Collect Digits

General Settings


Parameter	Description
Activity Label	Enter a name for the activity.
Activity Description	(Optional) Enter a description for the activity.

Prompt settings without text-to-speech enabled

By default, text-to-speech isn’t enabled. To configure the prompt without text-to-speech, add at least one prerecorded audio file. Choose the audio file from the drop-down list. You can configure up to a total of five audio prompts (audio files and audio prompt variables combined). The full prompt is played to the caller in the configured order, alternating between the audio files and audio prompt variables.

Note	If any of the ordered list inputs is empty, the system displays a Flow Error. Resolve these errors before publishing the flow.

Prompt settings without text-to-speech enabled

Parameter

Description

Add Audio File(s)

To add more audio files, click Add New. The files are played to the caller in the sequence that they are configured.

To remove an audio file from the sequence, click the Delete icon that appears beside each drop-down list. The Delete icon doesn’t appear when only one drop-down list is available because you need at least one audio file for the prompt.

Note	To manage audio files, see Upload an Audio Resource File.

Add Audio Prompt Variable

Use this option to configure the audio prompt to be played dynamically to the customers. For example, you can configure this variable to play the audio prompt in multiple languages based on the customer's preference during the interaction.

To configure the audio prompt variable, click Add Audio Prompt Variable. Enter the variable value in the form of a pebble expression.

For more information, see Pebble Template Syntax.

Note	The variable value must match the name of the .wav file that is uploaded to the Management Portal.

Make Prompt Interruptible

The Make Prompt Interruptible check box allows you to indicate if the configured prompt can be interrupted by the caller's input or event. By default, prompts can't be interrupted. If the prompt is important for the caller to hear, don’t allow it to be interruptible.

Note	For the organizations that are provisioned with the new RTMS platform, the system configures the prompt interruptible by default, irrespective of whether the Make Prompts Interruptible check box is checked or unchecked by the flow developers.

Prompt settings with text-to-speech enabled

By default, text-to-speech isn’t enabled. To use text-to-speech in your prompts, enable the Text-to-Speech toggle button. You can configure up to a total of five audio prompts (text-to-speech messages, audio files, and audio prompt variables combined). The full prompt is played to the caller in the configured order, alternating between the text-to-speech messages, audio files, and audio prompt variables configured.

Parameter

Description

Connector

The Language and Voice options change based on the selected Connector. The selection dictates the language, gender, and tone that the system uses to read text-to-speech messages to the caller.

If you’re using Google TTS, you can preview the various options on the Google Text to Speech page.

Override Default Language & Voice Settings

Use this toggle to override the voice settings configured in the Global Voicename variable. This parameter is enabled by default.

Output Voice

Indicates the output voice name. This field appears only if you enable the Override Default Language & Voice Settings toggle button. Select the output voice name from the drop-down list.

Note

If the output voice name that is supported by Google isn’t available in the Output Voice drop-down list, disable the Override Default Language & Voice Settings toggle button. Include the Set Variable activity before the Collect Digits activity in the flow.

Configure the Set Variable activity as follows:

Set the variable to Global_VoiceName.
Set the variable value to the required output voice name code (for example, en-US-Standard-D). For more information on the supported voices and languages, see the Google Supported voices and languages page.

Add Text to Speech Message

When you build your prompt, you can use text-to-speech or a mix of prerecorded audio files and text-to-speech messages. Click Add Text-to-Speech Message to add a new text input field to the Prompt section. Here, you can type the message that is read to the caller with the selected language and voice. The field accepts two types of input: raw text (plain text) or SSML-formatted data. You can use variables also as part of the message to read the dynamic content.

To specify a variable, use this syntax: {{variable}}. For example, {{NewPhoneContact.ANI}}.

Add Audio File

To alternate text-to-speech messages with prerecorded audio files, click Add Audio File. This adds a new row to the configuration where you can select an audio file from a drop-down list.

To remove an item from the sequence, click the Delete icon next to that item. The Delete icon isn’t visible when only one field is configured, because at least one message or audio file is required.

Add Audio Prompt Variable

Use this option to configure the audio prompt to be played dynamically to the customers. For example, you can configure this variable to play the audio prompt in multiple languages based on the customer's preference during the interaction.

To configure the audio prompt variable, click Add Audio Prompt Variable. Enter the variable value in the form of a pebble expression.

For more information, see Pebble Template Syntax.

Note	The variable value must match the name of the .wav file that is uploaded to the Management Portal.

Make Prompt Interruptible

The Make Prompt Interruptible check box allows you to indicate if the configured prompt can be interrupted by the caller's input or event. By default, prompts can't be interrupted. If the prompt is important for the caller to hear, don’t allow it to be interruptible.

Note	For the organizations that are provisioned with the new RTMS platform, the system configures the prompt interruptible by default, irrespective of whether the Make Prompts Interruptible check box is checked or unchecked by the flow developers.

Text-to-Speech settings

The text-to-speech settings include the following settings that are used to validate the expected DTMF input from the caller.

Text-to-Speech settings
Parameter	Description
Speaking Rate	Indicates the rate of speech. Increase or decrease the numeric input to maintain the ideal rate of speech and control the output speaking rate. Valid values for the numeric input are in the range of 0.25 to 4.0 words per minute (wpm). The default value is 1.0 wpm.
Volume Gain	Indicates the increase or decrease in volume output. Increase or decrease the numeric input to maintain the ideal volume of output speech. Valid entries for the numeric input are in the range of –96.0 decibels to 16.0 decibels (dB). The default value is 0.0 dB.

Advanced Settings

The Collect Digits activity includes the following advanced settings that are used to validate the expected DTMF input from the caller.

Advanced Settings

Parameter

Description

No-Input Timeout

Indicates the maximum duration that the Collect Digits activity waits for input, before proceeding to the Entry Timeout path. The default value is 3 seconds.

Inter-Digit Timeout

Indicates the maximum duration for which the Collect Digits activity waits between digits, before continuing in the flow. This occurs only after at least one digit is entered. The caller can enter the terminator symbol to indicate that the entry is completed, so that the call proceeds without waiting for the Inter-Digit Timeout.

Note	Inter-Digit Timeout isn’t applicable for customers using the Voice Services Platform. By default, this parameter isn’t disabled for customers using the Voice Services Platform.

Minimum Digits

Indicates the minimum number of digits that the caller must enter. The default value is 1. If the caller enters the input that is less than this value, the flow follows the Unmatched Entry path that is configured in the Error Handling section.

Maximum Digits

Indicates the maximum number of digits that the caller can enter. The default value is 10. If the caller enters the input that is more than this value, the flow follows the Unmatched Entry path that is configured in the Error Handling section.

Terminator Symbol

Indicates the character that the caller can enter to specify the end of input. The Terminator Symbol can be either # or * depending on the configuration.

By default, the Terminator Symbol is #.

Output Variables

The Collect Digits activity includes the {{CollectDigits.DigitsEntered}} output variable. When the flow is executed, this variable stores the DTMF input that the caller entered during their interaction with the activity. Use this variable in later activities to control the flow sequence. The variable name dynamically changes based on the label that is associated with the Collect Digits activity. The system must capture multiple variable values if the flow uses more than one Collect Digits activity in the flow. For more information, see Event Output Variables.

Error handling

The Collect Digits activity has two required error handling paths (Entry Timeout and Unmatched Entry). These paths appear by default on the activity and can’t be removed. Validation fails if you don’t configure flow paths from these links.

Error Handling Paths
Path	Description
Entry Timeout	Configure the path that the flow takes after the entry timeout duration has passed. This ensures that the caller doesn’t go idle for too long. Modify the entry timeout duration in the Advanced Settings section of the Properties pane. Consider adding a Play Message activity to clarify what is expected from the caller; and then loop back to the start of the Collect Digits activity.
Unmatched Entry	Configure the path that the flow takes if the caller enters a DTMF input that is not configured in the Custom Menu Links section. This ensures that the caller is given an opportunity to restart the activity and try again. Consider adding a Play Message activity to clarify what is expected from the caller, and then loop back to the start of the Collect Digits activity.