Toshiba Using ACT 3.0 Application Bulleti

Computer Telephony Integration

Application Bulletin

AB50-0011
September 1, 1997

Using ACT! 3.0 with StrataLink

ACT! 3. 0 and higher pro vides a TAPI compliant interfac e that can be link ed with Strat aLink to
provide an extre mely powerful ap plication working with a Strata DK sys tem. This combined
application overcomes many limitations of ACT! 3.0. This includes handling multiple calls,
having screens “pop” when calls are connected, and automatically opening the search to all
records for each “screen pop” action.

When using ACT!, it is important to understand its capabilities and limitations so it can be
used properly. The purpose of this bulletin is to assist you in understanding how to install, set
options, and use ACT! as a TAPI appl ication with the Strata D K system.

Linking ACT! 3.0 to StrataLink

ACT! 3.0 contact management software package, in conjunction with the StrataLink utility,
can tightly i nte grat e wi th t he Toshiba TAPI Service Provider. For outgoing calls, ACT! uses its
TAPI interface to dial the number to the TAPI Service Provider. For incoming calls, TAPI
messages are sent to StrataLink from the Toshiba TAPI Service Provider. StrataLink applies
the conditions and filters to this event, which causes ACT! to lookup the phone number in the
database. Any matching entries are displayed in a “Screen Pop.”

4170116

Strata DKT

2435

RS-232 Link

RPCI to COM Port

Microsoft Windows PC

TAPI

Service
Provider

(Windows)

Strata-

Link

TAPI

DLL

DDE
Link

ACT!

3.0

A number of considerati ons shoul d alw ays be appl ied whenever calls are bein g control led with
CTI applications such as ACT! The method that the application handles the search routine
can impact whether the scre en will match the ca ll. ACT! sequentially selects records, r educi ng

Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.

9740 Irvine Bl vd., Ir vin e, CA 92618-1697 [phone]

Telecommunication Systems Division

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AB50-0011

the number from which to choose with each selection. This can be a problem if calls are
transferred to the CTI enabled phone.

When calls are transferred from one phone to another, the first call to the CTI phone is an
“Intercom Consultation Call.” The Caller ID for this call is the internal station number of the
transferring stat ion. If this st ation were a number suc h as extensi on 214, then the f irst Call er ID
attempted in ACT! will be for Area Code 214 and all records selected will be from this Area
Code. When the call is finally transferred, then the Caller ID will be sent a second time with
the number from the outside cal ler. If this number is not within the 214 Area Code, ACT! will
not find a matc h.

To fix this proble m, use the St rata DK System Administ ration capabilities to create LCD
names on phones us ed for t he call transfer s. By cre ating an LCD name th at conta ins a na me (or
a name and number if n o s pace character appears between the name and number ) causes TAPI
to send a Caller ID name only and not a number. This stops StrataLink from sending the
“screen pop” event on the intercom call and only sends it when the outside call is finally
transferred to the station.

The original ACT! PhoneLink Application Note listed the following ACT! software
limitations:

♦ “EVERYONE” must be selected to handle multiple calls.
♦ Act! treats all line buttons equally.

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♦ ACT! does not provide information on held calls; it only provides automatic screen pops

for Call Ringing events.

StrataLink addresses many of these issues and provides capabilities to flexibly control these
events.

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Installing ACT! 3.0

Step 1: Install the Toshiba StrataLink/TAPI Service Provider

Insert the first diskette of the two diskette set in Drive A:, select Run... from either File main
menu of Windows 3.1x or under the Start button for Windows 95 and enter A:\Setup. The
installation Wizard will direct you in installing the software. Toshiba recommends that
StrataLink be included in the startup process of the PC. This will have StrataLink always
working on the desktop and the user only needs to start ACT! to be operational.

Step 2: Install ACT! 3.0

Use the software installation instructions provided by Symantec, Inc..

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Step 3: ACT! Settings

➤

To setup ACT! 3.0 for use with StrataLink

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1. From the main menu, select Edit, Preferences.

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2. Select t he Dialer tab. Then check Use dial er.

3. Under Dialer settings, select Toshiba DKT TSPI as the modem.

4. Choose a Location.

Strata DK I&M August 1997

Using ACT! 3.0 with StrataLink

Location refers to the Windows Location Parameters established in Telephony Setup.
These are used to determine PBX dial codes to be inserted prior to dialing the number.

5. Make sur e that Lookup Caller using Caller ID must be OFF (not checked).

6. (optional) Other items can be selected based upon the preferences for the desktop. You
can:

♦ hide the dialer (set it to disappear) when the call is done or remain until manually

cleared

♦ set the timer t o automatically start a timer for calls
♦ set a preference for outbound line (button) selection.

AB50-0011

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Step 4: Open StrataLink

StrataLink needs to be initialized for controlling ACT! for incoming calls. This is done by
creating a set of Trigger Rules for operation. The following rules are a guide for creating a set
of rules that will work for your application.

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AB50-0011

The above rules are written for any line button on the phone. The first rule creates a “Pop”
screen whenever a new call begins ringing, and a Caller ID number has been received, and I
am “Not Talking” on the phone.

The second rule creates a “Pop” whenever I connect to that call and the call has a Caller ID
number associated with the call. The last two rules open the search to “EVERYONE” when a
call is placed on Hold or Disconnected.

These last actions are needed for ACT! since the search routine narrows its record search to
those that meet the cri te ri a. Th ese rul es gene ral l y le ad t he s ear ch t o one re cor d group, and any
additional selections must be within this group.

To automatically search al l records to allow a call to be placed on Hold and move to a second
or third caller, the search should be opened to all records in the file.

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CAUTION!

ACT! Screen Pop Actions

The following Actions have been predefined to work with ACT! 3.0 to control the screen to
match the Caller ID received. Toshiba does not expect the user to understand the details of the
interface bet ween ACT! and StrataLink. Thes e actio ns are pro vid ed to ens ure that informat io n
is entered correctly in a given system when problems might occur.

Use caution when employing Call Hold and Call Clearing trigger rules. If
multiple phones have the same line appearances, calls placed on hold and
disconnected from one of the other phones will trigger the event in this CTI­enabled location. The action “Lookup Everyone” should not cause a
problem.

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Toshiba has verified these operations and would be glad to assist in any changes that you may
need.

Strata DK I&M August 1997