Smart Buttons
Controls/XML Elements

Configuring Question Blocks with the Question Block Designer

The QuestionsBlock control groups prompts together on one screen.

For example, this Question Block contains a text label (TextBlock), two text boxes (TextBox), and a date selector (DatePicker).

You can configure QuestionsBlock in the Smart Buttons Editor using either:

• XML to nest other controls as child elements within the QuestionsBlock parent element.

• The Question Block Designer, which is described in this topic. The Designer provides a user interface to:

  • Design and modify customized dialog boxes, which can include images, color group boxes, single check boxes, and more. Elements (controls) can be placed in any places on the Windows canvas.

  • Define behaviors for all fields. For example, show TextBox A only if CheckBox B is checked.

Note: The functionality of certain controls/XML elements may vary depending on whether the control is via XML or the Question Block Designer.

Designer Example

In this example, a customized dialog box is created in the Question Block Designer.

When displayed, the dialog box includes the prompts that were created using the Designer user interface.

Using the Question Block Designer

To configure with the Question Block Designer:

1. Open the Smart Buttons Editor to create a script.

   

2. Click the Question Block <QuestionsBlock> button to open the Question Block Designer.

   Tip! Do not drag and drop the button, which display the QuestionsBlock XML element in the Smart Buttons Editor.

   A series of control buttons is displayed, as well as a "canvas" workspace to arrange the layout of the prompts.

   

3. Add the desired control to the canvas. There are two ways to add a control:

   • By clicking on the elements on the left menu of QuestionsBlock Designer.

   • By using the keyboard to press the numeric key that represents the element. For example, press 3 to add a Text Label.

4. For each control , click and drag to move the control to the desired location in the canvas.

   

5. For each selected control, modify the control in its Properties pane.

   Note: Some Smart Buttons controls/XML elements work similarly to how they are used independently in the main Smart Buttons Editor. Other controls/elements can be used only within the Question Block Designer, or have additional functions only when used in the Designer.

Text Field <TextBox>

The TextBox element enables agents to input text information to be used by the program.

Note: There is also a TextBox element that occurs outside of QuestionsBlock. Both TextBox elements have similar, but not exactly the same, attributes.

Properties

Property	Description
Variable name	The symbolic name (an identifier) that collects the answer
Initial value	Displays as the default answer in the text box.
Width	Enter the width of the prompt window.
Tooltip	Hovers over the text box to display the tool tip.
Watermark	Adds a watermark to the box.
Enable validation	Limits answers to a specific format for example, such as only alphanumeric or a maximum of six digits.
Validation type	When Enable validation is checked, select the type of validation. Optional. If Click ADD to enter an error message that displays to the agent if the text entered does not meet the validation criteria.
Tab Index (@TabIndex)	If a dialog box contains multiple elements, the Tab Index can be used to specify the order in which the controls (elements) are tabbed when an agent presses the TAB key. See Using the Tab Index for more information.
Field Behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

Creating Text Labels

The Text Field control in the Question Block Designer works almost the same way as the Text Field <Text Box> control in the main Smart Buttons Editor. The main difference is that TextBox in the Designer does not contain the Question attribute.

In the Designer, to build a dialog box with a text field and want to define a question, you need to use both TextBlock (Text Label) and TextBox (Text Field).

Drop-Down List <ComboBox>

This control allows agents to select a value from previously predefined answers.

Properties

Property	Description
Variable name	Enter the symbolic name (identifier) that collects the answer.
Width	Enter the width of the prompt window.
Tooltip	Text that displays when the cursor hovers over the control.
Input options	Enter the source of elements to display in the drop-down list.
ADD NEW ITEM	Click to add more than three static items to the list.
Item value	For each list item, enter the value that is displayed in the list.
Comment	For each item value, enter additional information that is displayed next to item. The comment is not transferred to variable.
Item source	Enter the variable in square brackets. For example: [PaxList] Enter static elements separated with a semicolon. For example: IMB;Coca Cola;BMW Enter Value**Key elements list separated with two asterisks (**). For example: IBM**82379;CocaCola**11234,BMW**73209 Mix of variable and static elements. For example: [AccountsfromExcel];IBM;Volvo
Display	If input values come from Value**Key collection, select to display to the user Value, Key, or both.
Return	If input values come from Value**Key collection, select to return back to the variable Value, Key, or both.
Is editable and filterable	Allows agents to overwrite (edit) the answer, when the preferred item is not in the drop-down list. This attribute also allows agents to search within a list for specific element.
Block selection of first item	If selected, agents are not able to select the first item in the list.
Tab Index (@TabIndex)	If a dialog box contains multiple elements, the Tab Index can be used to specify the order in which the controls (elements) are tabbed when an agent presses the TAB key. See Using the Tab Index for more information.
Field Behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

Creating Text Labels

The Text Field control in the Question Block Designer works almost the same way as the Drop-Down List <ComboBox> control in the main Smart Buttons Editor. The main difference is that ComboBox in the Designer does not contain the Question attribute.

In the Designer, to build a dialog box with a text field and want to define a question, you need to use both TextBlock (Text Label) and ComboBox (Drop-Down List).

Text Label <TextBlock>

The TextBlock control adds a label, which is a line with text, to a prompt. TextBlock can be used in combination with TextBox and ComboBox to create labels for text boxes and drop-down lists.

Note: This element is also displayed in the list of Controls/XML Elements in the Standard Mode of the Smart Buttons Editor, but can ONLY be used inside of the QuestionsBlock element.

Properties

Property	Descriptio
Text	Text to be displayed to the agent. Enter either: Static text A variable. For example: [FareRules]
Height	Height of the prompt.
Fixed width and word wrap	Optional. Select to define a set Width of the prompt and wrap text within the prompt.
Use terminal font type	Optional. Select to use the same font type used by the 1G and 1V host systems. This property can be used to maintain the same host formatting for text this is read terminal responses using GetString.
Icon	Icon to be displayed to the agent mapped with text color: Information (green text) “i” Warning (orange text) “!” Error (red text) “X”
Font size	Select the font size. The maximum font size is 32.
Font color	Select the color of the text.
Bold	Select to make the text bold.
Field Behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

Check Box <Checkbox>

This control adds a check box with label and variable value.

Properties

This control adds a check (tick) box to the dialog box. For example:

Property	Description
Variable name	The name of the variable, which holds one of two values: True if the check box is selected. False if check box is not selected.
Label	The text label that display next to the check box.
Tooltip	Text that displays when the cursor hovers over the control.
Is selected input	Display the check box as selected or unselected by default, based on the value of a variable that is always True or False. Enter the name of the variable in square brackets [variableName].
Selected by default?	Select to display the check box as selected on the initial display.
Tab Index (@TabIndex)	If a dialog box contains multiple elements, the Tab Index can be used to specify the order in which the controls (elements) are tabbed when an agent presses the TAB key. See Using the Tab Index for more information.
Field Behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

Date Selector <DatePicker>

This control displays date representation, where the agent can select a single value.

Note: There is also a DatePicker element that occurs outside of QuestionsBlock. Both DatePicker elements have similar, but not exactly the same, attributes.

Properties

Attribute	Description
Variable name	The symbolic name (identifier) that collects the answer.
Question to user	Enter the question to prompt the agent.
Tooltip	Enter the hover text that displays over the selection box.
Input date (optional)
Source type	Select the source of the default date displayed in the calendar. Today’s date The default option shows the current date in the calendar. Fixed date The chosen date becomes the default date. Variable The default date is taken from the existing variable. More Information Enter the variable name in square brackets and define the format of the date. For example, read the date of a first segment from a Booking File and keep it under variable: [FirstSegmentDate] to display this date as the default date in the calendar. Input Output Null as default When checked the default date is empty.
Add or remove days	Add or subtract a specific number of days to or from the input date. For example, if you always want the default date to be current date plus 10 days)
Output date	Select the format of the date that is returned to the variable.
Date format	Select the format in which the date is stored.
Custom date format	If the date or time format is not in the Date format list, select the check box and enter the format for the storage date. For example: MMMM (full month name only).
Language code	Enter the language code to display the date format. For example, for the date May 28, 2021: Select en-US to display the date in the American format 05-28-2021. Select fr to display the date in the French format 28-05-2021.
Tab Index (@TabIndex)	If a dialog box contains multiple elements, the Tab Index can be used to specify the order in which the controls (elements) are tabbed when an agent presses the TAB key. See Using the Tab Index for more information.
Field Behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

Group Box <Groupbox>

The Group box frames, where the color of the background can be customized. For example:

Properties

Property	Description
Header name	The label for the group box.
Width	The width of the box in pixels.
Height	The height of the box in pixels.
Background color	Select or enter the background color for the box.
Field behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. Important! If you there are multiple controls displayed inside of a GroupBox, and you set up rules on the GroupBox, the rules apply for all controls that are inside the GroupBox. The only exception is if any individual control has its own rules. Those rules override the rules from GroupBox. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

Image <Image>

Adds an image, icon, or other graphic to the dialog box.

Properties

Property	Description
Image source	Select an image source from: This Device to select an image from your PC by browsing or entering a file or network path in Image Path. Online Pictures to enter a URL for a web location in Image Path. Smartpoint's resource image to include existing Smartpoint icons and graphics.
Image path	Enter or browse to load the path for the image from the selected resource type.
Height	The height of the image in pixels.
Width	The width of the image in pixels.
Keep aspect ratio	Select to maintain the same ratio or height and width from the initial ratio.
Field behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

List Elements <CheckListBox>

Displays a list of elements from a collection of elements, either as a check box list or a radio button list.

Note: There is also a CheckListBox element that occurs outside of QuestionsBlock. Both CheckListBox elements have similar, but not exactly the same, attributes.

Properties

ET: As with QuestionsBlock/TextBox, it looks like QuestionsBlock/CheckListBox also doesn't have @Question. So assume that it also requires to be combined with TextLabel to give the list a label? It wasn't documented in the 7.0 User Guide -- so it was a typo that it was missing?

Property	Description
Variable name	Enter the symbolic name (identifier) that collects the answer (value of selected items).
Item source	The list of elements that is displayed in the check box or radio button list. As a source of elements on the list, you can use either: A static list of elements, where each element is separated with semicolon. For example: Lufthansa;Cathay;American Airlines Variables. For example: [Airlines]
Width	Enter the width of the prompt window.
Tooltip	Enter the hover text that displays over the selection box.
No. of display items	The number of elements that are displayed on the list in the initial screen. If there are more elements on the list, a scroll bar is displayed. Example
Radio button	Select to display elements as radio buttons. If not selected, the list defaults to a check box list.
Selection options	Display options for the elements in the Item Source list.
Single select	Select to allow agents to select only one element from the list.
Default select all	Select to set all elements to be selected by default.
Preselected item numbers	Enter the numbers of elements, separated by semicolon, that are selected by default. Example Input Elements 2 and 3 from Item Source are selected. Output
Is mandatory	If selected, agents must select at least one element from the list.
Display	In case of Value**Key collection, select to display: ValueKey: All elements to the agent (ValueKey) Value: Only values Keys: Only keys
Return	In case of Value**Key collection, select to return back to the variable: ValueKey: All elements to the agent (ValueKey) Value: Only values Keys: Only keys
Tab Index (@TabIndex)	If a dialog box contains multiple elements, the Tab Index can be used to specify the order in which the controls (elements) are tabbed when an agent presses the TAB key. See Using the Tab Index for more information.
Field Behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

Button <Button>

Displays a button with an associated behavior that is executed after the agent clicks the button.

For example:

Properties

Property	Description
Button Text	The text that is displayed on the button. You can enter either: Static text Variable as a source of the text in square brackets. For example: [PaxName].       Buttons with Hot Key A hot key is combination of keys on a computer keyboard that, when pressed at one time, performs a task more quickly than by using a mouse or other input device. In case of Button agent may define which letter from the Button Text should be used with combination of Alt to enter/submit the Button. To achieve that agent must enter underscore before the letter which is to be used as the hot key. For example, if you want to use letter C in the keyboard shortcut to enter/submit Button: ADD COMMISSION, enter underscore “_” before letter C. Now execute the script. Enter ALT on the keyboard, you will see that letter C is underscored. Press Alt+C to press the “ADD COMMISSION” Button.
Width	The width of the button in pixels.
Tooltip	Text that displays when the cursor hovers over the control.
On click action	Select the type of action to be executed when an agent clicks the button. Do Nothing to make no actions. Execute Action to complete the command. Click CONFIGURE to open the Button Action Editor to define the action to be executed. You can use all controls available in Smart Buttons to execute an action. Example Run Other Button to select a button to run after an agent clicks this button.
Post click action	Select the action that occurs after On click action is completed. Do Nothing to make no actions. Close Window to close the dialog box that contains the button.
Tab Index (@TabIndex)	If a dialog box contains multiple elements, the Tab Index can be used to specify the order in which the controls (elements) are tabbed when an agent presses the TAB key. See Using the Tab Index for more information.
Field Behaviors	Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control. See Using Field Behaviors for more information.

6. After all prompts are configured and placed, click SUBMIT.

Using the Tab Index

If a dialog box contains multiple elements, the Tab Index can be used to specify the order in which the controls (elements) are tabbed when an agent presses the TAB key.

Using Field Behaviors

Sets up rules on each control within QuestionsBlock to conditionally display/hide/disable or enable the control.

It is possible to set up behaviors on all graphical controls available in the Question Block Designer. Behaviors are rules based on which specified control will become: Visible, Hidden, Disabled or Enabled.

If specific control is hidden or disabled during Submission of the form then the variables from that control will not be respected in the script context.