VoiceGuide Online Help - Script Module : Transfer Call

Transfer Call

The Transfer Call module will transfer the call to another extension or telephone number.

It is recommended that a Dialogic card be used in systems which perform call transfers. A Dialogic card can be configured to work with all types of PBXs and telephone systems. Voice modems have a pre-set hookflash (other wise known as ‘flash’ or 'recall' signal) length and sometimes cannot be configured to work with all types of PBXs and telephone systems.

VoiceGuide's "Transfer Call" module can either transfer a call by doing a 'hookflash transfer' (just like what you would do when transferring a call from one PBX extension to another) or by dialing out on another line and connecting the original call to the outgoing call on another line ('Dial and Conference' transfer).

The 'Dial and Conference' transfer uses two lines for the entire length of the call, whereas after doing the hookflash transfer the line becomes free to take another call (just like the telephone handset becomes free after you transfer the call to another extension).

All PBXs support hookflash transfers, and some phone companies support hookflash transfers as well. You will need to check with your phone company to see if it supports hookflash transfers on it’s lines. If your system is using telephone lines which do not support hookflash transfers and you do not have a PBX then you will need to use the "Dial and Conference" transfer method.

For information of configuring the signals used by your PBX or Telephone Network to effect call transfers and conferencing please see here.

When specifying the number commas ',' can also be used to indicate pauses in the dialing sequence, ie: to allow a pause between the hookflash and the telephone number being dialed add a couple of commas before the phone number. (eg: the text box in the screenshot above would read ",,8843"). Note that commas can only be used when the transfer is made on analog lines. On ISDN lines commas cannot be used.

Result Variables can be used when specifying the telephone number or extension.

Hookflash Transfer
Blind

1. Dials the signal specified (usually just a hookflash),

2. Dials the telephone number,

3. Hangs up immediately

The caller will now be connected to another extension. VoiceGuide no longer monitors the call.

Some PBXs/Switches require that the destination extension starts ringing before VoiceGuide can hang up. When using such systems it may be necessary to add a comma or two at the end of the destination number to make VoiceGuide pause for a while after dialing the number and before hanging up the call.

Some PBXs/Switches require that the destination extension is answered before VoiceGuide can hangup. In such situations you will need to use the "Announced" or "Monitored" transfer option.

Hookflash Transfer
Monitored
(VoiceGuide for Dialogic only)

1. Dials the signal specified (usually just a hookflash),

2. Dials the telephone number,

3. Listens to see if a call is answered by a human or an answering machine. If a human or answering machine answer is detected then VoiceGuide hangs up, which completes the transfer. If no answer is detected or the extension is busy then VoiceGuide will dial the “retrieve call from announced transfer” signal (usually just a hookflash) and go down the Fail path.

Hookflash Transfer
Announced

1. Dials the signal specified (usually just a hookflash),

2. Dials the telephone number,

3. Plays a message announcing the Caller's ID, and awaits the selection from the called person whether to accept the call or not. "1" is used to accept the call, any other digit is used to decline the call. If "VoiceGuide for Dialogic" is used then the announce message will only start when VoiceGuide detects that the outgoing call has been answered.

4. If the call is accepted VoiceGuide will dial the “complete announced call transfer” signal (usually nothing is needed) and hang up and allow the two new parties to continue conversation. If the Success path is defined then that path will be taken, but script should be designed in such a way that VoiceGuide hangs up soon, so that the two parties can speak to one another.
If the call is declined, the called party does not answer, or the extension is busy then VoiceGuide will dial the “retrieve call from announced transfer” signal (usually just a hookflash) and then the "Fail" path is taken. If other more appropriate path is defined then that path is taken instead.

3 Way Conference
Blind

1. Dials the signal specified (usually just a hookflash),

2. Dials the telephone number,

3. Dials the signal as specified in “Complete blind conference call” setting (usually "!3")

4. Waits until the call is finished.

VoiceGuide will take the Success path if it is defined, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait and hang up when:

either party hangs up.
maximum conference time limit is reached (settable in VG.INI file)
digit "*" is pressed during conversation

3 Way Conference
Monitored
(VoiceGuide for Dialogic only)

1. Dials the signal specified (usually just a hookflash),

2. Dials the telephone number,

3. Listens to see if a call is answered by a human or an answering machine. If a human or answering machine answer is detected that VoiceGuide hangs up. If then VoiceGuide will dial the “retrieve call from announced transfer” signal (usually just a hookflash).

4. If a human or answering machine answer is detected VoiceGuide will dial the “complete announced conference” signal (usually "!3"). Then if the Success path is defined then that path will be taken, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait until end of call. If no answer is detected or the extension is busy then VoiceGuide will dial the “retrieve call from announced conference” signal and then the Fail path is taken (If other more appropriate path is defined then that path is taken instead).

If call is accepted VoiceGuide will take the Success path if it is defined, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait and hang up when:

either party hangs up.
maximum conference time limit is reached (settable in VG.INI file)
digit "*" is pressed during conversation

3 Way Conference
Announced

1. Dials the signal specified (usually just a hookflash),

2. Dials the telephone number,

4. If the call is accepted VoiceGuide will dial the “complete announced conference” signal (usually "!3"). Then if the Success path is defined then that path will be taken, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait until end of call. If the call is declined, the called party does not answer, or the extension is busy then VoiceGuide will dial the “retrieve call from announced conference” signal and then the Fail path is taken.

If call is accepted VoiceGuide will take the Success path if it is defined, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait and hang up when:

either party hangs up.
maximum conference time limit is reached (settable in VG.INI file)
digit "*" is pressed during conversation

Dial and Conference
General Notes:

The D4PCIUF and D/4PCIUS cards do not support "Dial and Conference". You need a JCT or DMV series card (eg. D/41JCT, D/120JCT, DMV160 etc.), or any T1/E1 Digital cards (eg. D/240JCT, DMV600B etc.)

The lines which should be used to place the call can also be specified. A number of different ways to specify the lines can be used:

1.Comma Delimited	eg: 2,3,4
2.XML Format	eg: <LineId>2</LineId><LineId>3</LineId><LineId>4</LineId>
3.Text Filename	each line of text file can contain either line selection information in either the Comma Delimited or XML Format.

If no lines are specified then any of the available lines are used.

VG Dialer add-on is required to use the "Dial and Conference" option.

End of call detection on analog lines is done by listening for disconnect tone. Some phone companies hold off with playing the disconnect tone until some time after hangup, and sometimes the time before the disconnect tone is played differs depending on whether the person who hung up was the one who made the call or received the call.

To be able to hangup calls immediately the phone company must either play the disconnect tone immediately after either party hangs up, or you should use T1/E1 ISDN lines. If the application needs to detect the precise time of when either party hung up then T1/E1 ISDN lines should be used.

Dial and Conference
Blind

1. Dials the second number on another line.

2. Connects the two calls together.

VoiceGuide will take the Success path if it is defined, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait and hang up when:

busy
maximum conference time limit is reached (settable in VG.INI file)
digit "*" is pressed during conversation

Dial and Conference
Monitored
(VoiceGuide for Dialogic only)

1. Dials the second number on another line.

2. Listens to see if the outgoing call is answered by a human or an answering machine. If a human or answering machine answer is detected then VoiceGuide connects the two calls together.

If call is connected VoiceGuide will take the Success path if it is defined, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait and hang up when:

busy
maximum conference time limit is reached (settable in VG.INI file)
digit "*" is pressed during conversation

Dial and Conference
Announced
(VoiceGuide for Dialogic only)

1. Dials the second number on another line.

2. Waits until the outgoing call is answered. When call is answered VoiceGuide plays a message announcing the Caller's ID, and awaits the selection from the called person whether to accept the call or not. "1" is used to accept the call, any other digit is used to decline the call.

If call is accepted VoiceGuide will take the Success path if it is defined, otherwise VoiceGuide will wait and hang up when:

busy
maximum conference time limit is reached (settable in VG.INI file)
digit "*" is pressed during conversation

'Announced' transfers timeout

The default length for how long VoiceGuide will await a confirmation to receive a call is 30 seconds. If you would like to change this, specify a timeout path in the 'Announced' modules to indicate the number of seconds you would like VoiceGuide to wait.

3 Way Conference Calls

You must have 3 Way Call Service enabled on your telephone line by your telephone company before you can use that feature.

Some telephone systems do not allow 3 Way Blind Conference Calling, and will only allow a 3 way conference call connection to be made when the called person has answered the phone (eg: Australia’s Telstra network). In those situations you must use the 3 Way Announced Conference Call option.

Many North American telephone networks allow immediate blind conferencing.

Dial and Conference Options

In VoiceGuide for Dialogic a series of following options are available when "Dial and Conference" transfers are used:

On-hold sound file to play while connection is made
Line selection list
When to connect the two callers
Options

The Options field can be used to specify the outgoing CallerID used for the call by using the XML syntax. eg: specifying <CallerId>5551234</CallerId> would result in CallerId to be set to 5551234 on outgoing calls. Note that the CallerID settings in Config.xml can be used to override the settings made here as the Config.xml CallerId settings would take precedence.

Paths

The following paths can be taken from the module:

SUCCESS	the call was transferred successfully
FAIL	the call was not transferred, or transfer was declined
TIMEOUT	there was a timeout awaiting for transfer to be accepted (announced transfers only)

When using a Dialogic card the following paths can also be specified in the module:

BUSY	number was busy
FAX	call was answered by a fax
NOANSWER	there was no answer
NODIALTONE	there was no dialtone
NORINGBACK	call was not answered and no ringback was heard
OPERATOR	SIT tone was heard indicating number is most likely disconnected

CONNECT	transfer completed successfully
AM	transfer completed successfully with Answering Machine answering the call.
VOICE	transfer completed successfully with a live Human answering the call.
CADENCE	transfer completed successfully based on cadence analysis.
LOOPCURRENT	transfer completed successfully based on loop current detection.

Troubleshooting:

If the call transfers are not working for you please go though this checklist:

1.	Can you do the call transfer manually on that line using a normal telephone handset?

2.	Is the hookflash the right length? (ie. is the original caller placed on hold?)

3.	Do settings in VG's "PBX Command Strings" config screen match the keys you need to press when doing it manually?

4.	If things are still not working have a look at VoiceGuide's trace log (When running the script click on VoiceGuide's View menu and select 'Event Trace Log' option - any log information will then appear in this window. You must open the trace window before making the call.)

5.	If nothing in the trace log stands out to you as the cause of the problem the post a question on the VoiceGuide Support Forum. Include in the post:

a)	Full detailed step-by-step description of how you just did the call transfer manually on this system,
b)	Your VoiceGuide script
c)	VG.INI file, and
d)	Copy of the trace log capturing the entire call.

Note:

If your system requires other specialized PBX signaling keep in mind that Hookflash and DTMF signals can also be generated using the “Play” module.
“!” is used to generate a hookflash and digits are used to generate DTMF tones.

Timeout paths between successive Play modules can be used if specific delays between successive PBX signals are required.