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Excel Dialer Pro - Help

 

For common questions see  --->

For applications/samples see --->

* Why dialer does not dial when click on Excel spreadsheet?
* Using hotkey to dial from the spreadsheet
* How to use script?
* How to use Excel Dialer Pro from the command line?
* How to get rid of 'Run Busy Detect' startup message?
* How to check that modem has ability to record voice?
* How to override options?
* How to recover from errors?
* Using the test file to diagnose hardware or software problems
* Developers corner

 *Why dialer does not dial when click on Excel spreadsheet?
  
Excel Dialer Pro will not dial from the spreadsheet when one of the below condition occurs:

  •  'Enable Excel dialer' option is not selected in Tools>Options>Excel tab

  •  '<Excel Dialer>' menu is disabled on mouse right click on dialer's systray icon (right bottom corner of the screen)

  • There is the spreadsheet's name set in Options>Excel tab >Set Params but the actually used spreadsheet differs from it.

  • There is the column # (containing the phone numbers)  set in Options>Excel tab >Set Params and the actually clicked
    column is different from it.

  • The clicked spreadsheet's cell is empty or it does not contain a valid phone number.

  • It is the first attempt to dial from Excel spreadsheet and the dialer did not register the cell change. The dialer senses when selected cell has changed. It means that when you open spreadsheet and the cell (containing phone number) is active,  clicking on that cell will NOT start dialing. You need to click on another cell to make it active, then click again on the cell with phone number in it.

Note:
 To repeat dialing from the same cell user has to click somewhere else on spreadsheet and then click again on the same cell.
After that, clicking on any other cell containing phone number will start dialing.
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 * Using hotkey to dial from the spreadsheet
  To use a hotkey the following conditions must be met:

  • In Tools>Options>Excel tab>Manual dialing>Set Params the option 'Use Hotkey to dial from spreadsheet' is set

  • In Tools>Options>Dialing tab the option 'Use HotKey to dial (from other docs) must be set and the appropriate (unique) keyboard keys combination selected (the selection cannot interfere with the other hotkeys in the system).

  • '<Excel Dialer>' menu must be disabled on mouse right click on dialer's systray icon (right bottom corner of the screen)
                back to the top

     * Using script
    A script is a plain text file where each line contains an individual command.
    To see the list of available commands and a sample script, click on the Help button beside that option.
    Note:
    Script can be invoked by 2 methods:
    1.
     - select this option and specify the script file.
     - save Options by clicking on OK button.
     - make outgoing call:
          -when the script begins with dial: command  ---> close dialer and start it from the command prompt
           -in all other cases input the phone number in the field provided above the keypad and click DIAL button.
     When the call changes to 'Connected' state, script execution will begin.
    2.
     - start dialer from the command line using one of the following commands:
            <path>phoneex.exe /script     (this will use the script file specified in Options)
           <path>phoneex.exe /script:<full path to the script file>     (this will use the script file specified on this line)
    Important:
    When using scripts it is very important to synchronize timing between commands by using the <wait: # > command.
    <monitor_dtmf: #> or <monitor_dtmf> commands must be always followed by the <wait: #> command.
    See samples by using Help button beside the 'Use Script' option.
    Using Script Simulator:
    Click TEST button to start Script Simulator. A new window will pop open showing the real time script execution.
    When the script waits for the keypad input, click on the desired key on the EDP keypad.
    This is the best way to test your script, fine tune it and make sure that it does what the script was intended to do.
    Note:
    <dial> command starts a simulated action; it will not use the modem and phone line.
    Remarks:
    Because Script Simulator does not use a modem at all,  it is possible to test scripts even if the modem is not a voice modem or the modem is not able to generate (or receive) DTMF tones.

Script commands accepted by Excel Dialer Pro

COMMAND TASK

err_key:#

when a specified key is pressed,  the <monitor_dtmf: #> or <monitor_dtmf> action will stop and the err_mess will be played.
err_message: <file> message to be played when err_key (above) is invoked.
err_wrong_key_message: # when not expected key is pressed,  the last played message will play again if the value # is 0 <default>
err_wait: # time delay in seconds: must be long enough to play error message
(65 secs max)
err_line: # when err_key is invoked, the script will continue from the specified line after err_wait time delay (above).
err_timeout: # when no response is received, monitoring DTMF tones will stop after # seconds (default is 65 seconds) and the next line command after <wait:# > command will be executed.
dial:<phone number> make outgoing phone call.
When a call already exists this command will be ignored.
autodial: # it will use phone list for dialing.
# is the position on phone list script will start dialing from
     monitor_dtmf:# <action> wait for specified tone# and perform action.
<action> can be any valid script command except <play:>.
Often, it will be <go_line:#> or <hangup>
This command (or group) must be followed by <wait:# > command.
monitor_multi_dtmf:# <action> wait for specified series of tones# and perform action.
<action> can be any valid script command except <play:>.
Often, it will be <goto_line:#> or <hangup>
This command (or group) must be followed by <wait:# > command.
monitor_dtmf store all keystrokes in file tones.txt, until # (pound) key is pressed.
This command must be followed by a <wait:# > command
dialdtmf:<0...9,#,*> send DTMF tones
wait:# program waits # of secs before executing next command
go_line:# jumps to specified script line
go_line:# loop:# repeated jumping to specified line # times (loop #)
go_line:# loop:# go_line:## after # times (loop #) jumping to script line #, it will continue script execution from line ##.
recordstart starts recording voice (accordingly with the rec params set in Options)
recordstop stops recording
alert:<file> this is one of the <action>.  It will play the selected file over PC speakers to alert the operator.
callerid:<CallerID> <go_line:#> when the Caller ID matches expected value, then
the script execution will jump to the specified script line
callerid this command will put Caller ID on clipboard
answer:<#> incoming call will be answered after # of rings
runapp:<path to executable> it will launch the specified file
runapp:<path to executable>/callerid it will launch the specified file with the Caller ID as a trailing parameter
savelog:<text to be logged> when using Excel spreadsheet and there is a Log column specified in options the indicated text will be logged into sheet.
flash it will perform flashook or off-hook
hangup disconnect and drop the phone line
end disconnect, drop the phone line and end script processing
delete delete the script file
// this line is ignored (it is used for making comments)
   

 Important:
     err_... commands when used, should precede all other commands.
                but it is not necessary to use them at all.
     Script must end with <end> command. 

Ask me, if you need another command or action. 
Script will be invoked automatically the next time Excel Dialer Pro is called or manually by using systray EDP icon's pop-up menu.            back to the top


 * How to use Excel Dialer Pro from the command line?
Excel Dialer Pro uses the same commands as Phone Dialer Pro.
To see a list of available commands click here.

* How to check that modem has ability to record voice?
  Make the following check:
.    In Windows>Control Panel find:
          Windows XP ---> Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices ---> Sounds and Audio Devices ---> Audio tab
          Windows 2000 ---> Sounds and Multimedia  or
          Windows 98 ---> Multimedia
     and check if you can see your modem's wave driver as one of  recording devices.
     Usually the modem's wave driver will look like this:  Modem #0 Line Record.
     This driver should be seen as a selected recording device in Tools>Options>Record tab.

     Also see this:
    
Using the test file to diagnose hardware or software problems
                                                                                                                     back to the top
 *How to recover from errors?
Resetting EDP options to default values may help.
To do that start EDP with "default" as a trailing parameter:
   [...] \phoneex.exe /default 
Note:
If you have a problem when using Excel 2000 or older version follow these steps:
     1. Close all opened spreadsheets
     2. Using Windows Task Manager check for EXCEL.EXE process and terminate it, when exists.
     3. Open the spreadsheet you want to use it as a phone list.
     4. Start dialer
.           
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  * Using the test file to diagnose hardware or software problems
 
1. Click  here to download the test file (371 kB)
 2. Run it and use it the same way you were using the original file, until the problem (error) appears.
 3. Close program.
 4. Find Tapi.txt log file in the same folder the test file was run from.
 5. Send that file to
author.
     Please make sure to add comments saying what you are doing externally and where you think the problem is.
          
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* How to get rid of 'Run Busy Detect' startup message?
 A properly detected busy signal is very important for the determination of the Connected phone line state.
It is recommended to use the Detect Busy utility. See it in the Tools>Options>Hardware tab.
If for some reason your device cannot detect busy (for example, your phone company may provide voice mail instead of a busy signal), there are 3 other methods you can use:
1.
Disconnect phone line from your modem and c
lick on Start button beside this option. Enter any number when asked.
Click OK and wait until no dialtone detection will end.  Real time call progress is displayed in small box beside the Start button.
2.
Make a phone call and measure the time it takes to the first audible ring. Manually insert that number into the Busy Detect option in the Tools>Options>Hardware tab and click OK to save the options. The value should be between 8-13 seconds for most modems.
3.
 Find the PhoneEx.ini file located at:
"C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Excel Dialer Pro\PhoneEx.ini"
 Open it in a word editor (Notepad, MsWord) and do the following:
 - find Busy Detect=0 and change it to Busy Detect=1
 - find Busy Delay Timer and change it to Busy Delay Timer=13
Note:
The busy detect value is stored into PhoneEx.ini on dialer's termination.                                 
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* How to override options?
 Find the PhoneEx.ini file located at:
"C:\Documents and Settings\<user nane>\Application Data\Excel Dialer Pro\PhoneEx.ini"
 Open it in a word editor (Notepad, MsWord) and edit the entries you are interested in.

To set all options to default values run application with /default suffix:  <path>phoneex.exe /default
       
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* Developers corner
 Dialer can be controlled by using the following 3 methods:
   * from the command line prompt:  see How to use Excel Dialer Pro from the command line?
   * Simple VB code sample how to invoke dialer and make a phone call.
   * Windows text messaging by using SendMessage() API
Note:
     1.
       For the list of available commands see: http://www.phonedialerpro.com/faq_pdp.htm#command_line
     2.
       When using SendMessage() API:

   LRESULT SendMessage(      
    HWND hWnd,
    UINT Msg,
    WPARAM wParam,
    LPARAM lParam
   );

    hWnd
          retrieve and use the value stored in Windows registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Jacek Kozlowski\Excel Dialer Pro\hkey
     Msg
          use WM_COPYDATA
     wParam
          0
     lParam
           structure containing information to be send
           .lpData   should contain command
           .dwData = 1 use only with commands: "", "min" and "setup"
           .dwData = 2 use only with "script...." command
           .dwData = 3 use with all other commands                                            back to the top

 


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Last revised: April 12, 2008