Menu and Choice Elements

Use

The menu element in an IVR enables the caller to choose options defined in choice elements by pressing the DTMF key on the telephony application, or an IP telephone’s tangent. The child elements that can be nested in a menu are the following ones, and typically menu also consists of most of them:

  • audio : Plays an audio file that typically introduces the choices to the caller.

  • choice: Defines the choices that the user can choose with keys 0 to 9, *, #. The maximum number of choices in a menu is 12. For more information, see the choice section below.

  • noinput : Defines what happens if the caller returns no DTMF.

  • nomatch : Defines what happens if the caller returns a DTMF that has not been defined to any of the choices.

  • prompt : Enables building audio messages that include numerical information, such as cardinal and ordinal numbers, dates, and times.

Menu

Menu can be nested in the main level of the IVR document only. To enter one, right-click the icon Start IVR and choose menu.

* = Specific to Sinch Contact Center

Attributes of menu Element

Description

Identifier

Enter the identifier, either a short name or number. Use letters a-z, A-Z, numbers, and underscore (_), only. This ID is used as an address when the call is transferred to this element.

Set DTMF Numbers for Choices Automatically

If you select this option, you do not need to set the DTMF values for choices separately, but the maximum number of choices is limited to 10.

Description*

Enter a description about what this element is planned for, its requirements and limitations.

Repeats*

Define how many times the menu is run, that is, the audio is played, and the Timeout is waited. After set number of repeats, the call goes to the next element if nothing else happens.

Timeout*

To define how long time the response is waited for after playing the audio, set the number of seconds or milliseconds.

Prevent DTMF Input from Interrupting Audio Playback*

By default, when the customer presses the dial pad number for a choice, the audio prompt is interrupted. To force audio prompts of this menu element to be played entirely, choose the checkbox. Added in SP04.

Expression for Question in Reporting

Defines the script question displayed in Reporting and Online Monitoring. Enter free-form text, or use an expression. Typically used with survey IVRs. Added in SP04.

Note:

In upgrade process from SP03 to SP04, the Identifier is added to this attribute, but if you import an IVR from an older version and you want the question to appear in script monitoring and reporting, make sure you edit this attribute manually.

Calculate Average*

Choose if the average of all answers is calculated in Reporting and Online Monitoring. Added in SP04.

Choice

The choice element has no child elements and can be nested only in the menu element.

Attributes of choice Element

Description

DTMF

Enter the DTMF character (0 to 9, *, #) that the caller uses for entering this choice.

Target Element

Define the element where the call goes when the caller chooses this choice with a DTMF..

Target Element Expression

Use only if you do not define the target with Target Element: define with a Python expression the target where the call goes when the caller chooses this choice.

Description*

Enter a description about what this element is planned for, its requirements and limitations. This helps you to track possible errors later on.

Expression for Answer Option in Reporting*

Defines the answer option of the question defined in menu to be displayed in Reporting and Online Monitoring. Enter free-form text, or use an expression. Typically used in survey IVRs. Added in SP04.

In upgrade process from SP03 to SP04, the former Reporting Event Name attribute is replaced by this attribute.

Example

See Example: Creating a New IVR about the use of a menu element, or import the menu example Example_QueueTransfer_IVR_import.xmlfrom the Examples and Templates folder.