Collect! Credit and Collection Software™

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How To Setup The Auto Dialer

The Auto Dialer (Click to Dial) in Collect! works with your Windows Dialer/TAPI settings, softphones/protocols (SIP, TEL, SKYPE, etc.), or URL strings. This document describes how to connect your phone lines, your computer's modem and telephone handset, and then enable the auto dialer.

Auto Dialer Preferences

Click Here to View this Form.

Select System from the top menu bar and then select Preferences and then select Auto Dialer Setup.

Make sure any settings you want customized are correct for your operations. All other settings should be left as they are.

Click on Save System to save the settings.

Warning Note WARNING: Auto Dialer preferences can be overridden by each Operator. This allows operators in different locations or using different phone configurations to be able to make calls without affect other Operators. If an Operator as an configuration file in their config folder, then any changes to the System Settings will not propagate to that user.

When an Operator signs in for the first time, they will inherit the Systems Settings for Auto Dialing. If they configure their WIP List Options or change the Auto Dialer preferences and click SAVE OPERATOR, then that will create a personalized configuration file in the Collect\config\{Operator_ID} folder. Any future changes will require Operators to update themselves.

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Auto Dial From The Work In Progress

This module is called "Auto Dialer" rather than "Click to Dial" for it's WIP list functionality of automatically dialing the number when an Operator opens a Phone Contact from the WIP.

To enable this feature, go to the WIP Options form by clicking the Reload button on the WIP list. Check the box labeled Automatically Display Dialer then click either Save System for everyone or Save Operator for the current Operator.

Useful Note Uncheck the Prompt Before Dialing box on the Autodialer Preferences screen to force a call to go out as soon as the Phone Contact is opened from the WIP list.

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Operator Detail Form

The Operator dialer configuration is done on the Operator Detail form, typically with the Use Softphone for Dialer and Note 2 fields. More information is below.

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TAPI

By default, Collect! uses the TAPI protocol with no extra configuration.

When you make a call, Collect! will connect the call via the Windows Dialer.

With Computer Modem

All you need is a modem in your computer that is connected to a phone line.

Without Computer Modem

If you have a local phone server using Voice over IP (VoIP), the software provider may have TAPI drivers available.

If so, install and configure the drivers as per their documentation. No further Collect! configuration is required.

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Softphone - Protocols

Modern phone systems have moved away from TAPI into locally installed application or API's.

Local applications will typically use a protocol like TEL or SIP.

This option is set at the \System\Rights\Operator screen.

  1. Open the Operator window for the user you want to set up for softphone, and click into Detail Tab.
  2. Click the check box beside "Use softphone for dialer" to enable this setting.
  3. Enter the prefix for the protocol you want the system to use for your automated dialing in the "Note 2" field. For example: "sip:" or "tel:"


Softphone Settings in Operator Detail

Once you have enabled these settings, all use of the dialing features will be sent to the program registered with your O/S as the default protocol handler for softphone calls.

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UDP Protocol Dialing

With of a few configuration settings, Collect! can be made to integrate with UDP Protocol dialing systems.

The UDP dial string is constructed in the following way:

UDP/:[ipaddress]:[port];[extension]#authcode (optional)

UDP/: This static string starts the setup.

[ipaddress]: This is the IP Address of the dialer. *** MUST be followed by a colon.

[port]: This is the Port the dialer's IP Address is listening on. *** MUST be followed by a colon.

[extension] This is the Operator's Phone Extension.

#authcode This static string is an optional command to add ClientNumber[4]DebtorNumber[8] to the UDP dial string.

UDP Redirect Setup

  1. From the menu path \System\Rights\Operator screen, enter the Detail Tab and switch ON "Use softphone for dialer" for every user that you wish to be using the automatic dial feature.
  2. In the "Note 2" field, enter the command string in the following format:

UDP:/ipaddress:port:extension

Example:

UDP:/192.168.2.122:1544:452

When the user clicks a phone number, Collect! will send "extension,number" to the IP Address and Port via UDP protocol.


UDP Redirect Setup

Example of Resulting String Sent:

452,5551237777

Useful Note This requires that your dialing system is able to read the dialing string that Collect! submits. This may require custom programming for implementation. Contact Tech Services if you have questions or requests for integration with third party dialing systems.

Authorization Code for UDP String

There is an optional parameter in the UDP string configuration that enables you to send an "Auth Code" with your UDP string by using the command #authcode. This is required for security with some systems.

By default, the #authcode command will send 4 digits of the Client Number followed immediately by 8 digits of the Debtor File Number. The resulting Authorization Code is ALWAYS 12 digits.

In the \System\Rights\Operator screen, enter the Detail Tab and enter the command string in the "Note 2" field in the following format:

UDP:/ipaddress:port:extension#authcode

Example:

UDP:/1.1.1.1:8080:123#authcode

When the user clicks a phone number, the system will send "extension,number,ClientNumber[4]DebtorNumber[8]" to the IP Address and Port via UDP protocol.


UDP Redirect Setup with Authorization Code

Example of Resulting String Sent:

452,5551237777,123412345678

Example - Auth Code Format

When Collect! detects the parameter #authcode, it pulls 4 digits of the Client Number, immediately followed by 8 digits of the Debtor Number, to create a unique 12 digit Auth Code to add to the UDP string.

  1. Client Number: LAST FOUR digits.
  2. Debtor Number: LAST EIGHT digits.
  3. Insert LEADING ZEROES if needed.

Example:

Client # 24
Debtor File # 4585
Collector Extension 109
Dialing phone number 818-555-1111

Resulting UDP string:

109,8185551111,002400004585

Useful Note If the user dials clicks to dial from any area in Collect! where the Client Number and/or Debtor Number are not applicable, the #authcode command is ignored.

Resulting UDP string:

109,8185551111

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URL Dialing

The Auto Dial functionality is capable of URL softdialing with compatible phone systems, allowing the use of an IP Address to dial their API from Collect!.

Operator Setup and Requirements:

  1. 'Use softphone for dialer' must be selected on the Operator Detail tab
  2. The Operator Detail Note 2 field must contain the file name of the dialstrings file stored in the config\dialstrings folder with the file extension ".dialstring"
  3. The Operator Detail Note 1 field may contain the username and password of the API, if the API requires one. The username and password must be separated by an "&" which means that the username cannot contain this character
  4. In the config\dialstrings folder, you need to have a file containing the API URL that will be passed to the web browser
  5. In the dialstring file, you can use the following commands to pass the appropriate information to the URL:
    • @phone - the phone number being dialed
    • @user - the username for the API (left of the & character)
    • @pass - the password for the API (right of the & character)

Useful Note You can have a generic dialstring file (global.dialstring) that all users use that is controlled by the username and password, or if your API is specific to each operator, you can have an operator specific file (own.dialstring).

Grandstream - Dialstring Example

Useful Note This instructions have been tested with the GPX models. For other models, please refer to the phones user manual.

First you need to configure your phones. Each phone must be done individually. Obtain the login information from your phone provider. The default username is admin and password is admin, but if you use a VOIP provider to provision your settings, then the provider may have changed the password.

Once signed in, go to the Settings menu, then to the Call Features sub-menu. In the list, look for Click-To-Dial Feature, enable it, and click Save and Apply.

Grandstream phones have 2 API accounts: Admin (0) and User (1). For the examples below, we will use the Admin account with the default password. Please edit where applicable.

Once the phone is ready, you can now configure your Operators. There are 2 methods:

  1. Generic: All Operators use the same config file with the same account. The only settings that change for each operator is there phone's IP address and possibly the phone password. This method is easier to maintain as you don't need to have dialstring files for each Operator. You simply need to set them up in Collect!.
  2. Operator Specific: Each Operator has their own config file. This is useful if each phone has a different username and password.

Generic:

Navigate to the config\dialstrings folder. Create one, if it does not exist. Create or open the global.dialstring file. Copy the following into the file:

http://@user/cgi-bin/api-make_call?phonenumber=@phone&account=0&password=@pass

Useful Note We have created a sample file here that you can download and put into your dialstrings folder. Once downloaded, rename the file to global.dialstring and place it into your config\dialstrings folder. If you are running a Client installation, you will need to put this file in the client version of the dialstrings folder.

Navigate to an Operator, go to the Operator Detail tab and configure the following:

  • Use softphone for dialer: check it
  • Note 1: 192.168.99.99&admin - where the IP address is the IP address of the phone
  • Note 2: global.dialstring

Operator Specific:

Navigate to the config\dialstrings folder. Create one, if it does not exist. Create or open the .dialstring file where is the ID of the Operator that you are configuring. Copy the following into the file and update the IP address to match the Operator's IP address of their phone:

http://192.168.99.99/cgi-bin/api-make_call?phonenumber=@phone&account=@user&password=@pass

Navigate to an Operator, go to the Operator Detail tab and configure the following:

  • Use softphone for dialer: check it
  • Note 1: 0&admin - where 0 is either 0 or 1 for the account and replace admin with the actual password
  • Note 2: .dialstring

Yealink - Dialstring Example

Useful Note This instructions have been tested with the T46S model. For other models, please refer to the phones user manual.

First you need to configure your phones. Each phone must be done individually. Obtain the login information from your phone provider. The default username is admin and password is admin, but if you use a VOIP provider to provision your settings, then the provider may have changed the password.

Once signed in, go to the Features menu, then to the Remote Control sub-menu. In the list, look for Action URI Allow IP List, fill in either the Operators workstation IP or type in the word 'any' without quotes, and click Confirm.

Yealink phones have several Outgoing Identities. For the one that you are using, go to the Directory menu, then to the Phone Call Info sub-menu, and take note of Outgoing Identity value, herein referred to as {Identity}.

Once the phone is ready, you can now configure your Operators. Due to the design of the Yealink API, there is only 1 method:

Generic: All Operators use the same config file with the same account. The only settings that change for each operator is there phone's IP address and possibly the phone password. This method is easier to maintain as you don't need to have dialstring files for each Operator. You simply need to set them up in Collect!.

Generic:

Navigate to the config\dialstrings folder. Create one, if it does not exist. Create or open the global.dialstring file. Copy the following into the file:

http://@user/servlet?key=number=@phone&outgoing_uri=@pass

Useful Note We have created a sample file here that you can download and put into your dialstrings folder. Once downloaded, rename the file to global.dialstring and place it into your config\dialstrings folder. If you are running a Client installation, you will need to put this file in the client version of the dialstrings folder.

Navigate to an Operator, go to the Operator Detail tab and configure the following:

  • Use softphone for dialer: check it
  • Note 1: 192.168.99.99&{Identity} - where the IP address is the IP address of the phone and {Identity} is the value that you noted above (EX: 192.168.2.154&2011)
  • Note 2: global.dialstring

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Calling A Report To Dial A Number

The Auto Dial functionality is capable of calling a report. This allows for complex scenarios as reports can output to a web link to then submit a call using web forms or Javascript. Reports can also use SQL to make API calls for cloud phone systems where the provider has not developed a softphone.

Operator Setup and Requirements:

  1. 'Use softphone for dialer' must be selected on the Operator Detail tab
  2. The Operator Detail Note 2 field must contain the name of the report prefixed with the text "report:" (Example: report:dialer_report).

Useful Note As the report won't have access to the Autodialer's @phone command, you will need to reference the @dph.nu field in the report.

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