For the past few weeks I have been thinking about our last Philly FileMaker user group meeting back in May. It was all about connecting your database to other services and extending your information to contacts and calendars outside of your database. Imagine being able to dial a phone number right from your database! How positively retro.
I remember designing databases in the 1990′s that would let you do exactly that. It was only for very forward thinking companies back then. Shortly after that phones became way more complicated for this to be really practical.
Then came the iPhone and Filemaker GO. Once again, it is practical to dial a phone number directly from a database.
There are two script steps you can accomplish this: Dial Phone or Open URL. Both script steps work the same as far as I can tell, but in either method the trick is that a phone number needs to be referenced as just digits. You must first remove anything that isn’t a number. For example, a phone number field that has the contents 215-555-1234 will not dial correctly. In FileMaker you can strip non-numeric characters out of the phone number using the Filter function.
Here is an example script using the Dial Phone and one using Open URL:
Attach a script like one of these examples to a button next to a phone number and you are on your way. If anyone knows any functional difference between Dial Phone or Open URL and when one is more appropriate than the other please leave a comment or drop me a line.
Cool topic! It has never been more relevant than now with the iPhone.
And yes.. back in the ’90s everyone wanted fax & phone… (and pager LOL)
I remember complexities because we had pulse dialing and the US used tone dialing (or was it via versa) and then we got whatever it was we didn’t have…
Glad that’s in the past!
- Lyndsay
I tested the Open URL unsuccessfully. I tried using both Safari and Firefox. The url looks like this: http://tel:1234567890/ (but obviously I used a valid phone number). I also tried “callto:” instead of “tel:” as I saw that on a Skype forum.
I did not see any documentation on Open URL script step for FileMaker 11.
What OS are you using? What browser?
Thanks,
Daniel
Daniel
From your comment it sounds like you are trying to use this technique using FileMaker on a Mac or PC. This technique is for Filemaker GO, not for Filemaker Pro. If you want to make a call using a PC or Mac, use the Dial Phone command.
Thanks, Jerry. I was indeed using FMP, not FMGO. Sorry for the oversight.
Jerry,
What if I wanted to check whether the phone numbers in my database are still valid number? Meaning could I have filemaker dial the number and check whether there is a ringtone and have a script hangup after the 2nd ringtone and validate in the database whether there was a ring tone or not?
If the above is possible, can the skype plugin be used for this?
Thanks,
Anything new on dialling Skype from Filemaker Go on an iPad? I want to launch Skype with a script in filemaker Go, carrying the phone number into Skype. Should be easy, but I can’t find anything on it!
Offhand I don’t know – not a Skype user!
I’d suggest trying fmforums.com or on Technet: fmdev.filemaker.com/
Best
Colin
Hi, I’m a mac user and Filemaker go/pro. I will try the script for fmgo, but more importantly i need it for FMPro 12. Dial script is not compatible with the mac version and I am trying to use apple script to make it work and have not been successful. I use Bria instead of Skype (but that shouldn’t matter). Any suggestions?
Heidi,
Your best bet for dialing the phone from a Mac would be a plugin. There are two I know of;
http://www.24uSoftware.com/PhoneCompanion
http://www.tapi2fmp.com/
there was a plugin that integrates Skype from a company called Premium in Sweden, but it seems to be gone.
You can try this technique;
http://www.tekstotaal.com/c.fmp.call.skype.html
Lastly, Beezwax and zero blue mentioned Skype plugins, they are for sale but not commercial products.