VICIdial soundboard levels explained

Levels are how a VICIdial Soundboard organizes audio into a primary tier and a secondary tier underneath it. This is the feature that lets you group related clips so an Agent sees a top-level button and the follow-up options that belong to it sitting right below, rather than every clip competing for attention on one flat plane. On a busy board, that hierarchy is the difference between an agent finding the right variant instantly and scanning a long undifferentiated list mid-call.

Primary and secondary levels

The Level field has two values. Level 1 is the primary level, the top tier of audio entries. Level 2 is the secondary level, and the rule that governs everything is simple: a level 2 audio file is always displayed below a level 1 audio file. You cannot have a floating level 2 entry; it only exists in relation to a level 1 entry above it. That parent-child relationship is what gives the board its structure rather than one undifferentiated grid of buttons.

The companion to Level is the Add field. When you add a new audio file, Add lets you put it on the primary level 1, or place it underneath an existing level 1 in the secondary level 2 position. So Add is the action you take and Level is the resulting tier the entry ends up on. Thinking of it that way keeps the two straight: you do not pick a level out of thin air, you choose where to add an entry and the level follows from that choice. Because a level 2 entry must attach to a level 1 above it, you always need at least one primary entry before any secondary ones make sense. For how this fits the rest of the soundboard screen, the agent screen configuration guide has the wider view.

How levels nest

flowchart TD
  A[Add a new audio file] --> B{Choose level}
  B -->|Primary| C[Placed on level 1]
  B -->|Secondary| D[Placed on level 2 under a level 1]
  C --> E[Top tier button]
  D --> F[Sits below its level 1 parent]

The diagram shows the choice the Add field offers. A primary entry stands on its own at level 1, while a secondary entry attaches under a level 1 parent and renders below it on level 2.

When to reach for level 2

Use level 2 when a primary clip naturally has variants or follow-ups, such as a main disclaimer at level 1 and shorter clarifications grouped beneath it, or a product pitch at level 1 with objection responses at level 2. Keep boards mostly flat where you can, since two tiers cover most real needs and extra structure mainly slows agents down when they are trying to act fast. Levels work hand in hand with how you choose soundboard button types, because a header at level 1 can introduce a set of level 2 buttons below it, giving you a labelled section with its members tucked underneath. The whole arrangement renders inside an Agent script in the agent screen, so preview the nesting with a real test click before you roll it out and confirm each level 2 entry truly lands beneath the parent you intended.

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