Program to import dialer phone numbers

Some years ago, I created a set of processes using ACCESS and a scripting compiler that 1) supplies an existing analog dialer with a subset of phone numbers via a link to the dialer’s .dbf file, 2) starts it, and 3) gathers a summary of results. It requires about a month to process the master set. The processes do not require human intervention other than reading email that contains an event log. The phone company provides the callerID.

I need to replace the analog dialer with a more robust system such as Voicent. However…

As I understand it, Voicent requires the called number list to be in a .voc file format. We must either copy or import the phone numbers from another source into .voc, and this copy/import is a manual keyboard/mouse function. The function will need to be done daily because the list is dynamic. Addresses and phone numbers constantly change. We need to supply the phone number list Voicent each day without human intervention. If a human must do this step, then we will need to find another solution that replaces the analog dialer. Please provide us with an executable program that converts a file of phone numbers to the structure (.voc) Voicent requires or, add to Voicent the ability to accept something other than .voc (such as a .txt file) as its input file. An ACCESS data base table preferred, but .txt is acceptable.

Actually, it is not necessary to have a program to import the phone numbers. You should be able to use the Voicent BroadcastByPhone program’s command line interface directly. Here are the steps:

1. Create empty call list

Create empty call list (.voc) files and use them as your templates. To start broadcast from your script or program, simply copy the appropriate .voc file to your working directory first, then use the copied .voc file. You can also associate the empty call list file with a specific broadcast message (designed by the built-in Message Designer or IVR Studio) or default message. With default message, you need to specify the audio file in the command line.

2. Use the command line to start broadcast

The BroadcastByPhone program has extensive command line options. To add new numbers to the call list file (.voc), use the -numbers option, or if you have a text file (.CSV), use the -import option. Actually, if you use the -numbers or -import options, you do not even need to create an empty .voc files first. The program will create the file for you.

For other auto dialer command line options, please see the online help or program Help file under the Help menu.

3. Use status call back

Two useful options are -statusurl and -statusexe, which are used to define callback functions whenver a call is finished. These options enable real time update for call status.