Methods for Customizing Siebel Chat Process Flow and Interface Functionality

This chapter describes the methods that are available for customizing Siebel Chat process flow and interface functionality, including the chat screen pop-up logic. It contains the following topic:

Methods for Customizing Siebel Chat Process Flow and Interface Functionality

Methods for Customizing Siebel Chat Process Flow and Interface Functionality

The following methods are available to support the customization of the Siebel Chat UI and the chat screen pop-up logic, which allows you to use workflows to design the chat screen pop-up process:

AcceptChatEx

This method contains the update for the input argument. It is a newer version of the existing AcceptChat method. It is used whenever a new or transferred chat is accepted to open the chat pane and dashboard and to update the activity information, such as the Contact ID and Service Request ID. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for AcceptChatEx.

Input Argument	Description
`ActivityId`	The row ID of the activity created by the CTI event log.
`InteractionId`	The interaction ID of the active chat interaction.
`SRId`	The row ID of the service request record.
`AccountId` (Optional)	The row ID of the account record.
`ContactId` (Optional)	The row ID of the contact record.
`isTransfer` (Optional)	A value of 1 indicates a transferred chat. Any value other than 1 indicates a new inbound chat.
`Firstname` (Optional)	The first name of the customer.
`Lastname` (Optional)	The last name of the customer.
`WorkID`	The work ID of the active chat interaction.

The following table shows the output PropertySet argument for AcceptChatEx.

Output Argument Description

Output Argument	Description
`HasBookmark`	A value of True indicates the following: That this chat has the bookmark feature enabled That the chat screen is populated with the bookmark information That this chat is a transferred chat

HasBookmark

A value of True indicates the following:

That this chat has the bookmark feature enabled
That the chat screen is populated with the bookmark information
That this chat is a transferred chat

FindRecord

This method contains the update for the input argument. It is used to query records from a specific business component according to the search specification. You can define the business object name, business component name, query field value pairs, and value field list. By default, the row ID of the query results is returned as output, but you can define more output by using the input value field list. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for FindRecord.

Input Argument	Description
`BusObj`	The business object name.
`BusComp`	The business component name.
`QueryFields`	A comma-separated field list. This list indicates to use the field name list to query the business component. A corresponding key value pair must also be defined for the query search specification. For example, if you define Query Fields as follows `(QueryFields = First Name, Last Name`), then you also must provide a list of key value pairs: `First Name = John` `Last Name = Smith` First Name and Last Name are the query field names. John and Smith are the corresponding field values used for the query.
`ValueFields` (Optional)	A comma-separated field list, indicating the output field name list. The default functionality is to generate the row IDs of the query results, but you use this parameter to generate the other fields as required.

The following table shows the output PropertySet arguments for FindRecord, which return the row IDs and value fields defined by the input of the query results.

Output Argument	Description
`Id`	The row ID of the first query record. You can query for more than one record by using the input arguments, but this argument saves only the row ID of the first record.
`IsMultipleRecord`	A value of True indicates that the number of query records is greater than one.
`IdList`	A comma-separated row ID list of the query results.
`<key, value>` pair	According to the values in the ValueFields input parameter, this method generates more field values of the first query record.

Example

If you want to query a contact by contact name and generate the contact row ID and work phone number, then the input is as follows:

BusObj = Contact 
BusComp = Contact 
QueryFields = First Name, Last Name, xxx, 
First Name = John 
Last Name = Smith 
Xxxx = 
ValueFields = Work Phone #

FindRecordEx

This method contains the update for the input argument. This method is an enhanced version of the FindRecord method and is used to query for multiple levels of business components. You can use this method to query for the child business component according to the query results of the parent business components. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for FindRecordEx.

Input Argument	Description
`BusObj`	The business object name.
`BusComp`	A comma-separated business component name list. Note: The order is important. The child business component must appear after the parent business component.
`<BusComp>:QueryField:XXX`	This is the query field of the specific business component. The business component is listed in the BusComp parameter. In the query, XXX is the query field name of the business component. For example, to query using the row ID of the Business Component Account, the argument values are as follows: `Account:QueryField:Id`
`<BusComp>:ValueFields` (Optional)	A comma-separated field list indicating the output field name list of the specific business component. The default functionality is to generate the row IDs of the query results, but you can use this parameter to generate the other fields as required.

The output PropertySet for FindRecordEx includes the query results of all the business components defined by the BusComp parameter. The query result for each business component is organized as a child PropertySet with the type set to the business component name.

Example

If you want to query for a contact that belongs to a specific Account and the account has many associated contacts, then you must use the work phone number to query the contact too. In this case, the input is as follows:

BusObj = Account 
BusComp = Account, Contact Account:QueryField:Id = 42-FF6I6 
Contact:QueryField: Work Phone # = 123456789

GetActiveChatActId

This method is used to get the action row ID of the current active chat. The following table shows the output argument for GetActiveChatActId.

Output Argument	Description
`ActivityId`	Returns the row ID of the current active chat.

GetChatDataByField

This method is used to get the chat data by field name. The following table shows the input arguments for GetChatDataByField.

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId`	If an InteractionId is provided, then it indicates to set data to the related chat. If an InteractionId is not provided, then it indicates to set data to the current chat.
`FieldList`	The data field names that you want to get, separated by a comma.

For each field name in FieldList, there is a corresponding output argument with the same name.

GetLanguageCodeFromMapping

This method is a script method, and it is used to get the language code from the user defined mapping. The following table shows the input argument for GetLanguageCodeFromMapping.

Input Argument	Description
`RequestSiteID`	The ID for the request site; that is, the customer site requesting to chat to an agent.

The following table shows the output argument for GetLanguageCodeFromMapping.

Output Argument	Description
`Language`	The language code for the request site. An example of the method code is shown after this table.

The following is an example of the method code:

function Service_PreInvokeMethod (MethodName, Inputs, Outputs)
{
  if (MethodName == "GetLanguageCodeFromMapping")
{ 
    var sRequestSiteID = ""; 
    sRequestSiteID = Inputs.GetProperty("RequestSiteID"); 
    switch(sRequestSiteID) 
    { 
      case "0": 
        Outputs.SetProperty ("LanguageCode", "ENU"); 
        break; 
      case "101": 
        Outputs.SetProperty ("LanguageCode", "ITA"); 
        break; 
      case "71": 
        Outputs.SetProperty ("LanguageCode", "FRA"); 
        break; 
      default: 
        Outputs.SetProperty ("LanguageCode", "ENU"); 
        break; 
    }
    return CancelOperation; 
  }
  return (ContinueOperation); 
}

GetSystemPreference

This method is used to query for the system preference. You must insert the system preference name, and then the value is set to the output argument. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for GetSystemPreference.

Input Argument	Description
`Name`	The name of the system preference item.

The following table shows the output PropertySet argument for GetSystemPreference.

Output Argument	Description
`Value`	The value of the system preference.

GetTransferredActivityDataFromDB

This method is used to query the parent activity record. The query is based on the interaction ID, and it applies only to chat transfers. Generally, this method queries for the service request ID when a second agent accepts a chat. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for GetTransferredActivityDataFromDB.

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId`	The interaction ID for the chat.
`QuerySpec` (Optional)	This optional input argument applies if you want to redefine your own query specifications.
`ValueFields`	This is a comma-separated field list that indicates the output field name list. If no Value Fields are defined, then the default value is Activity SR Id.

The output PropertySet for GetTransferredActivityDataFromDB contains the key value pairs that are defined by the ValueFields input parameter.

Example

When an agent accepts a transferred chat, the service request ID that Siebel automatically creates must be located. The Chat Business Service by default uses the interaction to query the activity created by the first agent (who transferred the chat), and then to query for that activity to obtain the service request ID. The input is as follows:

InteractionId = 1234423545 
ValueFields = Id,Primary Contact Id,Activity SR Id

InsertRecord

This method is used to insert a new record into a specific business component. You can define the business object name, business component name, and field value pairs to be inserted as input. The row ID of the newly created record is returned as output. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for InsertRecord.

Input Argument	Description
`BusObj`	The business object name.
`BusComp`	The business component name.
`Field: XXX`	The fields to be set. In this argument, you must replace XXX with the field name.
`Use Locale` (Optional)	A value of True or False indicates whether to format the value or not.

The following table shows the output PropertySet argument for InsertRecord, which returns the row ID of the newly created record.

Output Argument	Description
`Id`	The row ID of the newly created record.

Example

If you want to insert a new service request record with a contact ID of 04-LLSQ5, then the input is as follows:

BusObj = Service Request
BusComp = Service Request
Field: Contact Id = 04-LLSQ5

OpenView

This method is used to open a chat screen pop-up according to the following input information: business component and view name. This method cannot be used directly and must always be called using the PushToToolbarCallFunction method. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for OpenView.

Input Argument	Description
`ViweBusObj`	The view’s business object name.
`ViewBusComp`	The view’s business component name.
`Id`	The row ID of the record to be populated.
ViewName	The name of the view to be populated. Note: The ViewName must be associated with the business component defined in ViewBusComp.
`SearchMode`	The value of this argument can be OFF, ON, or ALL: If the value is set to OFF, then the search center is not populated. If the value is set to ON, then the search center is populated when there is no query result according to the input ID. If the value is set to ALL, then the search center is always populated irrespective of whether the query result is empty or not.
`ViewNameEx` (Optional)	The default view name if AllowEmptyRecord is not set, or if it is set to False when the ID is empty or invalid. The view must be associated with the business object defined in ViewBusObjEx.
V`iewBusObjEx` (Optional)	The view’s business object name for ViewNameEx.
`ViewBusCompEx` (Optional)	The view’s business component name for ViewNameEx.
`AllowEmptyRecord` (Optional)	If set to True when the ID is empty or invalid, then it indicates to go to the same view but with an empty active record. If set to False, then it indicates to go to the view according to the values in ViewNameEX, ViewBusObjEx, and ViewBusCompEx.

Example

If you want to open the service request detail view by using the service request ID 42-DOOTG and the user wants to open the search center when there is no such service request with ID 42-DOOTG in the database, then the input is as follows:

ViewBusObj = Service Request 
ViewBusComp = Service Request 
Id = 42-DOOTG 
ViewName = Service Request Detail View 
SearchMode = ON 
AllowEmptyRecord = FALSE 
ViewBusObjEx = Service Request Home 
ViewBusCompEx = Public and Private View Link 
ViewNameEx = Service Request Screen Homepage View

OpenViewEx

This method is used to obtain the chat screen pop-up according to the following input information: business component and view name. This method shows the record list, and it can be used to query more than one field besides the row ID. The following table shows the input arguments for OpenViewEx.

Input Argument	Description
`ViewName`	The name of the view to be populated. The view must be associated with the defined business component.
`ViewBusObj`	The view’s business object name.
`ViewBusComp`	The view’s business component name.
`SearchMode`	The value of this argument can be OFF, ON, or ALL. If set to OFF, then the search center is never populated. If set to ON, then the search center is populated when there is no query result according to the input ID. If set to ALL, then the search center is always populated irrespective of whether the query result is empty or not.
`QueryFields`	The comma-separated list of field names, which you want to use to query the view business component. For each field, there is an input argument for the query value.
`NonEmptyQueryFields`	The comma-separated list of query field names for which the query value cannot be empty. If the query value for one of the fields is set to `“ ”`, then the query fails and no results are returned.

PostScreenPopRequest

This method is used to carry out the postrequest for the chat screen pop-up. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for PostScreenPopRequest.

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId`	The interaction ID for the chat.

PreScreenPopRequest

This method is used to carry out the prerequest for the chat screen pop-up. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for PreScreenPopRequest.

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId`	The interaction ID for the chat.

The following table shows the output PropertySet argument for PreScreenPopRequest.

Output Argument	Description
`HasBookmark`	Indicates whether or not a bookmark is enabled for the chat. A value of True indicates that the chat has the bookmark feature enabled.

PushToToolbarCallFunction

This method is used to call a chat screen pop-up method, such as OpenView or RestoreMainViewFromBookmark. This method is used, for example, if there are several asynchronous updates that must be made to the UI. By using PushToToolbarCallFunction to call chat screen pop-up methods, you ensure that all the methods are called one-by-one. The following table shows the input PropertySet arguments for PushToToolbarCallFunction.

Input Argument	Description
`MethodName`	The name of the chat screen pop-up method to be called, such as OpenView.
`InteractionId` (Optional)	The interaction ID for the chat. If IsQueued is set to True, then you must provide the InteractionID.
`IsQueued` (Optional)	Indicates whether or not to queue the method. The method name is MethodName.

Except for this parameter, you must also enter all the necessary parameters for the chat screen pop-up method to be called later.

RefreshChatPaneDashboard

This method is used to refresh the business component fields on the chat dashboard with the latest data. There are no input or output arguments for RefreshChatPaneDashboard.

RestoreMainViewFromBookmark

This is an existing method that is used to populate screens using bookmarks. No inputs or outputs must be defined for this method.

UpdateChatDataField

This method is used to update the field in the Chat Data map with a given value. The following table shows the input arguments for UpdateChatDataField.

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId` (Optional)	The value in this argument is the interaction ID that you want to update if IsSingleChat is set to True. The value in this argument is ignored if IsSingleChat is set to False. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`IsSingleChat` (Optional)	If set to True, then it indicates to update the value provided for InteractionId. If set to False, then it indicates to update the value for all chats. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`UpdateField`	The field that you want to update in the Chat Data map.
`UpdateValue` (Optional)	The value that you want to update in the UpdateField. If UpdateValue is not provided, then an empty string is used by default.

Example

If you want to update the ChatDisplayName field in the Chat Data map with the default value for all chats, then the input is as follows:

InteractionId = 
IsSingleChat = FALSE
UpdateField = ChatDisplayName
UpdateValue =

UpdateChatDataFieldEx

This method is used to update the field in the Chat Data map with the value in a business component field. This method is typically used as a preceding step for the UpdateWithBCFieldEx method. For example, if QueryField is set to the SR Number business component field in UpdateWithBCFieldEx and to the SRNumber value in the Chat Data map, then the SRNumber value in Chat Data map expires if the agent associates a new service request with the chat activity. As a result, you must update the SRNumber value in the Chat Data map before SR Number is used in UpdateWithBCFieldEx. The following table shows the input arguments for UpdateChatDataFieldEx.

Table UpdateChatDataFieldEx Method: Input Arguments

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId` (Optional)	The value in this argument is the interaction ID that you want to update if IsSingleChat is set to True. The value in this argument is ignored if IsSingleChat is set to False. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`IsSingleChat` (Optional)	If set to True, then it indicates to update the value provided for InteractionId. If set to False, then it indicates to update the value for all chats. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`BusObj`	The business object, for example, Action.
`BusComp`	The business component in the business object, for example, Action.
`QueryFields`	The Query Field list to use to query the value in ValueField (for example, Id). You must provide the value in Chat Data for the query field. For example, provide the Activity Id in Chat Data for Id. The comma-separated field list indicates the field name list to use to query the business component. For query search specification, you must also define a corresponding key value pair. For example, if QueryFields is set to Id and Contact First Name, then a list of key value pairs must also be provided as follows: `Id=Activity Id` `Contact First Name = firstname` Id and Contact First Name are the query business component field names. Activity Id and firstname are the corresponding Chat Data fields.
`UpdateField`	The field that you want to update in the Chat Data map.
`Value Field`	The business component field that you want to get the value from.

Example

If you want to update the SRNumber field in Chat Data map with the SR Number value in the Action business component, Id is used as the query filter and is set to the value of the ActivityId field in Chat Data map. That is, the ActivityId value in Chat Data map is used as the query filter to query the Action business component record to obtain the SR Number value in the Action business component record. The SR Number value is then used to update the SR Number field in Chat Data map, so that it has the latest value if a new service request is associated with the chat activity.

The ActivityId field value in Chat Data map is not always changed in the chat session, but the SRNumber field value in Chat Data map is changed if a new service request is associated with the chat activity. Therefore, the UpdateChatDataFieldEx method is used to update SRNumber before the SRNumber field value in Chat Data map is used in the next workflow step. To update SRNumber for all chats, the input is as follows:

InteractionId = 
IsSingleChat = FALSE
BusObj = Action
BusComp = Action
QueryFields = Id            // the field of Activity Id in Action BC
Id = ActivityId             // the field of Activity Id in Chat Data map
UpdateField = SRNumber      // the field of SR Number in Chat Data map
ValueField = SR Number      // the field of SR Number in Action BC

UpdateChatUIField

This method is used to update a field in the chat UI with the value in the Chat Data map field. The following table shows the input arguments for UpdateChatUIField.

Input Argument Description

InteractionId (Optional)

The value in this argument is the interaction ID that you want to update if IsSingleChat is set to True. The value in this argument is ignored if IsSingleChat is set to False.

For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.

IsSingleChat (Optional)

If set to True, then it indicates to update the value provided for InteractionId. False indicates to update the value for all chats. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.

UpdateField

This is the field that you want to get the value from in Chat Data map. For example: ChatDisplayName in Chat Data map.

Example

If you want to use the ChatDisplayName field in the Chat Data map to update the Chat Display Name in the chat UI for all chats, then the input is as follows. For example, if a user wants to use Chat Data map field, ChatDisplayName, to update Chat Display Name in the Chat UI for all chats, then the input is as follows:

InteractionId = 
IsSingleChat = FALSE
UpdateField = ChatDisplayName     // the field of ChatDisplayName in Chat Data map

UpdateRecord

This method is used to update an existing record and a specific business component. You must provide the row ID as input and the field value pairs to be updated. The following table shows the input arguments for UpdateRecord.

Input Argument	Description
`BusObj`	The business object name.
`BusComp`	The business component name.
`Id`	The row ID of the record to be updated.
`Field: XXX`	The fields to be updated; replace XXX with the field name.
`Use Locale` [optional]	A value of True or False indicates if the value must be formatted.

The following table shows the output PropertySet argument for UpdateRecord, which returns the row ID of the newly created record.

Output Argument	Description
`Id`	The row ID of the newly created record.

UpdateWithBCField

This method is used to update a field in the Chat Data map with the value in a business component field. The business component must be included in the business object component of the Chat Related Data business object. For the Service Request business component, there must be a link with Action. For other business components, there must be a link with Service Request. The following table shows the input arguments for UpdateWithBCField.

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId` (Optional)	The value in this argument is the interaction ID that you want to update if IsSingleChat is set to True. The value in this argument is ignored if IsSingleChat is set to False. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`IsSingleChat` (Optional)	If set to True, then it indicates to update the value provided for InteractionId. False indicates to update the value for all chats. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`BusComp`	The business component list that is added to the business object component in the Chat Related Data business object. For example: `Service Request, Account`
`UpdateField`	The field that you want to update in the Chat Data map.
`UpdateValue` (Optional)	The business component field that you want to get the value from.

The following table shows the output arguments for UpdateWithBCField.

Input Argument	Description
`HasSetForAll` (Optional)	Indicates whether or not to set (or update) the value for all chats. If set to True, then all chats get the update value.

Example

If you want to update ChatDisplayName in the Chat Data map with the Service Request Business Component Account field for all chats, then the Service Request Business Component must be included in the business object component in the Chat Related Data Business Object, and it must be linked with Action. The input is as follows:

InteractionId = 
IsSingleChat = FALSE
BusComp = Service Request
UpdateField = ChatDisplayName
ValueField = Account

UpdateWithBCFieldEx

This method is used to update the field in the Chat Data map with the value in a business component field. This method is typically used together with the UpdateChatDataFieldEx. The following table shows the input arguments for UpdateWithBCFieldEx.

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId` (Optional)	The value in this argument is the interaction ID that you want to update if IsSingleChat is set to True. The value in this argument is ignored if IsSingleChat is set to False. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`IsSingleChat` (Optional)	If set to True, then it indicates to update the value provided for InteractionId. False indicates to update the value for all chats. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`BusObj`	The business object, for example, Service Request.
`BusComp`	The business component name in the business object, for example, Service Request.
`QueryFields`	The Query Field list that is used to query the value in ValueField (for example, SR Number). You must provide the value in Chat Data for the query field. For example, provide the SR Number in Chat Data for SR Number in the business component field. The comma-separated field list indicates the field name list to use to query the business component. For query search specification, you must also define a corresponding key value pair. For example, if QueryFields is set to Id and SR Number, then a list of key value pairs must also be provided as follows: `Id=Activity Id` `SR Number = SRNumber` Id and SR Number are the query business component field names. Activity Id and SRNumber are the corresponding Chat Data fields.
`UpdateField`	The field that you want to update in the Chat Data map.
`Value Field`	The business component field that you want to get the value from.

The following table shows the output arguments for UpdateWithBCFieldEx.

Input Argument	Description
`HasSetForAll` (Optional)	Indicates whether or not to set (or update) the value for all chats. If set to True, then all chats get the update value.

Example

You want to update ChatDisplayName in Chat Data map with the Service Request Business Component Account field for all chats, and you do not want to use the Chat Related Data Business Object in the method. For every business component field in QueryFields, you must provide the related Chat Data map field to give the query value. In this example, the QueryFields is the SR Number business component field, so you must provide the related SRNumber field in the Chat Data map, so that it can get and use the SRNumber field value as the QueryField value. The input is as follows:

InteractionId = 
IsSingleChat = FALSE
BusObj = Service Request
BusComp = Service Request
QueryFields = SR Number           // the field of SR Number in Action BC
SR Number = SRNumber              // the field of SRNumber in Chat Data map
UpdateField = ChatDisplayName     // the field of ChatDisplayName in Chat Data map
ValueField = Account              // the field of Account in Action BC

UpdateWithChatData

This method is used to update a field in the Chat Data map with the value in the (third-party chat) Chat Data field. The following table shows the input arguments for UpdateWithChatData.

Table UpdateWithChatData Method: Input Arguments

Input Argument	Description
`InteractionId` (Optional)	The value in this argument is the interaction ID that you want to update if IsSingleChat is set to True. The value in this argument is ignored if IsSingleChat is set to False. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`IsSingleChat` (Optional)	If set to True, then it indicates to update the value provided for InteractionId. False indicates to update the value for all chats. For new and transferred chats, IsSingleChat is always set to True.
`UpdateField`	The field that you want to update in the Chat Data map.
`Value Field`	The business component field that you want to get the value from.

The following table shows the output arguments for UpdateWithChatData.

Input Argument	Description
`HasSetForAll` (Optional)	Indicates whether or not to set (or update) the value for all chats. If set to True, then all chats get the update value.

Example

If you want to update ChatDisplayName in the Chat Data map with the (third-party chat) firstname field for all chats, then the input is as follows:

InteractionId = 
IsSingleChat = FALSE
UpdateField = ChatDisplayName  // the field of ChatDisplayName in Chat Data map
ValueField = firstname         // the field of firstname in Chat Data map 
                                       (third--party chat data)