DialMe is a very simple application that dials your phone through your modem. It can be used as a stand-alone application, but its primary purpose is to receive apple events from other applications requesting it dial the phone for them. (This may sound complicated, but it is really quite simple to use.) I designed DialMe to be used in conjunction with FileMaker Pro, but it can be used with any application capable of sending apple events to other applications.
You are free to use it and distribute it, as long as this ReadMe file is included with it.
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System Requirements for DialMe:
1. A Macintosh with System 7.0 or higher.
2. A modem.
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This is the way DialMe works: An application, such as FileMaker Pro, sends an apple event of class "FONE" and of type "DIAL" to DialMe. DialMe starts up, sends the number on the Clipboard to the modem, and then quits. If there is no number present on the Clipboard, DialMe simply beeps and quits. Please be aware that DialMe removes any characters that are not numbers from what it retrieves from the Clipboard. This means it won't dial numbers like 1-800-PIZZAAA. (I made it this way so that descriptive comments can be included in phone number fields within FileMaker Pro.)
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To use DialMe with FileMaker Pro to dial your phone numbers, simply write a script in FileMaker Pro that does the following (for help with writing scripts refer to the FileMaker Pro User's Guide):
1) Copies the phone number you want to dial to the Clipboard. (You don’t have to worry about removing any text that may be in the field containing the phone number. DialMe strips everything but numbers from the string anyway.)
2) Sends the apple event of class "FONE" and of ID "DIAL" to the target application "DialMe." To do this, insert the script command "Send Apple Event." Specify "Other" as the kind of event to send. In the dialog box that comes up, enter "FONE" as the event class, and enter "DIAL" as the event ID or type. (Make sure these are in all capital letters. Event class and type are case-sensitive.) Specify "DialMe" as the target application.
That's it!
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To change the settings of DialMe, start it up by double-clicking on it from the Desktop. Select "Preferences" from the "File" menu. The Preferences dialog box will come up, allowing you to change the settings DialMe uses when dialing the phone through your modem. The settings are:
1. Dial Command String: This is the command string that will be sent to the modem to dial the phone. The default is "ATDT" which tells the modem to use standard tone dialing. This should be fine for most modems.
2. Configuration String: This is the configuration string that will be sent to the modem before dialing takes place. The default is "AT" which simply says "attention" to the modem. Again, this should be fine for many modems. You may need to specify special settings for your modem. (I use "ATM0" which tells the modem to turn its speaker off, so I don't here the dialing of the number through the modem's speaker.)
3. Local Area Code: Enter your local area code. When DialMe gets the number from the Clipboard, it checks to see if the first three digits of the phone number match the local area code. If they match, and the phone number is longer than 7 digits, then the local area code is removed before the number is sent to the modem.
4. Long Distance Prefix: Enter the prefix required for long distance numbers. If DialMe determines that the number is not a local one, it adds the long distance prefix to the front of the phone number before it is sent to the modem. (Characters other than numbers can be included as part of the long distance prefix.)
5. Port: Select either the modem or printer port, depending on which port has your modem connected to it. The default is the modem port.
6. Baud Rate: Select the baud rate you want DialMe to use when communicating with your modem. The default is 1200 baud.
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If you have any comments or suggestions, I can be reached via e-mail at:
jeffe@aol.com
I can also be reached by regular mail at:
Jeff Miles
5604 Stanmore Way
Elk Grove, CA 95758
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Some people will find DialMe too limiting for their needs. If you would like to use something more sophisticated, I suggest you look into a shareware application called "Acid Jazz," by Kevin Jundt. It is well done and comes with a manual containing good examples on how to use it.
