Version 2.0 of VoIP.ms Console is Nearing Completion
Steve Punter
Controlling Audio Playback
There
are a lot of new ways to listen to things, including Voicemail Messages,
Conference Messages, Call Recordings, and User Recordings. On any editor screen
where you have the ability to play something, you’ll find a new type of icon on
the top bar. This icon will either be a speaker, or a speaker with a slash
through it. Changing this option (by tapping on it) is universal throughout the
app, so switching it in one editor is reflected in all other editors.
When
the icon is a speaker, the audio will play through the loudspeaker of your
device, so anyone in the room can hear it. When the icon is a speaker with a
slash through it, the audio will play through your device’s earpiece, so you
can listen privately. While audio is playing, this icon will change to a box,
representing a STOP button. You can
use this to stop playback. Exiting the current window will also stop playback.
Call Recordings
VoIP.ms now allows you to record incoming and outgoing calls (for a small fee). These recordings are now accessible in a manner almost identical to the Call Log. Next to the Call Log icon on the top bar of the main screen, you’ll find a new icon shaped like a microphone. You’ll also find a new pull-out Hamburger menu option entitled “Call Recording” immediately below “Call Log”. Use either of these approaches to get to the Call Recording screen.
You’ll immediately notice that format-wise, it is virtually identical to the Call Log, but contains slightly fewer details. The menu options and settings closely mirror those available in the Call Log, and they function in exactly the same way. Also like the Call Log, the list will initially be populated by recordings from the default span of time set in the main app settings.
To hear a recording, simply tap on the desired listing. Like all audio, recordings are cached when you initially play them, so replaying one you’ve already heard won’t require a reload. Of course, over time you may accumulate a lot of these cached recordings, but you can clear this cache at any time. I cover the new Cache Management feature later on.
Call Parking
This new feature of VoIP.ms allows calls to be parked before passed off to another person. You’ll need to refer to VoIP.ms documentation to learn how to use this feature during a phone call, but creating, editing, and deleting of a Parking Lot, as well as assigning a parking lot to a Sub Account, can all be done from this app. You’ll find the Call Parking element right below Sub Accounts on the main screen.
Sequences
This new feature of VoIP.ms allows you to create a sequence of events that occur when a user selects an option in an IVR. Subsequently, you can assign a Sequence to a Response in an IVR by selecting Sequence from the Routing property in an IVR Response. You’ll find Sequences right below IVR on the main screen.
The next section covers new properties that have been added to editors you are already familiar with:
DIDs
§ Record Calls
§ Enable Transcription
§ Transcription Locale
§ Transcription Email
§ URL Callback
§ URL Callback Retry
Order a DID
You may now order these new types of DIDs:
§ Vanity Numbers
§ Virtual SIP Numbers
Sub Accounts
§ Allow *225 for Balance
§ Record Calls
§ Language
§ Parking Lot
§ Enable Transcription
§ Transcription Locale
§ Transcription Email
§ Maximum Expiry
§ RTP Timeout
§ RTP Hold Timeout
§ Enable POP Restrictions
§ POP Servers
§ Enable IP Restrictions
§ Add IP Restriction
Voicemails
§ Enable Transcription
§ Transcription Locale
Recordings
§ Listen to Recording
This next section describes new features that have been added:
Make Mass Changes to a Property
This
app has long supported a feature for listing all of the elements that refer to
specific other element. You were never able to do anything with this, but you
can now make changes to any or all of the referring elements.
For instance, let’s say you created twenty Filters
that all referred to a specific Ring
Group, but now you’d rather send them through a Time Condition instead. Using the previous version of the app (or
the VoIP.ms web portal) you would have
needed to change each one of these Filters
individually. That is both tedious, and error-prone. With V2.0 you can now tap on an edit icon in the Find Usages window and change every single use of a given element
to a different element. You also have the ability to choose WHICH of the referring elements are
changed.
So,
to change those twenty Filters, you’d
go to the editor for the Ring Group,
list the usages, and then tap the edit icon. You’d then change the reference
from the Ring Group to the desired Time Condition and then make sure you
were applying this only to the Filters
(assuming there were other unrelated elements using this Ring Group). You’d then tell VoIP.ms
Console to go ahead, and it would make changes to each of the affected Filters automatically.
If you made a mistake and didn’t mean to change what you changed, there is an UNDO option available in the Hamburger
menu that will reverse all of the changes that were just made on the server.
Create Filters from a Phonebook Entry
It’s
now possible to create a Filter based
on a Phonebook entry. If this entry
happens to have multiple phone numbers, then a group of Filters will be generated, each representing the individual
numbers. It will use the grouping feature of Filters to create what looks
like a single Filter.
Why is this functionality a useful addition? I recently discovered a really
simply way of configuring VoIP.ms for
getting rid of pesky robo-calls and scammers. The one thing that virtually all
of these calls have in common is that there is NO ONE on the other end when the
call is first placed. The call is either just a recording, or it is passed off
to a human being only AFTER it has been answered. The trick is therefore to send
all incoming calls to an IVR by
default. That IVR would say something
like “Hi, to speak with Steve, press one”. You’d then configure the one key in
the IVR to send the call along to a Ring Group or wherever you were
previously dispatching incoming calls to by default. As there is no one there
to hear the opening message, the one key is never pressed, and you aren’t
bothered by the caller.
But what about all of your regular callers? For them, you create Filters that pass their calls directly
to a Ring Group (or whatever), and
they get directly through to you. If anyone new calls, they can just press one
and you can later create a Filter
(from the Call Log) for that person.
However, when initially setting up this concept, you’ll need to create a lot of
Filters, and that is where the new
feature comes in handy, as it allows the quick creation of those Filters.
Assign a Filter Action to NO FILTER
In the previous version of this app, assigning a Filter Action to a Filter, but selecting <None> as the Filter wouldn’t work. This is now supported so that you can manipulate any calls that were not caught by a filter. I personally make use of this for the above-mentioned scheme for getting rid of scammers. I created a Filter Action for No Filter that colors the entry in light red. That way I can quickly look at my Call Log and see all of the calls that DIDN’T BOTHER ME.
Listen to any Recording where it is Assigned
In any editor where a Recording is assigned, you may now long-press the field to listen to that recording. Like all audio playback, a Recording is cached so that it only has to be loaded once, but you can clear this cache at any time.
Create a new Recording, make a WAV File, and assign it all in One Step
You can still create a new Recording by going through multiple steps, but you can now do this in one step, either from the Recordings list, or directly from any editor where a recording is assigned.
In the recording list, just start a new Recording, give it a name, and then tap “WAV File to Upload”. From the resulting popup list, just pick the entry immediately below “<None>” that says “<Make New Recording>”. In any other editor, go to the field where a recording is assigned and choose “<Make New Recording>”. Give the recording a name (which will be used for both the WAV file and the resulting Recording). You don’t have to worry about choosing a name that’s already in use, as the app will automatically add a numeric ending to make the name unique.
In either case, tap on the Record button, speak whatever is needed, and then tap the Stop button. Everything will be handled automatically.
Cache Management
Files containing cached copies of audio will build up over time, and to deal with that there is now a new feature called Cache Management. You access this from the Hamburger menu. When you select this option, you’ll see a list of the four types of audio cache (Call Recordings, Voicemail Messages, Conference Messengers, and User Recordings). You’ll see how many files are in each section, and how much of your storage space these use up. At the bottom will be a sum total of all of the space used by these types of cached files.
You can clear the cache for one specific type by tapping on it. Alternatively, you can clear all of the cached files at once by tapping on the CLEAR ALL button at the top-right. All requests to clear a cache will be followed up with an “are you sure” question.
Expanded Call Log Features
In keeping with new features added to VoIP.ms over the years, the Call Log will now display entries that represent various charges, such as those related to call recordings, call transcriptions, and voicemail transcriptions. Line items representing the cost of a Call Recording will have a microphone icon, while line items representing the cost of a transcription will have icon of a box with a pencil in it.
In the log options you’ll be able to choose records and transcriptions in the filter, along with incoming, outgoing, internal, etc.
Expanded Filter Features
As VoIP.ms now supports Filters based on a specific Phonebook Group, or on all Phonebook entries, these can now be configured in this app. I’ve also fixed an oversight concerning the assigned DID. Previously, this app would only allow one Filter of any given type or to any given phone number. However, it has always been possible on VoIP.ms to assign multiple duplicate Filters, so long as each referred to a different DID. I have added support for this. You are allowed to have one duplicate Filter per DID, and one that is assigned to All DIDs.