How Should Interruptible Actions Be Used?

Interruptible Actions are useful for allowing callers to enter their input, typically during a Play Sound action, before the action has completed.

If a caller sends input during an Uninterruptible Action, it will be ignored. Flow control and the order of actions should be kept in mind when using Interruptible Actions to ensure that input is captured properly.

The following rules apply to all interruptions within Switchvox IVRs:

1. If an action is not interruptible, all keys pressed before or during that action are dropped.

2. If the caller pressed keys during previous Interruptible Actions, those keys are lost.

3. If an action is interruptible, the caller can press any key to interrupt, and the IVR remembers that one key.

4. If multiple subsequent actions are interruptible, the IVR remembers each key that was pressed to interrupt each action.

5. When an IVR has collected one or more keys through a series of Interruptible Actions, it uses those keys (in the order they were pressed), in the following manner:

   1. If there is an upcoming Record Digits action, with no Uninterruptible Action in the way, the keys are reserved for the Record Digits action. They will not be used to dial an extension or to select an option.

   2. If Enable Extension Dialing is on, and the first key pressed matches an extension number, Switchvox pauses for 3 seconds to see if the caller will press a second key. If a second key is pressed and a valid extension is dialed, the call is transferred. However, if two or more keys are pressed that do not match a valid extension, then the key press is considered an Invalid Option (see IVR Options).

   3. If Enable Extension Dialing is not on, or the caller presses a key that does not match an extension, or the caller does not press a second key within 3 seconds, the option that matches that key is selected and the caller is sent to that option’s IVR menu.