Text Snippets

How to create and manage text snippets

Text snippets are versatile blocks of reusable text that can be seamlessly integrated into different parts of your conversation. They serve as valuable components of the chatbot's responses (prompts) to user inputs and can be referenced in various sections of your conversation flow. This enables you to efficiently reuse the same text in multiple ways throughout your conversation, promoting consistency and ease of management.

The following is an example of a text snippet window:

Click on each tab for a description of the elements displayed above:

1

The name of the text snippet.

Note: Text snippet names should not start with a number to ensure functionality and cannot be changed once created; to rename, delete the existing snippet and create a new one with the desired name.

2

This indicates the default text entry or entries assigned to a text snippet, selected without any conditions.

3

Here, you can add multiple text pool entries for use in your conversations. The app automatically selects an entry according to the selection and rotation rules defined in the Settings tab for this snippet.

4

Optionally, you can utilize text snippet variables within text snippets.

In the depicted example, the entry includes the company snippet. The company snippet is defined on the main text snippet screen.

The outcome of the text snippet results in the chatbot telling the caller: "Hello and welcome to Parloa!"

If the text snippet company has more than one option in the Text Pool, the chatbot selects one based on the rule defined in Settings.

Note: There is no limit to the number of text snippet variables you can employ within another text snippet.

When multiple text snippet entries are defined, the bot will utilize a different one each time the snippet is used in the conversation flow. The sequence in which the entries are presented can be specified in the Settings tab.

The following table describes each of the strategies you can select:

Strategy	Functionality
Cyclical	Picks through the list one by one until the last entry is reached. After that, it will start over with the first entry. If no strategy is specified, the default strategy will be used.
Ordered	Iterates through a list of possible entries, selecting one at a time until the last item on the list is reached. Following this, the last entry in the list will be returned.
Random	Chooses one item at random from a list of possible options.

5

The chatbot's statement to the caller, incorporating the selected text snippet. Similar to SSML fields in State Blocks, you can add SSML tags (<>), allowing for text formatting, and Variables (+) into the texts as well.

6

You can customize your experience in Parloa by using conditional text snippets that take into account specific factors such as the time of day.

The following is an example of morning and evening conditions that determine whether the chatbot will say the default entry, morning entry, or evening entry:

Morning Condition

Evening Condition

Conditions are evaluated from the top of the list, and the first true condition encountered is applied. If none of the specified conditions are met, the default value is displayed. It's important to note that the order of the conditional entries can easily be adjusted to suit your needs through a click-and-drag action. JavaScript is utilized to create these logical conditions. In the example below, Moment.js and JavaScript are used to check the current time and provide relevant greetings.

codemoment().tz("Europe/Berlin").format("H") < 10 // Morning condition
moment().tz("Europe/Berlin").format("H") > 17 // Evening condition

Parloa also seamlessly integrates with libraries like Moment and Lodash. When using Moment to check the current time, be sure to set the expected timezone with moment().tz("Europe/Berlin") to ensure accurate results.

Click here to learn more about what else the JavaScript fields have to offer.

Using Text Snippets

The following describes how to perform common actions with your text snippets:

Creating Text Snippets

1. Click the button, displayed at the top-right of your screen.
2. Rename your text snippet in the field.
3. Click the button, or press Enter.

Note: When naming text snippets, use clear and descriptive names that reflect the content and purpose of the snippet.

Editing Text Snippets

Hover over and click on the text snippet row. A pane will open on the right, enabling you to edit the text snippet.

Searching for Text Snippet

Search for a text snippet by typing in the search bar, displayed at the top-right of your screen.

You can search for snippets by typing any part of their name in the Search for text snippets field.

Deleting Text Snippets

1. Navigate to the Text Pool of the desired snippet entry.

2. Hover over the text field you intend to delete and click the Delete button.

3. Confirm the deletion by clicking the Delete button again.