VoiceXML Studio User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal

Transcription

1 VoiceXML Studio User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal Release 4.0(1) February, 2007 Corporate Headquarters Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 West Tasman D rive San Jose, CA USA Tel: NETS (6387) Fax:

2 THE SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRODUCTS IN THIS MANUAL ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL STATEMENTS, INFORMATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS MANUAL ARE BELIEVED TO BE ACCURATE BUT ARE PRESENTED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. USERS MUST TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR APPLICATION OF ANY PRODUCTS. THE SOFTWARE LICENSE AND LIMITED WARRANTY FOR THE ACCOMPANYING PRODUCT ARE SET FORTH IN THE INFORMATION PACKET THAT SHIPPED WITH THE PRODUCT AND ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY THIS REFERENCE. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SOFTWARE LICENSE OR LIMITED WARRANTY, CONTACT YOUR CISCO REPRESENTATIVE FOR A COPY. The Cisco implementation of TCP header compression is an adaptation of a program developed by the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) as part of UCB s public domain version of the UNIX operating system. All rights reserved. Copyright 1981, Regents of the University of California. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER WARRANTY HEREIN, ALL DOCUMENT FILES AND SOFTWARE OF THESE SUPPLIERS ARE PROVIDED AS IS WITH ALL FAULTS. CISCO AND THE ABOVE-NAMED SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OR ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE. IN NO EVENT SHALL CISCO OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR LOSS OR DAMAGE TO DATA ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS MANUAL, EVEN IF CISCO OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. CCVP, the Cisco Logo, and the Cisco Square Bridge logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc.; Changing the Way We Work, Live, Play, and Learn is a service mark of Cisco Systems, Inc.; and Access Registrar, Aironet, BPX, Catalyst, CCDA, CCDP, CCIE, CCIP, CCNA, CCNP, CCSP, Cisco, the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert logo, Cisco IOS, Cisco Press, Cisco Systems, Cisco Systems Capital, the Cisco Systems logo, Cisco Unity, Enterprise/Solver, EtherChannel, EtherFast, EtherSwitch, Fast Step, Follow Me Browsing, FormShare, GigaDrive, GigaStack, HomeLink, Internet Quotient, IOS, IP/TV, iq Expertise, the iq logo, iq Net Readiness Scorecard, iquick Study, LightStream, Linksys, MeetingPlace, MGX, Networking Academy, Network Registrar, Packet, PIX, ProConnect, RateMUX, ScriptShare, SlideCast, SMARTnet, StackWise, The Fastest Way to Increase Your Internet Quotient, and TransPath are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document or Website are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (0609R) Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses. Any examples, command display output, and figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental. VoiceXML Studio User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. ii

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents PREFACE... VI PURPOSE... VI AUDIENCE... VI ORGANIZATION... VI RELATED DOCUMENTATION... VII CONVENTIONS... VIII OBTAINING DOCUMENTATION... IX Cisco.com...ix Product Documentation DVD...ix Ordering Documentation...ix DOCUMENTATION FEEDBACK... X FIELD ALERTS AND FIELD NOTICES... X CISCO PRODUCT SECURITY OVERVIEW... X Reporting Security Problems in Cisco Products...xi OBTAINING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE... XII Cisco Technical Support & Documentation Web Site...xii Submitting a Service Request...xiii Definitions of Service Request Severity...xiii OBTAINING ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS AND INFORMATION... XIV CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...16 LICENSING...16 Online Activation...17 Manual Activation...18 Trial Period...18 PREFERENCES...19 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO...20 PROJECT INTRODUCTION...21 Creating a Cisco Unified CVP Project Importing an Existing Cisco Unified CVP Project...26 Renaming a Cisco Unified CVP Project...29 Deleting a Cisco Unified CVP Project...31 Backing Up a Cisco Unified CVP Project...33 PROJECT PROPERTIES...34 General Settings...35 Audio Settings...37 Endpoint Settings...39 Root Document Settings...41 DOCUMENTER...43 Documenter Output...47 VERSION CONTROL INTEGRATION...49 Using Version Control to Support Multiple Developers...49 Using CVS from within Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio...51 Links to Additional Version Control Plug-ins...52 CHAPTER 3: CISCO UNIFIED CVP WORKSPACE...53 ELEMENTS VIEW...54 Standard Versus Configurable...54 Configurable Element Types...55 Configurable Action Elements...55 Definition iii

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Configurable Decision Elements...56 Definition Voice Elements...56 Definition STANDARD ELEMENTS...57 Standard Action Elements...57 Definition Configuring a Standard Action Element Standard Decision Elements...59 Definition Configuring a Standard Decision Element Decision Editor FLAG ELEMENTS...64 Definition...64 Defining a Flag Element...64 VOICEXML INSERT ELEMENTS...65 Definition...65 Defining a VoiceXML Insert Element...66 HOTEVENT...67 Definition...67 Defining a Hotevent...68 HOTLINKS...68 Definition...68 Defining a Hotlink...69 APPLICATION TRANSFER...70 Definition...70 Defining an Application Transfer...70 PAGE ENTRIES & CONNECTORS...71 Definition...71 Defining a Page Entry...72 Defining a Page Connector...72 COMMENT...73 Definition...73 Defining a Comment...73 HANG UP...74 Definition...74 Defining a Hang Up...74 START OF CALL...74 Definition...74 Defining the Start of Call...75 ERROR ELEMENT...75 Definition...75 Defining an Error Element...76 SUBDIALOG ELEMENTS...77 Definition...77 Defining a Subdialog Start...77 Defining a Subdialog Return...78 Importing Voice Applications from Previous Versions...79 THE CALLFLOW EDITOR...79 Selecting, Resizing, and Repositioning Elements...80 Element Naming...80 Connecting Elements...81 Angled Lines Skipping Call Flow...84 Using Skip Call Flow...85 Cut, Copy, and Paste...88 iv

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Undo and Redo...89 Zoom In/Zoom Out...89 Element Groups...90 Creating an Element Group Configuring an Element Group Element Group Exit States Element Group Templates Element Comments...95 ELEMENT CONFIGURATION VIEW...96 Element Configuration Tabs...97 The General Tab...97 Dynamic Configurations Custom Logging Associating a UID With the Call The Settings Tab...99 Settings VoiceXML Properties (Voice Elements Only) The Audio Tab (Voice Elements Only) Audio Groups Audio Items The Data Tab Creating Element Data Creating Session Data Substitution PROMPT MANAGER Prompt Manager View Using the Prompt Manager Validating Applications Deploying Applications Local Deploy Remote Deploy Archive Deploy v

6 PREFACE Preface Purpose This document describes the full range of functionality provided by Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio. It is a hands-on user guide, providing detailed information about each feature that Studio provides, as well as information about the overall functionality of Studio for voice application development. Audience This document is intended for voice application designers who are using Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio. Organization Chapter Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Builder for VoiceXML Studio Chapter 3: Cisco Unified CVP Workspace Description Explains the licensing process for Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio and how to set preferences. Explains how to create and work with a Builder project; how to set project properties; how to use the documenter feature; and how to implement version control. Describes the elements and features of Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio and how to validate and deploy applications. vi

7 PREFACE Related Documentation Planning Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal provides a product overview and describes how to plan a Unified CVP deployment. Installation and Upgrade Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes how to install Unified CVP software, perform initial configuration, and upgrade. Configuration and Administration Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes how to set up, run, and administer the Cisco Unified CVP product, including associated configuration. Operations Console Online Help for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes how to use the Operations Console to configure Unified CVP solution components. Troubleshooting Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes how to isolate and solve problems in the Unified CVP solution. Reporting Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes the Reporting Server, including how to configure and manage it, and discusses the hosted database. Element Specifications for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal provides specifications for the elements included with Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. VoiceXML Server User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes the Unified CVP VoiceXML software. Say It Smart Specifications for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes in detail the functionality and configuration options for all Unified CVP VoiceXML Say It Smart plug-ins included with the software. Programming Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal describes how to build components that run on the Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. Javadocs for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal are a group of HTML pages fully describing the entire Java application programming interfaces (APIs) to Unified CVP VoiceXML. Developers use Javadocs in conjunction with the Programming Guide to understand how to build custom components that run on the Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. For additional information about Unified ICME, see the Cisco Web site ( vii

8 PREFACE Conventions This manual uses the following conventions: Convention boldface font italic font Description Boldface font is used to indicate commands, such as user entries, keys, buttons, and folder and submenu names. For example: Choose Edit > Find. Click Finish. Italic font is used to indicate the following: To introduce a new term. Example: A skill group is a collection of agents who share similar skills. For emphasis. Example: Do not use the numerical naming convention. A syntax value that the user must replace. Example: IF (condition, true-value, false-value) A book title. Example: See the Cisco CRS Installation Guide. window font Window font, such as Courier, is used for the following: Text as it appears in code or that the window displays. Example: <html><title>cisco Systems,Inc. </title></html> File names. Example: tserver.properties. Directory paths. Example: C:\Program Files\Adobe < > Angle brackets are used to indicate the following: For arguments where the context does not allow italic, such as ASCII output. A character string that the user enters but that does not appear on the window such as a password. viii

9 PREFACE Obtaining Documentation Cisco documentation and additional literature are available on Cisco.com. Cisco also provides several ways to obtain technical assistance and other technical resources. These sections explain how to obtain technical information from Cisco Systems. Cisco.com You can access the most current Cisco documentation at this URL: You can access the Cisco Web site at this URL: You can access international Cisco Web sites at this URL: Product Documentation DVD The Product Documentation DVD is a comprehensive library of technical product documentation on a portable medium. The DVD enables you to access multiple versions of installation, configuration, and command guides for Cisco hardware and software products. With the DVD, you have access to the same HTML documentation that is found on the Cisco Web site without being connected to the Internet. Certain products also have.pdf versions of the documentation available. The Product Documentation DVD is available as a single unit or as a subscription. Registered Cisco.com users (Cisco direct customers) can order a Product Documentation DVD (product number DOC-DOCDVD= or DOC- DOCDVD=SUB) from Cisco Marketplace at this URL: Ordering Documentation Registered Cisco.com users may order Cisco documentation at the Product Documentation Store in the Cisco Marketplace at this URL: Nonregistered Cisco.com users can order technical documentation from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (0800 to 1700) PDT by calling in the United States and Canada, or elsewhere by calling You can also order documentation by at tech-doc-store-mkpl@external.cisco.com or by fax at in the United States and Canada, or elsewhere at ix

10 PREFACE Documentation Feedback You can rate and provide feedback about Cisco technical documents by completing the online feedback form that appears with the technical documents on Cisco.com. You can submit comments about Cisco documentation by using the response card (if present) behind the front cover of your document or by writing to the following address: Cisco Systems Attn: Customer Document Ordering 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, CA We appreciate your comments. Field Alerts and Field Notices Cisco products may be modified or key processes may be determined important. These are announced through use of the Cisco Field Alert mechanism. You can register to receive Field Alerts through the Field Alert Tool on Cisco.com. This tool enables you to create a profile to receive announcements by selecting all products of interest. Log into then access the tool at Cisco Product Security Overview Cisco provides a free online Security Vulnerability Policy portal at this URL: From this site, you will find information about how to: Report security vulnerabilities in Cisco products. Obtain assistance with security incidents that involve Cisco products. Register to receive security information from Cisco. A current list of security advisories, security notices, and security responses for Cisco products is available at this URL: To see security advisories, security notices, and security responses as they are updated in real time, you can subscribe to the Product Security Incident Response Team Really Simple Syndication (PSIRT RSS) feed. Information about how to subscribe to the PSIRT RSS feed is found at this URL: x

11 PREFACE Reporting Security Problems in Cisco Products Cisco is committed to delivering secure products. We test our products internally before we release them, and we strive to correct all vulnerabilities quickly. If you think that you have identified a vulnerability in a Cisco product, contact PSIRT: For Emergencies only security-alert@cisco.com An emergency is either a condition in which a system is under active attack or a condition for which a severe and urgent security vulnerability should be reported. All other conditions are considered nonemergencies. For Nonemergencies psirt@cisco.com In an emergency, you can also reach PSIRT by telephone: We encourage you to use Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) or a compatible product (for example, GnuPG) to encrypt any sensitive information that you send to Cisco. PSIRT can work with information that has been encrypted with PGP versions 2.x through 9.x. Never use a revoked or an expired encryption key. The correct public key to use in your correspondence with PSIRT is the one linked in the Contact Summary section of the Security Vulnerability Policy page at this URL: The link on this page has the current PGP key ID in use. If you do not have or use PGP, contact PSIRT at the aforementioned addresses or phone numbers before sending any sensitive material to find other means of encrypting the data. xi

12 PREFACE Obtaining Technical Assistance Cisco Technical Support provides 24-hour-a-day award-winning technical assistance. The Cisco Technical Support & Documentation Web site on Cisco.com features extensive online support resources. In addition, if you have a valid Cisco service contract, Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) engineers provide telephone support. If you do not have a valid Cisco service contract, contact your reseller. Cisco Technical Support & Documentation Web Site The Cisco Technical Support & Documentation Web site provides online documents and tools for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. The Web site is available 24 hours a day, at this URL: Access to all tools on the Cisco Technical Support & Documentation Web site requires a Cisco.com user ID and password. If you have a valid service contract but do not have a user ID or password, you can register at this URL: Note Use the Cisco Product Identification (CPI) tool to locate your product serial number before submitting a Web or phone request for service. You can access the CPI tool from the Cisco Technical Support & Documentation Web site by clicking thetools & Resources link under Documentation & Tools. Choose Cisco Product Identification Tool from the Alphabetical Index drop-down list, or click the Cisco Product Identification Tool link under Alerts & RMAs. The CPI tool offers three search options: by product ID or model name; by tree view; or for certain products, by copying and pasting show command output. Search results show an illustration of your product with the serial number label location highlighted. Locate the serial number label on your product and record the information before placing a service call. xii

13 PREFACE Submitting a Service Request Using the online TAC Service Request Tool is the fastest way to open S3 and S4 service requests (S3 and S4 service requests are those in which your network is minimally impaired or for which you require product information). After you describe your situation, the TAC Service Request Tool provides recommended solutions. If your issue is not resolved using the recommended resources, your service request is assigned to a Cisco engineer. The TAC Service Request Tool is located at this URL: For S1 or S2 service requests, or if you do not have Internet access, contact the Cisco TAC by telephone (S1 or S2 service requests are those in which your production network is down or severely degraded). Cisco engineers are assigned immediately to S1 and S2 service requests to help keep your business operations running smoothly. To open a service request by telephone, use one of the following numbers: Asia-Pacific: (Australia: ) EMEA: USA: For a complete list of Cisco TAC contacts, go to this URL: Definitions of Service Request Severity To ensure that all service requests are reported in a standard format, Cisco has established severity definitions. Severity 1 (S1) An existing network is down, or there is a critical impact to your business operations. You and Cisco will commit all necessary resources around the clock to resolve the situation. Severity 2 (S2) Operation of an existing network is severely degraded, or significant aspects of your business operations are negatively affected by inadequate performance of Cisco products. You and Cisco will commit fulltime resources during normal business hours to resolve the situation. Severity 3 (S3) Operational performance of the network is impaired, while most business operations remain functional. You and Cisco will commit resources during normal business hours to restore service to satisfactory levels. Severity 4 (S4) You require information or assistance with Cisco product capabilities, installation, or configuration. There is little or no effect on your business operations. xiii

14 PREFACE Obtaining Additional Publications and Information Information about Cisco products, technologies, and network solutions is available from various online and printed sources. The Cisco Product Quick Reference Guide is a handy, compact reference tool that includes brief product overviews, key features, sample part numbers, and abbreviated technical specifications for many Cisco products that are sold through channel partners. It is updated twice a year and includes the latest Cisco offerings. To order and find out more about the Cisco Product Quick Reference Guide, go to this URL: Cisco Marketplace provides a variety of Cisco books, reference guides, documentation, and logo merchandise. Visit Cisco Marketplace, the company store, at this URL: Cisco Press publishes a wide range of general networking, training and certification titles. Both new and experienced users will benefit from these publications. For current Cisco Press titles and other information, go to Cisco Press at this URL: Packet magazine is the Cisco Systems technical user magazine for maximizing Internet and networking investments. Each quarter, Packet delivers coverage of the latest industry trends, technology breakthroughs, and Cisco products and solutions, as well as network deployment and troubleshooting tips, configuration examples, customer case studies, certification and training information, and links to scores of in-depth online resources. You can access Packet magazine at this URL: iq Magazine is the quarterly publication from Cisco Systems designed to help growing companies learn how they can use technology to increase revenue, streamline their business, and expand services. The publication identifies the challenges facing these companies and the technologies to help solve them, using real-world case studies and business strategies to help readers make sound technology investment decisions. You can access iq Magazine at this URL: or view the digital edition at this URL: Internet Protocol Journal is a quarterly journal published by Cisco Systems for engineering professionals involved in designing, developing, and operating public and private internets and intranets. You can access the Internet Protocol Journal at this URL: Networking products offered by Cisco Systems, as well as customer support services, can be obtained at this URL: xiv

15 PREFACE Networking Professionals Connection is an interactive Web site for networking professionals to share questions, suggestions, and information about networking products and technologies with Cisco experts and other networking professionals. Join a discussion at this URL: World-class networking training is available from Cisco. You can view current offerings at this URL: xv

16 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Introduction Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio is a platform for creating, managing, and deploying sophisticated voice applications. Studio is built using the Eclipse framework, though no knowledge of Eclipse is necessary to work with Studio. VoiceXML Studio acts as a container in which features called plug-ins are encapsulated. Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio currently comes with a single plug-in, Cisco Unified CVP Builder for VoiceXML Studio, which is used to construct voice applications. The only components that need to be constructed outside VoiceXML Studio are those that require programming (see the Programming Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for more details). This guide describes the features of Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio and shows you how to create world-class voice applications. Licensing When you install Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio and start it for the first time, the software will prompt you to activate it. Additionally, each time Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio is started without an active license, you will be prompted to activate the software. 16

17 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Online Activation On machines with Internet access, activation can be performed on line. You will be prompted for an installation key and Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio will automatically download the most recent license associated with the key you provide. 17

18 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Manual Activation There is also a way to activate the product when an Internet connection is unavailable. You can request a license key from Cisco Software License Registration ( by using a different computer with Internet access. In order to do so, an installation key and system ID are required. This information can be obtained by navigating to Help->Activation... within Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio. Once the Cisco Software License Registration website validates the information provided, a license will be presented. This license can be entered manually into Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio to activate the software. Trial Period Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio can be used for a trial period of 7 days before it needs to be activated. 18

19 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Preferences Items within the Preferences menu can be set by choosing Window->Preferences from the menu bar. Most of the settings listed here apply to the Eclipse platform; however, those listed under Cisco Unified CVP are specifically intended for Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio (see below). You may wish to change some of these from their default settings. If you change any of them, it is recommended that you exit and restart Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio so your new settings can take effect. Expand elements in Elements View. This setting controls whether elements in the Elements View appear fully expanded or collapsed (the default). Expand call flow elements in Outline View. This setting controls whether call flow elements in the Outline View appear fully expanded (the default) or collapsed. Call Flow Theme. This setting controls which look and feel (theme) to use for elements in the Callflow Editor. There are two options: o VoiceXML Studio v4.0 is the new look and feel introduced in the Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio v4.0 release. This is the default setting. o Classic is the old look and feel from the previous Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio releases. 19

20 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Chapter 2: Builder for VoiceXML Studio Cisco Unified CVP Builder for VoiceXML Studio is a graphical user interface for creating and managing voice applications for deployment on Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server, the runtime framework for Cisco Unified CVP voice applications. A complete dynamic voice application can be constructed within the Builder, including call flow and audio elements. The philosophy behind the Cisco Unified CVP Builder is to provide an intuitive, easy-to-use tool for building complex voice applications. The conception and design of voice applications makes use of flowcharts to represent the application call flow. Because flowcharts outline actions that are performed, not the processes behind these actions, they are an effective tool for representing the overall logic of the call flow. The flowcharting process is useful for mapping all the permutations of a call to ensure that all possible outcomes are handled appropriately. The schematic nature of flowcharts also make it easier for you to see where callers can get lost or stuck as well as how the call flow can be improved. The Cisco Unified CVP Builder works as a flowcharting program tailored specifically for building voice applications. Most of the familiar features of a flowcharting tool are present in the Builder, such as a palette of shapes that can be dragged and dropped onto a workspace and labeled, lines connecting those shapes, multiple pages, and much more. The Builder fulfills almost all the needs of a voice application designer and greatly accelerates the development of even the most complex call flows. Cisco Unified CVP Projects Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio uses a "project" paradigm to gracefully manage voice applications and their associated resources. The following section shows you how to create, configure, import and modify Cisco Unified CVP projects. It also provides instructions for importing applications created in previous versions of Cisco Unified CVP Studio. 20

21 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Project Introduction A Cisco Unified CVP Project contains all the resources required to build and deploy Cisco Unified CVP voice applications that will run on Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. The callflow folder contains all the xml files which make up that applications call flow and element configurations. The app.callflow file will open the Callflow Editor and recreate the call flow based on the information found in these files. Every time the application is saved, these files are updated. The deploy folder contains any extra resources required for deployment; for example, local custom elements and Say It Smart plug-ins. Creating a Cisco Unified CVP Project. 1. To create a Cisco Unified CVP Project, choose File->New->Cisco Unified CVP Project. 21

22 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 2. Enter a name for the new Cisco Unified CVP Project and select Next. Leave Use default checked to create the new project in the default workspace directory. 3. Enter the General Settings for the new Cisco Unified CVP Project and select Next. General Settings can always be changed later. 22

23 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 4. Enter the Audio Settings for the new Cisco Unified CVP Project and select Next. Audio Settings can always be changed later. 5. Enter the Endpoint Settings for the new Cisco Unified CVP Project and select Next. Endpoint Settings can always be changed later. 23

24 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 6. Enter the Root Document Settings for the new Cisco Unified CVP Project and select Finish. Root Document Settings can always be changed later. The new Cisco Unified CVP Project will appear in the Navigator View. 24

25 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO The new application s call flow will automatically open in the Callflow Editor. 25

26 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Importing an Existing Cisco Unified CVP Project Importing an existing Cisco Unified CVP Project into the workspace will make the project available in the Navigator View; however, it will not copy the contents of that Cisco Unified CVP Project to the workspace directory. It is recommended that all Cisco Unified CVP Projects be kept in the workspace directory for ease of management, so be sure to copy projects to the CVP_HOME\VXMLStudio\eclipse\workspace directory before importing them. 1. To import an existing Cisco Unified CVP Project, choose File->Import. 2. Select Existing Cisco Unified CVP Project into Workspace and select Next. 26

27 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 3. Enter the location of the existing Cisco Unified CVP Project you wish to import or select Browse to locate it within your file system. 4. Once you locate your existing Cisco Unified CVP Project, select Finish. 27

28 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO The imported Cisco Unified CVP Project will appear in the Navigator View. The imported application s call flow will automatically open in the Callflow Editor. 28

29 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Renaming a Cisco Unified CVP Project 1. To rename a Cisco Unified CVP Project, right-click on the project folder in the Navigator View and select Rename. 29

30 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 2. Enter in a new name for the project and press Enter. 30

31 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Deleting a Cisco Unified CVP Project 1. To delete a Cisco Unified CVP Project, right-click on the project folder in the Navigator View and select Delete. 31

32 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 2. To permanently delete the Cisco Unified CVP Project's files as well as remove it from the Navigator View, choose Also delete contents under... Alternatively, to remove the Cisco Unified CVP Project from the Navigator View but leave its files on the file system, choose Do not delete contents. This option is the default. 3. Click Yes to delete the Cisco Unified CVP Project. 32

33 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Backing Up a Cisco Unified CVP Project The files contained in a Cisco Unified CVP Project store all the information about the voice application that is needed for it to be deployed to Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server, imported to another VoiceXML Studio instance, or edited in the current VoiceXML Studio environment. To back up a Cisco Unified CVP Project, the Cisco Unified CVP Project's files can be copied anywhere within the file system. By default, Cisco Unified CVP Projects are created in the CVP_HOME\VXMLStudio\eclipse\workspace directory. Copy the Cisco Unified CVP Project's files from this directory to the desired backup location. When a Cisco Unified CVP Project is deployed, a separate set of files is created for use on Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. This VoiceXML Server version of the voice application cannot be imported to the VoiceXML Studio environment and is only for use on Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. Therefore, when creating a backup of a voice application, it is strongly suggested that you store the VoiceXML Studio version of the application. 33

34 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Project Properties Cisco Unified CVP Project properties can be set on project creation or modified anytime during the project development cycle. Properties are easily accessible by right-clicking on a project's folder in the Navigator View and selecting Properties from the menu. 34

35 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO General Settings The following describes the General Settings of a Cisco Unified CVP voice application. Deploy Version. This sets the version of Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server to which to deploy an application. As Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio applications can run on different versions of VoiceXML Server, this field must match the version of VoiceXML Server running in the deployment environment. Refer to the VoiceXML Server User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for more information on running an application deployed to VoiceXML Server. Maintainer. This contains the address of the application administrator. If the voice browser encounters errors (usually caused by missing audio files or other configuration problems) it sends a message to this address. Since the voice browser is not part of Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server, this is a convenient way to learn the details of any errors that occurred while the voice browser was interpreting the VoiceXML document. Language. This contains the language to specify in each VoiceXML document's xml:lang attribute. By default it is blank, indicating that the voice browser's default language will be used. The information here must conform to the format required in XML for specifying languages (e.g. "en-us"). 35

36 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Encoding. This contains the encoding to use when creating the VoiceXML document. By default it is blank, indicating the use of the operating system / application server default encoding. Subdialog. This defines whether an application will be invoked as a subdialog (true) or not (false). If the Subdialog setting is set to true, the application must begin and end with Subdialog Start and Subdialog Return elements, respectively. Session Timeout. This value sets the length of time a session on the application server is allowed to linger if no activity is detected. Cisco recommends that this value not be changed from the default unless the designer understands sessions and application servers. VoiceXML Gateway. This sets the voice browser the application will be hosted on. There can only be a single voice browser per application. Cisco Unified CVP supports various commercial voice browsers. Adding support for a voice browser involves installing a Gateway Adapter for that browser. Refer to the Hardware and Software System Specification for Cisco Unified CVP Customer Voice Portal for a list of supported browsers. User Management. Clicking on the check box activates the User Management system for the application. When set, the database type must be given and the JNDI name identifying the database provided in the text box. Currently, SQLServer and MySQL databases are supported. By default, the User Management system is off. Loggers. The Loggers section provides the ability to configure the logging levels for the voice application. Configurations for Cisco Unified CVP logging plug-ins are specified by choosing Add... This will bring up a dialog box where the logging configuration file reference and logging plug-in types are defined. The Edit... button enables modification of previously defined loggers and Remove will delete the selected logger configuration. Defined loggers will be executed in the order that they appear. The logging order can be changed by moving particular configurations up or down within the loggers section. Refer to the VoiceXML Server User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for more information on specific loggers. 36

37 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Audio Settings The following describes the Audio Settings of a Cisco Unified CVP voice application. Generic Error Message. This TTS message will be played if Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server encounters an unexpected error during the course of a call. The idea is to avoid abruptly hanging up on a caller when an error occurs that prevents the application from continuing. The system will hang up after this message is played, so it should be tailored accordingly. This setting is required. Error Audio URI. This is a pre-recorded audio file containing the error message to be played when the server encounters an unexpected error during the course of a call. When the audio file is provided, the TTS message specified in the Generic Error Message setting will only be used as a backup when this audio file cannot be found or is corrupted. A URI to the audio file is required, since it must be made available to the voice browser. For example, By default, Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio references an audio file provided by Cisco. 37

38 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Suspended Message. This is a TTS message that will be played to the caller when the application is suspended. This message typically says that the service is temporarily down and asks the caller to call back. This setting is required. Suspended Audio URI. This is a URI to a pre-recorded audio file containing the message to play when the application is suspended. The TTS message specified in the Suspended Message setting above is played only when the audio file specified here is not found or corrupted. By default, Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio references an audio file provided by Cisco. Initial On-Hold Audio URI / Main On-Hold Audio URI. Each simultaneous call to Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server takes up a Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server port. The license purchased from Cisco specifies how many ports the system can support. If a call is received when all ports are taken, Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server puts the caller on hold, playing the initial designer-specified pre-recorded audio referenced in the setting named Initial On-Hold Audio URI. When done playing, Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server checks if a port is available. If not, it will play the designer-specified pre-recorded audio referenced in the setting named Main On-Hold Audio URI followed by another check. The cycle continues by repeatedly playing the main on hold audio and checking for a port. Once a port is available, the caller starts interacting with the application. The initial on-hold message is intended to be a greeting and a notice to hold. The main on-hold message is intended to be a "filler" message that is suitable for repeating multiple times. The length of these messages determines the frequency which the server checks for an available port. By default, Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio references audio files provided by Cisco that contain a 30-second pause within it to lengthen the amount of time it takes between checks. Default Audio Path URI. This setting contains a partial URI to a path containing the audio content for this voice application. If set, the designer need only provide the audio file name while building the application, knowing that this path will be prepended. If the audio for this application is stored in multiple areas this field should be left blank. In this case, the developer will have to provide the full URI for each audio file used by the application. The default audio path can save a lot of time when moving applications across disparate systems since only the default audio path need change rather than the URI for each audio file in the application. 38

39 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Endpoint Settings The following describes the Endpoint Settings of a Cisco Unified CVP voice application. On Application Start. The On Application Start section specifies the Java classes that are executed when the voice application is started on the target application server. Configurations for On Application Start classes are specified by choosing Add... This will bring up a dialog box where the classes are added. The Edit... button enables modification of previously defined On Application Start classes. Remove will delete the selected class. Defined classes will be executed in the order that they appear in the On Application Start section. The execution order can be changed by moving particular classes up or down within the section. 39

40 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO On Application End. The On Application End section specifies the Java classes that are executed when the voice application is stopped on the target application server. Configurations for On Application End classes are specified by choosing Add... This will bring up a dialog box where the classes are added. The Edit... button enables modification of previously defined On Application End classes. Remove will delete the selected class. Defined classes will be executed in the order that they appear in the On Application End section. The execution order can be changed by moving particular classes up or down within the section. On Call Start. This specifies a Java class or URI to be accessed when the application is entered. For a Java class, the full name, including package, should be entered. For a URI, the absolute URI for the system implementing the Cisco Unified CVP XML API should be entered. If Run In Background is checked, then the Java class or URI is accessed in the background and the call starts right away. If unchecked, the Java class or URI must complete before the call flow for the application begins. On Call End. This specifies a Java class or URI to be accessed when the application visit ends. For a Java class, the full name, including package, should be entered. For a URI, the absolute URI for the system implementing the Cisco Unified CVP XML API should be entered. 40

41 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Root Document Settings The following describes the Root Document Settings of a Cisco Unified CVP voice application. JavaScript. The JavaScript section is used to specify custom JavaScript content that will be inserted into the application root document. Selecting Add... will open up a dialog box where a label for the JavaScript must be specified along with the desired JavaScript content. The name of the JavaScript is used to identify particular script content in the Root Doc Settings properties dialog. All script content listed in the edit box is inserted within VoiceXML <script> tags by VoiceXML Server and therefore, <script> tags should not be defined in the script content. VoiceXML Studio does not execute the script or validate the script syntax. Multiple scripts can be specified with unique labels. The order of the scripts listed in the Root Doc Settings properties is the order that they appear in the root document. The order can be modified by using the Up and Down buttons. VoiceXML Property. This table is used to enter all VoiceXML properties the developer wishes to appear in the root document. By placing them in the root document, the developer applies the properties to the entire application. Each property's name is entered alongside its value. If a property's value is left blank, its value will be set to an empty string in the root document. 41

42 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO VoiceXML Variable. This table is used to enter all VoiceXML variables the developer wishes to appear in the root document. By placing them in the root document, the developer ensures that they are available to all VoiceXML pages produced by the application (essentially "global" VoiceXML variables). 42

43 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Documenter This feature generates a Rich Text Format (RTF) document that outlines and describes the content of a Cisco Unified CVP voice application. This document can serve as the basis for an application specification, or as a prompt listing for use in an audio recording studio. 1. Documenter is accessed by right-clicking on a Cisco Unified CVP Project folder in the Navigator View and selecting Documenter. 2. The first of four Application Document Content dialogs will appear. The first dialog allows you to specify which Call Flow Diagrams sections will appear in the generated document. Choose the desired content and select Next. 43

44 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 3. The next Application Document Content dialog to appear is for Global Configurations, which allows the developer to decide which Application Settings and Global Commands will appear in the generated document. It also allows the developer to choose whether to include or exclude settings that have not been configured. This option can reduce clutter in the generated document by eliminating settings that have not been specified. Choose the desired content and select Next. 44

45 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 4. The third Application Document Content dialog allows the developer to specify which Element Configurations will appear in the generated document. It also allows the developer to choose whether to include or exclude settings that have not been configured. Finally, the developer can choose the order in which the application pages will appear in the generated document. Choose the desired content and select Next. 5. The final Application Document Content dialog allows the developer to configure a prompt Recording List. This dialog also allows the developer to choose the order in which the prompts will appear in the generated document. Choose the desired content and select Next. 45

46 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 6. Next, the Application Document Revision History dialog will appear. Revision numbers, change notes, reviser names, and dates can be specified here. Managing this information is the responsibility of the developer, it will be included verbatim in the resulting document. Choose the desired content and select Next. 7. Finally, the Application Document File dialog will appear. The developer is prompted to provide a path and filename for the RTF document that will be produced. Enter a path and filename or click Browse to choose one. 8. Once the developer is satisfied with the chosen Documenter options and the Finish button is clicked, the document is generated. It is then available to be edited in a word processor of 46

47 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO the developer's choosing. For example, the developer may wish to add their company logo to the document, change fonts, resize graphics, etc. Documenter Output The following sections are included in the generated document: Field Revision History Table of Contents Call Flow Diagrams Global Configurations Description A list of developer-specified document revisions and history notes. A list of all of the chapters included in the document. To generate the table of contents: 1. Open the document in Microsoft Word 2. Right-click on the field that reads RIGHT CLICK HERE AND SELECT UPDATE FIELD TO UPDATE 3. Choose Update Field. Supported with Microsoft Word. If Microsoft Word is not available, this section can either be entered manually or deleted. Call Flow Diagram Legend A list of all element types, including the element shapes and a brief description of what each element type does. Application Call Flow Diagrams An image of the voice application's call flow. Application Settings General Settings A table that lists the value of each of the documented application's General Settings. Audio Settings A table that lists the value of each of the documented application's Audio Settings. Endpoint Settings A table that lists the value of each of the documented application's Endpoint Settings. Root Document Settings A table that lists the value of each of the documented applications Root Document Settings. 47

48 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Field Description Element Configurations Recording List Global Commands Hotlinks A list of Hotlink elements used in the documented application, including the configuration of each. Hotevents A list of Hotevent elements used in the documented application, including the configuration of each. General A table that lists each element s general configuration in the documented application. Settings A table that lists each element s settings configuration in the documented application. Audio A table that lists each element s audio configuration in the documented application. Data A table that lists each element s data configuration in the documented application. Prompts A table that lists detailed information about each audio item in the documented application. This list can be used by a recording studio to determine expected filenames as well as the transcript for each prompt. 48

49 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Version Control Integration Version control software facilitates multiple developers working on a single voice application, and also allows developers to revert their applications to an earlier state should the need arise. Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio is built on top of Eclipse, which allows developers to leverage the version control support that Eclipse offers. Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio includes support for Concurrent Versions System (CVS); other version control systems are supported by adding additional plug-ins to Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio's Eclipse foundation. Using Version Control to Support Multiple Developers Once Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio is configured to access your source control system, it can be used to support multiple developers working on a single voice application. Each developer can work on a different part of a voice application simultaneously. However, it is recommended that only one developer work on any given page of the application at any given time. If this guideline is followed, only the page folders listed under the pages subfolder of the callflow folder should be checked in (not individual elements). For example, if a developer makes a change on page32, no one else should be working on page32 concurrently. The developer can safely check-in the page32 folder when he or she is done. Other developers can then check-out the page32 folder, close and reopen their callflows, and the changes will be reflected. 49

50 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO It is recommended that extra empty pages be added to a project when it is first started to allow for future growth. If new pages are required in the voice application, a single developer should add them. To add pages, follow these steps: Disable the filter that blocks.callflow items from being displayed in the Navigator View (click on the down-arrow icon on top of the view, choose Filters, and then deselect.callflow). 1. A file named.callflow should now be listed as a child of the pages folder in the Navigator View. 2. Add the new page(s) to the Cisco Unified CVP voice application and save it. 3. Check in the.callflow file and the new page folders (per the procedure of your version control system). 4. Other developers can check out the callflow folder (which includes the.callflow file and the new page folders), and then close and reopen their call flows. The new pages will then be available. Note that it is possible for multiple developers to concurrently add new pages to an application, but it will require the.callflow file to be merged. It is an XML file, and should not pose much difficulty. However, for simplicity, it is recommended that one person manage adding pages (and that several extra pages be added to allow for growth), to avoid having to merge this file manually. 50

51 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO Using CVS from within Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio To configure Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio to access an existing CVS server, follow these steps: 1. Click on Window->Open Perspective->Other Open the CVS Repository Exploring perspective by choosing it from the dialog and clicking OK. 51

52 CHAPTER 2: BUILDER FOR VOICEXML STUDIO 3. Right-click in the CVS Repositories View, and choose New->Repository Location Fill in your CVS server connection information in the Add CVS Repository dialog. 5. Click Finish. Links to Additional Version Control Plug-ins For a current list of version control plug-ins that are available for Eclipse, please refer to Team Repository Projects and Plug-ins ( Additionally, your version control vendor may have an Eclipse plug-in available. 52

53 Chapter 3: Cisco Unified CVP Workspace The Cisco Unified CVP Workspace contains four areas: Elements View Callflow Editor Element Configuration View Prompt Manager 53

54 Elements View The Elements View contains the elements used to construct a voice application. This pane can be seen as a "palette" of raw parts that can be dragged to the Callflow Editor while building the application. The Elements folder contains pre-built configurable elements built by Cisco and third-parties. The rest of the elements represent types with unique features that are used in constructing voice applications. Each element is described in this section. Standard Versus Configurable A configurable element is one that has been pre-built and whose developer has exposed a configuration to allow the application designer to control how it functions. Configurable elements appear within the Elements folder in the Element Pane. Standard elements are elements that are built by the application designer to be used for a specific application function. Standard elements do not have configurations and therefore are not expected to be very reusable. 54

55 Configurable Elements Configurable elements are pre-built, pre-tested elements that are designed for reusability. In order to make an element reusable, it must have a mechanism to modify its behavior according to the wishes of the application designer. This is done via a configuration. Each element defines its own configuration and that configuration is available to the designer via the Element Configuration pane, which is displayed when the element is selected in the workspace. Configurable Element Types Configurable elements come in three flavors; Voice elements, Action elements, and Decision elements. There are four parts to an element s configuration: Settings Audio groups VoiceXML properties Data Voice elements use all four parts while Action and Decision elements use only Settings and Data. Refer to the following sections for a more complete description. Configurable Action Elements Definition Many voice applications require actions to occur behind the scenes at some point in the call. In these cases, the action does not produce VoiceXML. Instead, an Action element makes a calculation, interfaces with a back-end system such as a database or legacy system, stores data to a file or notifies an outside system of a specific event. All of these potentialities are built into Action elements. Action Element Encapsulates business logic and performs tasks which do not branch the call flow. An Action element can be thought of as a way to insert custom code directly in the call flow. For example, an Action element could retrieve and store a current stock price or serve as a mortgage rate calculator, storing the rate after using information entered by the caller. Since Action elements do not affect the call flow, they will always have a single exit state. The configuration for a configurable Action element contains two components: settings and variables. 55

56 A configurable action element is rendered as a parallelogram. Configurable Decision Elements Definition Even the simplest voice applications require some level of decision-making during the call flow. These crossroads are encapsulated in Decision elements. Decision Element Encapsulates business logic that makes decisions with at least two exit states. A Decision element is like a traffic cop, redirecting the flow of calls according to built-in business rules. Examples of business rules include decisions such as whether to play an ad to a caller, which of five different payment plans to offer to the caller, or whether to transfer a caller to an agent or hang up. The results of a Decision element are represented as exit states. Although many decisions are Boolean in nature, (e.g., has the caller registered? or is the caller new to the application?), Decision elements can have as many exit states as desired, as long as at least two are specified. The configuration for a Decision element contains two components: settings and variables. Additionally, the Java class that defines the configurable decision sets the exit states it can return. The designer must map each exit state to another call flow component to handle its consequences. A configurable Decision element is rendered as a diamond. Voice Elements Definition Almost all voice applications must utilize a number of dialogs with the caller, playing audio files, interpreting speech utterances, capturing data entered by the user, etc. The more these dialogs can be contained in discrete components, the more they can be reused in a single application or across multiple applications. These dialog components are encapsulated in Voice elements. Voice Element A reusable, VoiceXML-producing dialog with a fixed or 56

57 dynamically produced configuration. Voice elements are used to assemble the VoiceXML sent to the voice browser. Each Voice element constitutes a discrete section of a call, such as making a recording, capturing a number, transferring a call, etc. These pre-built components can then be reused throughout the call flow wherever needed. Voice elements are built using the Cisco Unified CVP Voice Foundation Classes (VFCs), which produce VoiceXML compatible with multiple voice browsers (see the Programming Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for more on the VFCs and constructing custom voice elements). Voice elements are complete dialogs in that they can encompass just a single action or an entire interaction with the caller. Depending on its function, a Voice element can contain almost as much dialog as a small application. However, because of the pre-built nature of Voice elements, application designers do not need to worry about their complexity. Each voice element is simply a black box which can be treated as a single object. As a result, by combining many Voice elements, a complex call flow can be reduced significantly. To fully configure Voice elements, developers must specify values for four components: settings, VoiceXML properties, audio groups, and data. Additionally, each Voice element defines the exit states it can return and the designer must map each exit state to another call flow component to handle all its consequences. A voice element is rendered as a square Standard Elements Standard Action Elements Definition Many voice applications require actions to occur behind the scenes at some point in the call. In these cases, the action does not produce VoiceXML (and thus has no audible effect on the call) or perform an action that branches the call flow (like a Decision element). Instead the action makes a calculation, interfaces with a backend system such as a database or legacy system, stores data to a file or notifies an outside system of a specific event. All of these processes are built into Action elements. Action Element Encapsulates business logic that performs tasks not affecting the call flow (i.e., has only one exit state). 57

58 An Action element can be thought of as a way to insert custom code directly in the call flow of a voice application. A few examples of Action elements could be one which retrieves and stores the current stock market price. Another example might be a mortgage rate calculator that stores the rate after using information entered by the caller. Since Action elements do not affect the call flow, they will always have a single exit state. An Action element is rendered as a parallelogram. Configuring a Standard Action Element A standard Action element is defined by specifying the source of the action. There is no need to specify exit states like a standard Decision element because Action elements always have a single exit state. Choose the source of a standard Action element: Class. The action is executed by a Java class whose full name (including package name) is specified in the text box. Note that substitution can be used to dynamically assemble the Java class name. URI. The action is executed by communicating via XML with a script accessed via the URI provided in the text box. Note that substitution can be used to dynamically assemble the URI. 58

59 Standard Decision Elements Definition Even the simplest voice applications require some decisions within the call flow. These crossroads are encapsulated in Decision elements. Decision Element Encapsulates business logic that makes decisions with at least two exit states. A Decision element is like a traffic cop, redirecting the flow of callers according to built-in business rules. Examples might include whether to play an ad to a caller, which of five different payment plans should be offered to the caller, or whether to transfer a caller to an agent or hang up. The results of a Decision element are represented as exit states. Although many decisions are Boolean in nature, (e.g., has the caller registered?, or, is the caller new to the application?), Decision elements can have as many exit states as desired, as long as at least two are specified. A Decision element is rendered as a diamond. Configuring a Standard Decision Element A standard Decision element is defined by specifying the source of the decision as well as all possible exit states it can return. This is necessary in order to provide it exit states in the workspace (configurable Decision elements already provide this information). First, choose the source of a standard Decision element: Decision Editor. The decision is a Cisco Unified CVP XML Decision whose definition is created using the Decision Editor. This is the recommended way to set up most standard decisions. 59

60 XML. The decision is a Cisco Unified CVP XML Decision whose definition is an XML file created within the Builder. The designer writes this XML within the Builder according to the Cisco-specified specification. Class. The decision is made by a Java class whose full name (including package name) is specified in the text box. Note that substitution can be used to dynamically assemble the Java class name. URI. The decision is made by communicating via XML with a script accessed via the URI provided in the text box. Note that substitution can be used to dynamically assemble the URI. 60

61 For XML, Class, and URI decisions, all the exit states returned by the decision must be created. Type the name of the exit state and press Add to add an exit state. The exit state name must match the values returned by the decision source. Any number of exit states can be added in this manner. Exit states can be deleted and renamed by clicking on them in the list box and clicking on the appropriate button. Finally, when using an XML decision, click on the Edit XML button to bring up a text editor in which the XML content is written. The Builder automatically begins with the skeleton of a Cisco Unified CVP XML Decision that can be modified as desired. This is the reason that exit states must be defined first; the skeleton content refers to the exit states as entered. Decision Editor Decision Editor enables developers to create decision logic for Decision elements using a graphical tool. Knowledge of Cisco Unified CVP XML Decision syntax is not required. It allows developers to easily create and configure new expressions, and then associate them with particular exit states of a Decision element. To Start Decision Editor for a New Element: Drag a new Decision element into the call flow and click on the Use Decision Editor Button in the Element Configuration View. Decision Editor is the default decision configuration method for new elements. 61

62 To Start Decision Editor for an Existing Element: Click on an existing Decision element, and change the decision type to Decision Editor. Then, click on the Use Decision Editor Button. The Decision Editor dialog is split into two sections. The top section displays a table with information about the decision as it has been configured thus far. The bottom section includes various settings that can be adjusted to change the behavior of one of the decision's expressions. When settings in the bottom section are changed the selected expression in the table (top section) updates to reflect the changes. Creating a decision: First, add a Decision element to the call flow. Then bring up Decision Editor to edit its decision. Follow these steps to configure the decision: 1. Select the only expression (row) in the table. Decision Editor pre-populates the table with this initial row; more can be added later. 62

63 2. Choose an argument type for the first argument. Configure any settings that appear once the argument type is selected; different types of arguments require different settings to be satisfied. 3. Choose an operator that will be used to compare the first and second arguments. 4. Choose an argument type for the second argument and configure any settings that appear once it is selected. 5. Double-click on the Exit State cell for the selected row of the table and enter the name of the exit state that should be followed when the expression for this row is true. 6. To add additional expressions and exit states, right-click on an existing expression and choose Add New Expression. 63

64 To remove an expression right-click on it and select Delete Selected Expression. Flag Elements Definition Flag elements provide a mechanism by which application designers can analyze the activities of callers to determine such things as which part of the application is the most popular, which part creates confusion, or which part is difficult to navigate. Additionally, an analysis of which Flag elements have been triggered can be used during a call to change the application s behavior dynamically. Flag Element Records when a caller reached a certain point in the call flow. Flag elements can be seen as beacons that are triggered when a caller visits a part of the call flow. Application designers can place these flags in parts of the call flow that need to be tracked. When the flag is tripped, the application log is updated so that post-call analysis can determine which calls reached that flag. The flag trigger is also stored within the call data, so an application can make decisions based on flags triggered by the caller. Flag elements have a single exit state and do not directly affect the call flow. Defining a Flag Element All that is required to define a Flag element is to provide its name. This value will be stored in the application log and call data when the flag is triggered. A Flag element is rendered as a sideways triangle. 64

65 VoiceXML Insert Elements Definition There are certain situations in a voice application where a developer may wish to include prewritten VoiceXML into their Cisco Unified CVP voice application. The developer may desire fine-level control over a specific voice function at the VoiceXML tag level without having to get involved with constructing a custom configurable element in Java. Additionally, the developer may wish to integrate VoiceXML content that has already been created and tested into a Cisco Unified CVP voice application. These situations are handled by a VoiceXML Insert element. VoiceXML Insert Element A custom element, built in VoiceXML, providing direct control of lower-level voice dialog at the price of decreased flexibility. VoiceXML Insert elements contain VoiceXML code that the developer makes available as the content of a VoiceXML <subdialog>. The content can be in the form of static VoiceXML files, JSP templates, or even dynamically generated by a separate application server. A framework is provided to allow seamless integration of VoiceXML Insert elements with the rest of the call flow. The use of VoiceXML Insert elements has its consequences such as the loss of being able to seamlessly switch between different voice browsers, some greater processing overhead involved with integration with the rest of the call flow, as well as the added complexity of dealing with VoiceXML itself rather than creating an application with easy to use configurable elements. VoiceXML Insert elements can have as many exit states as the developer requires, with a minimum of one. VoiceXML Insert elements can have as many exit states as required, with a minimum of one. A VoiceXML Insert element is rendered as a page shape. 65

66 Defining a VoiceXML Insert Element Defining a VoiceXML Insert Element is very much like defining a generic Decision element in that you must first provide the source of the VoiceXML Insert element as well as defining the exit states the element can return. Unlike a Decision element, a VoiceXML Insert element can have a single exit state. You can elect to pass only some runtime information to the VoiceXML Insert element in order to avoid the overhead involved in passing information that may not be used. The choices are: Passing all Element and Session data to the VoiceXML Insert element. In a large application, Element and Session data make up the bulk of runtime information and passing it all can slow down the performance of the system. It is recommended that you turn this option off and use the Data tab to select the Element and Session data variables that will be needed from within the VoiceXML Insert element. For Element data, the name of the VoiceXML variable that will contain the value is renamed to start with the element name followed by an underscore, then the name of the element data. Session data names are unchanged. Any Java objects passed in Session data will pass the result of calling the tostring() method on it. Telephony information such as the ANI, DNIS, etc. Call data such as the start time, name of the application, session ID, etc. Element history indicating which elements have been visited in the call and the corresponding exit states of those elements. 66

67 Information about the current user. This is only applicable if the User Management System is activated for the application. Hotevent Definition There are times when the occurrence of a VoiceXML event is expected to trigger an action. The event can be user-triggered (such as a noinput event), asynchronous (thrown by the voice browser), or developer-defined (such as a Hotlink that throws an event). In each case, the developer may wish to play audio, store data, or move to another part of the call flow when the event is triggered. Cisco Unified CVP refers to these events as Hotevents. Hotevent A global event that, when caught, executes developerspecified actions. Like Hotlinks, Hotevents can act as pointers to direct the call somewhere else. They may also specify VoiceXML to execute when the event is triggered. An application can use any number of Hotevents, each activated by a different event. 67

68 Note that a Hotevent is triggered by a VoiceXML event, not a server-side event such as a Java exception or an error such as an inaccessible database. A Hotevent is rendered as an upside-down trapezoid. Defining a Hotevent To define a Hotevent, the VoiceXML event that activates it must first be entered in the Event text box. The Class text box optionally contains the fully qualified name of the Java class that will produce the VoiceXML to be executed when the event is triggered. This VoiceXML can contain anything you desire, such as playing audio, performing browser-level logging, etc. Note that this Java class is called only once per call, when the call first comes in. The VoiceXML that it produces will appear in the application s root document, which means that it will be active for the remainder of the call (i.e. the VoiceXML is not generated ad hoc when the event occurs; the initially-generated VoiceXML is used throughout the call). If the Hotevent defines a Java class, it can be configured to have no exit state. The VoiceXML defined by the class will execute and the call will continue without further interruption. You can configure the Hotevent to have an exit state by clicking on the Has Exit State checkbox. In this case, the VoiceXML defined in the Java class will execute and once completed, will follow the exit state to the appropriate location in the call flow. A class does not need to be given if the Hotevent has an exit state, it will simply act like a Hotlink and move to the appropriate place in the call flow when the Hotevent is activated. Hotlinks Definition Hotlinks allow a caller to say an utterance or press a key at any time to have the application perform a specific action. The most common example is saying the word "operator" (and / or pressing 0 ) to transfer to a live representative. 68

69 Hotlink A globally-accessible utterance and / or key press that immediately transitions the call to a specific part of the call flow, or throws an event. Hotlinks are not elements in that they do not generate VoiceXML or execute any custom code. A Hotlink acts as a pointer (or link) to direct the call somewhere else or to throw a VoiceXML event when the specified word or key press is detected. An application can use any number of Hotlinks. A Hotlink is rendered as a trapezoid. Defining a Hotlink A Hotlink can be activated by a spoken keyword or keywords, a DTMF entry or entries, or a combination of both. Choosing the Inline option for either input type allows all key presses or keywords that activate the Hotlink to be entered in the provided text box, as a comma-delimited list. For more sophisticated grammars, choose the External URI option from the drop-down box and provide the URI to an external grammar. By default, a Hotlink is configured to point to a location in the call flow that will be visited when the Hotlink it activated. The Hotlink is given a single exit state that the developer must connect to the place in the call flow to visit when it is activated. A Hotlink can alternatively throw a VoiceXML event instead. In this case, the Hotlink does not have an exit state. When choosing the option to throw an event, the full name of the VoiceXML event must be entered in the provided text box. 69

70 Application Transfer Definition Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server can support many concurrent voice applications. While each of these applications is expected to stand alone, there may be instances where a caller in one application wants to visit or transfer to another application. This is accomplished with an Application Transfer. Application Transfer A transfer from one voice application to another running on the same VoiceXML Server system. An Application Transfer simulates a new phone call. Application Transfers do not require telephony routing; they are a server-side simulation of a new call to another application running on the same VoiceXML Server. Callers are not aware that they are visiting a new application, but VoiceXML Server treats it as if it were a separate call with separate logging, administration, etc. Data captured in the source application can be sent to the destination application to avoid asking the caller for the same information multiple times. An example of this might be a voice portal application whose main menu sends callers to various independent applications, depending on their choices. Because an Application Transfer moves the caller to a different application, it has no exit states. An application transfer is rendered as a circle. Defining an Application Transfer Defining an Application Transfer involves two steps. The first is to choose the application to transfer to. A drop down box contains a list of all other applications loaded in VoiceXML Studio. Should the desired destination application not appear in the list or the name of the application is not known until runtime, press the Substitution button to reach the substitution dialog box and either enter the name of the destination application manually or use substitution to obtain it from dynamic content. 70

71 Use the Data tab to identify which Element and/or Session data to pass from the source application to the destination application. In order to avoid namespace conflicts, the data passed is renamed before being sent to the destination application. Element data is saved as Session data whose name is APPNAME_ELEMNAME_VARNAME Where APPNAME is the name of the source application. Where ELEMNAME is the name of the element. Where VARNAME is the name of the element data variable. Session data remains Session data but is renamed to APPNAME_SESSIONNAME Where SESSIONNAME is the name of the session data. Page Entries & Connectors Definition Large-scale voice applications have call flows that are too large to fit on a single page. Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio provides the ability to define an application on as many pages as desired. The mechanisms by which application designers can connect call flow across pages are Page Entries and Page Connectors. Page entries denote an entrance point to a page and page connectors are exit points from a page. Page Entry The entrance point to a page or to a specific part of the 71

72 call flow. Page Connector The means by which the call flow moves to a specific page entry. Page Entries and Page Connectors form the glue for a multi-page application. They can also be used to create a cleaner call flow by reducing the number of lines within a single page. A page entry is rendered as an inverse arrow. A page connector is rendered as an arrow. Defining a Page Entry A Page Entry is automatically generated when a new page is created. You can also drag a new Page Entry to the workspace, even if the page already has other page entries. Page Entries do not have configurations, though they can be renamed. A Page Entry is not complete until its single exit state points to a component. Defining a Page Connector A Page Connector must be configured to point to a corresponding Page Entry. All available Page Entries are offered for selection via a drop-down box. Any number of Page Connectors can point to the same Page Entry. A Page Connector has no exit states; call flow moves to a Page Connector. By default, a Page Connector does not point to any Page Entries and will not be complete until it does so. If a Page Entry is deleted, all Page Connectors that point to it will become incomplete until they are configured to point to other Page Entries. 72

73 Comment Definition You may wish to add notes to the call flow itself for informational purposes. A Comment is used to make a voice application s call flow more understandable. Comment A note added to the call flow used for informational purposes only. Comments do not affect the call flow; they are used only to improve call flow readability. Defining a Comment To enter a Comment, right-click on it and select Edit. A dialog box appears in which the Comment can be typed. The comment box will not automatically wrap content, therefore carriage returns should be added manually. The comment appears as text within the workspace, but not within the call flow. 73

74 Hang Up Definition A Hang Up defines places within a voice application where you wish the application to hang up on the caller. Hang Up A location at which to hang up on the caller. A Hang Up element will cause the VoiceXML returned to the voice browser to contain the <exit/> tag, which in most cases causes the browser to hang up on the caller. Some browsers may perform other actions before hanging up. A hang up is rendered as an octagon (stop sign). Defining a Hang Up Hang Up elements do not have configurations or exit states. A voice application designer can use as many Hang Up elements as desired; application performance is not affected by the presence of Hang Up elements. Start of Call Definition The Start of Call is the first element visited when the call begins. Start of Call A special type of Page Entry which points to the component that is to be visited at the start of the call. A start of the call is rendered as a circle. 74

75 Defining the Start of Call By default, every new Cisco Unified CVP Project is created with a single page and a Start of Call element. A Page Entry element can be converted into a Start of Call element if no Start of Call element currently exists. To do this, right-click on it, select Start of Call, and then select Yes. Similarly, you can convert a Start of Call element into a Page Entry element by following the same steps, and choosing No instead. Error Element Definition When an unexpected error occurs, a voice application must be able to handle the situation gracefully by transferring the caller to an agent or playing a message before ending the call. This is accomplished by defining an Error element. Error Element A Voice element whose purpose is to handle the caller when an unexpected error occurs. The Error element does not handle the error itself, it is only responsible for managing the caller. Typically, the Error element will play an error message or initiate a transfer to a live agent. Since the error is unexpected, the call will end after the Error element completes. An application can have only one Error element and that element must be a Voice element. Applications should be constructed so that they can handle anticipated errors within the call flow. The Error element handles only those errors that are not caught and managed by the call flow. These errors can include both VoiceXML errors (such as error.badfetch) as well as Java exceptions thrown by custom code. 75

76 Defining an Error Element To define an Error element, drag a new Voice element from the Elements View into the workspace. The Voice element can be configured normally. You may wish use a dynamic configuration, allowing it to modify its behavior depending on where the error occurs in the call flow. To convert the Voice element into an Error element, right-click on it, choose the Error Element option, and select Yes. The shape of the element will change to a triangle. An Error element has no exit states, but you can view and edit its configuration as if it were a regular Voice element. To make another Voice element the Error element instead, right-click on the current Error element, choose the Error Element option, and select No. Then, repeat this procedure for the intended Error element, and select Yes. The Error element can appear on any page, but there can only be one Error element per application. 76

77 Subdialog Elements Definition Cisco Unified CVP voice applications may be invoked via a subdialog call from another VoiceXML application. Applications that will be invoked as a subdialog must use the Subdialog Start and Subdialog Return elements. Subdialog Start Subdialog Return The entrance point to an application that will be invoked as a subdialog. An exit point from an application that returns control and data back to its calling application. In addition to the use of the Subdialog Start and Subdialog Return elements, the application should be configured for subdialog invocation through the General Settings properties of a Cisco Unified CVP Project. A Subdialog Start element is rendered as a document surrounding a green circle. A Subdialog Return element is rendered as a document surrounding a red octagon (stop sign). Defining a Subdialog Start For a voice application that will be invoked as a subdialog, drag a Subdialog Start element from the root level of the element palette to the workspace. The Subdialog Start element should be placed at the entrance point of the application, immediately after the Start of Call element. The "done" exit state from the Subdialog Start element can then be mapped to the first element of the application. 77

78 This element receives data passed from the calling dialog and creates corresponding element or session data. Data can be passed from the calling dialog to the application as HTTP parameters and/or as VoiceXML parameters (using the <param> tag). If data from the calling dialog is passed as HTTP parameters, Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server will automatically create session data using the name of the data that is sent. However, if data is passed using VoiceXML parameters, the Subdialog Start element should be configured appropriately in order for the data to be available as element or session data for the duration of the call session. For each parameter that is passed to the application from the calling subdialog, the "Parameter" setting should be configured with the name of the data being passed. The "Store As" setting allows developers to choose to store all passed values either as session or element data. The "Enable Digits Bypass" setting is used to activate a VoiceXML workaround to ensure expected functionality for a particular TDM or analog phone. When this setting is set to "true", a new setting named "Audio Filler URI" will appear in VoiceXML Studio and can be configured to set a reference to the file "Flash: silence_.1s.wav". For IP phones the "Enable Digits Bypass" setting should be set to "false". Defining a Subdialog Return For a Cisco Unified CVP voice application that will be invoked as a subdialog, Subdialog Return elements should be used in place of Hang Up elements throughout the call flow. This element can be found at the root level of the element palette. The Subdialog Return element is used to return data back to the calling dialog. This element has no exit states, much like a Hang Up element. It should be used in place of a Hang Up element in applications that will be invoked as subdialogs; these applications should not use any Hang Up elements. The settings for this element are used to define what data to pass back to the calling dialog. This data is returned using ICM ECC variables, therefore the data must conform to requirements associated with ICM ECC variables. Refer to the Cisco Unified CVP documentation for further 78

79 details. Each element setting corresponds to the ICM ECC external variable name. The settings should be configured with the data that is to be passed back to ICM. The "Caller Input" setting must be assigned a value in order for the application to validate, since Cisco Unified CVP requires this variable to have a value. Importing Voice Applications from Previous Versions When an application that was created in a previous version of VoiceXML Studio is imported, its existing Subdialog Start and Subdialog Return elements (if any are present) will be automatically converted to the newer versions described here. Note that while these elements are located in a new location in the element palette (i.e. at the root level instead of in a folder named "Cisco") they are functionally equivalent to the older elements. If the application was checked out from a version control system, rather than being imported from the file system, there is an additional step that should be taken to ensure that the application is properly converted. Once checked out, the project should then be deleted from the Navigator View and then imported from its location on the file system. When deleting projects from the Navigator View, be sure to choose Do not delete contents, so that a copy of the project is left on the file system and can be imported. The Callflow Editor The Callflow Editor is where the voice application is built. Elements are dragged from the Elements View to the Callflow Editor and lines are connected between the elements, defining the call flow. This process builds a diagram representing the call flow of the application. 79

80 Selecting, Resizing, and Repositioning Elements Elements in the workspace can be selected, resized and repositioned in much the same way that shapes are manipulated in many graphics programs. When selected, an element is highlighted with small boxes at the corners and edges. Click and drag the boxes to resize the element. To select an element, click on it. o Multiple elements can be selected by holding down the Shift key during selection or drawing an enclosing box around them. To de-select an element, click anywhere on the workspace background or on another element. To move an element, click and drag it. To delete an element, select it and press the delete button. Element Naming All elements receive a default name when they are dragged to the Callflow Editor. The default name consists of the name of the element type followed by a number with an underscore in between. For example, the first Audio element is named "Audio_01. Once an element is added to the call flow, you can rename it, as long as another element with the same name does not already exist in the call flow. 80

81 An element name can only contains letters, numbers, underscores and spaces. An element can be renamed by right-clicking on the element in the Callflow Editor and choosing Rename or by single-clicking on an already selected element (similar to "Windows Explorer" functionality for renaming files). Connecting Elements To connect elements within the call flow, right-click on the source element and a drop-down box will appear. Then select the Exit States menu and choose one of the exit states. 81

82 Once you select an exit state, a line appears from the source element that can be dragged and connected to the target element. A connection is made by clicking on the target element. 82

83 Angled Lines A line can be deleted by selecting it and pressing the delete key, or by right-clicking on the line and selecting Undo Connection. When elements are moved, their connections move with them. If you right-click on an element that has some exit states mapped, these exit states will appear grayed-out in the "Exit States" menu. When all exit states are mapped, the element color will turn from yellow to gray. o Hang Up elements start out gray because they have no exit states. o Application Transfer and Page Connector elements also have no exit states but start out yellow and only turn gray when they are configured correctly. o Hotlinks and Hotevents can have an exit state based on their configurations. They will appear yellow or gray according to these configurations. An angled line can be created by using the bend points of a line. Select a connected line and a dot will appear in the middle of the line. Drag this dot to create the desired angle. The line is now drawn at an angle, with the apex at this bend point. You can repeat this procedure to add as many bend points as desired. 83

84 A bend point can be removed by dragging it to create a straight line. An angled line can be deleted in the same way as a straight line, by selecting it and pressing the delete key, or by right-clicking on the line and selecting Undo Connection. Skipping Call Flow Use Skip Call Flow to: Test part of the application when other parts have not been completed. Test a part of the voice application by jumping to the desired place without having to visit the entire call flow. Once an element is skipped, it no longer has the same configuration format. When the skipped element is selected, it displays a configuration containing just a Data Tab in the Configuration Pane. This allows you to manually enter the Element and/or Session data normally produced by the skipped element. See the Data Tab section for more information on manually creating Element and Session data. When Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server encounters an element slated to be skipped, it does not execute the code that defines the element. Instead, it creates the Element and Session data specified in the Data Tab and returns the desired hardcode exit state. This is done instantaneously, without input from the caller. In this way, portions of the call flow can be skipped to reach any part of an application. 84

85 Using Skip Call Flow To Skip Call Flow, select the Skip and > menu option, which appears when certain elements are right-clicked. The menu displays a submenu with two choices: Skip the element and treat it as an orphan. Skip the element and keep it within the call flow by hard coding its exit state. If no exit states are mapped, only skipping as an orphan is available. Some elements, such as Hotlinks and Hotevents, can only be skipped as an orphan. Some elements cannot be skipped (such as Page Entry and Page Connector elements) and will not have this menu option. Once the Skip and > option is selected, the element and its exit state lines will be rendered in gray, except for the hard-coded exit state. 85

86 If the element is treated as an orphan, all lines pointing to it are deleted and all exit state lines are rendered in gray. When you no longer need to skip an element, right-click on the skipped element and choose Don't Skip from the "Skip and >" menu. 86

87 87

88 Cut, Copy, and Paste Elements can be cut or copied, along with the connections between them. Once pasted, the configurations are identical. When copying within the same application, element names are changed to avoid duplication, which is not permitted. Cut operations do not change the names of elements. Elements can be cut, copied, and pasted within the same page, across different pages, and even across applications. To cut or copy elements from one application to another, select the elements, cut or copy them, then open the workspace of the destination application and select paste. Element names will change only if there are already elements in the application with the same name as those that are being pasted. Cut, copy, and paste can be performed by selecting from the Edit menu, right-clicking in the Callflow Editor or using keyboard shortcuts (Cut: Ctrl-X, Copy: Ctrl-C, Paste: Ctrl-V). 88

89 Undo and Redo Any modification made to the Callflow can be undone and redone. An unlimited number of steps can be undone. To use Undo or Redo, right-click anywhere within the Callflow Editor, or use the keyboard shortcuts (Undo: Ctrl-Z, Redo: Ctrl-Y). Zoom In/Zoom Out Zoom in and zoom out can be performed by selecting Zoom In or Zoom Out from the Callflow menu or right-clicking on the background of the Callflow Editor and choosing these options from the context menu. The call flow can be manipulated no matter what the zoom level is set to. 89

90 Element Groups Element Groups provide developers with the ability to group elements, and then treat the new groups as reusable call flow components. These new components are created by grouping existing built-in elements available within Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio as well as custom voice, action, and decision elements. Element Groups enable the voice application developer to consolidate large sections of call flow into a single entity. Additionally, Element Groups can be saved as templates that can be transported to other applications for reuse. Element Groups are created by selecting existing elements within the call flow and defining those elements as part of a new Element Group. The new Element Group is then displayed as a single shape in the call flow. The components that make up the Element Group can be edited and configured within the workspace by double-clicking on the Element Group shape. Creating an Element Group Element Groups are created by first selecting elements in the call flow editor that should be part of the new group. Multiple elements can either be selected by dragging a box around elements in the call flow editor or by clicking on the elements while holding down the Ctrl key. Once the elements have been selected, a new group can be created by right-clicking on one of the selected elements and choosing Group Elements. The selected elements will be replaced by a single new shape representing the new Element Group. Element Groups can only be made from 90

91 elements from the same page in the call flow and the Element Group itself can only have one page. All exit states into and out of the group are preserved. Configuring an Element Group Once the Element Group has been created, the name of the group can be changed as with any other call flow component. The contents of an element group can be viewed by double-clicking on the Element Group shape. The Element Group Editor (EGE) will take up the call flow editor area and the application's page tabs will temporarily disappear. 91

92 In the EGE, all of the elements that are part of the Element Group will appear in the same configuration they were in before they were grouped. The EGE has the same functionality and features as the call flow editor. Any element from the Elements View can be dragged into the EGE and configured, with the exception of Page Entry and Page Connector elements (as Element Groups only span a single page). To go back to the call flow editor, click the Go Back button at the bottom-right of the editor. Element Group Exit States Existing exit states between elements are preserved when an Element Group is created. Additionally, exit states that led to elements that are now part of the Element Group appear as entry points coming from the Group Start element. Entry points maintain the original exit state mapping of the voice application's call flow when an Element Group is created. The destination of entry points can be remapped by configuring the exit states of the Group Start element. Since there are often multiple entry points into an Element Group, the exit states that match these entry points are differentiated by using the following naming convention: Element Name:Exit State Name Optionally, the entry points of an Element Group can be consolidated into a single exit state from the Group Start element. This can be used to easily map all entry points to one element within 92

93 the Element Group. This can be useful when there are many entry points into the Element Group and all of the exit states associated with these entry points are intended to lead to the same element. To choose either "Single" or "Multiple" exit states for Group Start, right-click on the Group Start element and select Entry Points->Single or Entry Points->Multiple. By default, if there are no entry points going into the Element Group, the Entry Point value will be "Single". If there are existing exit states configured to elements in the Element Group when it is created, the Entry Point value will be "Multiple" (to maintain the exit states when creating the group). Unsatisfied exit states of elements within the Element Group are available as exit states for the Element Group shape in the call flow editor. The exit states are accessible by right-clicking on the Element Group shape as would be done with any call flow component. The Element Group exit state naming convention is the same as the naming convention of exit states for entry points, since exit states may come from multiple elements within the Element Group. 93

94 Element Group Templates Element Group Templates (EGTs) allow developers to turn Element Groups into reusable call flow components. Once an Element Group has been saved as an EGT, it can be added to other Cisco Unified CVP voice applications where it will be available as a drag-and-drop component from within the Elements View. Custom code, such as dynamic configuration classes and custom elements, can be included within an EGT. When an EGT is saved, a single file with an ".egt" extension is created. Since EGTs are templates, changes (including the addition of elements, configuration modifications, etc.) made within instances of an EGT do not change the reusable template file. Saving an Element Group Template: To create an EGT from an Element Group, right-click on the Element Group and select Save As. A wizard will pop up that includes several options related to saving the EGT. Options include: Name - The name of the new EGT. Location - The location that the EGT will be stored in; the default value is suitable for all but the most advanced EGT uses. Description - A description of the EGT, which will be displayed in Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio as a tooltip. Display Folder - The folder under "Element Groups" in the Elements View that this EGT will be stored in. Resources - Resources to include in the template archive (custom elements, dynamic configuration classes, etc.). 94

95 Once the EGT is saved, it will appear in the Elements View within the "Element Groups" folder. If a display folder was defined when saving, the EGT will be located within the defined folder structure. Since EGTs appear in the Elements View, they can easily be dragged and dropped into any Cisco Unified CVP voice application's call flow. Exporting/Importing an Element Group Template: An EGT is saved as a single archive file with a file extension of ".egt". This archive contains all of the files that are required by the EGT, ensuring that it will be transportable to other Cisco Unified CVP voice applications. To export an EGT, find the.egt file for the EGT in this folder: CVP_HOME\VXMLStudio\eclipse\plugins\com.audiumcorp.studio.library.commo n_5.1.0\templates Copy the.egt file from this folder to this same location under another instance of Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio. NOTE: If the "templates" folder does not exist, create the folder manually. Start the instance of Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio where the EGT was copied. The EGT will now be available in the Elements View as a reusable component. Element Comments In addition to comments appearing in the call flow, each element can also have comments specicfically associated with it. Element comments are entered free-form into the Element Comment Dialog. 95

96 To enter a comment for an element, right-click on it and choose Edit Comment. A small red triangle will appear on any element that contains a comment. NOTE: Some element types cannot have comments (for example, Page Connectors and Hang Up elements). Element Configuration View Each time an element is selected in Builder for VoiceXML Studio, its configuration appears in the Element Configuration View. The Element Configuration View can contain up to four tabs: General, Settings, Audio, and Data, depending on the element selected. 96

97 Element Configuration Tabs The General Tab: The general tab of an element configuration is used to set up how the element will be executed. Every configurable element type contains a general tab. The Settings Tab: The settings tab contains all the element settings that determine how a configurable Voice, Action or Decision element performs its task. Voice element configurations can additionally specify VoiceXML properties in the settings tab. The Audio Tab: The audio tab is found in Voice element configurations only. It is used to configure the audio assets to be used in the Voice element, including pre-recorded audio content, Text to Speech (TTS) phrases, and dynamically configured Say It Smart phrases. Each Voice element contains various points where audio is to be played. These points are called audio groups and have appropriately assigned names. Some simple Voice elements have only a single audio group, while more complex ones may have dozens. Each audio group can contain any number of audio items. It is up to the developer to configure all audio items. The Data Tab: The data tab of an element configuration is used create Element and Session data for other elements to access later in the call for configurable Voice, Action or Decision elements and any element skipped with a hard-coded exit state. It is also used to determine what Element and Session data to pass from the current application to the destination application during an Application Transfer or to pass from the current application to an external VoiceXML document during a VoiceXML Insert. The General Tab All configurable elements will have some general options that can be set displayed in a tab named General. Dynamic Configurations Most of the time, the configuration for an element will be fixed, meaning that each time the element is visited in the call flow it acts the same. In this case, the Dynamic Configuration check box should remain unchecked. Dynamic configurations allow some or the entire configuration to be determined at runtime. This allows for ultimate flexibility as the behavior for the element can change as often as the designer wishes. To dynamically configure an element, check the Dynamic Configuration check box. 97

98 There are two ways that a dynamic configuration can be delivered: by either a Java class using a Cisco-specified Java API or by an online process using a Cisco-specified API for sending XML data over HTTP. The Java API approach is a high performance solution because all actions are run by compiled Java code. The Java class that returns the element configuration must be specified in full (including package name). The XML-over-HTTP approach affords developers the ability to utilize any programming language for generating element configurations. The only requirement is the use of a system that can return XML based on an HTTP request made by Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. The URI to the online system that uses the XML API must be specified. A dynamic configuration does not have to generate the entire configuration, a fixed base configuration can be made in Builder for VoiceXML Studio that is then accessed by the dynamic configuration and modified to yield the final configuration. This way, an element with only a few dynamic configuration options can define all static content in Builder for VoiceXML Studio using the element configuration pane and write the dynamic configuration Java class or URI to add only those few options in addition to it. In this case, check the Create Base Configuration checkbox. There are, however, times when the configuration needs to be completely dynamic and a base configuration is not needed. In this case, Builder for VoiceXML Studio will not create a fixed configuration, regardless of what is entered in the element configuration pane. For more information on writing dynamic element configurations, see the VoiceXML Server User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal and Programming Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal. Custom Logging Any element can add custom data to the log produced by Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. This data can be used for analysis purposes or for help during the development and debugging process. The text given in the name and value columns will be stored in the action and description columns of the application s activity log, respectively. The value can also include a substitution string to allow for dynamic data to be inserted into the log. For each name/value pair, the designer can choose whether to add to the log before the element is entered or after the element has returned an exit state. This would be applicable only if the value used substitution that referred to element or session data created or modified by the element itself. See the VoiceXML Server User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for more on logging with Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server. 98

99 Associating a UID With the Call In order to utilize the user management features of Cisco Unified CVP, a phone call to the system must be linked to a user in the user management database. Users are identified in the system with a user ID (UID). Only then can the application make decisions such as sending the caller directly to their favorite section of the application. In most cases, the UID is set by the developer in custom code by analyzing telephony data (e.g., the caller s phone number) or data entered by the caller (e.g., account number and pin). This functionality exists in fixed element configurations primarily to aid in application development where the developer has not yet built the user verification component but would still like to test the process once the user is identified. By setting a UID in a fixed configuration, the developer can unhinge the application-testing phase from development. This text box also supports substitution to allow for more dynamic content. The Settings Tab Settings Settings allow the application designer to customize the way the element behaves without exposing them to its underlying complexity. The element itself defines which settings its configuration contains. The more flexible an element is, the more settings it will expose. Settings can be used to specify simple concepts such as the duration of a recording to more fundamental concepts such as whether the element expects input from the caller using speech, DTMF, or both. Placing the cursor over each setting name will bring up a tooltip containing text describing the setting and what role it performs. Icons to the left of the setting indicate if the setting is required ( ) or repeatable ( ). Builder for VoiceXML Studio will not allow the application to be deployed until all elements have values for their required settings. A repeatable setting is a setting that can have more than one value. To add a new value to the setting, right-click on the setting and choose to add a new value. A repeatable setting value can be deleted by selecting it from the list when it is right-clicked. There are no limits to the number of values a repeatable setting can have. Each setting has a different data type that can be seen when clicking on the setting value box. One type is a dropdown box, where the value can be only one of a finite set of options. 99

100 Another type accepts string content. Other types accept integer or floating point values. One last type, the text field, is used when the setting value can contain a large amount of text (such as an message). The setting when selected displays a button that when clicked brings up a large dialog box in which the content can be entered. An element defines whether a setting allows substitution. If it does, the substitution button to the right of the element listing will be clickable like so:. If it is not, the substitution button is deactivated like so: and the setting cannot have substitution in its value. When values are chosen for a setting, other settings may appear or disappear. This is because there are correlations between the value of some settings and the existence of other settings. These dependencies are determined by the element and are used to simplify the process of configuring the element. For voice elements, there can also be dependencies between setting values and audio groups so when a setting is changed to a value that would remove an audio group, a dialog box appears asking for confirmation. For even more in-depth descriptions of each Cisco Unified CVP Element setting, refer to the Element Specifications for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal. VoiceXML Properties (Voice Elements Only) In the VoiceXML specification, properties are defined as values that affect platform behavior. Many voice browsers make use of custom properties to expose particular voice browser settings. These properties can be placed throughout a VoiceXML document. Unified CVP provides a mechanism to place custom properties directly in the VoiceXML pages produced by a voice element. The VoiceXML property names and values are simply entered in the VoiceXML property table exactly as they are to look in the resulting VoiceXML (Unified CVP does no validation or modification of the data). For example, the sensitivity property is used in some voice browsers to specify how sensitive the speech recognition engine is to input. Note that property values can use substitution to obtain their values from dynamic content. Alternatively, a property's value can be left blank to set it to an empty string. For example, to specify that no termination character should be used, set the "termchar" property to an empty value. 100

101 Note that Unified CVP Voice elements use VoiceXML properties internally as well. The VoiceXML properties entered by the developer in the configuration are given document-level scope, so the form-level scope properties used by the voice elements themselves take precedence. So entering a property in a voice element s configuration will not change the behavior of the element if it uses the same property. It is up to the developer to understand the consequences of using VoiceXML properties and Cisco suggests that they not be used unless the developer possesses at least moderate familiarity with both VoiceXML and the specific voice browser to be used when the application is deployed. The Audio Tab (Voice Elements Only) The Audio tab is used to configure the audio assets to be used in the voice element, including pre-recorded audio content, Text to Speech (TTS) phrases, and dynamically configured Say It Smart phrases. Each voice element contains various points where audio is to be played. These points are called audio groups and have appropriately assigned names. Some small voice elements have only a single audio group, while more complex ones may have dozens. Each audio group can contain any number of audio items. It is up to the developer to configure all audio items. Audio Groups When the Audio tab is first opened, the required audio groups appear in the audio group window. Most voice elements have at least one required initial audio group that is used to introduce the voice element or ask for the desired input. Each audio group has a single audio item to start. At least this single audio item must be defined in order for the voice element to be successfully configured. Additional audio groups are added by right-clicking the Audio Groups root folder, selecting the audio group set in the submenu, then the audio group to add from within the next submenu. Once added, placing the cursor over the audio group folder will display a tooltip containing a description of that audio group. 101

102 Some audio groups are repeatable. This means that they can be assigned multiple values, each with a unique count. The count of a group is shown in its name and below the audio group window when the group is selected. Counts are used to separate the audio to play when certain events occur multiple times. For example, a nomatch event can occur multiple times and each count identifies the audio to play when the corresponding nomatch count is reached. An audio group with a count of 1 defines the audio to play the first time the event it represents occurs. The next time the event occurs, the audio group with a count of 2 will play, etc. Even though it is good dialog design to specify separate audio for all counts in an audio group, it does not necessarily have to be the case. If no audio group with a count is defined, the audio group from the previous count is used (or the initial prompt if there is no previous count). The developer can change the count of a repeatable audio group as desired. Bargein allows the caller to interrupt audio that is being played to either skip it completely or to begin entering data if the instructions are known. Bargein is a function of an audio group, not an audio item. How the caller barges in is determined by the way the voice element captures its data. For example, if a voice element is configured to capture a currency value using DTMF (key press) input only, to barge into an audio group, the caller would need to press any key (saying something will not barge in). If the voice element is to capture the currency value using speech input only, the caller barges into an audio group by saying anything (pressing a DTMF value will not barge in). When bargein is enabled, all audio items defined in the audio group will be skipped. 102

103 Some other notes related to audio groups and audio items: Optional audio groups can be removed by right-clicking on them and selecting Delete Audio Group (all audio items inside are deleted as well). Audio items can be added to audio groups by right-clicking on the audio group and choosing Add Audio Item. Audio items can be pasted into audio groups by right-clicking on the audio group and choosing Paste Audio Item. Audio items can be copied by right-clicking on the audio item and choosing Copy Audio Item. Audio items can be deleted by right-clicking on the audio item and choosing Delete Audio Item. Audio items can be renamed by right-clicking on the audio item and choosing Rename Audio Item or by double-clicking on the audio item and typing the new name. Audio items comments can be added/edited by right-clicking on the audio item and choosing Edit Comment. These comments also appear in Prompt Manager in the comment field. The order of both audio groups and audio items within groups can be changed by dragging them up or down. For audio groups, the order changes how they appear in 103

104 Audio Items Builder for VoiceXML Studio, it does not affect the voice element behavior in any way. For audio items, its visual order determines the order the audio items are played. Many voice elements are set up with dependencies between setting values and the existence of an audio group. A confirmation dialog box will appear whenever a setting value is chosen which would remove an audio group. When an audio item is selected, the audio item configuration panel appears below the audio group window. Audio items can be two types; an audio file with a TTS backup, or a Say It Smart value. Configuration data is not saved when switching back and forth between the two audio item types. Static Audio: Most of the audio in a voice application will consist of pre-recorded audio files and TTS phrases given as a backup in case the audio file cannot be played. These are defined when the Audio File/TTS radio button is selected. The URI for the audio file is given in the URI text box and the content of the TTS phrase is given in the TTS text field. If the URI is not specified, the TTS will be read all the time. If a TTS phrase is not provided, the audio file will be played all the time unless the voice browser cannot find the file or it is corrupted, in which case it will throw an error that will end the call. If both are provided, the audio file will play using the TTS phrase as a backup in case the file cannot be found or is corrupted. When Use Default Audio Path is checked, the default audio path is prepended to the URI entered by the designer. By using the default audio path, the designer need only enter the filename of the target audio file instead of the complete URI; the default audio path will supply the common path in which to find the file. Unchecking Use Default Audio Path requires the developer to enter the absolute URI of the target audio file. 104

105 Say It Smart Audio: Say It Smart audio items are used for situations where data with a specific format is to be presented to the caller and that format is manageable enough to allow pre-recorded audio to be used by stitching them together to generate the phrase. Examples where Say It Smart audio items should be used include numbers, dates, times, US state names, etc. Each of these must be read in a certain way by taking predetermined audio file components and assembling them together to produce the value. For example, if the data is considered a date in the format of MMDDYYYY, then using the Say It Smart type for handling dates, the value would be read as February seventeenth nineteen seventy one. As developers add additional Say It Smart types, more formatted data will be able to be rendered using pre-recorded audio. When the Say It Smart radio button is selected, the Say It Smart panel is displayed. There are three steps to creating a Say It Smart audio item: data source definition, data format definition and audio file information. Data source definition: First, the data to be read is to be determined. The data can either be entered statically in the text box, or substitution should be used if the data is dynamic. Data format definition: The second part of defining a Say It Smart audio item is to specify what the data represents, in what format the data appears, and in what format the data should be read. Cisco Unified CVP ships with a standard set of Say It Smart types. Developers are given the ability to create their own Say It Smart types or even extend types created by Cisco using a plug-in mechanism. See the Programming Guide for Cisco 105

106 Unified Customer Voice Portal for more on building custom Say It Smart plug-ins. A Say It Smart type has at least one input format associated with it. An input format defines how the data looks. A type may have from one to many input formats (dates, for example, can be expressed as MMDDYY, DDMMYY, MMYY, etc.). Output formats are dependent on the input format chosen and allow the developer to choose how to present the data (for example, when reading back a date in the format MMDDYY, the output format can define if the date is considered in the 1900s or the 2000s). Audio file information: The third part of Say It Smart deals with the audio files needed to construct the Say It Smart audio item. If the Use Recorded Audio checkbox is unchecked, the data will be played in TTS only and there is no further configuration required. If checked, the URI specified in the text box labeled Audio Path should point to the directory in which all the audio files are stored. Checking the Use Default Audio Path box will assume the URI where all the audio files used by Say It Smart are stored within the default audio path. The Say It Smart path accepts substitution. The audio fileset is used to determine which of a possible group of audio files to use. Many Say It Smart types have only one set of files to render its data (for example, reading back a phone number only requires files for the numbers 0 through 9). Other types may be able to render the data differently using separate groups of files. Typically, these different groups are split into ones that contain more files to produce a better sounding rendering of the data versus less files. For example, when using the Cisco Unified CVP Number Say It Smart type for rendering the number 25962, one fileset that uses fewer files would play it back as twenty five thousand nine hundred sixty two versus an enhanced fileset using more files that plays it back as twenty five thousand nine hundred sixty two. When pre-recorded audio files are read back to back, the latter phrase will sound more natural. Filesets are dependent on the output format chosen for the type. Finally, the audio file type for these files is specified by the Audio Type dropdown box. Note that all audio files used to render the data must be of a single file type. The most common file types (wav, vox, and au) are listed in the dropdown box, but the designer can enter any other supported file type extension such as ulaw or raw by clicking on the substitution button and entering the desired type manually. When entering the file type manually, enter just the extension, there is no need for the dot. Note that the names of the audio files are determined by the Say It Smart plug-in itself. The system will automatically append all given information to point to the desired audio file URI. For example if the default audio path is and the path given is sayitsmart/, then if the Say It Smart plug-in requires a file named 10 and the audio type is given as ulaw, the system will assemble the following URL for the file: The Say It Smart Specifications for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal document has a comprehensive list of all Unified CVP Say It Smart types, their input formats, output formats, 106

107 and filesets, as well as a list of the audio files each one needs to be recorded to render each of its filesets. The Data Tab All elements, using the Unified CVP SDK, can create element and session data that can be accessed later in the call. Most configurable elements do this to store data captured from the caller or calculated. The designer does not need to worry about this because the configurable element automatically produces the element or session data. There are times, however, when the designer wishes to manually create element or session data without having to resort to the Unified CVP SDK. This is possible by using the Data tab found on any configurable element s configuration pane. Any number of element and session variables can be created. The left column contains a list of all custom element data variables created and the right column contains all the custom session data variables. The variables can be edited and deleted by selecting them, making the desired changes, and clicking on the appropriate buttons. There are several situations where the Data tab has its uses. One can use hardcoded variables set in an element s Data tab to allow a non-developer to control parts of the application where code would normally be needed. For example, a developer could design an element to get information on a database to come from session data that is manually entered in an element s Data tab so a non-developer can alter it. Another situation would be to take advantage of substitution by creating derivative variables or even modifying the element s own variables. For example, a variable can be created to take the value of another variable that contains a floating point value and prepend a dollar sign to it. The most common use of the Data tab is when an element is skipped. Refer to the section on skipping elements for more information. Creating Element Data To create element data, select the radio button labeled Element, enter the desired name and value, choose the data type, and select when the variable is to be created. Note that the value can 107

108 contain substitution allowing, for example, a variable to be created from the contents of another variable or variables. The data type indicates what kind of information is stored in the element data variable. The supported types are String ( this is a string ), Integer ( 242 ), Float ( ), and Boolean ( true / false ). The data type is provided for informational purposes only for the designer and any developers. When the developer retrieves element data, it will always arrive as a string value so the data type can provide the developer a clue as to what the information contains. Choosing Before for the Create option will cause the element data to be created before the element is visited and choosing After will create the variable after the element returned its exit state. Creating the variable before the element is entered would be useful if the element refers to that variable. Creating the variable after the element exits would be useful if the new variable referenced any variables created by the element itself via substitution. When the Store this in log checkbox is checked, the element data is stored in the log (otherwise it is not). If the variable holds data to be used within the application only, or as temporary storage of data, there is little sense in storing it in the log. Additionally, data containing personal or secure data should not appear in a log file, hence this being turned off by default. Creating Session Data To create session data, select the radio button labeled Session, enter the desired name and value, and select when the variable is to be created. Note that the value can contain substitution allowing, for example, a variable to be created from the contents of another variable or variables. Session data does not require a data type and no session data is ever logged by the system. 108

109 Substitution The presence of the button near a setting means that substitution can be employed. Substitution allows something to be given a value that is not known until runtime, without resorting to programming. Data is assembled from static content and tags representing dynamic content, such as ANI, the starting date, or Element and Session data created by elements. At runtime, the text that represents the substitution value will be replaced ( substituted ) for its actual value. Substitution is an excellent way for a designer to create dynamic content without the help of a developer. Substitution is available wherever the substitution button appears, including: Dynamically configured Java class names or URIs Log entry values (not names) Within the set UID section Element settings VoiceXML property values (not names) Audio file URIs, TTS backup content, Say It Smart input data, audio path, fileset, and audio types Custom Element and Session data values (not names) Application Transfer destinations VoiceXML Insert source URI Standard Action and Decision element Java class names or URIs When a configuration option allows substitution, the substitution button becomes clickable. Clicking on this button brings up a dialog box providing all substitution options and a text box where the value can be assembled out of substitution tags. When substitution is chosen and the appropriate data entered, clicking Add Tag will add the tag to the value. You can continue to add additional substitution tags or static content by typing into the text box. All static content will be concatenated with the substitution tags at runtime to yield the final value of the configuration option. Substitutions tags are simply open and close braces encapsulating a unique keyword identifying the data it represents. If data represented by the tag ends up as null or empty, it will be rendered as an empty string and a warning will be added to the VoiceXML Server Error Log. For example, if a setting contains source = {CallData.SOURCE} and there is no application that transferred to the current application, the setting would be evaluated as source =. 109

110 The available substitution options are: Element Data. To substitute the value of Element data into a configuration option, select the element from the drop-down box and type in the name of the Element data variable in the text box Element Data. Session Data. To substitute the value of Session data into a configuration option, type the Session data variable name in the text box Session Data. Call Data. To substitute information about the call into a configuration option, select the appropriate option from the drop-down box. The available options include ANI, DNIS, UUI, and IIDIGITS (the value will be NA if not available). Additional options include source which holds the name of the Unified CVP voice application that transferred to this one, application name which holds the name of the current application, and duration which indicates the number of seconds that have elapsed since the beginning of the call. Caller Activity. To substitute into a configuration option either the name of an element (or exit state) visited in the call flow or the number of times an element (or an exit state) was visited in the call flow. For the former, the number of the visited element must be known. For example, to get the name of the third element visited by the caller, enter 3 under the text box Where N is. For the latter, the element must be chosen from the dropdown box and if it is to indicate the number of times the element s exit state is returned, the desired exit state must also be selected. 110

111 User Management Options. These options are available only when the User Management System is activated for the application. These options relate to the current user and will cause an error unless the call is linked to a user ID (UID). o Demographics. The choices in this drop-down box represent the demographic information about the current user such as name, zip code, etc. o Account Info. The choices in this drop-down box represent the account information about the current user such as account number, PIN, and external UID. o Phone Number. The first choice will return a true or false, depending on whether the caller is using one of the phone numbers registered under his/her account. The second choice will return either the first number registered for the caller, the total number of phone numbers the caller has registered, or the number of calls made by that caller from the provided phone number. o Date and Time information (available from the Date/Time tab). Returns the last time the user called, when the caller s account was created, and when the caller s account was last modified. o Date / Time Information. These options allow for the substitution of date and time information about the call. The choices are the current time, the start of the call, and the last time a call was received from the current ANI. Other choices depend on the User Management System. The substitution value can only include a single part of the time or date (the hour, minute, day, month, year, and day of the week). To use multiple parts, use multiple substitution tags as shown below. The hour is in the range 0-23, minute is in the range 0-59, month is in the range 1-12, day of the month is in the range 1-31, the day of the week is in the range 1-7 (where 1 is Sunday), and the year is represented as a four-digit number. 111

112 Prompt Manager Prompt Manager allows developers to interact with a voice application's audio prompts in table format. It is available as a separate view within Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio, and can be open at the same time as the call flow editor. This view can be used to add, delete, and modify the prompts in a voice application. Changes made through Prompt Manager are also reflected in the Element Configuration View for each affected element. Prompt Manager View The Prompt Manager View is open by default in the Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio perspective. It will appear in the bottom portion of the screen as a separate view tab. If this tab is closed, the Prompt Manager View can be reopened by navigating to the menu option Window- >Show View->Prompt Manager. A Prompt Manager perspective is also available within the Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio environment that will expand the Prompt Manager view to fill the entire Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio workspace. The Prompt Manager Perspective can be opened by navigating to the menu option Window->Open Perspective->Cisco Unified CVP Prompt Manager. 112

113 Using the Prompt Manager Once either the Prompt Manager View or perspective has been activated, the prompts in the application can be viewed and manipulated via the table. Fields in the table that represent editable content are modifiable and include support for substitution where appropriate. Additionally, the following row manipulation functions are available by right-clicking on a table row: Copying Pasting (Above, Below, or Replace) Adding/deleting audio items Adding/deleting audio groups When the Prompt Manager view is first opened, the rows are sorted first by page order (per the call flow editor) then alphabetically by element name. Within each element, the audio group and audio item display order matches that of the Element Configuration View for the element. Each column in the table supports alphabetical sorting. A column can be toggled between ascending and descending alphabetical sort by clicking on the column header in the table. To revert to the default sort, click on the Default Sort button (the house icon, ) at the top-right of Prompt Manager. Columns can either be shown or hidden to change the content that is displayed in Prompt Manager. Select the Choose Columns button (the three-down-arrows icon) at the top-right of Prompt Manager. A drop-down list will appear with several pre-built column sets that can be applied. Additionally, custom column sets can be created by choosing 'Custom...'. Validate and Deploy Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Studio provides two functions to validate and deploy applications created in the Builder for VoiceXML Studio workspace. The VoiceXML Studio development environment stores application descriptions and configurations in your application project folder as XML files. These files are the source for your application. The Validate and 113

114 Deploy functions act on these file sources and can be accessed by right-clicking on the project of your choice from within the Navigator View. This section describes each in more detail. NOTE: Any changes to the application must be saved before the Validate and Deploy commands are used. Validating Applications Validation lets you check for errors in an application during development and before deploying the application to a Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server platform. Every Cisco Unified CVP voice application created or modified within VoiceXML Studio must be validated before it can be deployed and run on the VoiceXML Server platform. In the Navigator View, right-click on the project you wish to validate. Select Validate. A progress indicator will appear, indicating that the application is in the process of being validated. If the application is free of errors, VoiceXML Studio will return to the workspace. If errors are present, a dialog box will appear. 114

115 If you click OK you will be returned to the workspace and the Cisco Unified CVP Problems window will indicate all errors present in the application. If you click on the individual items in this list, VoiceXML Studio will automatically select the corresponding element in the workspace that caused the error. After fixing the errors, check to see if they have been corrected by running the Validation command again. Deploying Applications To run a Cisco Unified CVP voice application that has been created in VoiceXML Studio, the application needs to go through a two-step process: 1. Successful validation. 2. Conversion of the "development-time" application files to "run-time" application files using the Deploy option. Once the application is validated (see above), you can access the Deploy function by rightclicking on the project in the Navigator View. This will open the Deploy dialog window. There are three deployment options: Local, Remote and Archive, discussed below. The application will automatically be validated again before being deployed and it must pass with no errors. 115

116 Local Deploy This is the default setting for the Deploy dialog box. The current active application is displayed at the top of the box, but other projects that are open in the Navigator View will also be shown. The check box next to the project indicates whether or not the application(s) will be deployed when Finish is pressed. By default, only the project you right-clicked will be selected. 116

117 Before you can deploy your application, you must enter the location of your Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server directory. Most of the time this value will be automatically entered for you (see the Installation and Upgrade Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for additional information). There are multiple mechanisms for entering this information: 1. If you know the location of your Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server directory, type it in the text box (for example: CVP_HOME\VXMLServer). Or: Click on Browse and locate your Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server directory. If the deployment tool has been previously used on this installation, the Deploy dialog will have a stored history of local deploy targets. Left-click on the down arrow next to the text box to see the history. If the desired location exists, left-click on the location to select it. 2. Once you have chosen your desired local target, left-click Finish. NOTE: The destination directory for Local Deployment is not limited to volumes that are located on your machine. Any network folder that is mountable by your Windows operating system can be selected for the local deployment option. 3. Your application(s) are now deployed and can be run. If VoiceXML Server is running, use the appropriate administration script to load the new application. If VoiceXML Server is not running, start the application server on which VoiceXML Server is installed (see the VoiceXML Server User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for details). Remote Deploy You can deploy applications to a remote VoiceXML Server platform by choosing the Remote Deploy option. This option uses the FTP protocol, in passive mode. An FTP server with proper access privileges must be available and configured before you can use this option. In the Deploy dialog, check the box next to Deploy Remotely. Once checked, the three previously-grayed-out text fields will become active. Enter the remote location of your Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server directory in the Cisco Unified CVP Home text box. Also enter the address of your server, your user name, and your password. Click Finish and your application will be deployed. If VoiceXML Server is running, use the appropriate administration script to load the new application. 117

118 If VoiceXML Server is not running, start the application server on which VoiceXML Server is installed. (See the VoiceXML Server User Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal for details.) Archive Deploy This option will result in producing the Cisco Unified CVP VoiceXML Server deployment files in a zip archive file. This option is useful when the application may be distributed to other machines for deployment. The archive file is provided as an alternative to the Local Deploy option. In the top section of the dialog you will see the current active application (the dialog box will also show other projects that are actively open in the Navigator View.) The status of the check box next to the project indicates whether or not the application will be deployed when the Finish button is pressed. By default only the project you right-clicked to invoke this dialog will be selected. If multiple applications are checked, all of the selected applications will be added to the archive file in separate application folders. Before you can proceed and create the archive file, the location where the archive file should be created must be entered. A path can be entered manually, or navigated to by using the Browse button. 118

119 Once you have chosen the desired archive name, click on Finish. The archive file will be created and saved to the defined location. If the archive file option is used, remote deployment by FTP will not be permitted 119