "Record" button in the Prompt Script control group (not the "Record ID" button). The record box appears as before, but the script is now the Prompt Script.
To record the speech for this Prompt, click the "Record" button. The message "Please pick up handset" appears on the status line at the bottom of the Record box.
Pick up your phone. After the tone, record the script that appears in the Script Prompter. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The speech is now recorded.
To hear the speech, click the "Play" button, then pick up your phone. If you wish to record the message again, follow the recording procedure above. If the message is fine, then click "OK" to return to the Prompt box.
Now that the Prompt is configured, click the "OK" button on the Prompt box. Your newly created and functional Prompt appears in the system tree, similar to the one shown in Figure 62:
Figure 62—The new Prompt
Notice that the Prompt’s description appears to the right of the Prompt picture. This assists you in identifying the Prompt, as well as the other objects in the tree.
The red "X" on the Prompt picture means that this Prompt is invalid until you place tree objects under it. If we go back to the family tree model, you’ve got a parent without any children. Until the children are added to this parent, the system tree won’t recognize this Prompt.
In most cases, you’ll use Announcements as the children, but you may use a combination of Prompts, Announcements, and Control Points. If you decide to add Prompts, keep in mind that a Prompt can’t be the end of a branch on the tree. You must end a branch with an Announcement or Control Point.
Announcements
The primary purpose of an Announcement is to play an informative speech to a caller. As we’ve seen, this speech may be composed of many different elements, such as the temperature, time, a list of numbers, an Advertisement, and a main speech. You may also configure the Announcement to hang up the phone or go to another object in the tree, after it completes its tasks.
Adding An Announcement To The System Tree
You would add an Announcement to a system tree whenever you want to add another informative speech for callers to hear. Announcements are very versatile tree objects, and may be placed almost anywhere. You could add an Announcement to an existing Announcement group, or it may stand alone.
It is a simple procedure to add an Announcement to a system tree, but it requires a bit of forethought. Here is the rule for adding Announcements:
You may not add an Announcement as a branch from an Announcement or Control Point, or from the System Greeting. This means that you may add an Announcement as a branch from a Prompt, or from the Initial Prompt.
Use the following procedure to add an Announcement to your system tree:
|
|
First, look at the Tree Object Tools located just above the Tool Button Ribbon to the left of the screen. Position the mouse pointer over the "Announcement" tree object. Notice that the Status line at the bottom of the screen displays the message "Drag and drop Announcement to insert". This means that to add an Announcement, you press and hold down the left mouse button (while the mouse pointer is on the object you wish to drag), then continue to hold it down while you move the object to where you want it. You then release the mouse button, and the object ‘drops’. |
Drag the "Announcement" object to the area of the tree where you wish to add it. If an "X" appears on the "Announcement" object, then you may not place the "Announcement" object here.
When you get the Announcement where you want it, drop it by releasing the left mouse button. The Insert Tree Object box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 63:
Figure 63—The Insert Tree Object box
The number that currently appears in the "Touch-Tone Number" field is the default referential ID number for this object. If you wish to change the number, type the desired number in the field.
Now click the "OK" button to insert the Announcement. If for some reason you decide not to insert the Announcement, you may click the "Cancel" button to abandon this add procedure.
After adding the Announcement to the system tree, it should now appear similar to the one shown in Figure 64:
Figure 64—The newly added Announcement
Note the designation "New Announcement" next to the Announcement picture. The name "New Announcement" appears for each Announcement that you add, and remains as such until you enter a name in the "Description" field in the Announcement box. Note that the words are slightly lighter than the ones for the other Announcements. This is because this new Announcement is not yet enabled. The number to the left of the description is the Announcement’s touch tone number.
Configuring The Added Announcement
Now you need to ‘configure’ your newly added Announcement. Configuring is merely the process of setting the controls in the Announcement box so that the Announcement works correctly. Use the following procedure to configure the newly added Announcement:
To begin configuring, double click on the newly added Announcement. The Announcement box for the "New Announcement" appears as shown in Figure 65:
Figure 65—The "New Announcement" Announcement box
The Announcement Info control group displays the Announcement’s ID number. The "Enable" check box is empty, meaning that the Announcement is not enabled. Click the "Enable" check box so that an "X" appears. This tells us that the Announcement is now enabled.
To change the Description, click the "Description" field. Use the Deleteand
keys to remove the existing text, then type the description of the Announcement.
If you want this Announcement to play an Advertisement, You may click on the "Play Advertisement" check box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the Advertising is active. If you don’t have any Advertisement sponsors yet, you may opt not to use the Advertising feature. If you do decide to use Advertising anyway, there are some public service speeches recorded as temporary Advertisements. These Ads are included in the "Public Service" Ad Group.
Depending upon the nature of the Announcement, you may wish to use the controls in the Settings group. These allow you to make the Announcement play the time, temperature, or a list of numbers. Keep in mind that the temperature controls can only be used if you have the Weather Watcher kit.
The next step is to record the ID speech for this Announcement. Click on the "Record ID" button on the right side of the Announcement box. The Record box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 66:
Figure 66—The Record box
Notice that the entry you made in the "Description" field appears in the Script Prompter. To record the ID speech for this Announcement, click the "Record" button. The message "Please pick up handset" appears on the status line at the bottom of the Record box.
Pick up your phone. After the tone, record the ID that appears in the Script Prompter. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The ID is now recorded.
To hear the speech, click the "Play" button, then pick up your phone. If you wish to record the message again, follow the recording procedure above. If the message is fine, then click "OK" to return to the Announcement box.
Now it’s time to type the script for the Announcement speech. First, click the "Enable Speech" button in the bottom right corner of the Announcement box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the speech controls are enabled. If you don’t click this button, you cannot record speech, play speech, or type the script.
Click in the Announcement Script field. When the cursor appears, type your script.
To record the Announcement speech, click the "Record" button in the Announcement Script control group (not the "Record ID" button). The record box appears as before, but it now contains the Announcement Script.
To record the speech for this Announcement, click the "Record" button. The message "Please pick up handset" appears on the status line at the bottom of the Record box.
Pick up your phone. After the tone, record the script that appears in the Script Prompter. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The speech is now recorded.
To hear the speech, click the "Play" button, then pick up your phone. If you wish to record the message again, follow the recording procedure above. If the message is fine, then click "OK" to return to the Announcement box.
Now take a look at the Upon Completion control group. The default setting for Announcements has the "Goto" option set. The common place to send the caller is back to a menu (i.e., a Prompt), either the Initial Prompt’s menu or the last menu that this Announcement falls under. The "*" (star) in the "Goto" field is the default setting, and sends the caller back to this Announcement’s parent Prompt.
If you wish to send the caller back to the Initial Prompt, then delete the star (*) and type "01" in the field.
If you don’t want to use the "Goto" control, you can use the "Hangup Phone" control. Selecting this control tells the application to hang up when the Announcement’s other functions are finished.
Now that the Announcement is complete, click the "OK" button on the Announcement box. You newly created and functional Announcement appears in the system tree, similar to the one shown in Figure 67:
Figure 67—The new Announcement
Notice that the Announcement’s description appears to the right of the Announcement picture. This assists you in identifying the Announcement, as well as the other objects in the tree.
Control Points
Control Points allow you to perform special functions. The primary function of a Control Point is to ‘chain’ the Community Bulletin Board application to another Phone application. This means that you may access part of another application through the Community Bulletin Board system tree.
You can also use a Control Point to play an Advertisement, go to another tree object in the same system tree, or hang up the phone. A Control Point may also act as a Touch Tone Directory.
Adding A Control Point To The System Tree
You would add a Control Point to a system tree whenever you want to add more functionality to your system tree. Control Points are very versatile tree objects, and may be placed almost anywhere. You could add a Control Point to an Announcement group or under a Prompt, or it may stand alone.
It is a simple procedure to add a Control Point to a system tree, but it requires a bit of forethought. Here is the rule for adding Control Points:
You may add a Control Point as a branch from a Prompt, or from the Initial Prompt only. This means that you may not add a Control Point as a branch from an Announcement or another Control Point, or from the System Greeting.
Use the following procedure to add a Control Point to the existing tree:
|
|
First, look at the Tree Object Tools located just above the Tool Button Ribbon to the left of the screen. Position the mouse pointer over the "Control Point" tree object. Notice that the Status line at the bottom of the screen displays the message "Drag and drop Control Point to insert". This means that to add a Control Point, you press and hold down the left mouse button (while the mouse pointer is on the object you wish to drag), then continue to hold it down while you move the object to where you want it. You then release the mouse button, and the object ‘drops’. |
Drag the "Control Point" object to the area of the tree where you wish to add it. If an "X" appears on the "Control Point" object, then you may not place the "Control Point" object here.
When you get the Control Point where you want it, drop it by releasing the left mouse button. The Insert Tree Object box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 68:
Figure 68—The Insert Tree Object box
The number that currently appears in the "Touch-Tone Number" field is the default referential ID number for this object. If you wish to change the number, type the desired number in the field.
Now click the "OK" button to insert the Control Point. If for some reason you decide not to insert the Control Point, you may click the "Cancel" button to abandon this add procedure.
After adding the Control Point, it should now appear similar to the one shown in Figure 69:
Figure 69—The newly added Control Point
Note the designation "New Control Point" next to the Control Point picture. The name "New Control Point" appears for each Control Point that you add, and remains as such until you enter a name in the "Description" field in the Control Point box. Note that the words are slightly lighter than the ones for the other tree objects. This is because this new Control Point is not yet enabled. The number to the left of the description is the Control Point’s touch tone number.
Configuring The Added Control Point
Now you need to ‘configure’ your newly added Control Point, so that it may serve you as you wish. Configuring is merely the process of setting the controls in the Control Point box so that the Control Point works correctly.
Before you configure (or for that matter, add) a Control Point, you should have its purpose in mind. The Control Point could do many things, such as play an Advertisement, chain to another application, then come back and either hang up or go to another object in the tree.
Use the following procedure to configure the newly added Control Point:
To begin configuring, double click on the newly added Control Point. The Control Point box for the "New Control Point" appears as shown in Figure 70:
Figure 70—The "New Control Point" Control Point box
The Control Point Info control group displays the Control Point’s ID number. The "Enable" check box is empty, meaning that the Control Point is not enabled. Click the "Enable" check box so that an "X" appears. This tells us that the Control Point is now enabled.
To change the Description, click the "Description" field. Use the Deleteand
keys to remove the existing text, then type the description of the Control Point.
If you want this Control Point to play an Advertisement, You may click on the "Play Advertisement" check box. An "X" appears in the check box, and the Advertising is active. If you don’t have any Advertisement sponsors yet, you may opt not to use the Advertising feature. If you do decide to use Advertising anyway, there are some public service speeches recorded as temporary Advertisements in the "Public Service" Ad Group.
The next step is to record the ID speech for this Control Point. Click on the "Record ID" button on the right side of the Control Point box. The Record box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 71:
Figure 71—The Record box
Notice that the entry you made in the "Description" field appears in the Script Prompter. To record the ID speech for this Control Point, click the "Record" button. The message "Please pick up handset" appears on the status line at the bottom of the Record box.
Pick up your phone. After the tone, record the ID that appears in the Script Prompter. When you finish recording, click the "Stop" button. The ID is now recorded.
To hear the speech, click the "Play" button, then pick up your phone. If you wish to record the message again, follow the recording procedure above. If the message is fine, then click "OK" to return to the Control Point box.
If you wish to chain this application to another application, you may do so by clicking the "Chain To" check box. When an "X" appears in the box, the "Chain To" function is activated.
|
|
When using the "Chain To" function, you must tell the application which application to access, and then where to go in that application’s system tree. To select a application to chain to, click the downward pointing arrow in the "Chain To" field. A listing of the phone applications that you have appears, and you select the application to chain to by clicking it. One of the most common ways of using the "Chain To" function is in the Caller of the Week set up. In this set up, the application that you would select for the "Chain To" control would be your Inbound Telenotification application, or a Voice Mail application. |
The "Goto" field to the right of the "Chain To" field allows you to access a certain object or part of the other application’s system tree. Simply type the ID number of the object you want the caller to reach into the "Goto" field.
For the Caller of the Week set up, in the "Goto" field you will enter the ID number for a mailbox that you create just for the Caller of the Week contest. This mailbox, which will run from Inbound Telenotification or Voice Mail, only needs to contain a message telling the caller that he or she has won, and the mailbox itself, so that the caller can leave an address or phone number.
|
An option button that has not been selected
An option button that has been selected |
To use the "List Touch Tone Directory", all you need to do is click on this option or in the option button next to it. Once selected, a black circle appears within the white one. This option allows a caller to enter the first few letters of an Announcement Description, using their phone buttons. If you enter "Time" in the Description field, then the caller would press 8463, which are the numbers corresponding to the letters on their phone buttons. The system then plays all of the Announcements that begin with those letters. |
If you do not want to use either of these Control Functions, you may activate the "No Control Function" control by clicking it.
Now take a look at the Control Action control group. The default setting for Control Points is "Goto", but you may choose to have the caller do something else. The common place to send the caller is back to a menu (i.e., a Prompt), either the Initial Prompt’s menu or the last menu that this Control Point falls under.
If you wish to use the "Goto" feature to send the caller to the parent of this Control Point, click on "Goto" to activate it. The "*" (star) in this field is the default setting, and sends the caller back to the parent Prompt.
If you wish to send the caller back to the Initial Prompt, then delete the star (*) and type "01" in the field.
If you wish to use the call transfer function, click on the "Transfer Caller To" radio button to activate it. Then press v or click on the entry field to move the cursor into it, and type in the control characters and phone number that you want callers transferred to.
|
The call transfer function will only work if your application is running on a phone line that has conference calling capabilities. |
Now, if a caller goes to this control point, your program will dial the number you just entered into the "Transfer Caller To" field, and then, once the connection is made, your computer will hang up, leaving the caller on the line to the new number. If that number is busy, the caller will hear the busy signal, and can try back later. For more information on the Transfer Callers function, see the section on Advanced Functions and Features. |
Now that the Control Point is complete, click the "OK" button on the Control Point box. You newly created and functional Control Point appears in the system tree, similar to the one shown in Figure 72:
Figure 72—The new Control Point
Notice that the Control Point’s description appears to the right of the Control Point picture. This assists you in identifying the Control Point, as well as the other objects in the tree.
If you use the "Chain To" function, be aware that the caller only has access to the parts of the other application that you allow. It is best to send them to an area specially designed to hang up when their business there is done. When the application finds the "Hangup Phone" option in this other application, it returns the caller to the Control Point in this application. The application then completes any other tasks ("Hangup Phone" or "Goto") on the Control Point.
The purpose of deleting tree objects is so you can get rid of unused sections of your system tree. This frees up space for other objects in the tree, and keeps things from getting complicated. Deleting a tree object removes it from the tree permanently, unless you use the "Undo Delete" command, or exit the application without committing the changes to the tree. If you don’t want to remove a tree object from the tree but you don’t want callers to reach it, you may ‘Disable’ the object. This means that it is still there, but is not currently in use.
Deleting Tree Objects
There are a number of ways to delete tree objects. Deleting Prompts, though, differs in one respect: When you delete a Prompt, you also delete any branches that come from that Prompt.
Use the following procedure to delete an object from the system tree:
First, select the object you wish to delete so that a blue bar appears on that tree object. You may click the object to select it, or you may use the wy keys on your keyboard).
|
You may also delete the object by selecting it and clicking the "Prune" button.
|
Now press the Delete key on your keyboard. The Advisory message appears as shown in Figure 73:
|
Clicking the "No" button cancels the deletion. For right now, though, click the "Yes" button to delete the tree object.
Note that the object (objects, in the case of a Prompt deletion) is gone. When a caller calls into the system, they will no longer be able to access the deleted object(s).
If you delete an object while viewing the tree using "Full Expansion" mode, you should also delete any Place Holders that lead to this object. For more information about Place Holders, refer to the "Advanced Functions And Features" chapter.
Undeleting Tree Objects
If you accidentally delete an object, don’t worry. Fortunately, the application provides you with an "Undo" command that allows you to replace accidentally deleted tree objects. Providing that you haven’t performed any other deletions after this one, you may use the "Undo" command from the "Edit" menu.
Use the following procedure to undelete an object:
Locate the Menu bar at the top of the Community Bulletin Board window. Click on the "Edit" menu heading, and the Edit menu appears as shown in Figure 74:
Select the "Undo (Delete)" Command by clicking it. The deleted object reappears, exactly as it was before you deleted it.
Keep in mind that the "Undo Delete" function will not work if you deleted an object or (objects) after the one you wish to undelete. In other words, the "Undo Delete" function only works on the object or objects that you last deleted.
Also, the "Undo Delete" function will not work if you commit changes to the system tree. Once you commit any changes to the tree, the deleted object(s) cannot be retrieved.
When you finish designing, building, editing, or otherwise modifying the system tree, it’s time to make these changes final. So far, all you’ve done was save the changes to the tree in the editing session. Now it’s time to ‘commit’ the system tree. ‘Committing’ is simply the process of saving all of the changes you made in the current editing session to the system.
Once you commit the changes, the new system tree takes effect. You may even commit changes while the Community Bulletin Board application is up and running. If a caller is in the system when you commit the changes, they are put ‘on hold’ while the system updates. While the caller waits, they hear the standard brand of elevator music that you normally hear when put on hold. When the system finishes updating, the caller returns to the system and may continue their tasks.
If a caller is in the system recording a speech, the system waits until they are done before committing the changes. An Advisory message appears, telling you that there is a caller in the system. You have the option of canceling the operation, or waiting until the caller is done recording their speech.
If a caller calls in while you are committing the changes, then the phone will continue to ring until the system is finished with the updates. When the updates are complete, the system responds and the caller may access the system normally.
Use the following procedure to commit the changes to your system tree:
While viewing the system tree, click the "File" menu heading located on the Menu bar. The File menu appears.
|
|
Click the "Commit Changes" menu option. The mouse pointer turns into an hourglass while the application makes the necessary changes. If you have any applications running currently, then the Prepare to Commit box appears as shown in the margin. |
When the lines are available, the system commits the changes. When it finishes, you return to the system tree. You may now continue editing, or you may exit the application.
If the system is busy (i.e., a caller is in the system), then an Advisory message appears, telling you that it is not possible to commit the changes at this time. You may cancel this operation by clicking the "Cancel" button on the Advisory message box, or you may wait until the system finds the lines needed to commit.
If you cancel the operation, the system does not commit the changes to the system tree. You must try again later. If the system is free (i.e., there is no caller in the system), then the changes are committed. If there is a caller in the system, then the Advisory message box appears again.
