TalkWorks - Frequently Asked Questions 1.1 TalkWorks Frequently Asked Questions 1.1.1 What is TalkWorks? 1.1.2 What is computer telephony? 1.1.3 How can I get TalkWorks? 1.1.4 Where can I get more information on TalkWorks? 1.1.5 Is TalkWorks a true 32 bit application? 1.1.6 What telephony standards does TalkWorks support? 1.2 Configuration Questions 1.2.1 What are the system requirements to run TalkWorks? 1.2.2 What additional hardware do I need to run TalkWorks? 1.2.3 What's a voice modem? How do I know if I have one? 1.2.4 Are all voice features supported by all voice-capable modems? 1.2.5 Can you recommend a good voice-capable modem? 1.2.6 Do I have to have a sound card, microphone and speakers to use TalkWorks? 1.2.7 How many phone lines do I need to run TalkWorks? 1.3 Product-related Questions 1.3.1 How does the Delrina Answering Machine work? 1.3.2 Can I listen to my messages from another phone (Remote Access)? 1.3.3 What is the Delrina Phonebook? 1.3.4 What features does the Delrina Telephone ship with? 1.3.5 What is a Fax on Demand system? 1.3.6 How many mailboxes can I have? 1.3.7 Do I have to leave my PC on all the time? 1. 1 Frequently Asked Questions 1. 1 .1 What is TalkWorks? TalkWorks is new software from Delrina which allows you to turn your PC into a call messaging center. You can call out and receive calls in through your voice-capable modem. When you are not available to answer calls, TalkWorks will answer them for you through its answering machine features. TalkWorks can even page you to alert you that there are messages waiting. TalkWorks is fully integrated with Delrina's WinFax PRO 7.0 and runs on the Windows 95 operating system. 1. 1 .2 What is computer telephony? Computer telephony is the term given to the merging of two electronic devices: the computer and the telephone. Also called voice or call messaging, computer telephony allows people to operate their phones from their PCs and vice versa. The rise of computer telephony has paved the way for many new features previously unavailable to small-scale phone users. With computer telephony and TalkWorks software, anyone with a PC can have multiple voice-mailboxes, autoforwarding of messages, universal mailboxes for voice calls, faxes and data and much more. 1. 1 .3 How can I get TalkWorks? There are two ways to buy a copy of TalkWorks. Currently, TalkWorks is sold as an upgrade option to Delrina WinFax Pro 7.0. You must have WinFax PRO 7.0 to order TalkWorks, as the order slip is found inside the packaging. TalkWorks will not run without WinFax. The order slip gives a toll-free Delrina phone number for ordering TalkWorks. The TalkWorks upgrade costs $15.95 and will not be available in retail stores. TalkWorks will also ship inside CommSuite 95, available from Delrina in December. In CommSuite, TalkWorks will be bundled with Delrina WinFax, Cyberjack and WinComm. You will not need to call Delrina directly to get TalkWorks in the CommSuite. It will be available as part of the standard package, available for $129.95 (SRP). 1. 1 .4 Where can I get more information on TalkWorks? There are several avenues for you to investigate. First of all, Delrina will be issuing press announcements about TalkWorks and the other software packages bundled in CommSuite in the next week or so. Watch your favorite computer magazines for articles and advertisements. Second, this Web site (www.delrina.com) will be updated periodically, so return in a few days to learn more. Third, you can send email to talkworks.info@delrina.com. 1. 1 .5 Is TalkWorks a true 32 bit application? Yes. It also supports multitasking and multithreading. 1. 1 .6 What telephony standards does TalkWorks support? TalkWorks is compatible with the TAPI, MAPI and Unimodem standards from Microsoft. TalkWorks supports the Rockwell AT+V voice chipset and the Cirrus voice chipset. (Other compatible formats will be announced.) 1. 2 Configuration Questions 1. 2 .1 What are the system requirements to run TalkWorks? Minimum Requirements:IBM or compatible with 386 chip 8 Mbytes of RAM 15 Mbytes Hard Disk Space (1MB DLLs + 1 MB prompts + 10MB InBox + 3MB archived messages) Voice-capable modem (internal/external/PCMCIA) Telephone handset Analog phone line (POTS) Recommended:IBM or compatible with 486 chip or higher 16 Mbytes RAM 20 Mbytes Hard Disk Space (1MB DLLs + 1 MB prompts + 10MB InBox + 3MB archived messages) Voice-capable modem with Caller ID features (internal/external/PCMCIA)Sound cardSpeakers (internal/external) Microphone (internal/external) Analog phone line with Caller ID service 1. 2 .2 What additional hardware do I need to run TalkWorks? At a minimum you will need a voice-capable modem and a telephone handset. We suggest you also have a sound card, multimedia speakers and microphone, but these are not required. 1. 2 .3 What's a voice modem? How do I know if I have one? There are varying definitions of voice modems. We, therefore, prefer the term "voice-capable." A voice-capable modem is one which supports telephony features - that is distinguishing between voice, fax and data calls, ability to handle DTMF (touch tone) tones, support for full duplex speakerphone mode and call holding capabilities. Many modem manufacturers make voice modems. If you are unsure whether your modem is equipped for voice messaging, we suggest you call the modem manufacturer or contact the vendor from which you bought it. 1. 2 .4 Are all voice features supported by all voice-capable modems? Unfortunately, no. Voice-capable seems to mean different things to different manufacturers. In some cases "full" call messaging features are supported. In other cases, selective features are not implemented, such as call holding or Caller ID support. For maximum telephony feature sets, we recommend you purchase a voice-capable modem that actively promotes its telephony features in its packaging. 1. 2 .5 Can you recommend a good voice-capable modem? Delrina tries to support as many voice-capable modems as possible. That is why we support industry standards like TAPI. Your local computer dealer should be able to recommend a voice-capable modem that will work with your computer. 1. 2 .6 Do I have to have a sound card, microphone and speakers to use TalkWorks? No, you do not. These items are not required for full-featured use of TalkWorks. However, without them, you will have to use your telephone handset for recording your greetings and for listening to voice messages. Generally, the sound quality on audio equipment and hardware is better than that coming through the telephone handset. The handset also ties up one of your hands, unless you have a speakerphone. You do not need to buy all three items at once. Any combination of audio hardware will work with TalkWorks. The sound card is the most important of the three. 1. 2 .7 How many phone lines do I need to run TalkWorks? Just one will do it. TalkWorks and WinFax can distinguish between incoming fax, voice and data calls and handle each appropriately. Even Fax on Demand systems can be supported on a single telephone line. For maximum use of TalkWorks, we suggest you subscribe to a CallerID service from your local phone company. This will allow you to see incoming callers' phone numbers on your screen before you take their calls. It also allows TalkWorks to act on your varying instructions, based on the CallerID. For example, you can have a special greeting that is only played to "high priority" callers and a standard greeting to play to all others. You decide what you want when you configure your system. You can change those decisions at any time with the Setup Wizard. 1. 3 Product-related Questions 1. 3 .1 How does the Delrina Answering Machine work? The Delrina Answering Machine works like most answering machines you can buy in a store. That is, it plays a greeting to callers and records their messages. In addition, it can operate like a PBX switchboard and switch callers over to different voice mailboxes based on their touch tone responses to a prerecorded interactive voice response (IVR) script. The answering machine can also be contacted remotely from any telephone so that users can hear their messages (old and new) while they are away from their desktops. Greetings can also be changed remotely. The answering machine can operate in AutoReceive mode, where all calls are automatically intercepted by TalkWorks and sent to the appropriate mailbox. Or, each call may be intercepted by TalkWorks and hand-processed by the user at his or her discretion. In this case, the Delrina CommBar indicates a call is coming in and asks whether the call should be put on hold, given to the answering machine or whether the user would like to answer. When combined with incoming Caller ID, this is a very powerful feature. Users can choose how to handle calls based on who is calling. ("Uh,oh, it's the IRS! Better put them on hold while I find my tax statements!"). 1. 3 .2 Can I listen to my messages from another phone (Remote Access)? Yes, as long as TalkWorks is running on your desktop PC, you can access your messages from any other phone in the world. To do this, you would call into TalkWorks and key in your private password. (You've set this up earlier.) Then you can listen to your messages, leave memos, re-record a greeting, send a fax through WinFax or send a page to someone in your phonebook. 1. 3 .3 What is the Delrina Phonebook? The Phonebook works like an electronic Rolodex(tm) where you can store records of your telephone contacts. Each record will contain a field for company and personal names, phone numbers, fax numbers, and any other relevant information. The Phonebook can be brought up right from the Delrina Telephone or within WinFax for quick and easy phone reference. If the user clicks the phonebook entry while in the Delrina Telephone view, the phone will automatically dial that number, like a Speed Dial button. TalkWorks supports .dbf, dbase or MAPI phonebook types and can share its phonebook with other Delrina applications, such as WinFax or WinComm. 1. 3 .4 What features does the Delrina Telephone ship with? The Delrina Telephone looks and works like most business-oriented telephones. That is, it has buttons for Speakerphone, Flash (for Call Waiting and Conferencing) and Mute. There are also 24 programmable Speed Dial buttons that may be visible or not visible at the user's choice. Arguably, the most important feature of the Delrina Telephone is its LCD screen. The screen shows the status of the Delrina Telephone and all calls - incoming or outgoing - while in use. It displays the date, time and duration of each call, as well as the Caller ID (if available). The screen will also indicate if calls are on Hold, or if an incoming call is a non-voice call, such as an incoming fax. 1. 3 .5 What is a Fax on Demand system? Fax on Demand is sometimes called Fax Back. It is a system where callers can call into TalkWorks and request documents to be faxed back to them from TalkWorks. The documents to be faxed can be any electronic document of any length. Callers select the documents by pressing touch tones and providing an appropriate fax number. TalkWorks allows users to set up a Fax on Demand system quickly and easily with a special Setup Wizard. Users may limit the number of documents their callers may receive and can restrict access to the system, based on CallerID. A Fax on Demand system can have up to 90 documents for caller selection in each Fax on Demand mailbox. 1. 3 .6 How many mailboxes can I have? You can have up to 999 mailboxes with TalkWorks. Those mailboxes can be any combination of Fax on Demand, voice only or a mixed inbox for voice messages and faxes. You cannot have voice mail and a Fax on Demand system in the same mailbox, since these operations require opposite TalkWorks functions at the same time (incoming calls versus outgoing faxes). Instead, you can set up a Multiple Mailbox system where one (or more) mailbox(es) are set up for Fax on Demand and where one (or more) mailbox(es) are set up for incoming voice mail and faxes. 1. 3 .7 Do I have to leave my PC on all the time? That depends on your expected use of TalkWorks. If you would like to have your PC answer all of your calls for you, acting like a full-time answering service, then yes, you would need to leave your PC on so that the software is active. To save power and screen life, you could turn your monitor off and leave the PC itself on. If, instead, you only want to use TalkWorks selectively, such as when you are too busy to answer the phone, or as a special purpose Fax on Demand system, you can turn off the PC when you are through with your TalkWorks session. TalkWorks will automatically save your settings on exit so that you will be in the exact same configuration next time you use it. This feature is especially useful if you plan to change settings between Single and Multiple Mailbox mode on a regular basis. Last revised: October 28, 1995. Copyright 1995, Delrina (Canada) Corporation. All rights reserved.