Dial out (Dial)

Overview

A dial out lets the caller type a phone number on the keypad and the hotline places that call for them. It is the opposite of Forward call, where you decide the number in advance.

Use it to give trusted callers an outside line: a calling card, a way for someone abroad to dial out through your number, or an internal extension dialer.

In the app the building block is called Dial out. The full admin page is under Advanced → Dial.

How It Works

1. The caller reaches the dial out and hears please enter the phone number followed by the pound key.
2. The caller types the number and presses #. Up to 15 digits are accepted.
3. The system tidies up what was typed:
   • 011 or 00 at the start is treated as an international prefix and stripped.
   • A plain 10-digit North American number gets its 1 added automatically.
   • Anything shorter than 7 digits or longer than 15 is rejected.
4. If nothing usable was typed, the caller hears That number was not recognized. and the prompt repeats. Pressing nothing at all also repeats the prompt.
5. The call is placed. The caller ID shown is the dial out's own Caller ID, or, when that is empty, the hotline number the caller dialed in on.
6. When that call ends, the call ends. A dial out has no route afterwards.

If the system cannot work out which dial out it is in (a stale link, or the building block was deleted mid-call), the caller hears Sorry, we could not place that call. Please try again later. and the call ends cleanly.

Creating a Dial Out

On My Hotline, pick a key and choose Dial out. For the full set of options, go to Advanced → Dial and click New Dial.

Basic Information

• Dial Name (required) — how it is named in your admin panel and in routing dropdowns. Callers never hear it.
• Dial Type — a free text label for your own reference, for example outbound or transfer. On My Hotline this sits under Show more as Dial type.
• Phone System Reference → Extension ID — an optional number used to reach this from the keypad admin. Only appears when Show phone system reference is switched on in your account settings.

Call Configuration

• Caller ID — the number shown to the person being called. Leave it empty and the hotline number the caller dialed in on is used. On My Hotline: Caller ID shown (optional).
• Call Timeout (seconds) — how long to wait for an answer, between 1 and 600. On My Hotline: Ring time before giving up (seconds).

Routing

A dial out has no routing slots. It is a leaf: once the outbound call is over, the call is finished. If you want the caller to land somewhere afterwards, they have to call back in.

Security

A dial out places real, billable calls on your account, and anybody who reaches it can dial anywhere.

• Always put an Access check in front of it. A PIN, a contact list or a label restriction all work.
• Outbound minutes are charged to your balance. Watch them on Statistics and logs and keep an eye on Billing.
• Every outbound call is recorded in your outbound call log, with the number dialed, so you can see exactly what was placed and by whom.

Common Patterns

A calling card line

Access check with a PIN, then a dial out. Callers enter their PIN, then the number they want.

Dialing out with your hotline's identity

Set Caller ID to your hotline number so calls placed this way always show the organization, not a personal cell.

Tips

• Tell callers what to type. 011 for international and # at the end are not obvious to everyone.
• A caller who mistypes just hears the prompt again, so there is no need for a separate error route.
• Keep dial outs off any key reachable without an access check, including test lines.