Working with the Text Tray

This chapter provides an overview of the text tray and discusses how to:

Set up and administer quick keys.
Work with the text tray.

Understanding the Text Tray

This section discusses:

Text tray functionality.
Text tray entries.
Public and private quick keys.
Quick key categories.
Static and dynamic text tray entries.
Security.

Text Tray Functionality

The text tray enables users to complete forms, emails, and chat sessions without entering repetitive data. The text tray is a home for boilerplate text that users can insert into specific fields. Standardized phrasing ensures quality and consistency in data entry, and the use of quick keys as data entry shortcuts maximizes efficiency.

This table lists the applications and fields from which you can invoke text tray entries:

Application	Text Tray Fields
PeopleSoft Support, PeopleSoft HelpDesk, and PeopleSoft HelpDesk for Human Resources	The Problem field for a case. The Note Details field for a case.
PeopleSoft Multichannel Communications	The message field in an email reply for the email response management system (ERMS). The chat window.

Text Tray Entries

Each entry in the text tray has two parts: the full text that is to be inserted into the field and a short code that a user can type in place of the full text. This short code is called a quick key.

When users memorize quick keys, they can type a quick key directly into the field where the boilerplate text belongs and then use the Alt+M hot key to make the system substitute the full boilerplate text. A designated symbol (as delivered, the symbol is #) indicates the start of a quick key; this ensures that the system does not replace words that coincidentally appear in a text tray-enabled field but are not intended as quick keys. For example, if “hello” is a quick key for a standard greeting, the standard greeting will replace only the text #hello, not the unprefixed word “hello.”

Note. You can re-configure the Alt+M hot key to use a different letter. PeopleSoft delivers other hot keys for other purposes; so if you change Alt+M, make sure it doesn't conflict with other hot keys that are already set up in the system.

Alternatively, users who do not remember the quick keys and hot keys to use can click a toolbar button (or use a hot key) to display the text tray page in a new window. The text tray lists the available quick keys and the first few words of the associated boilerplate text. Moving the cursor over the quick key link displays the full text as a tool tip. Clicking a quick key places the associated text at the end of the text tray-enabled field (not at the cursor location).

Note. A hot key is different from a quick key. A quick key is a keyboard shortcut that represents a longer block of text. A hot key is a keyboard shortcut that represents an action. On all pages that support the text tray, the Alt+T hot key opens the text tray window and the Alt+M hot key invokes the merge engine that replaces the quick key with the text that it represents. Users must also click Enter after pressing a hot key. This is a standard behavior for all toolbar buttons that are accessed using hot keys.

Public and Private Quick Keys

Administrators can create public quick keys that are available to any user with security access to the text tray. To keep individual text trays manageable, the only public quick keys that appear in a user's text tray are those that the user has explicitly added. Administrators should notify users when new public quick keys are available.

Users can also create private quick keys for their own use. Although a user's text tray might include a private quick key and a public quick key with the same name, the public quick key takes precedence, and therefore the private quick key is effectively invalid until the user gives it a unique name. Users receive a warning message when they personalize their text trays in a way that creates this conflict, regardless of whether the private or public quick key was in the text tray first. Administrators do not receive error messages when they create public quick keys that duplicate existing private quick keys.

Quick Key Categories

Administrators create categories for text tray entries; these categories help to keep the list of entries manageable. Administrators can filter by category when they review existing public keys, and users can filter by category when they review the public quick keys that are available to add to their individual text trays.

The categories also appear in the text tray window to help users choose quick keys that are appropriate to the current context.

PeopleSoft delivers a category called Personal that is automatically assigned to all private text tray entries. PeopleSoft delivers the Personal category as system data.

Note. You can change the description of the category, but you should not change the PERS category code, as it is referenced in the application's PeopleCode. You should also not delete this category code either, as it will cause errors in the functionality of the application.

Static and Dynamic Text Tray Entries

Public text tray entries can be static text, or they can include tokens that will be dynamically resolved when the entry is used. For example, if your organization experiences the same problems on a consistent basis, you might create a text tray entry such as “{customer} is experiencing a service outage.” In this example, the text in brackets is the token. The system substitutes the customer's name when the full text is applied.

Variables in a dynamic text tray entry are terms that you create using the Active Analytics Framework (AAF). Because end users are not expected to have the access or the training to work with AAF terms, private text tray entries do not support dynamic text.

At run time, the system checks the dynamic quick keys that are in the user's personal text tray. If dynamic quick keys are present, the system determines whether it can resolve the AAF terms in the current context.

If the system cannot resolve the AAF term in the current context, it does not display that dynamic quick key in text tray. For example, a user might have a dynamic quick key that uses terms from the case context and some static quick keys. The user navigates to the Email component. On the Email page, the system does not display the quick keys that use the terms having the case context. It only displays the static quick keys. The unresolved term in the boilerplate text does not appear.

PeopleSoft does not support dynamic quick keys for Chat. Chat uses HTML and cannot use PeopleCode to resolve AAF terms. Dynamic quick keys are not limited to Case, however. You can use dynamic quick keys for Inbound Email and Outbound Email components.

PeopleSoft does not deliver AAF contexts for Inbound and Outbound Email; therefore, these contexts do not appear in contexts drop-down list boxes. You can, however, create AAF contexts for your email components and use dynamic quick keys for your email.

Security

Users are given access to text tray functionality through the delivered permission list CRRB1810. Users with roles that have that permission list can access all end-user text-tray functionality: they can access all public quick keys and can create private quick keys. Administrators can not secure individual public quick keys.

When users who do not have text tray permissions access a text tray-enabled page, the text tray toolbar button and the text tray hot key are not available. The hot key for merging is not specifically disabled, but as long as the user has never had access to the text tray, no quick keys will be available for merging.

Setting Up and Administering Quick Keys

To set up and administer quick keys, use the Category (RB_TT_CATEGORY) and Public Quick Keys (RB_TT_QKEYS) components.

This section lists a prerequisite and discusses how to:

Create quick key categories.
Administer system settings and public quick keys.
Map term aliases to terms for dynamic quick keys.

Prerequisite

To create a dynamic text tray entry (one that incorporates a variable that gets resolved when applied), you must first create the variable as a term in the Active Analytics Framework.

See Working with Active Analytics Framework.

Pages Used to Set Up and Administer Quick Keys

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Category	RB_TT_CATEGORY	Set Up CRM, Common Definitions, Text Tray, Category, Category	Create and manage categories for text tray entries.
Public Quick Keys	RB_TT_QKEYS	Set Up CRM, Common Definitions, Text Tray, Public Quick Keys, Public Quick Keys	Define system-level settings for text trays and manage public quick keys.
Text Tray - Select Context	RB_TT_SELECT_TERM	Click the Get Term button in the Term Aliases to Term Mapping grid on the Public Quick Keys page. This grid appears only if the Quick Key Text field includes tokens and you have clicked the Extract Term Aliases button.	Map term aliases to terms for dynamic quick keys.

Creating Quick Key Categories

Access the Category page.

Category Description

Category descriptions appear with each entry in a user's text tray and as a value in the Filter by Category drop-down list box on the pages for creating public quick keys and for selecting public quick keys to add to an individual text tray.

Note. PeopleSoft delivers a category called Personal that is automatically assigned to all private text tray entries.

Administering System Settings and Public Quick Keys

Access the Public Quick Keys page.

General Options

Quick Key Indicator

Enter one of these symbols to indicate the beginning of a quick key: # (the delivered value), ##, or @.

Users include this symbol at the beginning of a quick key word when they type quick keys directly into a field. Because quick key words might appear coincidentally in the field, the use of this symbol enables the system to distinguish when the word is intended as a quick key.

To indicate the end of the quick key, use one of these characters: space, carriage return, question mark. semicolon, exclamation point, or comma.

Merge Key and Undo Key

Enter a single character that, when used with the Alt key, will be the hot key to trigger a text tray-specific action.

The Merge Key triggers the replacement of a quick key with the static or dynamic text that it represents. The delivered value is M.

The Undo Key reverses a merge. This is not an all-purpose undo key for data entry. The delivered value is J.

Note. Use the Undo key to reverse or delete the last text that you entered using a quick key. If you used quick keys three times to merge information into the Case Notes field, the Undo key will only undo the last of the three, not all three.

The other text tray-related hot key is Alt-T. This is associated with the Text Tray toolbar button and is configured through the configurable toolbar definition.

See Configuring Toolbars.

Important! The components that support the text tray already have hot keys for component-specific toolbar buttons and for navigation within the component. You should use text tray hot keys that are not already in use in those components, and PeopleSoft recommends using the delivered values.

Text Tray Items

Filter by Category	Select a quick key category to make the Text Tray Items grid display only quick keys in the selected category, or select All to display all public quick keys. The descriptions of all text tray categories that you create appear in the drop-down list box, but the delivered Private category does not appear because private quick keys never appear on this page.
Text Tray Items	This grid lists the public quick keys that meet the filter criteria. The value in the Quick Key column includes the prefix that you selected as the quick key indicator and is a link that you can click to view the details for the quick key. The value in the Quick Key Text column will be truncated if the text is too long to display; the full text is visible only in the quick key details. Use the check box at the left of the row to select text tray items for deletion.
Add Quick Key	Click to display a blank form in the Quick Key Details group box, and then use the blank form to enter information for a new quick key.
Delete	Click to delete the text tray items that you selected in the Text Tray Items grid.

Quick Key Details

Category	Select a category for the quick key. You can select any category that you create, but not the Private category, which is reserved for private quick keys.
Quick Key	Enter the quick key that represents the text tray entry. The read-only text next to the entry field shows the quick key prefixed with the indicator symbol. Note. Spaces are not allowed within a quick key since they are used to identify the end of a quick key.
Quick Key Text	Enter the full text for the text tray entry. You can enter static text or you can include tokens that will be dynamically resolved at runtime. To create a token, place curly brackets around a word that represents the token. For example, in the text I am contacting you regarding {Case_ID}, the text Case_ID is treated as a token. You can use this token multiple times in this text tray entry, but token definitions are not shared between text tray entries. You cannot use these symbols in the Quick Key Text field: carets (^) tildes (~) quote marks (“ ”) periods (.) exclamation points (!) question marks (?) hyphens (-) backward and forward slashes (\ /) less than or greater than symbols (< >) dollar signs ($) asterisks (*) at symbols (@) curly brackets ({ }) straight brackets ([ ]) parentheses () pound symbols (#) commas (,) semicolons (;) colons (:) This also applies to token text. The system prevents users from entering these characters by displaying an error message.
Extract Term Aliases	If you have added or removed tokens in your quick key text, click this button to display the Term Aliases to Term Mapping grid with a current list of the tokens for this quick key entry.

Term Aliases to Term Mapping and Term Configuration

Term Alias	When you click the Extract Term Aliases button, the system populates this column with one entry for each token in the quick key text.
Term Name	If you have already selected the term that is used to resolve the token at runtime, the term name appears here. If this column is blank, you need to click the Get Term button to select a term.
	Click the Get Term button to access the Text Tray - Select Context page, where you select the term that is used to resolve the token.

Configure Term and Enter Configuration Values

Sometimes terms require additional configuration. For example, to configure the delivered term Current Date Plus <n> Days, you need to specify the number of days to add to the current date. When a term requires additional configuration, use these fields to complete the configuration.

Display	Displays the term name, but substitutes the values that you enter for any variables in the term name.
Enter Configuration Values	This grid lists any parameters that you need to define and provides data entry fields where you assign a value to each parameter. Click the Done button to save the values that you enter.

Mapping Term Aliases to Terms for Dynamic Quick Keys

Access the Text Tray - Select Context page.

Context

Select Case as the context of the term to use. Case is the only text tray-enabled context that supports AAF terms.

After you select Case, the term selection interface appears on the page. This is the standard term selection interface that is described in the AAF documentation.

Working with the Text Tray

To work with the text tray, use the Personal Quick Keys (RB_TT_PERSONAL) component.

This section lists a prerequisite and discusses how to:

Manage text tray contents.
Use the text tray.
Apply text tray entries without opening the text tray.

Prerequisite

To give a user access to a text tray, give the user a role that has the CRRB1810 permission list.

Pages Used to Work with the Text Tray

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Text Tray	Not applicable	Click the Text Tray toolbar button on a text tray-enabled page. The delivered hot key for the Text Tray toolbar button is Alt-T. You must then press Enter.	Review available quick keys and select a quick key to use.
Personal Quick Keys	RB_TT_PERSONAL	Click the Personalize Quick Key link in the Text Tray window. CRM User Preferences, Personal Quick Key, Personal Quick Keys	Create personal quick keys and add public quick keys to a personal text tray.

Managing Text Tray Contents

Access the Personal Quick Keys page.

Text Tray Items

Filter by Category	Select a quick key category to make the Text Tray Items grid display only quick keys in the selected category, or select All to display all quick keys (both public and private).
Text Tray Items	This grid lists the quick keys that are already in the user's personal text tray. The value in the Quick Key column includes quick key indicator prefix and is a link that you can click to view the details for the quick key. The value in the Quick Key Text column will be truncated if the text is too long to display; the full text is visible only in the quick key details. Click the trash can icon at the right end of the row to remove items from the text tray. Public quick keys that you remove can be added back later, but private quick keys that you remove are permanently deleted.
Add Personal Quick Key	Click to display a blank form in the Quick Key Details group box, and then use the blank form to enter information for a new private quick key.
Select Public Quick Keys	Click to display the Select Quick Keys group box, where you can view public quick keys and add them to your personal text tray.

Quick Key Details

Quick Key and Quick Key Text

To create or modify a private quick key, enter a quick key and the corresponding text, and then click the Save button to hide the Quick Key Details group box and add the new quick key to the Text Tray Items grid. All quick keys that you create here are assigned to the delivered Personal category.

These fields are not editable when they display details about a public quick key.

Select Quick Keys

This group box appears after the user clicks the Select Public Quick Keys button.

Filter By Category

Select All to see all public keys, or select a specific category of quick keys to review. All categories except Personal are available for selection.

Quick Key, Quick Key Text, and Category

Review the quick keys that meet the filtering criteria. The list includes all quick keys in the selected category, regardless of whether they have already been added to the personal text tray.

Select the check box to the left of a quick key to mark the quick key for inclusion in your personal text tray.

Add Quick Key

Click to add the selected public quick keys to the personal text tray. The Select Quick Keys group box disappears and the list of text tray items is updated.

Using the Text Tray

Access the Text Tray page.

Quick Keys

This column shows the quick keys that are in your personal text tray. Click the quick key to add the full quick key text at the end of the text tray-enabled field on the page from which you accessed the text tray. The system places the text at the end of the text tray-enabled field on the page; it does not recognize the cursor position.

Quick Key Text

If the quick key text is truncated due to length, place the cursor over the link in the Quick Keys column to make the full text appear in a pop-up tool tip.

Applying Text Tray Entries Without Opening the Text Tray

You do not need to open the Text Tray window whenever you want to apply a text tray entry. You can use memorized quick keys and hot keys instead.

To apply text tray entries without opening the text tray:

Access a text tray-enabled page.
Enter data in the text tray-enabled field, using the quick key as a shortcut for the full boilerplate text.

You can mix-and-match static text with the quick key. Include the quick key indicator before the quick key to identify it as a quick key rather than a coincidental use of the word.
Press Alt-M to trigger the merge command, which replaces the quick key with the full replacement text.

To undo the replacement, press Alt-J.

Note. The Undo key only reverses or deletes the last boilerplate text that was merged into the field. The system can enable only one field for Text Tray entries on any given page. To invoke the Text Tray popup window from the toolbar, press Alt-T + Enter.

Quick Keys	This column shows the quick keys that are in your personal text tray. Click the quick key to add the full quick key text at the end of the text tray-enabled field on the page from which you accessed the text tray. The system places the text at the end of the text tray-enabled field on the page; it does not recognize the cursor position.
Quick Key Text	If the quick key text is truncated due to length, place the cursor over the link in the Quick Keys column to make the full text appear in a pop-up tool tip.