Setting script width and height in VICIdial

If your script looks cramped or sprawling on the agent screen, the fix usually isn't your wording, it's the frame size. VICIdial gives you two dynamic field variables, script_width and script_height, that control how large the script area renders for an Agent. Get them right and your pitch, fields, and rebuttals all sit on screen without a fight.

What script_width and script_height do

These two are dynamic field variables, the same kind you use to drop a caller's name into a script. You write any variable as --A--field--B--, so the size tokens are --A--script_width--B-- and --A--script_height--B--. Where most variables print lead data into your Script Text, these two feed the dimensions of the frame that VICIdial draws the script inside. They're most useful when you embed an iframe or a Web form that needs a predictable canvas, because you can set the iframe's own width and height from the same values and keep everything aligned. They behave like every other token described in the agent screen configuration guide.

How the size gets applied

flowchart LR
  A[Script Text holds size tokens] --> B[Agent screen loads the script]
  B --> C{Replace dynamic tokens}
  C --> D[script_width sets frame width]
  C --> E[script_height sets frame height]
  D --> F[Script renders at chosen size]
  E --> F

When the script loads on the agent screen, VICIdial swaps every --A--field--B-- token for its real value before drawing anything. So script_width and script_height resolve to numbers, and the frame is rendered at exactly that size. Nothing is fixed in stone in the script body; the dimensions are computed each time the script appears.

Because the values are resolved per call, the same script can render at different sizes depending on where it's used, which is handy when one screen runs lots of HTML and another is mostly plain text. You don't edit two scripts; you let the variables do the work. And since the tokens are just text in the Script Text field, there's no separate size setting to hunt for, no checkbox buried elsewhere in the admin. If a token is misspelled it simply won't resolve, so it pays to copy the exact field name rather than type it from memory.

When to reach for it

Use these when an HTML layout, a form, or an embedded page is getting clipped or leaving dead space. A few practical notes:

• Match your iframe width and height to --A--script_width--B-- and --A--script_height--B-- so the embed fills the frame cleanly.
• Don't oversize the height; agents work in a fixed panel and an oversized script just forces scrolling.
• Preview the script after a change so you see the real rendered size with sample data.

A common gotcha: changing the frame size doesn't change your content, so if a long pitch is the real problem, trim the text instead of stretching the frame. This pairs nicely with tight, scannable copy, which is exactly the approach in how to write a rebuttal script. And remember the basics still apply: the Script ID stays 2 to 10 characters with no spaces or punctuation and can't be renamed later, the Script Name maxes out at 50 characters, and Script Color defaults to white. Set the Campaign to use the script and the sizing applies wherever that script shows.

Dialing in script_width and script_height is one of those small touches that makes the agent screen feel built for the job rather than borrowed. If you'd rather start from a tuned, hosted VICIdial than tweak frames from scratch, see VICIfast pricing.