Panasonic TSP & VB NET

[Paul]

Hi,

I have seen some posts by people knowledgable in the Panasonic TSP
TAPI - I was hoping soemone coudl help me.

I have a TDE200 PBX and a TVM200 voicemail system.

I have a specific programming issue. I'd like to 'push' one of the
programmable buttons on a wired extension to trigger a pre-assigned
'Two-Way Transfer' function. This records a conversation & places the
recording in a different mail box to your own.

I can program with Visual Basic .NET - but seem to be struggling
getting started with the Panasonic TSP.


My question is - can I use Panasonic TSP (TAPI) to program a rsponse
when a call is made or received to trigger this key press? (I don't
beleive we can trigger the function directly in TAPI code, but a key
press would achieve the same thing).

Any examples of using the Panasonic TSP in a VB .NET app would be
extremly appreciated.


Alternativly - the Panasonic C# SDK is offered at aprpox $550 but I'd
rather not spend that money and work in C# if it can be achieved with
VB NET & TAPI.


Thank you

Paul Adams

[fdecker]

Hi Paul,

If your PBX uses the kxtda TAPI specification, you are out of luck.
They do not implement most of the TAPI Phone device functions. You
need to find the TAPI docs for your pbx. The document I mention I keep
in our library of documents. It is called "KX-TDA TAPI Specification
version 2.0" and is a PDF file. You can use our TeleScope utility to
see all of your device's capabilities and test it in TAPI. You can
use the trial version here:

http://www.exceletel.com/products/telescope.htm

It will work for 10 minutes on and 2 minutes off in eval mode to
encourage people to buy it if they like it, yet still be able to use
it as a tool if you only need it for rare occasions. If you need any
help with it, there is a help file and also you can talk to me here or
email support at exceletel dot com. The etLine window handles all the
line functions and the etPhone window handles the phone functions,
which is where the buttons are. If you activate your phone line in
etPhone and look on the buttons tab, it will display buttons on a
device that supports it. The "misc" tab will let you see the
capabilities that the device reports.

Fred
www.exceletel.com
"Makers of TeleTools and TeleScope telephony development tools"

[Andreas Marschall [exMVP TAPI]]

I have a specific programming issue.  I'd like to 'push' one of the
programmable buttons on a wired extension to trigger a pre-assigned
'Two-Way Transfer' function.  This records a conversation & places the
recording in a different mail box to your own.
My question is - can I use Panasonic TSP (TAPI) to program a rsponse
when a call is made or received to trigger this key press? (I don't
beleive we can trigger the function directly in TAPI code, but a key
press would achieve the same thing).

Paul,
I'm not familiar with the Panasonic TSP so I can just give some
general hints.
Maybe the TSP supports button presses via li neDevSpecific() and/or
lineDevSpecificFeature().
Especially th elatter may be of interest in conjunction the
PHONEBUTTONFUNCTION_ Constants for dwFeature.
Please check the TSP documentation.

Alternatively you may to try to do the 'Two-Way Transfer' with
standard TAPI functionality.
Try it with TAPI Browser TB20 before starting to code anything
yourself.
See my TAPI and TSPI FAQ:

Q: How do I transfer a call with TAPI2 ?
http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm#_Q:_How_do_2

Q: Where can I download TAPI Browser ?
http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm#_Q:_Where_can

Q: Is there a user guide available for TAPI Browser TB20 ?
http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm#_Q:_Is_there_1

--
Best Regards
Andreas Marschall
Microsoft MVP for TAPI / Windows SDK / Visual C++ 2003-2008
TAPI / TSP Developer and Tester
My TAPI and TSPI FAQ:
http://www.I-B-A-M.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm
My Toto Tools (a collection of free, mostly TAPI related tools):
http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_Toto_Tools.htm
TAPI development around the world (Frappr! map):
http://www.frappr.com/TAPIaroundTheWorld
* Please post all messages and replies to the newsgroup so all may
* benefit from the discussion. Private mail is usually not replied
to.
* This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

[Paul]

Thanks for the replies.

Fred - I'll look at that document. I have learned that Panasonic seem
to do things a little different from others. Not better or worst,
just a bit different.

Andreas - thanks for your website. A useful resource.

I've reached the point in VB NET code where I can select my phone on
my desk using the EXT number and register against that phone for
events. I can receive and process events just fine in code.

What I don't seem to be able to do (or I don't understand how to do
it) is control the phone device - such as place a new call and then
conference that call in with existing call. Maybe as Fred said, it's
not possiple with the Panasonic TSP.


What I'm trying to achieve is a poor man's call recording - I just
need to push a button on the phone when the call connects... :-)

All the examples I've seen about establishing a new call or conference
do not seem to work for me in VB NET code..


regards

Paul Adams

[Paul]

Thank you. Those posts got me heading in the right direction. The
more you look at this TAPI stuff - the deeper the hole seems to
get :-)


TeleScope is excellent. I tried using TapiBrowser but I'm sorry to
say it confused me.
When I monitor my phone using TeleScope, it does the following when I
press the button assigned to the "Two Way Transfer" feature.

OnTAPIMessage
PhoneHandle = [000103CC]
Message = PHONE_BUTTON [0000000E]
Parameter 1 = [00000004]
Parameter 2 = [00000020]
Parameter 3 = [00000002]
OnTAPIMessage
PhoneHandle = [000103CC]
Message = PHONE_BUTTON [0000000E]
Parameter 1 = [00000004]
Parameter 2 = [00000020]
Parameter 3 = [00000001]

The phone handle changes, but the command is constant.


Page 307 of the Panasonic Tapi V2 Spec lists a Two Way Record EXT
function. It says...

Quote from manual begins...

12.1.19 Two Way Record EXT
This function is used to execute Two-Way Recording. The message is
stored in the
requesting device’s mailbox.
lineDevSpecific Parameters
hLine specifies the extension line.
hCall specifies a call on extension line (must be connected)
lpParams points to a DEVICESPECIFIC structure containing
dwMode = EXT_TWOWAYREC
dwParam1 = ignored
dwAddressSize,
dwAddressOffset = [in] points to a area inside DEVICESPECIFIC
variable structure where TAPI application placed address (dialing
digits
without special character) of Voice Mail Group. Maximum 4 digits and
null
terminator. If application specify more than 5 ASCII charater data
then TSP
will use only first 4 ASCII characters.
Other parameters from DEVICESPECIFIC structure will be ignored.

Quote from manual ends.


Which fits with Andreas comments earlier. However - Andreas website
says about Tapi 3.1
"Partially available Extended Services in TAPI 3.1 don’t support
lineDevSpecificFeature function, LINE_DEVSPECIFICFEATURE message from
TAPI2"


I'm using tapi3lib, does this mean I am unable to do this? I'm
assuming I need to move down to Tapi2? Is there a tapi2lib for VB
net?

Sorry - I'm confused about how to access this function from within
code. I would welcome any assistance or advice.


Regards

Paul Adams

[Paul]

Update for people looking for the same thing. There's more then one
way to achieve this on a Panasonic system.


Option 1 - I moved to the Panasonic Development Kit. It says it is
for C#, but the main KXTAPI.DLL works fine in Visual Basic 2008. It
errors in VB 2010.

It was easy to register the line and monitor calls. I set a button on
the phone to be a 'Two-Way Transfer' and when the call was connected,
it sent a button press to the phone. NOTE - it will error if you do
not have the license installed on your PBX for using this development
system. You can get a trial for free from your Panasonic dealer.


Option 2 - Panasonic supplies (free) Communicatiuon Assistant basic,
it runs on the client PC. As well as offering click to call
functions, it can also automatically record every call to the
telephones voicemail box. You can set the 'regular' voicemails to
goto a different voicemail box, which guives you 2 separate mailboxes
- which is where I wanted to get to.


I'm using option 2 because it's free.

regards

Paul Adams

[e***@gmail.com]

Post by Paul
Update for people looking for the same thing. There's more then one
way to achieve this on a Panasonic system.
Option 1 - I moved to the Panasonic Development Kit. It says it is
for C#, but the main KXTAPI.DLL works fine in Visual Basic 2008. It
errors in VB 2010.
It was easy to register the line and monitor calls. I set a button on
the phone to be a 'Two-Way Transfer' and when the call was connected,
it sent a button press to the phone. NOTE - it will error if you do
not have the license installed on your PBX for using this development
system. You can get a trial for free from your Panasonic dealer.
Option 2 - Panasonic supplies (free) Communicatiuon Assistant basic,
it runs on the client PC. As well as offering click to call
functions, it can also automatically record every call to the
telephones voicemail box. You can set the 'regular' voicemails to
goto a different voicemail box, which guives you 2 separate mailboxes
- which is where I wanted to get to.
I'm using option 2 because it's free.
regards
Paul Adams

can you send link of KXTAPI.DLL