Conference (CTI)

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	Conference (CTI)

Type

CTI connector item

Available from

Data Node

Purpose

In speech applications that use computer telephony integration (CTI) to extend call control capabilities, the Conference item makes it possible to take two telephone calls on the same port and merge them into a single conference call.

This additional caller is added to the conference with announcement (announced) to the existing callers. Sometimes, this type of call operation is also called three-step conference.

Behavior

Before you can use this or any other CTI connector item, you must enable CTI connectors for Dialog Designer. For more information about the ability of Dialog Designer to interact with CTI, and to enable CTI in your Dialog Designer applications, see About CTI Connectors.

Before you can conference a call, you must place the incoming call on hold. For information about placing calls on hold, see Hold (CTI). You must then use a Dial (CTI) item to dial the number to conference the incoming call with. The call you are trying to conference with, then, is the active call. After the system successfully establishes a connection with the number dialed, then it merges the call on hold with the new connection.

To extend the conference beyond three callers and up to a maximum of six callers, you can add callers using either additional Conference (CTI) items or Conference Party (CTI) items. Beyond six callers, the Voice Portal or Interactive Response port drops out and no additional callers are allowed to be added to the conference.

The active cticallinfo variable is the one that is used for the last Dial (CTI). The active CallInfo variable must be used when adding another caller to the conference using Conference (CTI).

Return status' are found in the state field of the active cticallinfo variable. There are two possible states: conferenced or fail.

See About CTI Connectors.

Properties

Held Call ID Variable - Select the variable that contains the name of the CallInfo variable associated with the call that is on hold. You must also select the callid field for the Held Call ID Variable Field.

Held Call ID Variable Field - Select the callid field item.

Active Call ID Variable - Select the variable that contains the name of the Dial variable associated with the call that is being dialed. You must also select the callid field for the Active Number Variable Field.

Active Call ID Variable Field - Select the callid field item.