TAPI Dialer
The TAPI Dialer places outbound calls through a Windows telephony (TAPI) line device installed on the operator's workstation. When you click a dial icon next to a phone number in SBN, the program sends the number — together with any configured dial-out prefix and a set of DTMF tone sequences — to the selected TAPI device, which seizes the line and dials. A companion variant, TAPI Aurall, uses the same TAPI line but is intended for sites running an Aurall CTI integration.
Selecting this dialer
Open View → Options → Communications, check Enable Dialer, click the Dialer tab, choose Use TAPI Dialer in the dialer-type dropdown, then Apply and OK. To run the Aurall variant, choose Use TAPI Aurall instead.
What you need
A working TAPI line device must already be installed and configured in Windows on the operator's workstation — for example a modem or a TAPI driver supplied by your phone system vendor. SBN dials through whatever TAPI device you select; it does not install or configure that device for you. The TAPI Aurall variant additionally expects the site's Aurall CTI environment to be in place; that integration is configured per-site.
Placing a call
Click the dial icon next to any phone number in SBN. The program combines your configured dial-out prefix with the number, hands it to the selected TAPI device, and the device places the call on the line. The DTMF tone sequences you have configured are sent at the corresponding points in the call (when the line connects, when sending, and so on). When call-to-alarm-log stamping is enabled for the site, a standard TAPI call also writes the dial to the alarm log against the current contact and event. (The Aurall variant places the call the same way but does not write this automatic alarm-log entry.)
Settings
Only the fields below apply to this dialer on the Dialer tab; the modem/comm-port fields are used by other dialer types and stay disabled here.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Dialer Prefix | Digits placed in front of every number before dialing (for example a line-access prefix). |
| Tapi Device | The Windows TAPI line device SBN uses to place the call. Pick the installed device you want to dial through. |
| DTMF Tone Settings | Optional tone/command sequences sent during the call: an init sequence, send, receive, and hang-up sequences, plus three custom sequences. Leave blank if your line needs none. |
Show-status and close-dialog behavior and the voice-extensions option are also available for TAPI calls; set them to taste.
TAPI Aurall variant
Use TAPI Aurall dials through the same Windows TAPI line device and uses the same Dialer-tab settings (prefix, TAPI device, DTMF sequences) as the standard TAPI Dialer. The differences are that it is meant for sites running an Aurall CTI integration, and that it does not write the automatic alarm-log entry that the standard TAPI Dialer makes when that stamping is enabled for the site. Choose it only when your site has been set up for Aurall.
Troubleshooting
If no call is placed, confirm the Tapi Device is set to a device that is actually installed and working in Windows, and that the number plus your Dialer Prefix form a complete, dialable number for your line. If your phone line needs specific tones (for example to grab an outside line), confirm the DTMF Tone Settings are filled in correctly for your equipment.