Text Block: Capture Text Input

What is a text block?

Text block lets you ask questions and receive answers in the form of a text. If the user wants to give a gist about a specific problem or positive feedback after using the product, incorporating a text block is an ideal method to capture their input. This block ensures that the user's input is validated as text.

Why use the text block?

Using text blocks, you can obtain the user's name at the beginning of a conversation. Later, you can incorporate that name into subsequent blocks using a variable placeholder.

Steps to create a text block

Learn how to create a flow here.

1. To add the Text block to the flow, click on the add block icon (+)

2. Choose Text under the Question Cards section.

If you try to close the block listing without saving the text block, all the unsaved changes will be lost permanently.

If you enter the name of an existing block for another block, the below error will be displayed.

3. Add a unique name for your block in the Block Name field.

4. Input variable will auto-populate according to the added block name. You can change this, if needed.

5. Adjust the existing Validation Error Message to fit the context of your text block.

6. Click on the Preview block option to see how the block would be displayed to the user.

7. If you are satisfied with the output, click Save.

If this block is not mandatory for your user to answer, toggle the option to Skip Block on. This option is not available for flows of WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger channels.
If you want to keep this block as the end of your conversational flow, toggle the End block option on.

Character limit for the input is 1000.

Editing the text block

You can edit a text block whenever required, even after the flow is published or in the drafts section, by following these steps:

1. Open the flow and click Edit.

2. Click the Text Block, which you may have named differently.

3. Select Edit Block from the options.

4. Make the required changes to the block and Save.

5. Click Save.

6. Publish the flow.

If you edit a block while an end user is engaged in a live session with the bot, the previous version of the flow will be rendered until they restart the conversation.
After making changes, it is necessary to republish the flow for those changes to be reflected in an end user's session.
If a change is made to an input variable, it will be automatically updated across all flows where the variable is used.

Copy a text block

The Copy Block option can be used when you need to reuse a block that you previously created. You can copy that block and add it to your flow as it is, or edit it as necessary.

1. Click the Text Block block you require to copy.

2. Choose the Copy Block option. The block will be pasted on the clipboard.
3. When you require to paste that block, click on the Add block icon (+).

The pasted block would appear in the block listing section and be stated as From Clipboard.

4. Edit the block if required, or click on Paste directly.

The copied audio block can be pasted multiple times. If you no longer need to paste it, you can clear the clipboard by clicking on the close icon corresponding to the clipboard option.
When copying an existing audio block, all of its content, including variables, if any, will be copied as is. You can edit it as required before adding it to the flow. Since the names of each block must be unique, the word '_copy' will be added to the copied blocks automatically; this can be changed if required.
If you have copied a block and it is in the clipboard, deleting the copied block later will also remove it from the clipboard.

Deleting the text block

1. Open the flow and click Edit.

2. Click the Text Block, which you may have named differently.

3. Select Delete Block from the options.

4. Confirm deleting the selected block by clicking Yes, Delete it.

In this case, the text block input has been used as a variable in the next block, which is why this error is displayed alongside the confirm to delete alert message.

You can immediately use the undo option to restore a deleted block as your following action, but not otherwise.

5. Click Save.

6. Publish the flow.

If you delete a block while an end user is engaged in a live session with the bot, the previous version of the flow will be rendered until they restart the conversation.
After making changes, it is necessary to republish the flow for those changes to be reflected in an end user's session.

If the deleted block has dependencies, such as given below, errors will be displayed.

Path below the block:

If the deleted block was used to jump to a different flow:

Validations

Field	Mandatory field	Character limit & Storage	Additional details
Question field	No	10000	Styling and media based on channel; Malicious scripts are sanitised
Block name	Yes	100	<, >, ", ' , are not allowed
Variable name	Yes	Max 250, can input upto 260	Only a-z, A-Z, 0-9, , @, ., {}, () allowed; no special characters except underscore (_)
Validation error message	No	1000	Malicious scripts are sanitised

Use Case:
A customer from an online store received their order but encountered an issue. They promptly visited the website and initiated a conversation with the bot.
The bot requested the order ID for identification. After providing the order ID, the customer proceeded to the next step to return the order.

Examples of the text blocks in a flow

Requesting order details

Collect specific order information to help the bot or support team identify the order.

Text block prompt: Please provide your order ID.

Input given in the builder:

GC widget's output:

After the user sends a response and submits the order ID:

Best practices

Ensure the text box has a clear purpose, like collecting issue details, feedback, or comments.

Use concise prompts to guide users. For example, "Please describe the issue in detail."

Acknowledge user input with feedback. For example, "Thank you for the details. We will proceed with your request."

If the text box is being used to receive sensitive information, mention that their input is private and secure.

Regularly solicit feedback from users about their experience with the calendar block and make improvements based on their suggestions.

Supported channels

The text block is supported in the following channels:

A total of 500 blocks can be added in a flow. If you reach that count, you can use the jump block to create a new flow or delete unnecessary flows.

Question card - Working with a Text block