This FKEY will dial telephone numbers by playing DTMF tones ('touch tones') via the Mac speaker. It dials whatever text it finds on the clipboard, so all you need to do is select a telephone number, copy it to the clipboard and then type Shift-Command-5 to invoke the Magic Dialler FKEY. (QuicKeys™ users can even combine these operations into a single QuicKey to make dialling a single keystroke operation.)
Installation
You can install the Magic Dialler FKEY either directly into your System File, or into your Fonts folder (System 7.1 and later) or use a utility such as SuitCase™.
Operation
Copy any piece of text to the clipboard and type Shift-Command-5 to invoke the Magic Dialler FKEY. The characters '0'..'9', 'A'..'D', 'a'..'d', '*' and '#' will be recognised and converted to the appropriate DTMF tones. A comma will generate a 2 second pause in the dialling sequence. All other characters will be ignored.
Customisation
If you need to prefix your dial strings with a particular sequence (eg: '9', followed by a pause, to gain an outside line) you can modify the "Dialling Prefix" 'STR ' resource using ResEdit.
Bugs
Some applications maintain a private clipboard which they only make available when another application becomes active. Since Magic Dialler is an FKEY, it can not always see the contents of the application's clipboard. I am working on a fix for this, but in the mean time you will have to get to know which applications Magic Dialler can work with and which it can't. (Even with applications which don't work, you can usually coax the private scrap out into the open by switching to another application, but of course this is not a particularly elegant solution.)
Some applications (eg: HyperCard) hog the Sound Manager, which prevents Magic Dialler from doing its thing. There's not much I can do about this, unfortunately.
'AV' users
As of version 0.2 there are now 2 versions of Magic Dialler. The normal one “MagicDialler” should work on any Mac. The 'AV' version, “MagicDiallerAV” has glorious 16 bit 24 kHz versions of the DTMF 'snd ' resources for extra high fidelity dialling. ;-)
Programmers
If you wish to incorporate DTMF dialling into your application you can steal the Magic Dialler 'snd ' resources and use SndPlay to play them. In order to release a product containing these resources, however, you must first obtain written permission from the author.
Terms & Conditions
Magic Dialler is HomelessWare. If you find it useful then all I ask is that you give some money (notes, not coins!) to the homeless, either directly or via a suitable charity. This is left entirely to your honesty and integrity - if you use this software and don't pay for it then you are indeed a miserable human being. Programmers wishing to incorporate the 'snd ' resources into their product should write for permission, enclosing evidence than they have made an appropriate payment.
Correspondence
Correspondence, suggestions, bug reports, etc, should be sent to:
