Configuring VanillaSoft Auto-Dialing
VanillaSoft dialing is designed to work with almost every type of phone system, giving
you the power and productivity of preview (also called Click-to-Call) and progressive
dialing combined with our award-winning lead management system. For digital PBX
systems, please start by reading the appropriate section on page 7.
Before proceeding to install auto-dialing, please verify the following:
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you are working on a computer with a Windows operating system (Windows 98,
Windows 2000, XP, XP Home or Vista)
you are working within Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0 or higher
you are logged in as the administrator of your computer (in case of doubt, ask
your systems administrator or IT person).
security software that may interfere with the installation of controls has been
disabled.
Installing VanillaSoft dialing controls
The first step towards auto-dialing is to install our ActiveX controls. Log into the
appropriate VanillaSoft caller account on the computer that will be used when making
calls.
Note: Installation on Vista requires a few extra steps. Before installing the ActiveX
controls, go to the Internet Explorer menu: Tools Æ Internet OptionsÆ Security, click
on the Trusted Sites icon, then click on Sites… and add https://vanillasoft.net to the list,
click OK. Then click on Custom level and scroll down to "Initialize and script ActiveX
controls not marked as safe." to enable this feature. Click twice on OK and proceed with
installation.
Step 1
Click on the Test Controls link at the top right, as shown in the following screen grab.
VanillaSoft will now attempt to install the ActiveX controls. You may get a prompt
stating that an ActiveX installation is being blocked.
Please enable the installation of the control by right-clicking on the yellow bar and
choosing <Install ActiveX Control>. Click <Install> on all window boxes that pop-up to
approve the installation of a total of 6 controls, which will be installed one at a time.
Following the installation of the controls, the Test Controls page will display a series of
tests and indicate which have passed and which have failed. At this stage it is possible
that 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b and 9 indicate that they have failed. Log out of the VanillaSoft
application, close and restart Internet Explorer and log back into VanillaSoft . Click on
Test Controls again. Everything except 9 should now indicate that it has passed.
Step 2: Choosing the Line
Return to the main VanillaSoft caller screen and click on My Information in the main
menu bar. Go to Dialing Type at the bottom of the screen, and then follow the steps for
your type of phone system.
Configuring Analog Phones
Step 1
Under Dialing Type, choose TAPI and then select the computer modem (which will have
been detected by the VanillaSoft ActiveX Controls) from the drop-down list. Typically, it
is the first entry in the list and will have the word ‘modem’ in the name.
If no modems appear in the drop-down list, then either the computer does not have a
modem and one will need to be installed, or the modem is not installed correctly or
working properly and you will need to re-install the modem drivers or replace the
modem.
.
Click on Save at the top of the page.
Step 2
It is now time to hook the phone up into the computer. Unplug the phone from the analog
jack in the wall, and plug it into one of the phone ports of the modem in the back of the
computer (there will often be a receiver icon). Take another telephone line, and plug one
end into the second phone port in the modem in the computer and the other end into the
jack in the wall.
To Phone
To Wall Jack
or VoIP Box
After connecting the two telephone cords, check that you have a dial tone on your phone.
You are now set up for auto-dialing. To test, create a new contact from the caller screen
(using Add Contact) and put in a test phone number to dial. Click on the phone number,
and verify that the dialing box appears and that the number is being dialed. When you see
the dialing box appear, you should hear the phone being dialed, wait a few seconds and
then lift the receiver from the phone.
See Annex A for a diagram of the analog setup.
Important: laptops typically only have 1 phone port in their modem versus 2 in desktops.
In this case you need to plug a Telephone Splitter (from Radioshack) into the phone port
that will split this port into two ports.
Configuring Voice-over-IP (VoIP)
The VoIP setup will depend on whether you are using a softphone or an Analog
Telephone Adapter. If you have a physical phone on your desk that is plugged into a box
(supplied by your VoIP provider such as Vonage) then please follow directions for
Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) installation. If there is no physical phone (receiver and
dial pad), then please follow directions for Softphone installation.
Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) installation
Step 1
Under Dialing Type, choose TAPI and then select the computer modem (which will have
been detected by the VanillaSoft ActiveX Controls) from the drop-down list. Typically, it
will have the word ‘modem’ in the name. See Step 1 under Analog Phones for a screen
grab.
If no modems appear in the drop-down list, then either the computer does not have a
modem and one will need to be installed, or the modem is not installed correctly or
working properly and you will need to re-install the modem drivers or replace the
modem.
Step 2
Your phone should currently be plugged into a port of the Analog Telephone Adapter
supplied by your VoIP provider. Unplug the phone from the box, and plug it into one of
the phone ports of the modem in the back of the computer (there will often be a receiver
icon). Take another telephone line, and plug one end into the second phone port of the
modem in the computer and the other end into the port of the Analoge Telephone
Adapter supplied by your VoIP provider. In other words, you are placing your computer
modem between your telephone and the unit.
You are now set up for auto-dialing. To test, create a new contact from the caller screen
(using Add Contact) with a test phone number to dial. Click on the phone number, and
verify that the dialing box appears and that the number is being dialled. When you see the
dialing box appear, you should hear the phone being dialed, wait a few seconds and then
lift the receiver from the phone.
See Annex B for a diagram of the VoIP with ATA setup.
Important: laptops typically only have 1 phone port in their modem versus 2 in desktops.
In this case you need to plug a Telephone Splitter (from Radioshack) into the phone port
that will split this port into two ports.
Soft phone Installation
Step 1
Under dialing type, choose SIP and then select the appropriate type of soft phone from
the drop-down list (options include eyeBeam/X-lite, X-TAPI Lite/Pro, Skype, and
Network Junctions). Most VoIP providers such as Vonage and Vocalocity use the XLite/eyeBeam soft phone. Click on Save at the top of the page.
You are now set up for auto-dialing. To test, create a new contact from the caller screen
(using Add Contact) with a test phone number to dial and ensure that your soft phone is
launched. Click on the phone number. You should now see your soft phone dialing the
phone number.
Note: some users will see a markedly faster connect time by changing the following
option inside the X-Lite/eyeBeam soft phone: right-click the soft phone, select SIP
Account Settings… Æ Properties Æ Topology, in this tab there is an option enabled that
is called Enable ICE, disable this option, click OK and Close.
Configuring Digital PBX’s
We support all major PBX brands, including Nortel, Avaya, Cisco, Siemens, Toshiba,
NEC, Altigen, Asterisk and more. Most PBX's are TAPI compliant, but often a PBX
reseller needs to enable this feature on the switch. A TAPI Service Provider (TSP) is
installed on the caller's computer and your local reseller then configures the telephone
switch so that it knows which desk phone to ring. It will show up in the TAPI drop-down
box in the MyInformation tab typically as your Extension number or the name of the
Extension owner. Whenever VanillaSoft 'tells' the switch to dial a number from a
computer, the telephone switch does two things: it dials the number, and then it connects
that outbound line with your telephone extension. This is called a ring-back.
The first step in installing auto-dialing for a digital PBX is to ensure that the PBX is
TAPI compliant and that TAPI has been enabled. From that point installation is similar to
that of an analog phone, using the TAPI option and then selecting your extension from
the list. The phone will now be ready to auto-dial. Please ensure that if a pre-dial is
required (i.e. 9) that it is set under My Information as well.
ANNEX A: INSTALLING AN ANALOG TELEPHONE
Before
After
ANNEX B: INSTALLING VoIP WITH AN ANALOG TELEPHONE ADAPTER
Before
After
Internet
Ethernet Cable
Router
Phone line into
VoIP Box
VoIP Box