Bot Ask Named Entities
The bot asks and recognizes named entities in the text provided by the user.
Starting from IBM RPA 23.0.3, support for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is removed from this command due to the removal of IVR. For more information, see Removed.
Command availability: IBM RPA SaaS and IBM RPA on premises
Script syntax
IBM RPA's proprietary script language has a syntax similar to other programming languages. The script syntax defines the command's syntax in the script file. You can work with this syntax in IBM RPA Studio's Script mode.
botAskNamedEntities --entities(NaturalLanguageEntities) [--retry(Boolean)] [--attempts(Numeric)] [--retrytext(String)] [--timeoutsub(String)] [--recognitionTimeout(TimeSpan)] [--speechCompleteTimeout(TimeSpan)] [--noInputTimeout(TimeSpan)] [--speechIncompleteTimeout(TimeSpan)] [--confidenceThreshold(Numeric)] [--beep(Boolean)] [--language(Language)] --text(String) [--textformat(String)] [--timeout(TimeSpan)] (String)=utterance (Boolean)=timedout (String)=botHistoryMessageId (List<String>)=values (String)=first (DataTable)=valuesmapping (Boolean)=success
Dependencies
- You must start a Chatbot or IVR instance by using the Connect to Chatbot (
botConnect) command. - This command must be in the Connect to Chatbot scope.
Input parameters
The following table displays the list of input parameters available in this command. In the table, you can see the parameter name when working in IBM RPA Studio's Script mode and its Designer mode equivalent label.
| Designer mode label | Script mode name | Required | Accepted variable types | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entity | entities |
Required |
NaturalLanguageEntities |
Named entity type to recognize. See the entitites parameter options for a list of available options. |
| Retry | retry |
Optional |
Boolean |
Enable to allow the bot to ask a new question if there is no answer on the first try. |
| Attempts | attempts |
Optional |
Number |
Number of times the question of the Alternative text parameter is repeated. |
| Alternative text | retrytext |
Optional |
Text |
Alternative question to ask the user if there is no answer on the first attempt. |
| Time out sub | timeoutsub |
Optional |
Text |
Subroutine that runs if user response time runs out. |
| Recognition timeout | recognitionTimeout |
Optional |
Time Span |
Timeout to acknowledge the user's response |
| Speech complete timeout | speechCompleteTimeout |
Optional |
Time Span |
Maximum time the bot awaits user speech since the last time it spoke. Starting from IBM RPA 23.0.3, this parameter is removed. |
| No input timeout | noInputTimeout |
Optional |
Time Span |
Maximum waiting time for the user to start the conversation. Starting from IBM RPA 23.0.3, this parameter is removed. |
| Speech incomplete timeout | speechIncompleteTimeout |
Optional |
Time Span |
Maximum amount of time to wait for the user to complete the speech. Starting from IBM RPA 23.0.3, this parameter is removed. |
| Confidence Threshold | confidenceThreshold |
Optional |
Number |
Numeric expression that indicates the confidence level for recognizing user response. Confidence rate is in the range 1 - 100. If the obtained value is lower than the specified range, it returns null. Starting from IBM RPA 23.0.3, this parameter is removed. |
| Beep | beep |
Optional |
Boolean |
Enable to play a beep each time that the bot speaks. Starting from IBM RPA 23.0.3, this parameter is removed. |
| Language | language |
Optional |
Language |
Language used for bot communication. Use the Create a Language (createLanguage) command to get the language variable. |
| Text | text |
Required |
Text |
First question to ask for the value of the named entity. |
| Text Format | textformat |
Optional |
Text, BotTextFormat |
Specifies the text format to send to the chat, either Plain Text or Markdown (default). |
| Timeout | timeout |
Optional |
Time Span, Number, Text |
Timeout for user response. |
entities parameter options
The following table displays the options available for the entities input parameter. The table shows the options available when working in Script mode and the equivalent label in the Designer mode.
| Designer mode label | Script mode name |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Abstract |
| All | All |
| ArtProd | ArtProd |
| Event | Event |
| None | None |
| Numeric | Numeric |
| Organization | Organization |
| Person | Person |
| Place | Place |
| Thing | Thing |
| Time | Time |
Output parameters
| Designer mode label | Script mode name | Accepted variable types | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utterance | utterance |
Text |
Returns the text provided by the user. |
| Timed out | timedout |
Boolean |
Returns True if the time has run out, otherwise returns False. |
| History Message | botHistoryMessageId |
Text |
Identifier for other commands to save their history along with the history of this command. This field returns the identity value of the saved history if one has been set on the Storage Adapter parameter from the Connect to Chatbot command. To use it, simply add this output to the command-specific input parameter of which the history you want to link to this command's history. |
| Values | values |
List<Text> |
List with values recognized in user text. |
| First | first |
Text |
First named entity value recognized in text. |
| Values mapping | valuesmapping |
Data Table |
Data table containing the mapping of values with: - The mapping code; - The position in which the named entity's text was identified; - The text length of the named entity; - The text of the named entity that has been recognized; - The type numbering of the named entity. |
| Success | success |
Boolean |
Returns True if the script runs successfully, otherwise returns False. |
Example
The entity named "Place" is used to recognize a place in user-entered text.
defVar --name language --type Language
defVar --name chatBot --type ChatData
defVar --name phraseInserted --type String
defVar --name recognizedEntities --type List --innertype String
defVar --name firstRecognizedEntity --type String
//
createLanguage --culture "enUS" language=value
botConnect --type "Chat" --language ${language} --autoanswer--timeout 00:05:00 chatBot=chat
botAskNamedEntities --entities "Organization" --retry--attempts 2 --retrytext "Sorry, I do not understand. Where do you work?" --beep--text "Hi! Where do you work?" --timeout 00:05:00 phraseInserted=utterance recognizedEntities=values firstRecognizedEntity=first
logMessage --message "First recognized value: ${firstRecognizedEntity}\r\nStatement: ${phraseInserted}\r\nAcknowledged Values: ${recognizedEntities}" --type "Info"
botDisconnect
Limitations
-
Values entered as full text are not converted to a number format.
-
If the amount of time specified in the Recognition timeout, No input timeout, Speech complete timeout, Speech incomplete timeout, and Timeout parameters runs out, the interaction is forwarded to the subroutine specified in the Time out sub parameter.
-
The Recognition timeout, No input timeout, Speech complete timeout, Speech incomplete timeout, and Beep parameters are specific for IVR.
-
If no value is defined for the timeout parameters, the default timeout is 5 seconds. You can change the default timeout by using the Set Timeout (
setTimeout) command.