Using and customizing external media files

This article applies to VIS 7.2 and higher

VXML Interaction Server (VIS) deployments may use customized sets of voice prompts instead of the standard voice files provided by the On-Premise Callback application. The custom voice prompts must be organized using a specific folder structure so that VIS correctly recognizes and plays the files.

A client's collection of voice files can reside on a media server separate from the VIS application server. This external voice project can be edited independently outside of Eclipse and then deployed to the server without building a new VXML project or .war file. This allows for quicker deployment and easier customization of the voice files.

Any number of media servers may be configured for the external voice projects. If multiple media servers are set up, they can be used either in a distributed (balanced) fashion or in a "failover" mode. This helps to ensure that voice files will still be played if a server stops responding.

Medallia provides a .zip file containing a set of voice files in the Download Center. Clients should download this folder first and deploy it to the media server(s). Clients who use customized voice files must create a new folder for each set of custom files. The new folders will also be deployed to the media server(s). This process now requires fewer steps than previous versions of VIS and can be performed outside of Eclipse.

The VXML Interaction Server will use the configuration details set up in the toolkit.properties file and the Language Settings section of EyeQueue. This configuration information tells VIS where to look for the voice files. When VIS needs to play a voice prompt, it will look for a customized voice file first and play that file if found. Otherwise, the default voice file is played.

Updating voice files

Use the following steps to upload custom voice files.

  1. Stage the voice files on any server as you copy and arrange them, then deploy the files to the media servers.
  2. Use the Voices_x.x.x.xxx.zip file as a starting point, or create a new parent folder to hold the voice files.
Important:
  • Directories mentioned in this guide assume you are starting with the voices folder.
  • When using VIS, do not copy Grammar directory, ContactNumber.grxml, ContactNumber.regex or recordtone.wav into a custommedia subfolder. These files must only exist within the Default prompt collections.

The parent voices folder must contain a subfolder for each language used. These folders must be named:

  • VHT_Arabic
  • VHT_Danish
  • VHT_Dutch
  • VHT_English
  • VHT_EUPortuguese
  • VHT_Finnish
  • VHT_FrenchCanadian
  • VHT_German
  • VHT_Greek
  • VHT_Hebrew
  • VHT_Japanese
  • VHT_Italian
  • VHT_Korean
  • VHT_MandarinChinese
  • VHT_Norwegian
  • VHT_Polish
  • VHT_Russian
  • VHT_SpanishNA
  • VHT_Swedish
  • VHT_Turkish

Available language depends on the VIS version. For specific details, refer to the On-Premise Compatibility and Integration Matrix for your version of On-Premise callback.

If you use the voices folder with no changes, you can skip the next section and continue with the deployment steps listed in the Deploying External Media Files section of the VIS Installation Guide for your specific version.

Creating custom voice prompts

Each language folder must contain a subfolder named Default, and optional extra subfolders containing custom files. VIS looks for a custom voice file first. If a custom file cannot be found, it will use the files from the Default folder.

The Default folder contains the standard set of voice prompts. We recommend making a copy of this folder with a different name such, as VHT_Defaults. This preserves the files in case you need to use them later for troubleshooting.

To set up custom prompts for VIS:

  1. Navigate to the voices folder. Open the subfolder for the first language. You will see a Default folder.
  2. Delete the contents of the Default folder (after backing them up) and copy the files for the first custom call script here.

  3. To set up a second call script, create a new folder at the same level as Default, and copy the custom prompts for the second call script into it.

  4. Repeat the previous step for any remaining call scripts.

  5. Make sure each subfolder under the first language contains an empty .library file (size 0 KB). If needed, copy the .library file from the Defaultfolder and paste it into the others. This file is used by VIS to help determine if there are Custom Media voice prompts to be used or if Default for the language should be used.

  6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each supported language.

  7. Deploy the voices folder and its contents to the media servers.

  8. Use the Configuration user interface in On-Premise Callback to configure the correct language and custom folder name.

The changes take effect immediately; no restart is needed.
Note:

The Default folder must also contain the following files:

  • .library
  • ContactNumber.grxml
  • ContactNumber.regex
  • recordtone.wav

The new folders only need to contain those files which differ from the default. However, you may choose to copy entire prompt sets into the new folders. This will make the copying process simpler, but will result in more .wav files being stored on the media server(s).

Any major variation (such as male/female voice or US English/British English) must contain the full prompt set in its folder. It must also include blank .wav files to replace any files that are present in the default set that should not be played. This is to avoid mixing genders or languages. Refer to the Sample Voice Project below.

Example Voice Project

The following example illustrates what the final result could look like.

An On-Premise Callback deployment has six call scripts in English: four in US English and two in British English. In this case, the voice project should be set up in \voices\VHT_English as follows:

  • The default set of US English prompts in the Default folder

  • Custom prompts only in US English in folders named VHTCallScript_2, VHTCallScript_3, and VHTCallScript_4

  • Full prompt sets in British English in "VHTCallScript_5" and "VHTCallScript_6"

If any prompt is missing from either 5 or 6, it will be played from "Default", which will be US English instead of British English.