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Dialling and Conducting Telephone Calls Last updated: 16/10/2008 14:43:29 GMT |
 
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Dialling and Conducting Telephone Calls Last updated: 16/10/2008 14:43:29 GMT |
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Click on a name or number in the directory to start dialling, or highlight the line and press ENTER.
The first thing that happens is that a small window opens at the top of the communications window with the title "Busy". This is the progress window, which WTC displays whenever it is doing something and is not available for normal use. In this case, it is dialling the selected telephone number, as indicated by the main text area of the progress window. Braille users should be able to red this information on their Braille display, it says "dialling" followed by information about the number being dialled as per its directory entry. At the end of this line, the current time and date is shown in angle brackets ("< >"), updating second-by-second.
The progress window has a Cancel button, which you can click to abort the call, or press Escape. If you cancel the call, the progress window closes after a brief delay and you are returned to the directory.
The dialling progress message lasts a few seconds then is replaced by a waiting for answer message. This indicates that the modem has dialled the call and is now waiting for it to be connected. We assume here that you are dialling through Typetalk. If you are dialling direct or via another exchange service, the details will be different according to what the computer at the other end of the line does when a connection is established.
If for any reason the call fails to connect, the progress window will eventually close and a message from the modem appears in the communications window indicating the error, such as "No carrier" or "Busy". "Busy" generally indicates that the line is engaged, "No carrier" indicates that, due to whatever cause, the modem could not establish a connection. The cause of connection failure could be that your modem is not configured correctly to establish communication with the one at the other end of the line, or that some fault on the line has prevented the connection. Line faults may be only temporary or intermittent and it is always worth trying again. A modem configuration problem will result in permanent inability to establish the call and require investigation through available documentation. See the installation and setup information in this manual for guidelines on modem setup. You can abort the wait yourself at any time by pressing escape or clicking the Cancel button if you suspect it is not going to get through but the modem is spending a long time trying.
Once the call is answered, the progress window closes and you are placed in Communications Mode to conduct the call. Sighted users will see all text, both what they type and what is received from the other end of the line, appear in the main communications window like any standard terminal program. Braille users will get the text on their Braille display, formatted to fit within the length specified when you set up the software. Press the Down Arrow or Tab key on the computer keyboard to advance to the next Braille display of text. You can press the Up arrow or shift+Tab to move the display backwards through the text, enabling you to review previous information. Users of the JAWS for Windows screen reader can also used their Braille display advance and back keys to move the display forwards or backwards, respectively. Some Braille display systems also provide Tab and shift+Tab Braille key equivalents. Note that the choice between Down or Tab to move forwards and of Up or shift+Tab to move backwards is provided to enable Braille users to operate the display with either hand, so that they can keep their preferred reading hand always on the display itself.
When you are at the end of the available text with a Braille display, a "Braille cursor" is shown immediately following the last character. The Braille cursor is Braille dots 1 through 6 up by default for screen readers using the US computer Braille translator, a full 6-dot Braille cell. It can be changed in WTC's configuration, or you can chose to have no Braille cursor at all. The purpose of the Braille cursor is simply to indicate the absolute end of the text. When you type a character at the end of the text when the Braille cursor is on the display, you will see it move one cell along and the new character appear just before it, in its original place.
When the progress window closes after a call has successfully connected, you first see the word "Ready" at the beginning of the Braille line. this is not part of the call, it is just initial text that is in the communications window when the program starts up. It could be described as a prompt to verify that Communications Mode is ready to use. The text can be changed or eliminated altogether. Following this prompt, you will probably find a message from the modem like "Connect 300", telling you that it has successfully established the call. The exact form of the message varies slightly from system to system. Then follows information from Typetalk telling you that it is dialling via Text Direct as it is called, "txd".
Keep pressing the Braille advance key so as to follow the incoming text. You will read a series of messages from Typetalk describing its activity - dialling, connecting an operator, perhaps please wait while the operator explains Typetalk to the called party. Typetalk will notify you if a problem occurs, but Providing all goes well you will eventually see something like "Hello ga" or "Call connected ga" if it is a call to a hearing person, or "Call connected text-to-text" if it is a call to another textphone user, followed by the Braille cursor marking the end of the text. If it is a text-to-text call with another textphone user, it is usual to wait for the called party to speak first, until you see "ga" again. It is now your turn to speak.
The characters "GA" form an abbreviation for "go ahead", which is commonly used by textphone users to invite the remote party to reply to what they have just said (typed). Always put "ga" when you have finished speaking and want the other person to say something.
At this stage, you are in direct contract with the person you have 'phoned and can carry on the conversation, putting "ga" when you have finished speaking and responding when the other person puts "ga" at the end of their input, or Typetalk puts it when they have finished relating what they said.
There is an important variation in the behaviour of the Braille display during a telephone conversation that should be explained so as not to cause confusion. When you are reading text coming in from the other end of the telephone line, the Braille display does not change except in response to a key to update it with another part of the text, such as the advance key to move forwards. This allows you to comfortably read the text at your own reading speed, regardless of how fast it is typed. When you are typing, however, the Braille display moves automatically to follow the Braille cursor. Therefore, if you type a character when the display is not at the end of the text, it will jump to the end immediately, showing the character that you typed. After typing a series of characters during your part of the conversation, what you last typed is always on the display. This means that when you type "ga" for the other person to speak, you are right at the end of what you yourself just said, the "ga" on the display, and you can just wait for the cursor to move when the other person starts speaking and then read what is being said. You do not need to read passed what you have said, if you want to review it you can use the back key on your display or keyboard. If the display followed the Braille cursor automatically when text is being received from the other end of the line, you would be obliged to keep up with it in order to read as the display moves, which would be very inconvenient and not practical at all for many users. The display keeping still while you read incoming text until you are ready to advance it is absolutely essential if you are connected to an online service that is sending you information very fast, there is no problem about being able to read it.
Press Right Arrow or Control+End if you need to jump the Braille display straight to the end of the text without typing anything. It is positioned at the end, showing as much text as possible behind the Braille cursor. Use Left Arrow or Control+Home to jump the Braille display directly to the start of the text, showing the initial "Ready2 prompt followed by whatever other text is available.
When WTC is set up for textphone operation, numbers you store in your directory are ordinarily dialled to establish a text-to-text connection with another textphone device at the other end of the line. WTC provides several ways of using those numbers differently without having to store separate copies.
The alternative dialling options are available on the number's context menu by clicking the line containing it with the right MOUSE button, or:
When you chose an alternative dial, it is effective for that one call only. Subsequent calls made by pressing ENTER or left clicking will still use the default settings. Each alternative dial has an "accelerator key" that you can use to invoke it without going through the context menu. This key is shown in the context menu item. If you press an alternative dial accelerator in the communications window, the directory is displayed for you to select the number with the left MOUSE button or ENTER key, but subsequent selections will work as per default unless you explicitly invoke alternative dialling again. The dialling mode, describing what will happen next time a number is selected, is shown at the right end of the directory status line. Pressing alternative dial accelerators in the directory dials the selected number immediately.
Direct dialling allows you to dial the number directly for text-to-text rather than going through the Typetalk exchange or dialling any other prefix that you have WTC set up to use by default. Sometimes people prefer to 'phone certain other textphone users with a direct connection instead of going text-to-text through Typetalk. Direct dial may also be required to use an automated telephone service.
To direct dial a number, bring up its context menu and select
"D: Dial direct, text-to-text",
or just press letter "d" in the menu. Shift+Alt+D is the accelerator. Dialling proceeds as normal, followed by waiting for connection.
However, if you have stored a number for the express purpose of using an automated service that does not require the default WTC prefix to be dialled, it is more convenient to have WTC dial it directly by default, when ENTER is pressed or the line is clicked. to arrange this, put a fullstop after the number when storing it (in the information edit box). Numbers in the directory followed by a fullstop are dialled exactly as-is, no prefix is added.
Some Typetalk users prefer to dial into Typetalk then give the required number to the operator rather than use the automatic connection method with a number prefix. The Typetalk number for this is an example of a number you might store with a following fullstop- to indicate direct dialling by default. Once you have connected to Typetalk and the operator is waiting for the number to dial, press the context menu key or right click the Braille line to go back to the directory and select the required number, which is then sent over the 'phone line to the operator. The rest of your directory numbers will still dial through Typetalk if selected outside of a telephone call. If you want all your numbers to dial direct by default, no prefix ever dialled automatically, it is necessary to modify WTC's dial settings.
voice dialling is the term used in this documentation to indicate the situation when a telephone number is dialled for a person with hearing to take the call with the standard telephone handset. The modem simply dials the number but does not attempt to connect to the call. If the person intending to conduct the conversation lifts the receiver before WTC dials, they will hear the 'phone at the other end ringing (or engaged or whatever), and can proceed exactly as if they had dialed manually on the telephone pad.
Voice dialling is the default setup of the Windows Launchpad., which is used by WintextCom Personal Information Manager(tm). It is a very handy feature of the software that you can easily dial a number for voice even when you have installed the textphone configuration. Situations where you require someone else to ring a number from your directory can arise anytime, and this capability enables you to simply ask the person to lift the telephone receiver then dial the number for them without them having to take it down or read it from the screen first.
To voice dial a number, bring up its context menu and press ENTER, which selects the default item:
"V: Dial out for voice only".
You can also press letter "v" in the menu. Shift+Alt+V is the accelerator. Make sure the person taking the call has picked up the telephone handset before invoking this function, or it will not be possible to connect them. Dialling proceeds as normal but does not proceed to waiting. By default the directory is closed if the modem receives confirmation that the dial has been successful. In Hide Mode therefore, WTC just disappears into the background. This makes it very convenient for quickly connecting someone to a telephone call then continuing with what one was doing.
Voice-to-text dialling is available for use with a service such as that provided by the Typetalk exchange. It enables a hearing person to call a textphone user direct by routing the call through an operator. this function simply applies a different dialling prefix to the number and could be used for any other purpose, but it is preconfigured for Typetalk to provide the facility described, and is named in accordance.
You can use this function if you have a text-to-text contact in your directory and require to put a hearing person in touch with them. As with voice dialling, the hearing person must lift the telephone handset prior to dialling the number with WTC.
To dial voice-to-text, bring up the number's context menu and select
"Y: Dial out for voice to text",
or press letter "y" in the menu. Shift+Alt+Y is the accelerator. Dialling proceeds as normal but, as with voice dialling, does not proceed to waiting by default. If the modem receives confirmation that the number was successfully dialled, the directory closes and the hearing person should hear ringing tones and be able to conduct the call exactly as if they had dialled manually on the telephone pad.
Dialling for text-to-text and voice-to-text both require a number prefix to be dialled before the intended number itself. It is not necessary to store either of these prefixes with your numbers in the directory.
However, there may be occasions when you require to store the prefixes, or you may even prefer to do so as a matter of course. If you store the prefixes, WTC detects their presence when performing a dial operation and will not dial a prefix twice or mix prefixes. This means that if you have a number stored with the voice-to-text prefix, you can still use it yourself for ordinary text-to-text calls, and conversely, a number that includes the text-to-text prefix can just as readily be used with the voice-to-text command, but not voice only, when a number is selected for voice dialling, the entire number is always dialled without prefix checking. You might store your own 'phone number with the voice-to-text prefix, for example. Your own number is one that you might frequently need to give out over Typetalk, for reasons of calling you hack or for sales records; including the voice-to-text prefix makes sure that any 'phone contact with you will be made through Typetalk.
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