Dial phone numbers from your database for appointment reminders, scheduled deliveries, or debt collection. Provide custom messages for each call, and route calls to a customer service representative.
3CX Dialer was designed from the ground up specifically for 3CX. With 3CX Dialer you can automate the unattended calls to patients, customers or students using unique contact lists (campaigns). When used in conjunction with Call Flow Design (CFD) applications, virtually any scenario can be supported.
Call Flow Design
The 3CX Call Flow Design is a voice application program that interacts with the user via the phone and then performs certain logic. For instance, a voice application program can be designed to ask a caller to input a customer number, which is then verified against a database. Based on this number, the call will then be routed to the required queue.
VoipTools will give you a download link and license key after purchase. You can simply go through the simple installer to proceed with the installation.
You can order 3CX Power Dialer online at https://www.voiptools.com. Your order confirmation email will include your license key and a link to download the software.
Install Prerequisites
There are a number of prerequisites that must be installed prior to installing the 3CX Power Dialer. These prerequisites include Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) and Microsoft SQL Server
Install 3CX Power Dialer
This User Guide contains step-by-step instructions to successfully install 3CX Power Dialer. Begin by extracting the installer from the downloaded zip file (Step 1 above), then run the setup program named PowerDialer.exe
Register your License Key
You must register your license key to activate 3CX Power Dialer. Your license key is included in your order confirmation email, and can also be found in your order history on our website.
If you are working with multiple SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunks, you can configure calls via desired SIP trunk. For this, you need to first assign a caller ID to the desired SIP trunk. Then, you need to force Power Dialer calls to go through the desired SIP trunk using outbound rules. Power Dialer can prepend digits to the phone number. For example, if you prepend 8888 (using the Power Dialer global setting) to all the phone numbers when the call is placed, you can then create an outbound rule that looks for these prepended digits and route these calls through a specific trunk. This approach means you will need a separate SIP trunk for every DID you want to present, or go in and change the outbound caller ID of the desired trunk prior to running the dialer campaign.
To assign Caller ID to your SIP trunk, follow the steps,
In the 3CX Management Console, navigate to SIP Trunks and open the desired SIP trunk through which you want to route the calls.
Figure 1: 3CX Management Console: SIP Trunks
On the tab bar, click Caller ID and in the Configure Outbound Caller ID field, enter the desired Outbound Caller ID that you want to assign to the SIP trunk.
To force the Power Dialer calls to go through the desired SIP trunk using outbound rules, follow the steps,
Navigate to Outbound Rules and in the Outbound Rule Name field, enter the desired outbound rule name.
Click on the desired extension and in the Calls to numbers starting with prefix field, enter the desired digits to prepend to the calls that you want to route through the desired SIP trunk.
Under Make outbound calls on section,
From the desired route dropdown list, select the SIP trunk through which you want to route the calls.
From the Strip Digits dropdown list, select the count of prepended digits.
Figure 2: 3CX Management Console: Outbound Rules
3. Once you have configured desired settings, on the top of the Add Outbound Rule window, click OK.
Find the software download link in the Order Confirmation Email, or you can find it in your order history on our website and download the 3CX Power Dialer application.
In the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, click the More Info option.
Figure 3: Microsoft Defender: More info
Click the Run Anyway option to start the installation.
Click on the software installer downloaded in Step 1. The installation wizard will automatically identify the prerequisites and assist you with each installation required to 3CX Power Dialer. It includes .NET Framework (Web Installer), SQL Server Express (Web Installer), and SQL Server Management Studio.
Click the downloaded installer executable to launch the Prerequisites Setup Wizard and click Next.
Figure 5: Prerequisites setup wizard
In the Prerequisites window, install all the required prerequisites identified by the installer, or select/ unselect the applications based on your requirements and click Next to continue.
Figure 6: Prerequisite installation Selection
The installer will download and install the selected applications. It may take several minutes to complete.
Figure 7: Prerequisites Installation in progress
The Microsoft SQL Server License Terms page gets displayed if you install SQL Server Express. Click Accept to acknowledge the license terms and continue.
Figure 8: Microsoft SQL License Terms
In the Media Location field, browse to change the location and click Install to begin the installation of SQL Server Express.
Figure 9: SQL server selects media download target location
Click Close when you install the prerequisites.
Figure 10: Microsoft SQL installation completed successfully
Installation is in progress. It may take several minutes to complete the installation.
Figure 11: Microsoft SQL downloading install packages
Click Yes in the Confirmation Message Box to reboot the computer.
Click Next on the 3CX Power DialerSetup Wizard screen.
Figure 13: Power Dialer setup wizard
On the Select Installation Folder window, the Folder field displays the path where the 3CX Power Dialer gets installed. You cannot change the location path.
Click Next to continue
Figure 14: Power Dialerselect the installation folder
In the 3CX Relay Services window, in the Relay Host field, enter the FQDN of your 3CX server.
Enter 8801 in the Relay Port field.
Enter the public key you took from VoIPTools Relay services in the Public Key text area.
Fig 15: Configure Relay services
Click the Test Relay Settings to confirm ‘3CX Power Dialer’ can communicate with the Relay services running on the 3CX server.
If the ‘3CX Power Dialer’ is successfully able to communicate with the Relay services that run on the 3CX server, a Success message box appears. Click OK. If the test fails, you will not be able to continue until communication with the relay is established.
Click Next to continue with the installation.
Fig 16: Test Relay Success
NOTE:
You must set the Relay Port to 8801.
If the Relay test fails, you cannot continue the installation until you establish communication with the Relay. If the test was unsuccessful:
Confirm you have the correct firewall port open (default TCP 8801) on the 3CX server and the firewall protecting the 3CX server.
Confirm that you have entered the correct FQDN for the 3CX server.
Confirm that the 3CX Power Dialer and Relay use the same port and protocol.
When configuring 3CX Power Dialer, select an existing Microsoft SQL Server instance in your environment. The database server can be a remote SQL Server (How-to configure SQL server to permit remote connections (https://www.voiptools.com/configure-sql-server-for-remote-access-over-internet/)) or a local instance running on the VolPTools server.
On the SQL Database window in the Server field, select the desired instance of SQL Server.
To use SQL Authentication, uncheck the Trusted Connection checkbox.
In the Username and Password fields, enter valid SQL login account credentials.
Figure 17: Configure SQL database
NOTE:
We recommend you use SQL Authentication rather than Windows authentication. Many of our tools leverage a Call Flow Designer (CFD) application running on the 3CX.Frequently our CFD applications require access to a SQL database. If the 3CX server and the database server are not in an Active Directory domain, Windows authentication will fail.
To use SQL Authentication, you must configure the SQL server to run in Mixed Mode. If you install SQL Server with our tools, we configure SQL in Mixed Mode.
To use Windows Integrated Authentication (not recommended), check the Trusted Connection (Windows integrated authentication) checkbox.
NOTE:
In the Database field, the installer will automatically display the default database name. We encourage you to use the default name. To upgrade or reinstall 3CX Power Dialer, select the current database name from the list.
Click the Tool buttons to confirm connectivity to SQL Server. and click OK on the Test Results message box.
Click OK on the Test Results dialogue box.
Figure 18: TOOL Test SQL Connection results
Click the Tool buttons to confirm connectivity to SQL Server. and click OK on the Test Results message box.
Click OK on the Test Results dialogue box.
Figure 19: CFD Test SQL Connection results
Click the CFD button to confirm the 3CX connectivity with SQL Server and click OK on the Test Results message box.
Click OK on the Test Results dialogue box.
NOTE:
You can use public IP or FQDN of 3CX server to test the connectivity.
The web portal is a Contact Manager that helps you to manage the contact details of your customers.
To access the ‘3CX Dialer’ web portal, click the Web Portal button on the configuration program, or click on the desktop icon that was created during the installation process (3CX Dialer Web).
When connecting to the web portal, you must provide login credentials.
In the Extension field, enter your 3CX extension number.
In the PIN field, enter your 3CX voicemail PIN.
Click the Login button to log in to your account.
Figure 23: 3CX Power Dialer – Web Portal login
NOTE:
Manager and User Rights
As a ‘Manager’, you can:
View Contacts, Import, Dialer, Settings, and About screens.
Search for a specific record from the grid, delete the list name, add a new contact, add an appointment for a contact and specify an action for an appointment in the Contacts screen,
Import contacts from a CSV file into the central repository of contacts in the Import screen
As a ‘Normal User, you can:
View only Dialer, Contacts, and About screens.
In the Contacts screen, you cannot select the list name to delete.
Genral settings screen enables you to register a license for 3CX Dialer and configure Microsoft SQL Server Settings and Email Server Settings. You can also view the list of installed CFDs.
SQL tab enables you to configure Microsoft SQL Server Settings. The dialer uses the Contacts Connection String to connect to the required database and get the contact details.
Figure 25: Microsoft SQL Server Settings
In the Settings screen, click the SQL tab.
In the Contacts Connection String field, enter the connection string of the database from which you want to dialer to retrieve the contact information.
Select the MysSQL radio button to use the contacts from MySQL or the SQL radio button to use the references from SQL.
Click Save.
NOTE:
If you want to use contacts from MySQL, you must manually enter the connection string.
For Example: SERVER=localhost; DATABASE=3cxpowerdialer; UID=root; PASSWORD=mypassword;persistsecurityinfo=True;
To use contacts from SQL, you need to set up the contacts string’s connection.
The Email tab lets you configure Email Server Settings.
Figure 26: Configure Email Server Settings
In the Dialer screen, click the Email tab.
In the Mail Server field, enter the IP address or ‘Fully Qualified Domain Name’ (FQDN) of your email server.
In the Port field, enter the appropriate port number. The default port number is 25.
In the Email From field, enter the reply email address for email and SMS text notifications.
In the Email Subject field, enter the subject for the email.
In the Test Email To field, enter a valid test email address.
In the Notification Email field, enter the email address to send an email about call data once you complete a campaign. The data includes details like the number of calls answered, unanswered, and failed in that campaign.
In the User and Password fields, enter the username and password of your email address.
Click Test to send a test mail and check if you have successfully configured the email server settings.
Check Requires SSL check box if your server requires a secure connection to relay email.
Text-To-Speech (TTS) is a form of speech synthesis that converts text into spoken voice output. TTS Settings tab enables you to choose the desired type of TTS – Windows or Amazon Polly. The Microsoft text-to-speech voices are speech synthesizers provided for use with applications that use the Microsoft Speech API or the Microsoft Speech Server Platform. On the other hand, Amazon Polly is a Text-to-Speech (TTS) service that uses advanced deep learning technologies to synthesize speech that sounds like a human voice.
In the Settings screen, click the TTS Settings tab.
From the TTS Type dropdown list:
Select Windows TTS if you want to create TTS using Microsoft Speech API and click Save.
Figure 27: Windows TTS
Select Amazon Polly if you want to use create TTS using Amazon Web Services.
In the Amazon Id field, enter a valid Amazon Id.
In the Amazon Key field, enter a valid Amazon Key to log in.
Click Save.
Figure 28: Windows TTS
NOTE:
To know how to create Amazon Web Services (AWS) account and generate AWS access key ID and secret key id, click here.
The Timeouts section enables you to configure call timeout settings.
In the Timeouts section and in the Get Call ID Attempts box, set the desired number so that if the call is not received, then the call attempts will be made as per the set number of times.
From the Drop call if no answer (seconds) box, set the desired number (in seconds) so that if the call is not received within the set number of seconds, then the call will be dropped.
The Appointment Type tab displays the list of all the appointments. You can add new appointments here by simply clicking on the ‘Add’ button and then by typing the ‘Appointment’and ‘Appointment Type’ details.
Registration is required to authorize your software. Registering also makes it possible for VoIPTools to provide a replacement key if your license key is ever lost. Also, it enables VoIPTools to notify you of any product updates.
On the 3CX Dialer configuration screen, and in the Global Settings tab, select the License tab.
Enter your registration information in all the fields (Note the red dot denotes a required field).
Click Register.
Figure 31: Register Software
NOTE:
The license key permits you to install the software on one computer. This is not free software.
Log into the ‘3CX Dialer’ Web Portal with ‘Manager’ credentials.
In the Import screen, click the Browse button beside the Import File field to select the import file (.csv).
In the List Name field, enter a name for the contact list.
NOTE:
If you do not specify List Name, then the contact will be created without a list name.
Select the Delimiter option according to the one specified in the import file (.csv).
NOTE:
Comma is the default delimiter
Click the Get Fields button to load the CSV column headers into the CSV File list box.
Move each of the columns from the CSV File list box into the CSV Field list box by appropriately using left and right arrow buttons such that the columns in the CSV Field list box will match those of the Contact Field list box.
Check the Update existing contacts check box to overwrite existing contacts.
NOTE:
Be sure to map the Name and Phone fields.
Click the Import button to import all the contacts from the CSV file into the central repository of contacts.
The Contacts screen lets you search for a specific list, select a list name to delete (only for the ‘Manager’ role), add a new contact, add an appointment for contact and specify an action for an appointment.
Figure 38: Web Portal – Normal User login – Contacts screen
The following image shows the Manager view of the Contacts tab.
Figure 39: Web Portal – Manager login – Contacts screen
In the Query field, type the appropriate ‘SQL Query’ to retrieve the desired contact details from the database.
Click the Get Data button to view the contact data retrieved from the database.
Figure 45: Configure Contact Settings
NOTE:
You can configure any one or two or all of ‘Phone’, ‘Email’ and/ or ‘SMS’ so that the dialer responds accordingly.
From the Phone dropdown, select the appropriate column name that represents the phone number so that the dialer uses the number specified in that column to make a call.
From the Email dropdown, select the appropriate column name that represents the email address so that the dialer uses the email address specified in that column to send the email message.
From the SMS Text dropdown, select the appropriate column name that represents the SMS text so that the dialer uses the number specified in that column to send the SMS text.
In the Prepend section and from the Prepend Digits field, set the desired value so that when you attempt to call a number, the Power Dialer will prepend the digit to your number.
In the Strip Digits box, set the value to the number of prepend digits.
On the upper right corner of the screen, click Save to save the contact.
NOTE:
The Prepend section enables you to configure the ‘Prepend’ settings. When you call a number, the ‘Power Dialer’ will add the ‘Prepend Digits’ to the beginning of your phone number. The ‘Strip Digits’ defines the number of prepend digits and you should set it manually.
The SMS tab enables you to compose an SMS Text Message that you want to send to the desired contact(s).
Figure 54: Configure SMS Text Message
In the SMS text area, type the SMS Text Message. Click the Help button to include appropriate contact fields in your SMS text so that the dialer includes appropriate data in the SMS text message.
Select the appropriate column and click Copy to Clipboard.
Place the cursor in the email text area where you want to paste the selected contact field, and on your keyboard, press ‘Ctrl + V’ to paste.
Click Verify Text button to preview the SMS Text Message and make corrections if necessary.
On the upper right corner of the screen, click Save to save the SMS text message.
The Setup tab enables you to schedule the call for the desired contact. We can make three types of calls:
Appointment Reminder:
Call the contact, play a message and solicit a response – 1 to confirm or 2 to be transferred to an extension. Typical use cases include a medical practice or scheduled delivery, but it also could be for collections. For example, “to confirm your payment has been made, press 1, or to be connected with a customer service representative, press 2.”
Play Announcement:
Call the contact, play a message and hang up. Typical use cases include public emergency notices, political campaign announcements, reminders, etc.
Transfer Call to Extension:
Call frist connects to configured extension and then that call connects to the contacts list.
Transfer Call to Agent:
Call the contact, and all the available extensions in the associated queue will receive the call. In case if all the extensions are busy, then the call will be on hold until an extension is available.
Figure 55: Schedule Dialer Call–Play Announcement
NOTE:
The TTS settings in the Setup tab is different for Amazon Poly and Windows TTS.
In the Setup tab and in the Dialing Times section,
Click the Start time box and select the time at which you want to start the dialer.
Click the End time box to select the end time at which you want to end the dialer.
In the Call Handling section, from the Transfer Call To Dialer App dropdown, select the desired option to which you want to send the dialer.
CASE 1: If you select Transfer Call To Dialer App as Play Announcement:
From the Total Max System Calls box, type or select the maximum number of active PBX calls so that when this number reached, the dialer will not make calls.
From the Max Dialer Calls box, type or select the maximum number of simultaneous calls the dialer can make.
Check the Call Only Once (Don’t Retry) box to attempt the simultaneous call only once and do not retry.
Figure 56: Play announcement
NOTE:
If the entire PBX has this many active calls (Total Max System Calls) then the dialer will pause making calls. This setting is used to ensure that the dialer does not consume all the available 3CX simultaneous calls. For example, if you want to be sure there are always 4 lines free for non-dialer calls and you have 16 SC 3CX license, then enter 12 for this value.
CASE 2: If you select Transfer Call to Dialer App as Appointment,
From the Total Max System Calls box, type or select the maximum number of active PBX calls so that when this number is reached, the dialer will not make calls.
From the Max Dialer Calls box, type or select the maximum number of simultaneous calls the dialer can make.
Check the Call Only Once (Don’t Retry) box to attempt the simultaneous call only once and do not retry.
In the Monitor Queue Extension list, select the Queue/ IVR/ extension to monitor.
Enter the maximum number of callers in the Max Callers in Queue box.
Figure 57:Scheduler Dialer Call – Appointment
CASE 3:If you select Transfer Call to Dialer App as Transfer Call to Agent,
From the Total Max System Calls box, type or select the maximum number of active PBX calls so that when this number is reached, the dialer will not make calls.
From the Max Dialer Calls box, type or select the maximum number of simultaneous calls the dialer can make.
Check the Call Only Once (Don’t Retry) box to attempt the simultaneous call only once and do not retry.
In the Monitor Queue Extension list, select the queue to which you want the dialer to transfer the contact..
Figure 58:Scheduler Dialer Call – Transfer Call to Agent
CASE 4:If you select Transfer Call to Dialer App as Transfer Call to Extension,
From the Total Max System Calls box, type or select the maximum number of active PBX calls so that when this number is reached, the dialer will not make calls.
From the Max Dialer Calls box, type or select the maximum number of simultaneous calls the dialer can make.
Check the Call Only Once (Don’t Retry) box to attempt the simultaneous call only once and do not retry.
In the Transfer To list, select the Extension to transfer the call.
Figure 59: Scheduler Dialer Call – Transfer Call to Extension
NOTE:
When the Power Dialer is configured to make appointment reminders, the contact is given the option to press 1 to confirm the appointment, or press 2 to be connected with a customer service representative. When they press 1 or 2 this information is written to a log file.
In the Text-To-Speech section, from the Volume dropdown, select the type of volume you want the dialer to use while delivering the audio message to the contact.
From the Rate dropdown, select the rate of speed of text-to-speech you want the dialer to use while delivering the audio message to the contact.
From the Voice dropdown, select the type of text-to-phone-speech voice you want the dialer to use while delivering the audio message to the contact.
On the upper right corner of the screen, click Save to save the dialer call setup configuration.
Run tab enables you to test, start, pause or stop the dialer call. Parameters like Total Active System Calls, Calls waiting in Queue, License Limit Usage and Overall Campaign Progress display details in live while the dialer call is in progress.
Figure 61: Run tab
You can do the following functions in the Run tab,
Click Get Data button to extract the contacts specified in the Contacts tab,
Select the Data and Time at which you want to start the campaign in the Select Run dropdown.
Click the Start button to enable the dialer to run the call according to the parameters you set in the Contacts tab, Audio tab, Email tab, SMS tab, and Setup tab.
Click Stop to stop the dialer from making calls to the campaign.
Click the Delete Run button to delete all the call logs.
The Reports tab gives you detailed information about the calls made using Power Dialer. You can also export these reports to your local in different file formats.
Figure 63: Reports tab
Dialed Number
The number from which the call is made.
Disposition
Job ID
The unique ID of a customer. Data is taken from the contacts list.
Phone Status
It indicates the status of the phone call. “Answered” indicates that the call is answered by the customer.
Customer Name
Name of the customer to whom the call is made.
Email
Email ID of the agent who started the campaign.
Email Status
Indicates the status of the sent Email. “Sent” indicates the Email is sent successfully. “Failed” indicates the Email is not sent successfully.
SMS
SMS ID of the agent who started the campaign.
SMS status
Indicates the status of the sent SMS. “Sent” indicates the SMS is sent successfully. “Failed” indicates the SMS is not sent successfully.
Call time
The date and time of the call. The date format is mm/dd/yyyy. The time format is a 12-hour clock in hh:mm:ss.
Visit our website to access our online manuals and receive quick answers to most of your questions. Otherwise, you can contact us by phone, email, live chat, and on the VoIPTools forums.
Our team is ready to assist you with answers to your technical questions and we now offer 24/7, 365 days a year.
Windows Event Log (Applications and Services VoIPTools)#
The Windows Event Log lists various errors, information messages, and warnings related to all our VoIPTools applications and services. The data here can be used for troubleshooting various application errors.
Our forum is intended for VoIPTools customers to collaborate on real-life challenges, solutions, and best practices. You can participate on our forum at: https://www.voiptools.com/community/
Our chat support team is ready to acknowledge your queries in real time. You can start a live chat with us by simply clicking on the Live Chat button at the lower right corner of our web page.
You can email us at: support@voiptools.com. Be sure to describe your issue in detail. We’ll get back to you within one business day of receiving your request.
You can call us at +1 801-642-4655 to reach a representative. VoIPTools will accept calls at this number from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Central Standard Time).
If you purchased our products through a VoIPTools Partner, your Partner will provide first-level support. Partners have access to 100% free technical support, provided they participate actively in the troubleshooting process.
VoIPTools customers have access to our online manuals and we will respond to emails (next business day) and live chat, but we will not log in to your servers remotely.
If you purchase “Installation Support’ our support team can log in to your servers and install and configure all our tools for you. This includes installing SQL Server Express and Internet Information Server if required. Our team will work with you to configure our applications to best meet your needs.
Visit our website to access our on-line manuals and receive quick answers to most of your questions. Otherwise, you can contact us by phone, email, live chat and on the VoIPTools forums.
Our team is ready to assist you with answers to your technical questions and we now offer 24/7, 365 days a year.
Windows Event Log (Applications and Services VoIPTools)#
The Windows Event Log lists various errors, information messages and warnings related to all our VoIPTools applications and services. The data here can be used for troubleshooting various application errors.
Our forum is intended for VoIPTools customers to collaborate on real-life challenges, solutions and best practices. You can participate on our forum at: https://www.voiptools.com/community/
Our chat support team is ready to acknowledge your queries in real-time. You can start a live chat with us by simply clicking on the Live Chat button at the lower right corner of our web page.
You can email us at: support@voiptools.com. Be sure to describe your issue in detail. We’ll get back to you within one business day of receiving your request.
You can call us at +1 801-642-4655 to reach a representative. VoIPTools will accept calls at this number from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Central Standard Time).
If you purchased our products through a VoIPTools Partner, your Partner will provide first level support. Partners have access to 100% free technical support, provided they participate actively in the troubleshooting process.
VoIPTools customers have access to our on-line manuals and we will respond to emails (next business day) and live chat, but we will not login to your servers remotely.
If you purchase “Installation Support’ our support team can login to your servers and install and configure all our tools for you. This includes installing SQL Server Express and Internet Information Server if required. Our team will work with you to configure our applications to best meet your needs.
NOTE:
icon of the desired campaign to view the calls made in the campaign.
