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Siebel SmartScript Administration Guide > Fundamentals of Creating SmartScripts >
About SmartScript Elements
Questions are the main element or object inside a SmartScript and include such attributes as answers and data indicating how a question is displayed. Questions are joined together with branches. Groups of questions are contained inside pages. Scripts are the broadest element and contain groups of pages. Every aspect of each script element—from text properties, to branches, to events invoking related views in your Siebel application—can be modified without affecting the other elements. SmartScript also contains event handlers that support Siebel VB and Siebel eScript methods and interactions with outside processes. For more information, see Extending Scripts with Siebel VB and Siebel eScript. Figure 1 displays each script element and its place within the hierarchy of elements.
Figure 1. Scripts in the Hierarchy of Script Elements
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Table 2 describes each script element in more detail.
Table 2. SmartScript Elements
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Scripts |
Scripts are the highest-order containers of script elements. NOTE: Both conceptually and procedurally, the process of defining a script and adding pages to it closely resembles the process of creating a page and adding questions to that page.
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Pages |
Pages are groups of questions that are displayed together in a view when a script is executed. Pages must contain related questions, and questions must proceed in the order required by the workflow. Because pages are stored separately from the script itself, they can be used more than once in a script and can be used in multiple scripts. |
Questions |
There are two forms of question script elements:
- Questions elicit information from the caller or Web user. Questions also provide information about policies, options, and product descriptions.
- Information questions supply text to be read by the script user to guide the flow of a script or to supply information, such as product descriptions, legal disclaimers, or step-by-step advice. Answers are not stored for information questions.
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Answers |
Answers are script elements that represent answers to questions. Answers appear as data entry fields or as one of several types of UI elements including check boxes, drop-down lists, or picklists. Questions and answers are linked by a one-to-many relationship. |
Branches |
Branches are transfers of control inside a SmartScript that determine the display sequence of pages or questions. All movement within a script must be explicitly defined using branches. There are two types of branches in SmartScript: script branches and page branches. Script branches transfer control from a question in one page to a question in another page, while page branches transfer control from one question to any other question within a single page. NOTE: Page branches override script branches.
Most SmartScripts contain questions with multiple mutually exclusive answers. For example, a question might ask whether a customer is making a deposit to, rather than a withdrawal from, an account. The possible answers require different subsequent questions. Therefore, you must create a separate branch for each possible answer. At other times, a SmartScript user might need to interrupt the expected flow of a script. For example, if a loan agent makes a call to offer a credit card but discovers that the target works for a competing bank, it makes no sense to continue with the standard script; end the call as quickly, and as smoothly as possible by branching to the end of the script. CAUTION: There are no built-in safeguards to prevent you from creating branches that result in closed loops of questions. Therefore, you must test all your branches to be sure that they have an exit.
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