How to submit calls in batch mode

Will be using your API via a VB.net web app. Not sure how many lines we will be using initially, but when I program a series of calls to be made (let’s say I have 100 calls & have 8 lines available), programatically, do I initiate a ‘CallText’ for all 100 calls (knowing that only 8 @ a time will be processed) – then, do I have to do a ‘CallStatus’ on all 100 to see their statuses? — OR –
Do I have to do a ‘Loop’-ing style function where I initiate a ‘CallText’ for 8 calls, wait to get all of those statues back, then do the next 8, check the statuses, etc…until all 100 calls have been made?
Don’t see anything explaining this in any of your docs.

Either way should work since the gateway has it’s own outbound call scheduler. However, it is recommended not to submit too many calls (compared with the available lines) to the gateway, especially if these calls are scheduled to be called at the same time period. Calls that cannot be made in time have to be re-scheduled, cause more locking, disk operation, and computing.

For Voicent programs like BroadcastByPhone, the number of submitted calls are maintained to be exactly as the number of lines available on the gateway. Whenever a call is finished, a new call will be submitted. There is no need to poll the call status very often since phone calls take time. You can try to poll every 5 seconds, for example.

The other choice is to submit all your calls at the same time, but set the appropriate call time for them. For example, to set the first 8 calls at some time, and the next 8 calls at 2 minutes after that time, and so on. The time is going to be an estimate, but it is easier to implement.

Posted in Developer |

Import leads for automatic diaing

I have just imported 1200 leads. But dates show up in the name and phone fields. I need to know what I need to do to make the leads import correctly so my broadcast will work

If your original leads are in Microsoft Excel format, you can simply copy-paste the columns to BroadcastByPhone’s spreadsheet interface. Click the Excel column header and select the whole column, click Copy (or Ctrl-C), then select the first cell in the corresponding column from BroadcastByPhone’s spreadsheet, click Paste (or Ctrl-V).

If you do want to use import, please make sure the column orders are the same. If there is extra columns than the default Name and Phone columns, try to add columns first to BBP before importing.

Posted in Auto Dialer |

Auto dialer play mp3

I have four lines and I need to know how do I upload my own outgoing messages if in the mp3 format and how can I set it up where each line has a different out going message

You cannot play mp3 files directly for outbound calls. The reason is that the global standard format for telephone audio is: PCM 8 KHz, 16 bit, mono. All audio files must be converted to this format. For more information, please see Audio FAQ for Dialers

To play different message (audio file) for different campaign, simply run multiple BroadcastByPhone program, each with its own call list and message. When start broadcasting, specify the number of lines to be used for the campaign. It is recommended that the total number of lines among all campaigns is less or equal to the available lines of the gateway (in your case, it is 4 lines).

Posted in Auto Dialer |