Call Assistant

Introduction

Call Assistant is a VOIP/SIP interface that accepts calls and allows the caller to author a dictation. Calls can originate from any phone including SIP (Soft) phones on a PC and mobile devices.

This application must be licensed for full functionality.

Features

• User authentication.
• Configurable and unlimited number of metadata/demographics entry.
• Metadata entry supports:
  • Default value, no prompting.
  • Required length or length range.
  • List of acceptable values.
• Overwrite, truncate, and auto-append recording modes.
• Author-specific prompt sets for language or facility support
• Configurable descriptor (XML) file creation, supporting 2RC, Philips and Dataworxs systems.
• Real-time channel status display.
• Audit log.
• Configurable DTMF tone mapping on a per-caller basis.
• Tone mapping supports up to 16 shift levels.

Requirements

• Windows 7/8/10; Windows Server 2008/2012/2016, 32- or 64-bit.
• .NET Framework 4.0
• 50 MB Free Disk Space + Space for dictation audio.
• Port 8080 open for Outbound Traffic (2RC Licensing)
• Port 8070 open for System Server (User Authentication).
• Synway SynHMP USB License Key
• Port 1947 open for Synway (Sentinel) Licensing
• Synway driver installed. Version 5.4.2.0

Quick Start

1. Download and run the latest installer.
2. For full functionality, make sure you have a obtained a license key from 2RC Software or your dealer.
3. Plug in the SynHMP USB license key into an available USB port on the computer.
4. Run SYNWAY_PCI(USB)_5420_EN.exe to install Synway drivers to C:\ShCti folder.
5. Run the Call Assistant application:
   Start > All Programs > 2RC Software > Call Assistant
6. Enter the license key when prompted.
7. Run System Server if it is not already running. Call Assistant will attempt to connect to System Server to authenticate the author ID entered. The default user has an ID of 9999 and PIN equal 9999.
8. Test using a SIP Phone (a.k.a. SoftPhone). MicroSIP is a good option.

License

Call Assistant requires a license for full functionality. When run without a license key, Call Assistant will not accept calls.

A license key is a string of characters that defines features and expiration dates supported by the application and service. It will look similar to a6da53b7-d063-4677-8759-34ddbc10fdf3. Your license key purchased from 2RC Software or your dealer is added when prompted by the application on startup or by using Settings Manager.

When Call Assistant is started it attempts to contact the License Server to validate that the key provided is valid, is meant for this application, and is not already issued to someone else. The License Server will give Call Assistant a token to let Call Assistant know that it can enable licensed functionality. Call Assistant will save the token and then ask for an updated token every 15 minutes. If a connection to the License Server is not possible, either at startup or while Call Assistant is running, Call Assistant will check to see if the token it had previously received is still valid (i.e. not expired). Until the token expires, Call Assistant will continue to run in a licensed mode even if it can't connect to the License Server. However, the token will expire after a configurable amount of time (called the Reserve Time) and therefore Call Assistant will need to connect to the License Server to renew the token within that time period for full licensed functionality to continue.

Choose Help > About (or press F2) to display the current license status.

The following chart outlines the functionality that is enabled via licensing.

The Synway driver supported by this application requires its own independent licensing or hardware. A Synway hardware device has licensing already built-in. For a software-only VOIP/SIP interface, Synway uses a USB dongle to provide licensing information to the driver.

Application

The Call Assistant application starts licensed channels and handles new calls to the device or via SIP. The real-time channel status channel is displayed for monitoring activity.

Startup of Call Assistant supports the following command line parameters:

Menu Items

File > Exit
Exit the program.

Options > Settings Manager
Run the Settings Manager application for low level control over the application settings.

Options > Hide
Minimize the application the the Windows System Tray. The application will appear as a 2RC icon. Double click the icon to restore the application to its normal window state.

Help > View Event Log
Run Event Manager to view event log entries associated with this application. The setting EventMgr setting.

Help > About (F2)
View the application's version, license key, and license status.

Editing Commands

See the section Tone Mappings for additional details of editing commands available to an author recording a dictation.

Settings

All settings are managed by running Settings Manager.
To run Settings Manager choose the menu option:
Options > Settings Manager...

In Settings Manager, the following application settings are supported:

User Settings

All settings are managed by running System Manager.

In System Manager, the following settings are supported:

Prompts

Call Assistant uses standard WAVE/RIFF formatted audio files to play prompts to the caller.
The default location for prompts is in the subfolder for the "en" language code: C:\ProgramData\2RC Software\Call Assistant\Prompts\en. If more than one language set is used, each set must include a copy of the following prompts.

Prompts can be re-recording using any suitable third-party audio editing tools. The audio file should be saved as μ-law (mu-law), 8 kHz, 1-channel.

Tone Mappings

Tone mappings tell Call Assistant how to interpret DTMF tones pressed by a caller while a dictation file is being recorded.
Tone mappings can be common to all callers or unique to all callers. Custom tone mappings for a caller or group of callers is stored in a JSON format inside a file that has the extension .json. The default location for tone mapping files is:

To create a tone mapping file use any text editor (such as Windows' Notepad). The "Name" and "Main" sections are required. "Shift1" to "Shift16" are only required if the corresponding command has been used somewhere.

Use the following template to get started creating your own custom tone mapping.

     { 
       "ToneMap": 
       { 
          "Name": "MyToneMap", 
          "Main": {"T0":"cmd","T1":"cmd","T2":"cmd","T3":"cmd","T4":"cmd","T5":"cmd","T6":"cmd","T7":"cmd","T8":"cmd","T9":"cmd",
		  "Star":"cmd","Pound":"cmd",
		  "A":"cmd","B":"cmd","C":"cmd","D":"cmd"}, 
          "Shift1": {"T0":"cmd","T1":"cmd","T2":"cmd","T3":"cmd","T4":"cmd","T5":"cmd","T6":"cmd","T7":"cmd","T8":"cmd","T9":"cmd","Star":"cmd","Pound":"cmd","A":"cmd","B":"cmd","C":"cmd","D":"cmd"}
             :
             :
          "Shift16": {"T0":"cmd","T1":"cmd","T2":"cmd","T3":"cmd","T4":"cmd","T5":"cmd","T6":"cmd","T7":"cmd","T8":"cmd","T9":"cmd","Star":"cmd","Pound":"cmd","A":"cmd","B":"cmd","C":"cmd","D":"cmd"}
       } 
     }
	

In the above template replace cmd with a supported command. The following commands can be added to any tone in the tone mapping file.

The default mapping that is assigned to an author that does not have a custom tone mapping file assigned to them is:

{ 
  "ToneMap":  
  { 
    "Name": "MyToneMap", 
    "Main": 
    {
      "T0":"SaveAndHangup",
      "T1":"Pause",
      "T2":"Play",
      "T3":"Record",
      "T4":"Rewind",
      "T5":"",
      "T6":"FFWD",
      "T7":"GotoStart",
      "T8":"",
      "T9":"GotoEnd",
      "Star":"PriToggle",
      "Pound":"",
      "A":"",
      "B":"",
      "C":"",
      "D":""
    }
  } 
}