User Input Node

User Input Node Overview

Unlike Quick Replies or Buttons, the User Input Node:

• Waits for the user to reply
• Saves the response into a Field

This node is essential for:

• Lead qualification
• Collecting contact details (name, address, phone, email, …)
• Understanding user intent
• Personalizing future messages

The User Input Node asks the user for information such as an email address, waits for their response, and automatically stores that response in the selected field.

 What is Fields in Elpidan
Before using the User Input Node, it is helpful to understand what fields is.
Fields are used to store actual user data, such as name, email, phone number, score, or any other value you want to save for later use in your flows.
👉If you want to review the available fields or create additional custom fields, go to the Custom Fields Menu

 How the User Input Node Works 

Step 1: Enter the Prompt Message

In Prompt Message, type the question or instruction you want to show the user (for example: “Please enter your name”).
This is the message the user sees before replying.

Step 2: Choose the Field to Store

In Field to Store, select the Contact Field where the user’s response should be saved.
This is how Elpidan remembers the answer and uses it later in the flow (for Conditions, personalization, filtering, etc.).

Step 3: (Optional) Enable the Cancel Button

If you enable Show cancel button, the user will see a Cancel button under the prompt while Elpidan is waiting for their reply.

If the user taps Cancel, it means they want to stop completing this step (cancel the input request).

Customizing the cancel experience

When Show cancel button is enabled, you can customize the cancel flow text:

• Cancel button caption
  The label shown on the cancel button (default: “Cancel”).
• Cancellation confirmation text
  The confirmation message shown after the user taps Cancel (example: “Are you sure you want to cancel?”).
• Yes button caption / No button caption
  The labels for confirming or rejecting the cancellation.
•  If the user taps “Yes”, the input is canceled and the flow stops. If the user taps “No”, the same question is shown again and the flow waits for the user’s response.

 Best practice:

• Keep button labels short and clear
• Make the confirmation message explicit so users don’t cancel by accident

What happens during flow execution

Basic flow behavior:

1. The User Input Node sends the Prompt Message
2. The flow pauses and waits for the user’s reply for up to five minutes. If no response is received within five minutes, the flow is canceled.
3. The reply is saved into the selected Field to Store
4. The flow continues to the next connected node
   (or stops input if the user cancels)

Supported Field types for User Input

All Custom Fields available in your workspace—including both Internal Fields and fields you’ve created yourself (User-defined fields)—can be selected in the User Input node.

👉 learn more about Custom Fields

 The User Input Node can store values only in the following Field types:

• Text → name, city, preferences
• Number → age, budget
• Date → appointment date

These field types require the user to type a response, which is why they are compatible with User Input.

Unsupported Field Types for User Input

The User Input node does not support Boolean fields or Select fields.

Boolean Fields (True / No) (True / False)

Boolean fields can’t be used with the User Input node because they don’t accept typed input.
Users shouldn’t manually type values like “yes” or “no”.

This includes:

• System Boolean fields
• Any Boolean fields you create yourself

Select Fields

Select fields also aren’t supported in the User Input node, since users must choose from predefined options rather than typing a response.

At the moment, the only system Select field is Gender, which can’t be used with User Input.

To set Boolean or Select fields, use Quick Replies combined with Action nodes instead of User Input.
The recommended setup is explained later in this article.

Correct way to fill "Boolean Fields" and "Select Fields"

How to set a Boolean Field:

Step1: Use an Instagram Node to ask a Yes/No question

Step2: Add Quick Reply buttons (for example: Yes / No)

Connect each Quick Reply to an Action Node, then

Step3: In the Action Node:

1. • Set the Boolean Field to True  if the user taps “Yes”
   • Set the Boolean Field to False if the user taps “No”

In the images above, the user confirms their agreement by choosing Yes in a Quick Reply.
This action updates the Agree to Terms Boolean field and sets its value to true.

 How to set a Select Field:

 Example for Gender:

In this example, the user is asked to select their gender.
The user chooses Male, and the Gender field is set to Male using a Quick Reply and an Action node.

his ensures:

• Clean and valid data
• Predictable logic
• Reliable Condition checks later in the flow

Why these matters

Using the wrong Field type can cause:

• Invalid data storage
• Broken Conditions
• Incorrect automation paths

Best practice:

• Use User Input for typed answers
• Use Quick Replies + Action Nodes for Boolean values

How saved data is used later

Once a response is saved:

• It can be checked in a Condition Node
• It can be reused in messages using placeholders
• It can be exported or filtered in Contacts

Example:

• User enters their city
• City is saved in city field
• Later messages can say:

“Thanks! We serve customers in {{city}}.”

Overwriting existing field values

By default:

• New input replaces the old value in the field

Best practices:

• Avoid asking the same question repeatedly
• Use Conditions to check if a field already has a value
• Ask again only if necessary

Example:

• If field email is empty → ask for email
• Else → skip input