While DataMind Oda works, some decisions belong to you. When one comes up, Oda asks in the chat and pauses that step until the question is answered or ended. This page covers the question card, how to answer it, the record each set leaves in the chat, and what happens when a question is skipped, cancelled or stopped.
When Oda asks you a question
Oda asks only when your answer changes the result or the decision belongs to you.
Related decisions arrive together in one card, and before a long unattended run Oda asks every decision it can foresee in advance.
Questions carry choices and free text only. A step that needs more access is not a question: it uses an approval card instead; see Approvals.
The question card
A card holds one or more questions. Each question has a short header and the question text, and it stands on its own.
A question offers between 2 and 6 options. Every option has a label and a one-line description, and a question that accepts several answers lets you pick more than one.
When Oda suggests an option, the card marks it Recommended, and the option's label ends with (Recommended), kept in English even when the labels are in another language. It is a hint only: every option works the same way.
The questions take over the message box while the set waits. One card waits at a time, and a plan review comes before a question when both are waiting.
The questions come one at a time, and the pager shows where you are, such as 1 / 3.
The card scrolls inside itself when it is long, so its title and buttons stay in reach: Collapse the question card hides it while you read the chat, and Expand the question card brings it back where you left off, with your answers so far kept.
Answer a set of questions
Choose an option, or write your own answer in Type your answer. A single-answer question moves on as soon as you choose; a question that accepts several answers waits while you pick them.
Move between the questions with Previous question and Next question; nothing is sent until you send the set, so you can go back and change any answer. Press Enter to move on and to send from the last question, and Shift+Enter for a new line in a typed answer; while an input method is still composing characters, Enter only confirms the candidate.
Send the set with Submit on the last question. The step that asked carries on with your answers.
Leave a question unanswered with Skip, or cancel the whole set with Dismiss all questions.
Your own words replace the choice on a single-answer question, and they are added to your picks on a question that accepts several answers.
While the question on screen has no answer, Next and Submit stay inactive; pressing Enter there shows Please select an option or enter a custom answer. If a question behind you has neither an answer nor a skip, the card returns you to the first such question with Please complete this question first.
If sending fails, the card keeps your answers, its buttons become active again and the problem is shown in the card; send again.
The Type your answer box grows with your words up to six lines and then scrolls inside itself, so a long answer never pushes the options out of reach.
An answer you have not sent lives only in Oda's memory for this chat: it survives moving to another chat and back, is never written to settings or disk, and resets when the page reloads.
While a question waits
The step that asked stays paused, and the wait has no timeout. It ends when you answer or skip the question, cancel the set, or stop the step. Waiting for your answer adds no tokens.
The record in the chat
Each set leaves an Ask question row in the chat. You answer in the message box, not in the row.
While the set waits, the row reads waiting.
After you send the set, the row counts the answers, such as 2/3 answered: the first number is how many questions have an answer, the second how many the set asked. A chosen option and written text both count; a skipped question does not.
Click the row to expand it. Each question appears with its answer underneath, one line for every choice and one for anything you wrote. A skipped question shows Not answered.
If the recorded answers cannot be matched back to the questions, the row keeps the recorded details of the step instead.
When a set ends without an answer
Skipped. A question you leave unanswered with Skip goes back to Oda with no choice for it. Oda carries on when it can, without an answer for that question.
Cancelled. Ending the set with Dismiss all questions stops the ask. Oda is told that you cancelled the questions and carries on without answers from the set. The row reads cancelled, which is not an error, and expanding it shows the questions with the note This question set was cancelled before answers were submitted.
Stopped. If the step is stopped before you answer, the ask is aborted and no answer is recorded. The row reads interrupted and is marked stopped like any stopped step; expanding it shows the questions with the note This question set was interrupted before answers were submitted.
No one can answer. A helper that runs below another agent cannot open a question card for you: it reports the open question back in its result, and Oda can ask you in the main chat. A question raised in a run nobody is watching is not shown either: it comes back unasked, and the work carries on without an answer. Scheduled runs keep the open question in the run's record; see Scheduled runs and history.
In every case the row shows the original questions; answers that were never given are not invented.
How a plan review is answered
In plan mode, Oda presents its plan in a Plan review card before it changes anything. The card shows the plan's title and a short summary.
View full plan opens the complete plan. Reading it decides nothing: the review stays open until you choose.
Approve accepts the plan, and Oda carries it out. It is the option that approves the plan; every other choice declines it.
Request changes cancels the review: nothing is approved, and the message box returns so you can write what to change.
The plan stays in the chat after you decide, and you can reopen it from the side panel. Plan review covers the card, and Plan mode covers the mode.
Questions, answered
Why does Oda ask me instead of deciding itself?
Oda asks only when your answer changes the result or the decision belongs to you. Related questions arrive together, and before a long unattended run Oda asks every decision it can foresee.
How many questions and options can arrive at once?
One or more questions, in a single card. Every question stands on its own with its own header and between 2 and 6 options, each with a label and a one-line description.
Can I answer in my own words?
Yes. Write it in Type your answer. On a single-answer question your text replaces the choice; on a question that accepts several answers it is added to your picks.
Why can't I send my answers yet?
The set sends when every question has an answer or a skip. If the question on screen is empty, Next and Submit stay inactive: choose an option, write an answer or press Skip. If an earlier question was left open, the card takes you back to it with Please complete this question first.
What happens if I skip a question?
It goes back to Oda with no choice for it, and Oda carries on when it can without an answer for that question. In the chat record it reads Not answered.
What happens when I cancel the whole set?
The ask stops: Oda is told that you cancelled the questions and carries on without answers from the set. The chat records the set as cancelled, which is not an error.
Does a question time out if I do not answer?
No. The wait has no timeout, and waiting adds no tokens: the step stays paused until you answer, skip or cancel, or the step is stopped.
Where can I see the answers I gave?
In the chat. Expand the step's Ask question row: each question is listed with its answers, and the row's count, such as 2/3 answered, shows how many questions got an answer.
How do I approve a plan when Oda asks?
Choose Approve: it is the option that approves the plan. Request changes cancels the review so you can write what to change. See Plan review.
Can a helper ask me a question directly?
No. A helper that runs below another agent cannot open a question card: it reports the open question back in its result, and Oda can ask you in the main chat.
What happens if a scheduled run needs my answer?
No one is watching a scheduled run, so the question cannot be answered: it is not shown and comes back unasked. The run keeps the open question in its record; see Scheduled runs and history.
Is a question card the same as an approval card?
No. A question card asks for a decision that belongs to you; an approval card appears when a step needs more access than the chat's mode allows, with choices such as Allow once and Reject. See Approvals and Your first task.