Understanding User Input Block configurations

4 mins read

Updated:

User Input blocks are designed to efficiently collect responses from users during a workflow. Each block type handles a specific data format, allowing for structured and seamless interactions.

Types of user input blocks

Customer Details
Direct Inputs
Selection Inputs
- Button Inputs
- Drop-down Inputs

Collecting contact information (Customer Details)

Admins can choose to collect one or more customer details through this block. The Email field is mandatory, while Name and Phone Number are optional.

For each selected field, the admin can define:

Message (Required): A custom prompt shown to the customer.

Example: “Please enter your email”
Placeholder (Optional): A hint displayed inside the input box.

Example: “example@example.com”

Data collection sequence

Customer details are always collected in a fixed predefined order based on the fields selected by the admin. This ensures a consistent and logical flow for customers.

Selected Fields	Collection Sequence
Name, Email, Phone Number	Name → Email → Phone Number
Email, Phone Number	Email → Phone Number
Name, Email	Name → Email

If the Email is already collected through the chat widget, the Customer Details block in the workflow is skipped automatically.

Direct Inputs

These blocks gather structured information from the user by allowing them to type directly into input fields. Below are the supported input types available for direct entry.

Block Name	Data Type
Get Date Value	Date
Get Date & Time Value	Date Time
Get Numeric Value	Number
Get Decimal Value	Decimal
Get Short Text Input	Text
Get Detailed Text Input	Text Area
Get Value Matching the Pattern	Regular Expression

Selection Inputs

These blocks present predefined choices so users can select rather than type, ensuring consistency in the captured data.

Button Inputs
- These blocks allow users to respond by clicking buttons instead of typing, providing a quick and intuitive way to gather input.
- Get Choice via Yes/No: Displays fixed Yes and No buttons. This input can only be mapped to Boolean type chat fields.
- Get Choice via Buttons: Displays multiple buttons. This input supports mapping to various chat field types.
Drop-down Inputs
- These blocks provide dropdown menus for selecting one or more options.
- Get Choice via Drop-down: Displays a single-select dropdown that allows selecting one option.
- Get Choice via Multi-select: Displays a multi-select dropdown that allows selecting multiple options.

Basic configuration for input blocks

All user input blocks except Customer Details support the following shared configuration options:

Option	Use
Message	Prompt displayed to the customer.
Use Temporary Fields	When enabled, stores the response in a temporary field. Admin must provide a unique temporary field name.
API Field Name	Not applicable when Use Temporary Fields is enabled. Select from predefined Chat Fields associated with the workflow’s brand. The customer response will be assigned to this field.
Temporary Field Name	Not applicable when Use Temporary Fields is disabled. The customer response will be stored in this temporary field. Note: The created temporary field is scoped only within the workflow and its value is no longer available once the workflow ends.
Optional	Allows customers to skip the input without providing a response.
Mask for Agent	Masks customer input (e.g., `****`) in the agent view. Useful for sensitive data.

Note: Workflow blocks can only access chat fields that are mapped to the brand associated with the workflow. Refer to this article to learn how to configure and map a chat field to a brand.

Defining data for selection input blocks (buttons and drop-downs blocks)

When configuring Button or Drop-down input blocks, you must define the set of options that will be presented to users.

You can define each option by specifying:

Label: The text shown to the end user (e.g., button text or dropdown item).
Value: A unique internal identifier that must match a valid option defined for the selected Chat Field.

Load Options from API
A flexible way to load all predefined options configured for the selected API Field Name. After loading, these options can also be manually edited to fit specific needs.

Note:

Duplicate values are not allowed in options.

Load options from API is not applicable when Use Temporary Fields is enabled

Use API in drop-downs

It allows dynamic loading of options for the selected chat field by making an API call at runtime. This ensures that dropdown options are always up-to-date without manual configuration.

Note: Use API is not applicable when Use Temporary Fields is enabled. When Use API is enabled, you do not need to define options, as they will be fetched automatically during workflow execution.

Validations supported in input blocks

Validation Type	Block	Usage
Start & End	Get Date Value / Get Date & Time Value	Used to define the valid start and end range for date or datetime inputs.
Minimum & Maximum	Get Numeric Value / Get Decimal Value	Specifies the minimum and maximum allowed values for numeric inputs.
Minimum & Maximum	Get Choices via Multi-select	Defines the minimum and maximum number of options a user must or can select in a multi-select input.
Character Limit	Get Short Text Input / Get Detailed Text Input	Sets the maximum number of characters allowed in text-based inputs.
Regex	Get Value Matching the Pattern	Validates user input against a custom regular expression pattern—for example, to ensure specific formats like email, ID numbers, or codes.

Was this article useful?

Dislike

Comments (0)