Value of a field in a conversation

A conversation can hold one value for each field. The shape of the value follows the kind of the field:

• choice: one option;
• list: several options of the field;
• number: a number;
• yes or no: yes or no;
• short text: up to 200 characters.

A value that does not fit the field is refused, and a removed field takes no new values.

Where the values are seen

• In a conversation, under About the conversation. Each value shows who set it and when: "online admin", "{name} via the assistant", "{name} via a program" or the person's name. The block also names the version of the chat steps that was in force ("Chat steps — the version of {date}").
• In the list of conversations, as filters and counts.
• In the CSV export, as columns (see Exporting conversations).

Who sets a value

A person on the web (Correct in About the conversation), the assistant at a person's request, a program connected with a person's key, and the online admin while it follows the script. Setting the same value again changes nothing. A button the client pressed does not set the value by itself: the online admin reads the answer and writes it. Setting values is a right at the branch level, and a role limited to its own conversations sets them in those it is responsible for.

A person's value wins

A value that a person set or cleared is not overwritten by the online admin. If the online admin tries to change such a value, its whole call is refused, and the conversation shows the value as it was: "A person set this field in the chat, so the online admin leaves it as it is." Only a person clears a value, and a cleared value shows as "cleared · name · when".

If the client later says something different, the new words stay in the conversation and the field does not change. After saving a correction, Talemo says that the online admin leaves what was set as it is.

Counts and filters in Messages

Field in the filter bar of Messages ("Filter by field") narrows the list by a field:

• options of one field are combined with "or", and different fields with "and";
• Filled in finds conversations with any value, and Not answered finds those without one, including values a person cleared;
• for a yes or no field the options are yes and no, and for a number or short text only filled in and not answered are offered.

The pop-up shows how many conversations chose each option under the other filters. In the table of fields, Filled in counts the chats where the field has a value. Both numbers count only the conversations that this person sees in the list: a role that sees only its own conversations counts its own, and Spam is counted only for roles that can see that category.

The ad is a separate column

Messages also has an Ad filter and column. It is set from the first message of a conversation that came from an Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp ad, nobody fills it in by hand, and the online admin does not see it.

Tools and refusals

• talemo_list_conversation_fields names the fields and their options; talemo_set_conversation_fields sets or corrects the values of one conversation by key: conversation_id and values. The same value changes nothing.
• A value that does not fit the field is refused with conversation_field.value_invalid, a removed field with conversation_field.retired, and an unknown key with record.reference_missing, where params.field names it.
• A value a person set or cleared is the person's: the online admin does not change it, and its whole call is refused with conversation.field_by_person. Only a person clears a value. When the client later says something different, the new words stay in the conversation and the field does not change.
• talemo_list_conversations finds conversations by field values and by the ad they began with, and counts the options of a field. Options of one field combine with "or", different fields with "and"; Filled in and Not answered are two more choices. talemo_get_conversation shows each value with who set it, when, and by which run.