SpeedDial is US$8 shareware. See the Registration Info section below.
SpeedDial is a program that lets you keep a list of entries of names and phone numbers. When you want to call someone in your list, SpeedDial will dial it for you through your modem or speakers.
Getting Started
The minimum requirements of SpeedDial are as follows...
Any Macintosh with a 68020 processor or higher, or a PowerPC processor
Mac OS 7.1 or later
1MB of free RAM
Any Hayes-compatible modem for modem dialing (OPTIONAL)
If you aren’t sure if your computer meets these requirements, switch to the Finder and select About This Macintosh... from the Apple menu. If you see a picture of the Earth from outer space, or the words “System Software” followed by a number equal to or higher than 7.1, and the number next to “Largest Unused Block” is higher than 1MB (1MB=1024K), you’re a-okay. However, if you have an ‘020 or ‘030 processor, you may need Apple’s Thread Manager extension installed. If your computer looks fine in the About This Macintosh... window but the program still won’t run, install Thread Manager and give it a try. You can get it at most shareware sites out there.
Wonder if SpeedDial is Power-PC native? Well, it’s not. I really didn’t think that the speed boost PowerPC users would get would be worth increasing the size of the program, since it’s not a program that needs a lot of horsepower. But it should run just fine on any of the computers that fit the above requirements.
And as for your modem, if you have a modem, it's probably Hayes-compatible. There's not many modems out there that aren't. If it turns out yours isn't, SpeedDial will not be able to dial numbers through your modem, but you can still dial through your speaker. Keep reading to find out how.
If your computer meets the above requirements but the program still won’t run, contact me. The info’s at the bottom of this page.
All right, let's get started. Start up SpeedDial by double-clicking it. This will bring up the main window with a lot of empty spaces, but don't get scared... this is a very easy to use program. I'll take you through it step by step. And Balloon Help is there to help you if you need it as well.
The first thing we need to do is create a new entry. This is easy; just click the New button. This will create a new entry with the name of Untitled; you'll see it appear in the list of entries above the New button.
Now, Untitled is a lousy name, so in the Name field, type John Doe. In the Number field, type 555-6639. And in the Comments field, type "Don't call before 10 AM." Now click Save Changes. We now have an entry for John Doe.
Let's create another one. Click New again, and enter Jane Doe for name, 555-5578 in the number field, and "Ask for Extension 5564" in the Comments field. Click Save Changes.
So we now have two entries; one for John and one for Jane. You can switch between them by clicking on their names in the entry list box on the left. You can also further edit their names, numbers and comments in their respective fields, but remember that changes don't take place until you click the all important Save Changes button.
Now say we wanted Jane's entry to be at the top of the list. To do this, click on Jane's entry to open it, and in the menu to the left of "in list," select 1. Click Save Changes, and Jane's entry will jump to the top of the list. Using this "in list" menu, you can rearrange your entries any way you want.
Deleting an entry from the list is easy. Select John's entry and click Delete. Oops! You'll get an error message saying that if you want to delete an entry, you have to hold down Option while you click Delete. This is to make it real hard to accidentally delete the phone number of a big client or something.
Now say we wanted to give our pal Jane a call. There are two ways you can use SpeedDial to dial the number for you. Those two ways are using your modem, or playing the touch-tone dialing sounds through your computer's speaker.
Dialing Through the Modem
To have SpeedDial dial through your Hayes-compatible modem, go to the Options menu, select the Dial Through submenu, and select Modem. Now go to the Options menu to the Port submenu, and select which port your modem is plugged into. Odds are it's plugged into the Modem port, but it might be plugged into the Printer port since they're interchangable. (If you have an internal modem, try selecting Modem.) Again, go to the Options menu to the Dial Type submenu, and select if you want your modem to use pulse or tone dialing. If the phone wiring your modem is connected to is pretty old, you might have to use tone dialing, but most places should do just fine with either. (Using tone dialing is faster though.) One more trip to the Options menu to the Speaker submenu, and select whether you want your modem's speaker to be on or off. If it's on, it'll be pretty loud and annoying, so you might want to keep it off.
Okay, that's enough options. Now, whenever you want SpeedDial to dial a number, select the entry you want to call, pick up your telephone, and click Dial. SpeedDial will tell your modem to dial the digits. Listen through your phone, and when the modem is done dialing, click Hang Up. SpeedDial will tell your modem to hang up, but, so long as your telephone is still picked up, your connection will still remain active.
Dialing Through the Speaker
Dialing through the speaker is easy. Go to the Options menu, and in the Dial Through submenu, select Speaker. Ignore all the other stuff.
Now, when you want to make a call, select the entry you want to call. Pick up your telephone, and hold the mouthpiece (the part you talk into) up to your Mac's speaker. Click Dial, and SpeedDial will play the touch-tone sounds through your Mac's speaker and into the phone's mouthpiece. When SpeedDial is done dialing, begin your conversation.
Note that sometimes, especially if there's a lot of loud background noise in the room or your speakers are playing other sounds, the phone might miss one of the sounds that SpeedDial makes. If this happens, hang up the phone and try again.
Send Command Lines to Modem
In the Speial menu, you'll see Send Command Lines to Modem. This brings up a little window that lets you send AT command lines directly to your modem. You'll probably never use this, but I used it while I was creating SpeedDial and decided to keep it in there for fun. If you want to try it out, try typing "ATTD5554989" (or another number) to have your modem dial 555-4989, then type "ATH0" (that's a zero, not an o) to hang up your modem. You can also use this window to test if your modem is Hayes-compatible.
Supported and Not Supported
Through both the modem and the speaker, SpeedDial can dial numbers with the digits 0-9, the characters * and #, and the letters A, B, C, and D (which are used in some parts of the globe). However, SpeedDial doesn't support the R button (also used in some parts but not all).
And SpeedDial supports the comma for making two-second pauses while dialing. This is great for automatically entering calling card numbers or PINs. For example, if you put "1-800-555-5771,,,1234-5678-9012" into a Number field and clicked Dial, SpeedDial would dial 1-800-555-5771, then wait six seconds, then dial 1234-5678-9012. Again, this works through both the modem and the speaker.
Registration Info
SafePicker is distributed as shareware. You may use SpeedDial as long as you like without registering, but your list of entries can't have more than five entries in it. To use more than five entries, register today. Registration is only US$8!
To register SpeedDial, open up the Register application included with SpeedDial. It's pretty easy to use, but if you need help you can turn on Balloon Help. Select the payment method and how many copies of SpeedDial you want to register and enter your postal or email address and any other info the program prompts you for.
Registration is handled through Kagi, so don't worry that you're not sending the money directly to me. They process all the financial stuff for me, then they let me know you registered. I'll then send you the code you need to register your copy of SpeedDial.
Once you register, you can make the "Registered To: Your Name" message go away simply by moving the mouse over it.
Version History
1.0 (June 5, 1998) - Initial release
Distribution Information
SafePicker is shareware. That means you are free to make as many copies and distribute this program to your hearts' content; in fact, I encourage it. Just make sure this Read Me file and the Registration program is included.
Contact Information
If you have a problem, think you’ve found a bug, or just want to tell me how cool or pathetic my program is, don’t hesitate to contact me! Just email me at albright@kagi.com and I’ll get back to you. If you're on a OneNet BBS, you can also email me at Garrett Albright, Smuggler's.
Also, the web site for all of my programs is at http://albright.home.ml.org/ If you’ve think you’ve found a bug, check here to see if it’s already been discovered by someone else before you mail me, if you can.
And ICQ buffs, you might be able to catch me at #15438621.
And as for Hotline, I go by the appropriate handle "Albright." And you can sometimes find me hanging out at the REALbasic Café at cafe.realbasic.com
Special Thanks
Niklas Frykholm created the sounds SpeedDial uses to dial phone numbers through the modem in his SoundPhone package. Check out his web site at http://www.ts.umu.se/~r2d2/ As part of the deal for using the sounds, he gets free registration.
