The basics of using the editing software
Read the article to understand where to start and what to do. If you’re a fan of video tutorials, swipe up.
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How to use the editing software
Here’s a random scheme for clarity. We’re going to refer to it while talking about the editor.
The scheme consists of blocks and arrows which connect them.
The dialogue in the workflow always starts with green blocks. After writing a message or pressing a button, the user can move from one block to the other if the condition allows it. Conditions can be attached to both the blocks and the arrows. The blocks with conditions can be a dark green and a dark gray colors.
During the process of moving through the scheme the user can be only in one block at a time. What does that mean? If there are two different chains of messages in your bot then the user cannot go through both of them at the same time - either one or the other.
If you need to send a separate message and to also not kick the person out of the chain, you need to use gray blocks - “Not state” and “Not state with a condition”. You can read more about these in the section “The creation of blocks and their types”.
How to create a green block (start dialogue)
There’s a form for creating a block in front of you. More details on creating blocks and their types you can find in the article Using the editing software. Part 1. Creating blocks and their types.
It’s necessary for you to choose the block type - it’s in the section “Dialogue state”. You need to press it and choose “Start dialogue” from the drop-down menu.
Then the section “Condition” will open up with several other sections. They set the requirements for moving into this block. We’re going to tell you why the block “Dialogue state” is needed a little bit later.
At this point you need the two first sections: “Condition” and the next one “Choice of matching”, in which “Ignoring errors and inaccuracies” is selected.
“Ignoring errors and inaccuracies” means that if the user’s message and the condition have insignificant differences - like if they made a typo or changed the words’ placements - then the condition still works.
Read more about the conditions in this article.
The conditions are separated by the semicolon (;) symbol.
In the section “Condition” there are listed (and separated by the semicolon (;) symbol) words, using which the move into the block happens - the bot recognizes the suitable word and then launches.
If we make the bot specifically for Telegram, then we use /start. This word when pressed falls onto the starting button. If the workflow is meant for other messengers as well, then you should also add the word Start, e.g. /start;start;Start
After that you paste the text of the bot’s answer in the block’s settings, like “You pressed start”, and then you press Save:
You created a block which will answer if the user writes start.
Now onto the block with the type “Dialogue state”. This is the main block in which you can move into only through an arrow, it doesn’t have a condition. It doesn’t take a lot of time to create such blocks, it only takes typing the answer and pressing “Save”.
Let’s paste the phrase “The second block”:
Now you have two blocks. One of them can be accessed only through an arrow, which means we have to connect them.
How to create an arrow
To connect two blocks you need to press the mouse on the one you want to connect (in our case it’s the white one) and move it on top of the one you want to connect it to (in our case it’s the green one) and release the mouse. An arrow will be created and the white block will return to its initial position.
If you do this several times, several arrows will be created. Accidentally making some arrows can lead to mistakes. It’s also possible to create arrows in the other direction which is wrong and a mistake in most cases.
Arrows can be bent.
By the way, arrows can be bent. This makes the scheme prettier and helps to see the crossing connections. To do this, you need to grab the arrow in the place you want to bend the arrow in and move to the desired place. The amount of bends and curves is unlimited.
To delete the extra curves, click the left mouse button twice on the needed knot.
Now you have a scheme consisting of two blocks and an arrow. The arrow has no condition for now. If an arrow doesn’t have a condition then the move through it will happen because of any message written by the user. If there are several arrows without the condition, then the move will happen through a random one.
How to test the bot
We need to test the bot out. You can hook it up to a project and test it there, but if the bot is created in WhatApp then you can’t message yourself. There is a different way for this: you can open an online-chat with the bot and work with it. To achieve this, press the link in the bottom left corner of the editor.
The bot works in this chat:
How to create answer options
Now let’s add a question for which there are several choices. Answer choices are the arrows from the block. One of them will have the condition “yes”, the other “no”.
You can create a block with a connection right away. To achieve this you need to choose a block and press the link “Create a block below”. Let’s create two blocks this way. Then you need to set up the conditions on the connections. To do that you need to bring the mouse above the arrow, you’ll need to click on the then appearing gear, or click the right mouse button on the arrow. A form with the connection’s settings will appear. There you will only need one field - Condition. It works the same as the block’s. You set up the condition “yes” on one arrow and “no” on the other.
We have this scheme:
To make a block which doesn’t send a message, put in the answer’s field #{none}
The blocks created with this button won’t send anything after the move to it, the variable #{none} is used for this. We’ll change the response “You pressed yes”, put the blocks in a pretty way and write in the second block the question “Are you an early bird?”
How this scheme works:
The user messages start, they move to the green block.
Then the user texts anything else and moves to the second block that asks them: “Are you an early bird?”
The user responds with “yes” or “no” and moves into one of the states depending on the answer.
But what if the user responds with neither “yes” nor “no”? Then the dialogue doesn’t move into any of the states but stays in the same one until the user writes something that fulfills the condition.
How to create a loop
Let’s make our bot a little bit friendlier. We’ll add a loop without a condition around the block. The blocks and connections without a condition are less prioritized than the ones with it. To create a loop, press on the block and press the button “Create a loop” in the now opened editing section.
Let's test it out...
It’s a bit stiff, so let’s add a message in which we tell the user that he typed something a little wrong.
But moving into that block we need to tell the user “I don’t understand you” and then return to the one with the question to repeat it. To do this, you can use messages with a timer. Timer with the duration of one second can be considered an instant move. We’ll dive into the topic of such connections in later tutorials.
How to create a timer
To create such a block, you need to create a regular arrow by piling the block as described above and then move into its settings.
And in the section “Delay before answer” you need to put in the number one.
Now let's test it!
How to add workflow sheets
With the help of sheets you can split the bot however is useful to you. All of this is a large field where all of the branches of the chatbot are situated, but visually it is split into separate pages. However the bot continues to work in the same field.
When the chains break, connecting blocks (binders) are created.
To add a new sheet, press the ‘plus’ button in the bottom right corner of the field. Then enter the title of the new sheet.
In the opened window you’ll see the guide on what you need to do to finish the move.
How to connect messengers
After testing you can connect the scheme to messengers.
To do that, you need to go to the section “Messengers and chats”.
Then you need to press the button with the required messenger. You can read about how to connect bots in the link below:
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