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Managing global custom and system variables

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Zoom Contact Center admins can create global custom variables to pass data between flows. For example, if your flow asks for a language input language, you can store the selection in a custom variable and pass this to another flow. You can also view system variables, which are the default variables that can be used to pass data between flows.

This article covers:

Prerequisites for changing account-level settings

  • Account owner or admin privileges; or relevant role/privilege
  • Pro, Business, or Education account
  • Zoom Contact Center license

How to view system and custom variables

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Preferences.
  3. Click the Variables tab.
  4. In the left-side panel under Custom Variable Groups, select the variable group to view the associated variables.
  5. Click the gear icon and select the table columns to display.
    You will see the following information:
    • Variable Name: The variable's internal display name.
    • Default Value: The variable's default value if one is set. If you see an ellipses (...), it means a default value is not defined.
    • Group Type: The variable type. Displays Custom for custom variable, or System for system variables.
    • Data Type: The variable's data type; for example, String or Boolean.
    • Description: The variable's internal description.
    • Data Masked: Displays if the setting to mask the variable's data is enabled.
    • Value: The variable's current value.
    • Used in: Displays the number of address books that the variable is used in. Click the link to view the address book name, unit, and number of contacts. Learn more about address book variables.

How to create a custom variable group

Before creating a custom variable, you need to create a custom variable group to organize the custom variables.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Preferences.
  3. Click the Variables tab.
  4. In the left-side panel, click Add Custom Group.
  5. Enter the following information:
    • Group Name: Enter an internal display name to help identify the custom variable group.
    • Description (Optional): Enter a description for the custom variable group.
  6. Click Add.
  7. Follow the next section to create custom variable in the group.

How to create a custom variable

After creating a custom variable group, you can create a custom variable that belongs to the group.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Preferences.
  3. Click the Variables tab.
  4. In the left-side panel under Custom Variable Groups, select the custom variable group to create the custom variable in.
  5. Click Add Variable.
  6. Change the custom variable's settings.

How to edit or delete a custom variable group

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Preferences.
  3. Click the Variables tab.
  4. In the left-side panel under Custom Variable Groups, hover over the group you want to edit.
  5. Click the ellipses icon , then click one of these options:
    • Edit: Change the group's name or description.
    • Delete: Delete the custom variable group, including all custom variables in the group.

How to edit or delete a custom variable

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Preferences.
  3. Click the Variables tab.
  4. In the left-side panel under Custom Variable Groups, select the custom variable group that the custom variable belongs to.
  5. In the last column, click the ellipses icon , then click one of these options:

Custom variable settings

You can change these settings when editing a custom global or address book variable.

  • Variable Name: Enter an internal display name to help identify the custom variable.
  • Description (Optional): Enter a description for the custom variable.
  • Variable Type: Select one of the following.
    • Global Variable: Set the variable as a global custom variable so you can use it in any flow.
    • Address Book Variable: Set the variable as an address book variable. 
  • Conditions (if the Variable Type is Global Variable)
    • Use in reporting: Select this check box if you want the variable to appear in the variables log.
    • Mask variable data (for sensitive information): Select his check box to mask the variable's data in the flow editor.
      Note: This option is only available for data types that can contains sensitive information; for example, the Email or Phone, E.164 data types.
    • Values used as routing profile parameters: Allow the variable to be used as a consumer routing attribute.
    • Show in the Contact Center desktop client: Display the variable  name and value in the Zoom desktop client. Select the following options to specify where to display the variable. To bulk apply this to several variables, go back to the list of custom variables, select the check boxes beside Variable Name, then click Show in the client.
      • Show in the Profile section: Display the variable name and value in the Profile tab.
      • Show in the Engagement section: Display the variable name and value in the Engagement tab.
      • Show in inbound call notifications: Display the variable name and value in the inbound notification.
  • Conditions (if the Variable Type is Address Book Variable)
    • Values used as routing profile parameters: Allow the variable to be used as a consumer routing attribute.
    • Show in the Contact Center desktop client in the selected address book: If you've configured an address book variable, the variable will display in the Profile tab of the Zoom desktop client. This option is enabled by default and can't be changed.
      • Show in the Profile section: Display the variable name and value in the Profile tab. This option is enabled by default and can't be changed.
      • Show in the Engagement section: Display the variable name and value in the Engagement tab.
      • Show in inbound call notifications: Display the variable name and value in the inbound notification.
  • Data Type: Select a data type for the custom variable.
    • String: A set of characters.
    • Boolean: Two values, true or false.
  • Default Value: Select one of the following options.
    • Undefined: The custom variables doesn't have a default value.
    • Default Value: Specify a default value for the custom variable. The value must be in the required format for the data type.
      Note: If the data type is Phone, E.164, the phone number must be in E.164 format, which contains the following (don't use spaces or dashes):
      • Country code (optional)
      • Area code
      • Phone number
    • Linked Value: Set a value that persists across flows.
  • Value:
    • If the Variable Type is Address Book Variable), add values to the address book variable.
    • Undefined: Don’t assign a default value.
    • Default Value: Specify a default value for the custom variable. The value must be in the required format for the data type.
      Note: If the data type is Phone, E.164, the phone number must be in E.164 format, which contains the following (don't use spaces or dashes):
      • Country code (optional)
      • Area code
      • Phone number
    • From website data: Scrape consumer data from front-end website data.
      Note: This feature requires experience with web development and JavaScript. There is no guarantee that website data will be successfully scrapped, and changes to the website can affect whether scrapping is successful. You should test and maintain configurations to this setting.
      • Source: Select the data source, then fill out the required fields.
    • Linked Value: Set a value that persists across flows.

How to use a custom variable in the flow editor

You can use custom variables in the Condition or Set Variables widget in the flow editor.

  • Collect Input widget: When Collect Input drop-down menu is set to Text Input, you can reference the custom variable in the Prompt Text using double curly brackets. For example, {{variable}}.
  • Condition widget: You can select a custom variable using the Variable setting, then customize exit settings based on variable conditions.
  • Http Call widget: You can reference the custom variable in the Request Body field using double curly brackets. For example, {{variable}}.
  • Route To widget: You can route to a queue or place an outgoing call based on a variable.
  • Set Variables widget: You can select a custom variable using the Variable setting.

How to view all global system variables

You can also view system variables, which are the default variables that can be used to pass data between flows. You can't the settings for system variables.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Preferences.
  3. Click the Variables tab.
  4. In the left-side panel under System Variable Groups, select a group to view the default system variables for.

How to view all global custom and system variables in a flow

While using the flow editor, you can view all global custom and system variables that are being used by the current flow.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Flows.
  3. Click the display name of a flow you want to edit.
  4. In the top-right corner, click the variable icon .
  5. Click the Global tab.
    You will see a list of all global variables being used by the flow.
  6. Use the following options to view and manage global variables:
    • Right-arrow icon : Show the variable's details like data type and value.
    • Pencil icon : Edit the variable's details.
    • Trash bin icon : Delete the variable.

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