How-to assign keyword shortcuts to static and dynamic lists created with the System.CommonResponse component in Oracle Digital Assistant by Frank Nimphius

The conversation interface is not just about text messaging. Most messengers support a list of values, and many even support card layouts. Chatbot users select a value from a list by either tapping the list item or typing the displayed list item label into the message field. In this article I explain how to assign keywords as shortcuts to list items (and card layouts, as it is the same code) for users to select an item. With card layouts, when not all cards are displayed in a horizontal carousel (so when some are hidden), then, using predictable keywords, keyword shortcuts allow users to select an item even if it is not visible*

* the restriction is when you use page ranging, in which case a card is not hidden but not available at all. In this case you can only access those cards that belong to the current displayed range of cards.

Keywords in static lists

The Oracle Digital Assistant dialog flow state definition shown in the image below defines a static list of values for airports. The airports itself are defined in a value-list entity that is referenced by the “airport” variable. The OBotML (markup language used in the dialog flow builder) code in the image below shows the list defined using the System.CommonResponse component. Each selectable item in the list is defined by an action (postback), which defines the label to display on the item, as well as the variables and values that are getting updated when the user taps on a list item. Read the complete article here.

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