This is the second post in our “tips and tricks” series, and this time we’re taking a look at dialog flow options and new capabilities added with VoiceObjects 7.4.

If you have already worked with the Voxeo VoiceObjects tools you know that application dialog flows are presented in a self-organizing tree format, like this:

You read the flow from top to bottom, and at any point you can “drill down” to explore more details. In the  example shown above, you could expand the sub-sequence “Check applicable rebates” to examine its dialog interaction. Or, if you do not really care about that part of the application for the time being, you can leave it collapsed and have it out of the way while you work elsewhere.

By default, the dialog flow shows the “main path” through the application. In addition there are a variety of options that show more information and enable other ways of interacting with the dialog flow. To activate these options, right-click anywhere within the whitespace of a dialog flow editor:

Alternatively, you can access the options by clicking on the Dialog Options button in the menu bar:

Either way will get you to the Display Options window:

By default, only Show comment icons is selected. It alerts you to comments defined on objects by showing a text bubble icon to the right of the object name. The comment itself can be seen in the object’s tool tip. It is often used by designers to explain certain assumptions made in the object, or certain restrictions it exhibits.

Show Output items enables the separate display of each item within an Output object, as well as embedded outputs within other objects such as Modules, Menus, Inputs, etc.

Show pre-/postprocessing enables the display of pre- and postprocessing for all objects that have it. For Module objects, it additionally shows Dialog End Processing.

Enable validation automatically validates the dialog flow to indicate broken or insufficiently configured objects such as Inputs without grammars. Broken objects are marked in the dialog flow by a red name display.

Normally, the modified display option settings are only applied to the current dialog flow editor. By selecting Use as default for new worksheets you can set them as the new default for the current as well as all newly opened dialog flow editors.

But display options do more than just change the look of the dialog flow. They also offer additional ways of manipulating the dialog flow, always specifically adjusted to what you’re looking at. When displaying pre- and postprocessing, the respective embedded sequences can be manipulated in the dialog flow by simply dragging objects into them. Additionally, pre- or postprocessing can be set directly by dragging a Sequence object onto e.g. a Module object and selecting the respective command from the pop-up menu:

Likewise when displaying output items, embedded outputs e.g. in a Menu can be set by just dragging an Output object onto the Menu and selecting the desired target:

The dialog flow display options are one of the ways in which users can customize the Voxeo VoiceObjects tools to suit their own preferences and working styles. Stay tuned, there’s more to come in future posts of our “tips and tricks” series. And as always, let us know what you think and how we can make you even more productive in building outstanding phone applications.

VoiceObjects Developer Edition offers lots of little features that may go unnoticed with casual users. In a series of blog entries, we want to point them out to you so you can get the most out of your work with the Voxeo VoiceObjects tools.

As a start, we pick a fun feature appropriate for the weekend: editor themes. VoiceObjects Developer Edition offers five of them, which can be selected in the Advanced section of the Preferences:

The default theme is Arctic Blue, a suave mix of cool blues and sand tones that feel right at home within the Eclipse framework:

Lovers of understatement may prefer Slate, a monochromatic blend of solemn grays:

More outgoing users will enjoy Neon, a no-holds-barred theme of greens and yellows that is sure to get your attention as well as that of your office neighbors:

If you have been using the VoiceObjects tools for some time you may enjoy Classic, a theme that is reminiscent of the VoiceObjects Desktop for Web look:

Finally, the Canyon theme is our reverence to the rugged reddish beauty of the American West:

Pick the theme that fits your style or mood – add a bit of additional fun to building great phone applications in the Voxeo VoiceObjects tools. And by all means let us know which one is your favorite, and which other themes you would love to see in future versions!

What are you doing on April 21, 2009, at 8am PDT/11am EDT/5pm CET ? Would you like to join a web seminar where you will learn all about what is new in Prophecy 9 and VoiceObjects 9?

If so, please head over to our Developer Jam Sessions page and sign up for the April session. I (Dan York) will be speaking first about all the new capabilities in Prophecy 9 including a new simple dashboard to quickly see how your applications are performing, a new rich graphical management console, new deep log analysis tools and increased SIP capabilities . Stefan Besling will follow me speaking about Voice Objects 9’s new event handling features and deeper integration with Prophecy and Prophecy Hosting, as well as a variety of new infrastructure capabilities. At the end there will be plenty of time for any questions you may have about either Prophecy 9 or VoiceObjects 9. Please do plan to join us!

P.S. If you can’t join us on April 21st, the presentation will be archived on the Developer Jam Sessions page

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