When a speech project is created, Dialog Designer automatically creates the AppRoot node as the initial node of the call flow. This node is the starting point for all call flows and is the one node that cannot be renamed or deleted.
The AppRoot node also provides the capability for setting global capabilities for the speech project. That is, use the AppRoot node to set event handlers that the system recognizes and responds to, no matter where the caller is in the call flow.
Some examples of the types of parameters and capabilities that can be set in the AppRoot node include:
- You might want the system to perform some type of "cleanup" at the end of each call, irrespective of where, when, or how the call is terminated. You can use a call disconnect event handler in the AppRoot node. It redirects the application to a form set up to record data about the call. This data can include how the call was terminated, whether by the caller or the system, and where the caller was in the call flow when the call was terminated.
- You can determine how the system functions whenever a caller does not respond as expected, either by not responding at all or by responding with something that does not match what is expected. You can also assign the system a generic prompt to play to callers when an error situation occurs.
- You might want to provide a set of caller commands to which the system can respond regardless of where the caller is in the call flow. For instance, you might want to provide access to general help information from anywhere or allow the caller to cancel transactions.
- You can set a variety of properties, such as timeouts and speech recognition confidence settings, that are then applied system-wide.
The options and parameters that can be set in the AppRoot node are available from the options palette and belong to one of two basic types:
- AppRoot Node Application Items - These include the parameters and options other than the event handlers that control how an application responds on a global level.
- AppRoot Node Event Handlers - These include the options that determine how the application handles any exceptions that are not defined within a specific node or field.
