The function element is one of the main tools for developing more advanced dialogues. Although this element is dropped into the dialogue, it is invisible in the front-end (web).
For the sake of clarity, you can e.g. place the function element in the group block to which it relates. More generally used function elements can be placed in its own hidden group. The function element can be used to run functions that should not be linked directly to the value of a control, and can also be used to store complex values.
Values stored in the function element - e.g. if Function element=”300” or as return value from the value formula of the function element – persist in the user’s session in the same way as the values in text boxes.
However, values in text boxes can only contain one string. Function elements can on the other hand contain large hierarchies of information (e.g. output from a web service).
See also