Walkthrough: Use Global Variable with Entry.bas Script to Play Rotating Advertisement

In this walkthrough we will use a Global Variable defined in an Entry.bas script to set the starting Advertisement Number. The Advertisement Number will be incremented sequentially to determine the current Advertisement Number to use. Each Advertisement will be set-up as an Announcement Type Mailbox whose Mailbox # will be equal to the Advertisement Number and the Mailbox Greeting will be the Advertisement message. Each Advertisement message will be played sequentially at the start of a call across all lines.

Walkthrough Overview

In this walkthrough, you will:

Create Mailbox Records;
Create Audiotex Records/Modules and Associated Scripts.
Define entry in the IVR Application List for the new custom IVR;
Set Ports.

During this walkthrough, you will learn to do the following:

Use a Global variable;
Create and run an Entry.bas script;
Set-up an Announcement Status Mailbox with Settings UL3 (limit owner options to 3) and NGN (do not require mailbox name and greeting for first time login);
Get value of a global variable and assign it to a local variable;
Send caller to the mailbox associated with the local variable using the CALLBasic Return command;
Setup mailbox to allow mailbox owner to log in during greeting;
Handle caller hang up and call failure.

Prerequisites and Assumptions

CALLMaster software installed and running with the Dialogic board installed and configured. For more information, see Installation and Setup.
A working knowledge of CALLMaster Manager. Specifically how to add, delete and edit records.

Phone lines connected to CALLMaster and tested.

Create Mailbox Records

For this walkthrough we will use 9900 as the first Advertisement Number and 9905 as the last Advertisement Number. We will reserve mailbox numbers 9900 thru 9999 for Advertisement. There must be a sequentially numbered mailbox records set-up and used.

For each record, the Mailbox # will be equal to the Advertisement Number, the Type set to Announcement, and Allow Login During Greeting enabled. Each mailbox will have Settings UL3 (limit owner options to 3) and NGN (do not require mailbox name and greeting for first time login). Add any other optional information as desired.

Note: Keep Mailbox record 0000 with the default settings as CALLMaster requires it. You should change the password for this record to maintain security.

Open the CALLMaster Manager. Click on Manage, then select Mailboxes. Let's add the records in this walkthrough as follows:

Mailbox Records
Mailbox	Password	Last Name	Settings	Type
9900	9900	Advertisement 9900	UL3 NGN	Announcement
9901	9901	Advertisement 9901	UL3 NGN	Announcement
9902	9902	Advertisement 9902	UL3 NGN	Announcement
9903	9903	Advertisement 9903	UL3 NGN	Announcement
9904	9904	Advertisement 9904	UL3 NGN	Announcement
9905	9905	Advertisement 9905	UL3 NGN	Announcement

As the mailbox has Setting UL3, only the first 3 Set Personal Option Features will be available. The changes made will take effect as soon as the owner logs out.

Create Audiotex Records/Modules and Associated Scripts

As all calls will be starting in Audiotex mode in this walkthrough, the Audiotex Modules will determine the call flow.

In the Audiotex set-up, the caller will hear aa Advertisement message. There will be a sequential rotation thru the list of Advertisement, with each Advertiser having the ability to record their message at any time.

We will need to create several Audiotex records as shown below. The Label field provides a brief description of each module.

Audiotex Records
Module ID	Label	Write Label to Log File	Module Action	Next Module ID	Fail Module ID	Response Length	Script File to Run (Must include full path name)
10	Start call and Initialize values	Yes	Next Module	100	9900	0	InitializeVal.bas
100	Send caller to associated Advertisement Mailbox	Yes	Mailbox	9999	9900	0	GetAdvertisementNo.bas
9900	Call Failure Detected	Yes	Next Module	9999	9999	0	SetCallFailure.bas
9910	Caller Hang-up Detected	Yes	Next Module	9999	9999	0	SetCallerHangup.bas
9999	Last Module - End call	Yes	Last Module

Audiotex Module Description

We start with an Entry.bas script. This script will initialize the Global variable @intAdvertisementNo to 9900 (the first Advertisement Number). This script is placed in the Scripts folder like all the other scripts, however it is not assigned to any Audiotex module. The Entry.bas script will run only when the CALLMaster service starts. We also want to set the system variable lctrap to an Audiotex module to send caller if they hang-up. See sample code below.
Module 10 is the starting module. We will use this module to initialize variables using script InitializeVal.bas. In particular, we need to initialize the variable for the first Advertisement Number (intFirstAdvertisementNo) and last Advertisement Number (intLastAdvertisementNo). See sample code below.
Module 100 selects the next Advertisement message to play. The associated script, GetAdvertisementNo.bas, checks the value of global variable @intAdvertisementNo to see if it is equal to the last Advertisement Number. If it is then @intAdvertisementNo is reset to the first Advertisement Number (intFirstAdvertisementNo); if not then it is incremented by 1. The local variable intCurrAdvertisementMBNo is set to the global variable @intAdvertisementNo as the current Advertisement Number. This value is used to send caller to the Advertisement's mailbox via the Return command.
Modules 9900 and 9910 are required to handle call failure and capture caller hang-up respectively. Both these modules can be used to set flags and route processing as required.

Based on the Audiotex modules shown above, we will need 4 scripts as well as the Entry.bas script.

Let's create the scripts first. Open Notepad and create scripts following code examples below. Remember to save them as .bas type files in the Program Files\CALLMaster\Scripts folder.

CALLBasic Script - Entry.bas

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Program
'**************************************************************************************************************************
'     Script: Entry.bas
'     Function: Runs at CALLMaster Service start-up. Used to initialize global variables.
'**************************************************************************************************************************

     Print "CM Entry Script started on "
     PrintNL $today

     ' @intAdvertisementNo set to the first Advertisement Number
     @intAdvertisementNo = 9900

EndProgram

CALLBasic Script - InitializeVal.bas

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Program
'**************************************************************************************************************************
'     Script: InitializeVal.bas
'     Function: This script is used to initialize values
'**************************************************************************************************************************

     strYes = "Yes"
     strNo = "No"
     intYes = 1
     intNo = 0
     strCallFailure = strNo
     strCallerHangup = strNo
     strMaxAttempts = strNo

     ' Set retry counter and maximum attempts allowed counter
     intTryCount = 1
     intMaxAttemptsAllowed = 3

     ' Assign the starting and ending Advertisement numbers
     intFirstAdvertisementNo = 9900
     intLastAdvertisementNo = 9905
     intCurrAdvertisementNo = 0

     ' Set the module to return to if caller hangs up
     lctrap = 9910

     ' Convert system variable $channel from integer to string to be used in concatenated print statement.
     IntegerToString strchannel $channel

     pline = "***** For channel=" & strchannel
     pline = pline & " Started initialization process "
     PrintNL pline

EndProgram

CALLBasic Script - GetAdvertisementNo.bas

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Program
'*************************************************************************************************************************************
'     Script: GetAdvertisementNo.bas
'     Function: This script checks the value of global variable @intAdvertisementNo to create the current Advertisement ID.
'*************************************************************************************************************************************

     ' If the global variable @intAdvertisementNo is greater than the last Advertisement Number (intLastAdvertisementNo), reset the global variable @intAdvertisementNo to the first Advertisement No (intFirstAdvertisementNo); if not then it is incremented by 1.
     If @intAdvertisementNo = intLastAdvertisementNo Then
        @intAdvertisementNo = intFirstAdvertisementNo
     Else
        @intAdvertisementNo = @intAdvertisementNo + 1
     EndIf

     ' The local variable intCurrAdvertisementMBNo is set as the current Advertisement Number.
     intCurrAdvertisementMBNo = @intAdvertisementNo

     ' Convert local variable intCurrAdvertisementMBNo from integer to string to be used in concatenated print statement.
     IntegerToString strCurrAdvertisementMBNo intCurrAdvertisementMBNo
     pline = "***** For channel=" & strchannel
     pline = pline & " Caller sent to current Advertisement mailbox "
     pline = pline & strCurrAdvertisementMBNo
     PrintNL pline

     ' The Return command is used to send caller to the Advertisement's mailbox.
     Return intCurrAdvertisementMBNo

EndProgram

CALLBasic Script - SetCallFailure.bas

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Program
'***********************************************************************************************************************
'     Script: SetCallFailure.bas
'     Function: This script sets the strCallFailure variable to yes and prints information in the call log file.
'***********************************************************************************************************************

     strCallFailure = strYes

     'Print information to log file for reference and debugging
     pline = "***** Call Failure. *****"
     PrintNL pline

EndProgram

CALLBasic Script - SetCallerHangup.bas

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Program
'***********************************************************************************************************************
'     Script: SetCallerHangup.bas
'     Function: This script sets the strCallFailure variable to yes and prints information in the call log file.
'***********************************************************************************************************************

     strCallerHangup = strYes

     'Print information to log file for reference and debugging
     pline = "***** Caller Hangup. *****"
     PrintNL pline

EndProgram

Now you can create the Audiotex modules and reference the scripts above. Open the CALLMaster Manager, click on Manage, then select Audiotex to add the Audiotex records shown above.

Define IVR Application List Entry

We need to define the custom IVR in the IVR Application List and set it to Audiotex Start Module 10. Open CALLMaster Manager and select Manage | IVR Application List. Let's add a new record as follows:

IVR Application List
Audiotex Start Module	Application Name
10	Rotating Message Walkthrough

Set Ports

As a last step, we need set the port(s) to the new IVR Application entry created above. Make sure the Audiotex Start Module field (read only) correctly points to module 10.

As this walkthrough uses Notification, make sure at least one port is enabled for Type Outbound; all the ports should be enabled for Inbound. Set the Port Greeting File IDs to the main greeting for all calls if you have recorded one. If you do not want a main greeting then set the Greeting File IDs to zero. Leave all other fields to the default values.

If you are working with a demo license or have only one line connected, then make sure the connected port is set as specified below. All other ports should be set to Application 'Disabled'.

Port Records
Port #	Application	Audiotex Start Module	Port Type Outbound	Port Greeting File IDs (Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Closed, Holidays)
1	Rotating Message Walkthrough	10	No	0, 0, 0, 0, 0
2	Rotating Message Walkthrough	10	No	0, 0, 0, 0, 0
3	Rotating Message Walkthrough	10	Yes	0, 0, 0, 0, 0
4	Rotating Message Walkthrough	10	Yes	0, 0, 0, 0, 0

Test the custom application

Save all your work.

Stop CALLMaster service.

Make Mailbox Recordings:

- Set Port 1 to Application Voice Mail.

- Start CALLMaster service.

- Make a call using Port 1.

- Log in to each Advertisement Mailbox using the Voice Mail Main Menu and record mailbox name, greeting and directory listing.

Reset Port 1 to Application Audiotex. Set the Port Greeting File IDs to zeros.

Stop and Start CALLMaster service.

Make a phone call to test the application.

Tip: See Walkthrough: Change Application Without Restarting CALLMaster Service to set port to Voice Mail for ongoing recording changes.