Telephones and FileMaker

[Krishan]

Hi everyone.

I was wondering if anyone knew how to get a touch tone phone to

send instructions to a FileMaker database.

I want my user to be able to ring up a hotline number and type in

their UserID and Password. This would give an instruction to my

FileMaker database to run a script for that user's record.

Is it possible to do this?

Thanks a lot for all your help!

Krishan.

[Krishan]

Hi LiveOak.

Thanks for your quick response.

I'll check out that link you gave me. I just assumed that the necessary software and hardware already existed and other developers were using it.

I'm using the Mac OS. What do you think the cost of the required hardware and software would cost?

Krishan.

[Anatoli]

Standards do exist for Windows and Telephones/Exchanges, but unfortunately FileMaker is years behind this development

Does current Mac have some kind of system standard? Probably in both cases only some kind of custom plug-in will be able to do something useful.

[LiveOak]

The key here is to find a hardware device that will perform a ring detection and take the telephone line "off hook" and then decode touch tones. This device needs a hardware interface to the computer support by software that can talk to FM.

First I would try to find such a device. I don't know if a standard modem will decode touch tones. I have a pretty good idea how to build one, but I'm not aware of where to buy such a device. I did find something interesting in a search (http://www.homeautomator.com/ak16.htm). This device is hardly a canned solution and would require both some hardware engineering and the use of a serial plug-in for FM to talk to it. You would also need some sort of a voice response system to give the user feedback on and instructions.

With all the voice mail systems running on PC's, there has got to be a much more canned hardware interface card/system available. The key will be to find such a card with software that is scriptable from the scripting system on your particular platform (you didn't specify Mac or PC).

-bd

[ January 01, 2002: Message edited by: LiveOak ]

[Krishan]

Thanks for the reply Anatoli.

Is it easy to move from a Mac OS to Windows platform? I'm using FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited and Lasso 3.6.6.2. At the moment I'm using WebStar 4 but I guess I could be forced to use a Windows server. Would all my existing databases and custom html pages work if I just moved them to a Windows operating system?

[Anatoli]

I do not encourage or discourage the move from platform to platform.

FM will have not problem to handle that with grace. But there are maybe small things on the way, which can make this switch unpleasant. I had quite easy path, because I was always "dual user" since 1982-1983.

Do a research of potential problems first and have someone close to help you.

Especially the Microsoft platform is standardized with plenty of useful things in system. But as default such goodies are there wide open to hackers. If you do not have someone to look at security you can hit the rocks in week time on web.

Get someone skilled in IIS, security who will close all wide open doors.