# Dial Strings for Outdials

When you are configuring the server to outdial, you create a dial string to duplicate the manual steps that you would perform to dial a pager or place a phone call.

## Define the Operations Required to Page or Place a Call

Paging (Calling the Pager)

Many PBXs require that you dial an access code to get an outside line. To call the pager, you usually dial the pager company telephone number, listen for a pager tone, then dial the code number of the pager. Before you dial the pager company telephone number, however, you pick up the receiver on the telephone, and listen for a dial tone to be sure that the telephone system is ready to accept the number that you dial. The steps for successfully activating this pager, therefore, are to:

1. Go off-hook and listen for the dial tone

2. Dial any access code necessary to get an outside line

3. Dial the pager company telephone number

4. Listen for the pager tone

5. Dial the pager number

All of these steps must be configured.

Message Delivery and Call Placement

Many telephone switches require that you dial an access code to get an outside line. The sequence of events that you perform (other than dialing the actual number), such as waiting for tones, must be configured in the dial string.

## Translate the Required Operations to a Dial String

This table lists the characters that the server recognizes as the steps required to page or to place a call. You use these characters to make up your dial string:

Dial String Characters

Character | Explanation
--- | ---
0-9, *, # | Keys on a standard push button telephone
( | The following digits should be dial pulsed (10 PPS)
) | Stop pulsing; resume sending DTMF tones
+ | Pause for one second
A-D | Fourth column DTMF keys
E | Go off-hook, wait for dial tone or other steady tone (pager go- ahead or confirmation tone, for example), then do next item in string
F | Switch hook flash followed immediately by dialing
G | Greet - Wait for a voice or computer tone answer
H | Hang up (go on-hook)
L | Answer Supervision-Wait for an answer supervision signal that indicates the receiving phone has gone off-hook, then dial remaining characters after receiving the signal. Valid only with four-wire connections, not with loop start or ground start phone lines.
N | Start a new activity; do not go off-hook
O | Ring once
P | Go off-hook, do not wait for dial tone
S | Switch hook flash, no wait required
T | Go off-hook, wait for dial tone
V | Voice pager: play first unplayed message (and update mailbox to count it as played).

Note: The server always assumes a G (wait for greeting) as the last character in a message delivery dial string.

The dial string that you formulate is divided into three parts:

- Pager system access code: identified by the pager system index number, contains the first part of the dial string necessary to reach the user’s pager. It is usually the part of the dial string that is common to some group of users. A pager system index number from 0 to 15 that assigns a pager system to a mailbox. If you do not select an outdial index for a pager schedule, the server cannot issue a page when a message is left in that mailbox.

- Pager number: is the balance of the dial string necessary to reach the user’s pager.

- Post-pager number: used as the data to display on a display pager.

Note: If there is no pager or post pager dial string entered, a page will not be sent.

## Design Rules

When designing your dial strings, observe the following rules in assigning each of the three components:

- The first character in the dial string must make the server go off-hook and wait for a dial tone. A T is recommended.

- An F (switch hook flash) produces the switch hook flash followed immediately by dialing

- The access code is always outdialed before the pager number. The dial string used is dependent on the pager system selected.

- The pager system part of the dial string is limited to 30 characters.

- Only 16 pager systems can be stored in the NuPoint Voice configuration at any one time, regardless of the number of paging groups configured. However, each pager system can be shared by many users or line groups.

- The pager number is limited to 16 characters. The server administrator enters it in a mailbox’s configuration.

## Programming Notes:

1. After the last character is outdialed, the system goes on-hook ("hangs up") automatically, except when message delivery is specified.

2. When a mailbox is programmed for message delivery, the system automatically waits for a greeting. (If a G is erroneously programmed at the end of the dial string, the system ignores it.)

3. A "V" anywhere in the dial string causes the system to play the first unplayed message only. If there is more than one message in the mailbox, the user will probably be paged again. The next unplayed message will play because each unplayed message generates its own paging request.

4. When the system is programmed to outdial a telephone number to the outside network, and the number is followed by a G (wait for person or pager to answer), the "clicks" and "pops" of particularly noisy switching equipment may be misinterpreted as a greeting. To avoid any misunderstanding, dial the telephone number, then count the number of seconds it takes for the receiving telephone to ring or the pager to answer. If the call is made to a pager, insert the appropriate number of plus signs (+) between the number and the G. For example, if the dial string is "T9T5551212G," and it took five seconds to answer, change the string to "T9T5551212+++++G."

5. Since Message Delivery always assumes a G at the end of the dial string, insert the appropriate number of plus signs (+) at the end of the pager number.

6. You can use the Answer Supervision (L) code if you have analog phone lines. This is a good alternative to the Greet (G) code, because answer supervision can increase reliability and lower connect time. Answer supervision time out controls how many seconds the system waits until issuing a time out. If the system does not detect answer supervision (a ringing on the line) by the number of seconds set in this exception, the page is considered a failure. This time out can be set between 0 and 255 seconds, where 0 means no time out period is enforced (wait forever).

## Examples:

Example 1:

To page John Smith manually, you must lift the telephone receiver, wait for a dial tone; dial 9 to get an outside line; listen for another dial tone; dial (408) 555-9876; allow two seconds for the line to settle; listen for computer tone; then dial 1234. This makes John���s pager beep or vibrate. The code for these actions is:

T9 4085559876 ++ G 1234 | Wait for dial tone. Tell the PBX that you want an outside line Call the pager company’s number Wait for the line to settle Wait for computer tone Dial the number of the individual pager

Example 2:

Mary Jones has a DID display pager. To access this pager manually, you must lift the telephone receiver; wait for a dial tone; dial 9 to get an outside line; listen for a dial tone; dial (916) 325-9116; wait four seconds for the call to go through; wait for a computer tone; dial the display data, 237-6644; and press the # key (pound) to tell the pager that all the display data has been entered. This process activates the pager. The code for these actions is:

T9 9163259116 ++++ G 2376644 # | Wait for dial tone. Tell the PBX that you want an outside line Dial (916)325-9116 Wait four seconds for the call to go through Wait for computer tone Dial the display data Press the pound key to indicate all data has been entered

Note: When designing your paging setup, choose your pager system dial strings carefully. You can only refer to 16 pager system access codes per server.

## Reporting Pager System Access Codes

You can create a report of pager systems, and their indexes and dial strings, by running the Pager Access Codes report from the Reports Menu in the Text console.

The server displays the available indexes, dial strings, and pager names (“paging system names”) as in the following example.

Sample Report of Pager Systems Access Codes

PAGER SYSTEMS ACCESS CODES
Mon Aug 10 10:59:33 20XX
INDEX | PAGER NAME | ACCESS CODE | HOLD
--- | --- | --- | ---
0 | INTERNAL | T | 10
1 | EXTERNAL | T9 | 10
2 | 415 Area Code | T91415 | 20
3 | PAGER 916-325 | T91916325 | 20
4 | Empty |  |
5 | <no name> |  |
6 | <no name> |  |
7 | <no name> |  |
8 | <no name> |  |
9 | <no name> |  |
10 | <no name> |  |
11 | <no name> |  |
12 | <no name> |  |
13 | <no name> |  |
14 | <no name> |  |
15 | <no name> |  |
Press any key to continue.... |  |

Note that, in this sample, pager systems 5 through 15 have no name. These are pager systems that are not yet set up. Pager system 4 (Empty) is set up for use with pagers whose entire dial strings are contained in the pager number.

If you need to add a pager that requires the outdialing of more than 16 characters (i.e. the coding string is too long to fit into the pager number field) and no appropriate outdial index exists, you must configure a new pager system before you can add the pager.

Parent topic: Configuration Overview