Knowledge - Creating a Conversation (Workflows)

Conversations are used when creating workflows. Think of frequently asked questions (FAQs), self-service scenarios, and forms. These FAQs and forms can be linked to an article: Knowledge - Linking a Conversation (Workflows)

This article consists of the following sections:

• Conversations - how and what?
• Creating a Conversation - general
• Creating a Conversation - advanced settings
• Available blocks
• Forms
• Sending notifications
• Dynamic variables
• Extras
• Example: form to request business cards
• Segments

• Recycle bin

   

Creating a Conversation - general

• 'All conversations' is the default start page for Conversations
• Click on to add a conversation.
• The text editor opens.
• Fill in the requested information on the right side of the screen under the information icon :
  • Title - name of the conversation.
  • Internal note - information for colleagues in the conversations overview.
  • Tags -
  • Applications - not applicable.
  • Connected topics - to which topics the conversation should be linked.
  • Connected articles - to which articles the conversation should be linked.

Creating a Conversation - advanced settings

A conversation has more configuration options than when creating a news message. 

Internal information
Internal information is used as a note associated with the article. The internal information is only shown in the CMS. You can access the internal information by clicking on the published article in the CMS. The properties will appear on the right side of the screen. The internal information will be highlighted in orange.

Linked topic
Link topic indicates under which topic the article is added. If the article is not currently under the correct topic, adjust the topic here to the correct one. These can be both main topics and subtopics.

Linked Articles
Under Linked Articles, you link a conversation to an article. For more information, see also: Knowledge - Topics and articles (Topics)

Available blocks

When creating a conversation, there are several options, namely: 

Forms

A form is used when data needs to be collected from users. Think of a contact form. A form can be built by first adding a form block to the conversation. Once added, information about the form appears on the right side. By using ' add field' it is possible to add multiple options to the form. 

 

Text field: A text field is intended to allow users to enter text. The amount and type of text can be determined by the different options of a text field in forms. The types number, email, and phone include validations. For example, an email must contain an '@' and a phone number must be 10 digits long. 

Date picker: With the date picker, a user can specify a date. A date can be a single or recurring date (single or series). 

Selection control: The selection control is used.

File upload: Allows the user to upload a file. 

Separator: You can offer whitespace or information in the form of text in a form. This way, you can make the forms clearer. 

Sending notifications

When you go through a workflow, it often results in an action for someone. You can send notifications via the Embrace notification centre, and/or by email. You use "Notification category" for this, with the following options:

• Notification: This is a notification in Embrace. Select the permission group that should receive the notification, or select individual user(s). You can also add a subject and text to send additional instructions to the recipient.
• Email: This is an email. Select individual user(s) who should receive the email. You can also add a subject and text to send additional instructions to the recipient. 

Dynamic variables

You can use dynamic variables to make a Conversation smarter or more personal. You always use an ampersand (&) for this. For example, if you mention &userID in the text, it will display the name of the logged-in user. This is available for profiles, forms, and multiple-choice flows. By adding an ampersand (&), all available options are shown: 

 

If you set up a multiple-choice or conditions block, you can also add dynamic variables yourself. Suppose you create a multiple-choice with the options "father," "mother," and "daughter." Then you can reuse this text in the next text block. The displayed text would be, for example: "You entered father, we will now proceed to the next step." This works identically for conditions and all information you retrieve from forms. Again, you use the ampersand (&). 

 

Extras

From the overview of all conversations, you have several extra options:  

• Edit: edit the conversation (see creating a conversation)
• Export: export your Conversation to a .json file
• View results: the input, i.e., the responses given to the conversation by individual users, can be viewed here 
  • General information: start time and end time (how long the user interacted)
  • User input: which choices the user made (only with question trees)
  • Note: due to GDPR reasons, you can never trace the actual user (person)
• Duplicate: make a copy of the conversation
• Set permissions: see Users - Roles and rights
• Unpublish: conversation no longer visible to end users, but still editable from Knowledge
• Move to recycle bin: conversation no longer visible to end users, not editable from Knowledge (see recycle bin)

Example: form to request business cards

We’ll show you how to create a form to request business cards, so you can use this example to build your own forms. A simple form can be made in just a few steps. The order is important:

1. Create the form.
2. Add a step that processes the results, for example by sending an email.
3. Show a thank-you message at the end.

Step 1: Create the form

1. Open Conversations and create a new conversation.
2. Add a Form block as the first step.
3. Once the block is added, you can add fields at the bottom right, such as name, email address, subject or message.

Step 2: Send an email with the results

1. Click the + button below the form block and choose Notification category → Send Email.
2. On the right side, select who should receive the submission and add a subject.
3. Under Body, click Summary to automatically include all submitted fields in the email.

Step 3: Show a thank-you message

1. Click the + button again, this time below the Send Email block.
2. Add a Text block with a message such as: “Thank you for your submission!”.
3. Then publish the entire conversation.

Place the form on a page

1. Go to the page where you want to display the form.
2. Click the + button and select Conversations.
3. You can then choose between two options:
   • Link to the conversation: visitors are redirected to a separate form page.
   • Embed on the current page: the form is displayed directly on the page, as you’re used to in Umbraco.

Segments

Creating a segment:

1. Go to Portals > Content > Segments.
2. Click the plus icon (+) at the top right.
3. Fill in the fields in the right column:
   • Name of the segment
   • Title of the segment (can be the same as the name)
   • Content type: Conversations
4. Click Save. You will then see the segment under Knowledge > Conversations.

Moving an existing Conversation to a segment:

1. Click the three dots (◦◦◦) next to the Conversation.
2. Choose Move.
3. Choose the segment to which you want to move the Conversation.
4. Choose Move. Note: with a standard setup, the Conversation will then inherit the permissions of the segment under which it falls.

Recycle bin

Via the menu on the left, navigate to the recycle bin. Deleted conversations are shown here. You can permanently delete them or restore them.