Home > Managing Categories > Defining a New Category > Creating a Blank Category

Creating a Blank Category

A Category definition consists of a name, a description (optional), sharing properties, and, in some cases, a logical expression that defines the types of calls to which the Category can be assigned. Three types of Categories exist in SpeechMiner:

- Regular Categories: Categories that have conditions defined in the form of a logical expression. When SpeechMiner processes a call, the call is automatically assigned to this type of Category if it matches the requirements that are defined in the condition. These Categories can be independent (on the top level of the Category hierarchy) or they can be sub-Categories of other, parent Categories.
- Parent Categories: Categories that contain other Categories. These Categories have a name and description, but do not include a logical expression. Calls are assigned to them when they are assigned to any of their sub-Categories. Any Category can be converted into a parent Category by adding sub-Categories to it. (When a regular Category is converted into parent Category, the logical expression that defined the Category is deleted.)
- Manual Categories: Categories that have no conditions; SpeechMiner users manually assign calls to them as required.

The sharing properties of a Category define which users will see it in the SpeechMiner interface. Users with whom a Category is shared will see the Category in the lists of Categories available for selection in the Call Explorer and in Category filters. Sharing settings are intended to remove "clutter" by hiding Categories that are not relevant to particular users. For example, if a particular workgroup only deals with calls that relate to maintenance issues, you can choose not to share sales Categories with that group. In this way, members of that workgroup will not have to encounter large numbers of Categories that do not concern them. In addition, if you are creating a new Category, you may not want to share it with anyone else until you have fully tested it. Once the testing process is complete, you can change the sharing settings and apply the change to SpeechMiner.

By default, Categories are shared with all SpeechMiner users. You can specify groups, workgroups, roles, and/or specific users with whom a Category should be shared.

Note: Category sharing does not affect which calls a user can see or play back.

To create a blank Category:

1. In the tree list, select All to create an independent Category, or select an existing Category to create the new Category as a sub-Category of the selected Category.

   Note: If you select an existing Category, the conditions defined for inclusion in the Category (its logical expression) are automatically erased.

   Note: You can also move the Category to a parent Category later.

2. In the Categories menu, click (New Category) to create a regular Category or (New Manual Category) to create a manual Category. The blank Category opens in the right panel.

   Note: You can also create a new regular Category by selecting in the tree-list controls, but you must open the Categories menu to create a manual Category. The Categories menu can be opened either by clicking Categories above the tree-list controls or by right-clicking in the tree list. For additional information, see Overview of the Main Window.

3. Under Name, enter a name for the Category.
4. If you want to limit the types of SpeechMiner users with which the Category is shared, click Edit. The Category Sharing dialog box opens.

   Note: If you do not want to change the sharing settings, skip to step 8 below.

5. Clear the Share with all checkbox. The sharing options become active.
6. Select the groups, roles, and/or users with which the Category should be shared.

   Note: To filter the list of users, type a sequence of characters that appears in the user name you want to find. The list is filtered; only user names that contain the sequence you type are displayed.

7. Click OK. The sharing settings are displayed in the Shared with field.
8. Under Description, enter a description for the Category (optional).
9. On the upper-left of the right panel, click (Save). The Category is saved.

   Note: If the Category is a regular Category, you can configure its conditions, as explained under Configuring Category Conditions, before you save it. If the Category is a parent Category or a manual Category, it does not require any additional configuration, and must be saved at this point.

See also

Configuring Category Conditions
Saving and Activating the Category