Excel Dialer Pro help on options:

General

Dialing Excel Hardware Voice Record Answer

 

GENERAL tab

* Log Outgoing Calls
* Log Incoming Calls
* Load Phone Dialer Pro at Windows startup
* Show Dialing Pad at Auto Dialer startup
* Show program's icon in the system tray
* Do not show Call Progress window
* Keep Call Progress window always on top
* Do not terminate when click on X
* Start Dialer in the Subject or Index mode
* Audio notify
* Silent keypad
 

Log Outgoing Calls

All outgoing calls are logged automatically.  Logs are kept for the number of days specified.


Log Incoming Calls

All incoming calls are logged automatically.  Logs are kept for the number of days specified.


Load Phone Dialer Pro at Windows startup

Dialer will load on Windows startup and stay resident.


Show Dialing Pad at Auto Dialer startup

Program will start with dialing pad shown.


Show program's icon in the system tray

PDP icon will be displayed in the SysTray (right, bottom corner of screen), when this option is selected.


 Do not show Call Progress window

Oval Call Progress window will not be shown, when this option is selected.


Keep Call Progress window always on top

Oval Call Progress window will be always on top of other opened applications, when a phone call is in progress.


Do not terminate when click on X

PDP will not terminate when clicked on X (right, upper corner) when this option is selected.
To close the dialer, the user has to right mouse click on the PDP Systray icon and select 'Exit' from the pull up menu.


Start dialer in the Index or Subject mode

Phone Dialer Pro address book can be used in 2 modes:
 - Index mode: all tabs are indexed A to Z
 - Subject mode: all tabs have customized titles


 Audio notify

Phone Dialer Pro can play audio depending on the the status of the call, by playing pre-selected sounds over the PC speakers.
The 3 audio notifications are:
 - connected (after busy signal redials)
 - reached the end of redials
 - received incoming call


Silent keypad

Pressing keys on the PDP keypad will not make sounds.

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DIALING tab

* Enable 'Copy' as a Dial command (from other docs)
* Use HotKey to dial (from other docs)
* Accept command line trailing parameters
* Accept dial requests from other applications
* Drop connected call after...
* Redial last number every ...
* Close Dialer on dropped line
* Enable Call Transfer
* Auto redial on busy
* Ignore Dialing Properties
* Additional Dialing Properties
 

Enable 'Copy' as a Dial command (from other docs)

When this option is selected, dialing can be invoked by selecting the phone number text in any kind of document and by using one of the following Copy methods:
 - mouse right clicking on 'Copy' from pull down menu,
 - clicking on Edit > Copy from pull down document menu,
 - pressing the CTRL+C key combination.
To reduce the chance of unwanted dialing, the digits filtering setup is available by clicking on Set Params button:
 -minimum and maximum number of digits. Setting this will prevent dialing numbers outside of that range of digits.
The selected expression does not need to contain only a phone number when the following options are set:
 -Copy until first invalid character. Valid dialing characters are: (0-9),(*),(#),(,),(.),(-),((),()),(;),(+)
   The selection must start with the valid character but it can be longer than dialing number.
   For example, the selection: (555) 234-0553 Jack's home will be dialed as 5552340553
 - Copy all. The selection can contain any character combination, but all dialable characters will be dialed.
   For example selection: Call (555) 234-0553 between 9 am - 3 pm will be dialed as: 555234055393


Use HotKey to dial (from other docs)

This option allows one to use pre-defined key combination to invoke dialing when used with the selected text (number) selection. To select hotkey click on Set Params button. For filtering and other options explanation see above.


Accept command line trailing parameters

Selecting this option will make the program responsive to command prompt parameters.
For list of all available commands see PDP FAQ online.


Accept dial requests from other apps

Selecting this option will make Phone Dialer Pro the default Windows dialer.  When dialing from another application (such as Microsoft Outlook, Access, Time & Chaos), Phone Dialer Pro will be invoked rather than the Windows dialer.


Drop connected call after...

This option will disconnect the phone line after the specified time interval, superseding all other setup options.


 Redial last number every ...

Together with the Drop connected call after... option this allows for automatic redialing of the last number dialed.  If you want to be noticed (and drive someone nuts) use this option.


 Enable Call Transfer

 


Close Dialer on dropped line

Selecting this option will cause the application to terminate after the phone line disconnects.


Auto redial on busy

Selecting this option will cause the dialer to continuously repeat dialing on a busy signal with a preset time interval between calls, until the connection is made or the number of redials has reached its limit.  When used in conjunction with the Audio notify option, the  user can get audio notification, making it possible to attend other activities while waiting for the call to connect.


Ignore Dialing Properties

When this option is set, Windows Dialing Properties (location, country, local area rules, calling card etc.) will be ignored and the phone number will be dialed exactly as entered. 
User can select the line (tone or pulse) and use special dialing characters: "W", "@" and "$".


Additional Dialing Properties

The following additional options can be set, when the above Ignore Dialing Properties option is not selected:
 - 'Drop connected call after first ring' (on outgoing phone calls this is a time delay based option: it is equal to 6 seconds).
 - 'Do not use Calling Card for local calls' (this will supplement calling card option set in Dialing Properties)
 - 'Do not use Calling Card for calls starting with' ($ saving option: calling card will not be used when toll free number is dialed)
 - 'Conceal identity' (this will work only if the local phone company supports the option)
 - 'Treat as international call when # of digits >...'

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EXCEL tab

* Enable Excel dialer
* Automatic dialing
* Manual dialing
* Log calls internally
* Log calls in spreadsheet

Enable Excel dialer

Select this option when you want to invoke dialing directly from Excel spreadsheet. To start dialing it is enough just to click on the cell containing a phone number.
Set extra parameters if you want to log the phone calls, to avoid accidental dialing and to set the automatic dialing.
Important:
To initialize dialing the change of the active cell is required. It means, that when you open spreadsheet and the cell you intent to dial is active you need first click on another cell and then return to the cell you want to use it.


Automatic dialing

To start automatic dialing click on the cell you want to start dialing from. After the phone call is completed and disconnected,  the phone number from the next consecutive spreadsheet's row will be used to make the next call.
Automatic dialing will stop when:
 - the next, consecutive spreadsheet's row will not contain a phone number
 - Auto Stop button is pressed on Call Progress (oval) window
 - Auto Stop menu is selected (mouse right click on dialer's systray icon).

Available parameters:
 - Dial from this column only:
   
inserting the column index will prevent accidental dialing when different column is clicked on
 -
Dial from this spreadsheet only:
    when the spreadsheet title is provided it is possible to have opened other spreadsheets and work with them.
   This option is specially useful when you have installed multiple instances of dialer to be used in multiline configuration.
    In that case each dialer needs to use a different spreadsheet as a phone list.
 - Redial all failed calls
    This option is enabled when 'Log calls in spreadsheet' option is selected and the column index containing call results is known.
    When the end of the phone list is reached, the calls not logged as "OK" will be again redialed (once).


Manual dialing

To start manual dialing it is enough just to click on the cell containing the phone number. If the spreadsheet's title is not provided it is possible to dial from any opened spreadsheet.

Available parameters:
 - Dial from these columns only:
   
inserting the column index will prevent accidental dialing when different column is clicked on. You can have 2 selected columns.
 - Dial from this spreadsheet only:
    when the spreadsheet's title is provided it is possible to have opened other spreadsheets and work with them, but a dialing will be invoked only with the specified sheet.
 - Use Hotkey to dial (from spreadsheet)
When this option is selected and the hotkey option is set in >Dialing tab you can use that hotkey to invoke dialing if the current active cell contains a phone number.
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).


Log calls internally

Internal dialer's log will be used to keep data.
Important:
It is recommended to provide columns layout containing Name to be called even if you do not use internal logging.
The called name will be displayed in the Call Progress (oval) window.


Log calls in spreadsheet

It is now possible to log data directly in the same Excel spreadsheet, the calls are made from. User can select which data can be logged and in which column.
Call results column will be used for redialing failed calls in automatic mode when the Redial all failed calls option is set.

Recorded voice calls will be logged in the specified (recorded call) column. Mouse click on the cell in that column will start playing the recording if the 'Play recorded call when clicked on it' option is set.

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HARDWARE tab

* Dial using
* Line/Modem Properties
* Busy detect
* Dial without modem
* DTMF tone time interval
* DTMF tone length
* Modem: Add, Remove & Diagnostic

Dial using

If you have single device (modem) installed in your PC or if you are using only one phone line this option is for you.


Line/Modem Properties

Use this utility to check and setup your device's additional properties.


Busy detect

PC modems are not very good at detecting when a voice phone call gets connected.  Basically, they can recognize only 3 phone line states: No Dial tone, Busy and Disconnected (by the caller).  This dialer, when used with PC modems works on this principle: when the line is not busy, then it is connected.
Busy detect time mostly depends on the combination of used line device (modem), computer's CPU, Windows OS and a local phone company.  In most of the cases it will vary between 7 - 13 seconds.
When using a standard PC modem, correct busy signal detection is critical to determine when the call is connected.
This setup is very important, because the following options depend on it:
 - playback automatic startup      (Playback tab)
 - start playing message after ....  (Playback tab)
 - auto recording                         (Record tab)
Note:
This option requires initial set up by first dialing a busy line. Click on Start button beside this option and enter the phone number:
 - residential phone line (no voice mail) users can just dial themselves
 - when connected to PBX or a company network then dial a number which returns a busy signal, not a voice mail.
Click OK and wait until busy detection will end.  Current time progress is displayed in small box beside the button.
Important:
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.  Current time progress is displayed in small box beside the 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


Dial without modem

If you do not have or do not want to use a device (modem) you can dial out using sounds generated by this dialer.  Just pick up the handset and place it close to your PC speaker (you may adjust speaker volume).


DTMF tone time interval

This option is for advanced users.  Some systems are not capable of recognizing fast dialing.  To slow it down, just increase the time interval.


DTMF tone length

This option is for advanced users.  When the other side has a problem recognizing tones, increase the tone length.


Modem: Add, Remove & Diagnostic

This is Windows utility to manage telephony devices in your computer. You can add new device, remove old one or run some diagnostics: query device to check its capabilities and create a device log for troubleshooting.

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VOICE tab

* Voice, ISDN cards or other modems
* Device Output Volume
* Microphone Gain
* Speaker
* Microphone
* Turn on speaker (dialing tones are heard)
* Turn on speaker after a call is connected
* Speakerphone
 

Voice, ISDN cards or other modems (default)

This option must be selected in most of the cases. Deselecting it will disable recording and speakerphone features but with certain modem models, it will allow for faster dialing/redialing.
When this option is selected and there is a speaker and a microphone connected directly to the modem, modem will work as a full duplex speakerphone.


Device Output Volume / Microphone Gain

These two options work only with modems that have internal connectors for a speaker and a microphone and these devices are directly connected to the modem.


Turn on speaker (dialing tones are heard) (default)

Selecting this option will let you listen to the dialing tones through the speakers, but when using a half-duplex device it will noticeably slow down the dialing process. Do not use this option when you need to have fast redial on busy signals.


Turn on speaker after a call is connected

Recommended option for users of half-duplex devices.

Speakerphone

Select this option when you want to to use computer speakers and/or a microphone (both connected to the soundcard)
Not every voice modem has the speakerphone feature. EDP will not allow you to select this option when your modem does not support it.
Quite a few modems come with the speakerphone feature but because of the bad installation the wave drivers associated with the modem are not installed.
To check if your modem has wave file installed:
.    In Windows>Control Panel find:
          Sounds and Multimedia  (Win 2000) or
          Sounds and Audio Devices (Win XP) or
          Multimedia  (Win98) 
 Check if  your modem's wave driver is listed as one of Playback devices and/or Recording devices.
Note:
Most of the modems are half-duplex. It means you can use either the microphone or the speakers but not both simultaneously.
I know only one full duplex modem. It is Hi-Phone desktop model from www.way2call.com.


Speaker (default)

Select this option when your modem is a half-duplex and you want to hear the other side.


Microphone

Select this option when your modem is a half-duplex and you want to be heard by the other side.

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RECORD tab

* Recording device
* Maximum recording time
* Record speaker
* Record microphone
* Auto record outgoing calls
* Auto record incoming calls
* Do not record silence > ... secs
 

Recording device

The recording device of your modem should be displayed automatically in this field.  When you have more than one voice modem installed, select from the drop-down list which modem you want to use.
If this field appears empty it is quite likely the modem is not a voice modem or it has no wave drivers installed.
.


Maximum recording time

This option allows you to pre-select the length of the recording.
When the end of recording time is reached the recording will stop, but the phone call will remain connected.


Record speaker

It is impossible to record simultaneously both ends of the conversation when using a half-duplex device.
Selecting this option will record the remote end of the line.


Record microphone

It is impossible to record simultaneously both ends of the conversation when using a half-duplex device.
Selecting this option will record this end of the line.


Auto record outgoing calls

Excel Dialer Pro will start recording automatically as soon as the call is connected, and will also record dialing tones when the option: Turn on speaker (dialing tones are heard) is selected.


Auto record incoming calls

Excel Dialer Pro will start recording automatically as soon as the call is answered, and will also record dialing tones when the option: Turn on speaker (dialing tones are heard) is selected.


Do not record silence > ... secs

Selecting this option will save significantly the hard disk space taken by the recording.
The default silence determining parameters are:
  - Silence level threshold is set to 2 dB SPL   (when the phone line is very noisy you may try to increase that number)
  - Silence duration is set to 3 seconds  ---> it means that no sound heard for 3 seconds or longer will be considered as a silence.
 

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ANSWER tab

* Monitor incoming calls
* Display incoming call
* Execute program after... secs
* Run Script
* Answer call after ... rings
* Send fax call to fax application
* Execute program after receiving DTMF tones
* Program
* Send Keystrokes
* CallBack
 

Monitor incoming calls

Select this option if you want to monitor or answer incoming calls.


Display incoming call

Incoming call window will be displayed when there is an incoming call in progress.
Caller ID will be displayed (some conditions apply) and the number of incoming rings.


Execute program after ... secs

When this option is selected, an incoming call will start the external program specified in Program after a specified time.
Note:
The incoming call will not be answered.  To answer the call you need to select 'Answer call after ... rings'


 Run script

This option is valid for incoming calls only.
A script is a plain text file where each line contains an individual command.
Note:
           Script to be used can be set it up in Options>Answer tab or it can be specified from the command line:
1.
 <path>phoneex.exe /script  ----> script specified in Options>Answer tab will be used
2.
 <path>phoneex.exe /script: <path>\my1.txt  ----> script my1.txt will be used

 

Script commands accepted by Excel Dialer Pro

COMMAND TASK
dial:##### it will make an outgoing phone call.
when a call already exists DTMF tones will be sent on opened line
dial:callerid it will make an outgoing phone call.
using CallerID as a dialing number
     monitor_dtmf:# <go_line:#> when the specified tone is received, then
the script execution will jump to the specified script line
This command (or group) must be followed by <wait:# > command.
monitor_multi_dtmf:# <go_line:#> when the specified series of tones is received, then
the script execution will jump to the specified script line
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
wait:# program waits # of secs before executing next command
go_line:# jumps to the specified script line
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
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:
      Script for incoming calls should start will <callerid:> command(s)
      Script must end with <end> command.

 

Script sample 1
(incoming calls)

Note: each command must contain ':' when more information is specified.

script line:

what it will do:

callerid: Jacek go_line: 5 when call from Jacek go to line 6 (monitor_dtmf:  #)
callerid: 1111777843 go_line: 5 when call from 5552340553 go to line 7
callerid: UNKNOWN CALLER go_line:15 when unknown caller go to line 5 (end)
end script ends with the arrival of any other CallerID
answer: 3 incoming call will be picked up after 3 rings
monitor_dtmf:  5 go_line: 10 when '5' is pressed go to line 10 (flash)
monitor_dtmf: 7 go_line: 14 when '7' is received, line 14 be executed (flash)
monitor_dtmf: 3 go_line: 18 when '3' is pressed go to line 18 (flash)
wait: 15 wait for the key for 15 seconds
flash flashook
wait:1 wait 1 second
dial: 4162340553 it will dial 4162340553 on opened line
end script ends
flash flashook
wait:1 wait 1 second
dial: callerid it will use CallerID as a dialing number
end script ends
flash flashook
wait:1 wait 1 second
dial: 5559998888 it will dial 5559998888 on opened line
end script ends
wait: 8 wait 8 seconds
hangup phone call will be dropped
end script ends

 


Answer call after ... rings

This option must be selected to receive an incoming call: off-hook state.


 Send fax call to fax application

When an incoming call is a fax call and this option is selected, the call will be sent to the specified fax application.


Execute program after receiving DTMF tones

You can use this option if your modem is able to detect DTMF tones and you want to start the external program specified in Program after receiving certain tones.  You can select one or several tones to a create unique tone combination.
Note:
DTMF tones are: 0 -9, #, *, A, B, C, D


Program

This is an external application which will be invoked when one of the following options is selected:
 - Execute program after ... secs
 - Execute program after receiving DTMF tones


Send Keystrokes

When the keystrokes are specified they will be sent to the external application, selected in Program.
How to program and send keystrokes

Each key is represented by one or more characters.  To specify a single keyboard character, use the character itself. For example, to represent the letter A, use "A" for the string.  To represent more than one character, append each additional character to the one preceding it.  To represent the letters A, B, and C, use "ABC" for string.
The plus sign (+), caret (^), percent sign (%), tilde (~), and parentheses ( ) have special meanings.  To specify one of these characters, enclose it within braces ({}).  For example, to specify the plus sign, use {+}.  Brackets ([ ]) have no special meaning , but you must enclose them in braces.  To specify brace characters, use {{} and {}}.

To specify characters that aren't displayed when you press a key, such as ENTER or TAB, and keys that represent actions rather than characters, use the codes shown below:
 
KEY CODE
BACKSPACE {BACKSPACE}, {BS}, or {BKSP}
BREAK {BREAK}
CAPS LOCK {CAPSLOCK}
DEL or DELETE {DELETE} or {DEL}
DOWN ARROW {DOWN}
END {END}
ENTER {ENTER} or ~
ESC {ESC}
HELP {HELP}
HOME {HOME}
INS or INSERT {INSERT} or {INS}
LEFT ARROW {LEFT}
NUM LOCK {NUMLOCK}
PAGE DOWN {PGDN}
PAGE UP {PGUP}
PRINT SCREEN {PRTSC}
RIGHT ARROW {RIGHT}
SCROLL LOCK {SCROLLLOCK}
TAB {TAB}
UP ARROW {UP}
F1  to F16 {F1} to {F16}

To specify keys combined with any combination of the SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT keys, precede the key code with one or more of the following codes:
 
KEY CODE
SHIFT +
CTRL ^
ALT %

To specify that any combination of SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT should be held down while several other keys are pressed, enclose the code for those keys in parentheses.  For example, to specify to hold down SHIFT while E and C are pressed, use "+(EC)".  To specify to hold down SHIFT while E is pressed, followed by C without SHIFT, use "+EC".
To specify repeating keys, use the form: {key number}.  You must put a space between key and number.  For example, {LEFT 42} means press the LEFT ARROW key 42 times; {h 10} means press H 10 times.

Note:
· PRINT SCREEN key {PRTSC} cannot be sent to any application.     back to the top


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