Config Window Documentation

The Configuration Window:

The configuration window allows you to setup the default parameters for your modem. The window looks like:

There are many controls in this window and they are described in the following table:

Control Description

"Select a modem type:" PopUp This pop up menu allows you to select the kind of modem you have on your serial port. Your choices currrently are:

No Modem

Zyxel Voice Modem

Rockwell Voice Modem

USRobotics Voice Modem

Generic Data Modem

Generic Fax Modem

"Modem will monitor the line" CheckBox This checkbox tells BePhoneyd whether it should monitor the serial port for incoming calls. If this checkbox is off, BePhoneyd will not answer the phone or monitor CallerID on the line. You must turn this option on for it to handle incoming calls.

"Automatically launch on incoming call" CheckBox This checkbox tells BePhoneyd whether it should automatically open a message window when an incoming call comes in. If the option is on, a window will be opened for every incoming call. The window will display CallerID information if it is available and the Play button will be active if a message is left. If the option is off, the call information is stored in the spool directory and it can be opened manually by the user.

"Answer phone on how many rings" TextField This textfield allows the user to specify how many rings are required before BePhoneyd should answer the phone. If you want BePhoneyd to never answer the phone, you can set this value to 99.

"Maximum time between rings" TextField This textfield alows the user to tune the amount of time between rings for the rings to be considered part of the same call. The problem is that the modem just knows that the phone is ringing. It can't tell if this ring is from the same call as the last ring. If the number is too low, BePhoneyd will never answer the phone and consider every ring coming in as a new call. I have found that this number has to be more than about 6 or 7 seconds in North America. If the number is too large, consecutive calls could be taken to be one call and BePhoneyd could answer the phone on the wrong ring. I have set the default to 10 as a good compromise.

"Minimum time between rings" TextField This textfield alows the user to tune the amount of time between rings for the rings to be considered a distict ring. The problem is that my telephone company lets me know that an incoming call is long distance by ringing in three short bursts. The modem picks up on these three short bursts and thinks they are three seperate rings. If I have the modem configured to pick up after 5 rings, it will pick up a long distance call on the second ring. That is not what was intended. If the number is too large, BePhoneyd might answer a call after more rings than it is supposed to. If the number is too small, BePhoneyd might mistake a single ring for multiple rings in some situations (like with long distance) and answer the phone too quickly. I have set the default to 4 as a good compromise.

"Maximum message length (seconds)" TextField This text field allows the user to select a maximum time in seconds for messages left by callers. The default is 240 seconds which is 4 minutes.

"Local Fax ID" TextField This textfile allows you to configure the identification that is sent to the calling fax machine or fax modem. It must be 20 characters or shorter and is normally just set to your telephone number. However, you can set it to anything you like.

"Spool Directory:" This is a control where you should drop the directory you want on the square just below and to the right of the prompt. It will put the path to that directory below the square and display the directories icon in the square. You can also click on the button itself and that will open a file panel where you can select the directory in the usual way. See the BeOS documentation for more info on using a file panel. By selecting a particular directory, you are telling BePhoneyd to log all incoming messages to this directory. The Spool Directory is still required with a Generic Data Modem since the time of the call and potentially the CallerID information is still logged in this directory

"Greeting File:" This control is just like the "Spool Directory:" control except you should select a message you have recorded instead of a directory. This message will be the greeting that will be played to callers

"Select a script:" PopUp This popup allows you to select the script which should be run to handle an incoming call. By default, the only options are:

BasicAnsweringMachine plays the greeting and then records a message from the caller

AdvAnsweringMachine plays the greeting and allows the caller to record a message. If the caller presses DTMF 3 during the greeting, the call is switched to data mode and a login is presented to the dialing computer. If the modem detects a fax tone or the caller pressed DTMF 4, the modem will be switched to fax mode and the fax will be received. If the caller presses DTMF 5 followed by DTMF 1, it takes the caller to a mode where they can play back recently left messages. Call playback uses messages stored in the messages/ directory that were recorded for ZyXEL only. If you have another modem, you may need to re-record these messages

DataOnly is a script which should be used with Generic Data Modems or if you have a voice modem but only want to allow computer dial-ins

FaxOnly is a script which should be used with Generic Fax Modems or if you have a voice modem but only want to allow incoming faxes

Rec1496 is a script which is a workaround for ZyXEL 1496 users. The 1496 only allows recording from a specially wired microphone on the telephone jack or from incoming calls. So this script should just beep right after answering the phone and allow you to record your message. It is just a quick workaround to the limitations of that model (it should be noted that the 1496 was the first voice modem I ever heard on the market so it does remarkably well for its age).

If you want to install your own scripts, just copy them into the scripts/ directory. See the section on scripting for more information

"Select a default encoding:" PopUp This popup allows the user to select the message encoding to be used for messages left by callers for all incoming calls. The higher the number of bits in ADPCM encoding, the more disk space the messages will take and the higher quality the recording will be. PCM encodings use even more disk and have the highest quality.

To save the current settings, select "File -> Save" from the menu bar or you can use the "Save" button on the bottom of the window. If you attempt to close the window without saving, it will give you a chance to do so. If you have saved the settings, when the window is closed, it will ask you if you would like to restart BePhoneyd for these settings to take effect. You may or may not restart BePhoneyd but any changes made will not take effect until it is restarted.

Control	Description
"Select a modem type:" PopUp	This pop up menu allows you to select the kind of modem you have on your serial port. Your choices currrently are: No Modem Zyxel Voice Modem Rockwell Voice Modem USRobotics Voice Modem Generic Data Modem Generic Fax Modem
"Modem will monitor the line" CheckBox	This checkbox tells BePhoneyd whether it should monitor the serial port for incoming calls. If this checkbox is off, BePhoneyd will not answer the phone or monitor CallerID on the line. You must turn this option on for it to handle incoming calls.
"Automatically launch on incoming call" CheckBox	This checkbox tells BePhoneyd whether it should automatically open a message window when an incoming call comes in. If the option is on, a window will be opened for every incoming call. The window will display CallerID information if it is available and the Play button will be active if a message is left. If the option is off, the call information is stored in the spool directory and it can be opened manually by the user.
"Answer phone on how many rings" TextField	This textfield allows the user to specify how many rings are required before BePhoneyd should answer the phone. If you want BePhoneyd to never answer the phone, you can set this value to 99.
"Maximum time between rings" TextField	This textfield alows the user to tune the amount of time between rings for the rings to be considered part of the same call. The problem is that the modem just knows that the phone is ringing. It can't tell if this ring is from the same call as the last ring. If the number is too low, BePhoneyd will never answer the phone and consider every ring coming in as a new call. I have found that this number has to be more than about 6 or 7 seconds in North America. If the number is too large, consecutive calls could be taken to be one call and BePhoneyd could answer the phone on the wrong ring. I have set the default to 10 as a good compromise.
"Minimum time between rings" TextField	This textfield alows the user to tune the amount of time between rings for the rings to be considered a distict ring. The problem is that my telephone company lets me know that an incoming call is long distance by ringing in three short bursts. The modem picks up on these three short bursts and thinks they are three seperate rings. If I have the modem configured to pick up after 5 rings, it will pick up a long distance call on the second ring. That is not what was intended. If the number is too large, BePhoneyd might answer a call after more rings than it is supposed to. If the number is too small, BePhoneyd might mistake a single ring for multiple rings in some situations (like with long distance) and answer the phone too quickly. I have set the default to 4 as a good compromise.
"Maximum message length (seconds)" TextField	This text field allows the user to select a maximum time in seconds for messages left by callers. The default is 240 seconds which is 4 minutes.
"Local Fax ID" TextField	This textfile allows you to configure the identification that is sent to the calling fax machine or fax modem. It must be 20 characters or shorter and is normally just set to your telephone number. However, you can set it to anything you like.
"Spool Directory:"	This is a control where you should drop the directory you want on the square just below and to the right of the prompt. It will put the path to that directory below the square and display the directories icon in the square. You can also click on the button itself and that will open a file panel where you can select the directory in the usual way. See the BeOS documentation for more info on using a file panel. By selecting a particular directory, you are telling BePhoneyd to log all incoming messages to this directory. The Spool Directory is still required with a Generic Data Modem since the time of the call and potentially the CallerID information is still logged in this directory
"Greeting File:"	This control is just like the "Spool Directory:" control except you should select a message you have recorded instead of a directory. This message will be the greeting that will be played to callers
"Select a script:" PopUp	This popup allows you to select the script which should be run to handle an incoming call. By default, the only options are: BasicAnsweringMachine plays the greeting and then records a message from the caller AdvAnsweringMachine plays the greeting and allows the caller to record a message. If the caller presses DTMF 3 during the greeting, the call is switched to data mode and a login is presented to the dialing computer. If the modem detects a fax tone or the caller pressed DTMF 4, the modem will be switched to fax mode and the fax will be received. If the caller presses DTMF 5 followed by DTMF 1, it takes the caller to a mode where they can play back recently left messages. Call playback uses messages stored in the messages/ directory that were recorded for ZyXEL only. If you have another modem, you may need to re-record these messages DataOnly is a script which should be used with Generic Data Modems or if you have a voice modem but only want to allow computer dial-ins FaxOnly is a script which should be used with Generic Fax Modems or if you have a voice modem but only want to allow incoming faxes Rec1496 is a script which is a workaround for ZyXEL 1496 users. The 1496 only allows recording from a specially wired microphone on the telephone jack or from incoming calls. So this script should just beep right after answering the phone and allow you to record your message. It is just a quick workaround to the limitations of that model (it should be noted that the 1496 was the first voice modem I ever heard on the market so it does remarkably well for its age). If you want to install your own scripts, just copy them into the scripts/ directory. See the section on scripting for more information
"Select a default encoding:" PopUp	This popup allows the user to select the message encoding to be used for messages left by callers for all incoming calls. The higher the number of bits in ADPCM encoding, the more disk space the messages will take and the higher quality the recording will be. PCM encodings use even more disk and have the highest quality.