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1998-07-13
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User Manual for QuickStar Phone Guard
This manual describes the usage of QuickStar Phone Guard
program, Version 1.0, released July 14th, 1998. You can download
the latest version by visiting the author's world wide web site:
http://www.qfax.com
The operation of QFGUARD will be described in 6 different
topics, with a list of FAQ and trouble shooting tips listed at the
end of this manual:
1.Change Setting of QFGUARD
2.Desktop operation of QFGUARD
3.Caller's interaction with QFGUARD
4.QFGuard dial out operations
5.Owner's remote operation of QFGUARD
6.Technical Specifications of QFGUARD
7.Registering QFGuard with the author
Appendix 1 Frequently Asked Questions
Appendix 2 Some Trouble shooting tips
Appendix 3 Help me to make this program better!
========================================================================
1.Change Setting of QFGUARD
===========================
You can change the settings by selecting the "Set up" menu and
then select "Set up QFGuard". A pop up dialog box will show up with
many items you can set or change.
When you finish changing settings, press the OK button to save
the new settings to the disk. You have to re-start QFGuard to make all
changes effective. If you press the Cancel button, nothing will change.
Set up security code:
---------------------
The security code is for your remote access to your messages or
to change settings from a remote place. It must be a number starting
with 8 and can be as short as 3 digits or as long as 15 digits. The
box to enter security code is right below the OK and Cancel button on
upper right corner. The security code can also be changed from remote
location.
Set up Comm Port:
-----------------
Most PC computers can have 4 Comm Ports, from Com1 to Com4,
these ports can accommodate a mouse, a modem, or nothing. QuickStar
Phone Guard needs to know the correct Comm Port number of the modem
before it can operate properly.
To find out what Comm Port your modem is using, in Windows 95
desktop, click the "My Computer" icon on the upper left corner of the
computer screen, then select "Control Panel", then in the Control Panel
window, select the "Modems" icon and double click the mouse. In the
"Modems Properties" dialog box that pops up, select the "Diagnostics"
page by click "Diagnostics" on the top. It will now list Com 1 through
Com 4 and indicate what is in each port, a mouse, a modem, or nothing.
You now know which Comm Port your modem is located. You can then select
the "Set up" menu of QuickStar Phone Guard, and check the radio button
corresponding to the correct Comm Port.
If your modem is not listed in the "Diagnostics" page of the
"Modems Properties" dialog box, Windows 95 has not recognize your modem
yet and you have to set it up properly before any Windows application
can have access to your modem. To do this, switch to the "General" page
of the same dialog box, and then choose the "Add..". Have the disk that
came with the original modem package box ready. It will walk you through.
You may either choose to let Window 95 detect your modem automatically,
or if you know it, choose the modem port directly. In any case, you
should choose the "have disk" button and let Windows 95 read information
about the modem from the driver disk.
You may also download the "Find a Modem" free utility program
from the QuickStar web site located at:
http://www.qfax.com
QuickStar's default Comm Port setting is Com 2. If this setting
is correct and your modem has been properly configured in Windows 95,
it should start smoothly within a fraction of second. If it fails to
open the Comm Port or fails to initialize the modem, no harm will be
done. It will still start up normally and allow you to change the
settings. But in any case, do NOT attempt to set Comm Port to Com 1,
which is most likely the mouse port. You can set it to Com 1 only when
you are absolutely sure the modem is in Com 1, not the mouse.
Set up modem Initialize String:
-------------------------------
The Initialize string is the AT command that modem applications
send to the modem to initialize it for certain operations. Check your
modem manual for a recommendation of initialize string for voice mode
operations. If you can't find one, try to construct an initialize
string yourself, following the following rules:
0.It must be all capital letters, no lower case numbers should be used.
And no space should be left within the string.
1.Always starts the string with AT&F, the &F command sets every thing
to the factory default, which is usually a good starting point.
2.Include E0V1 as part of the string, following AT&F, if the factory
default is different (it usually is). E0 suppresses echo so any modem
command sent to the modem will not be echoed back, only the response
of modem will come out. And V1 specify that modem response will be in
English words, like "OK", "CONNECT", "ERROR" etc. This simplified the
operation of QFGuard.
3.Include command to enable "hardware flow control". this is the most
important of all. Without hardware flow control the modem will not
operate properly.
For most modems, the string AT&F&C1&D2&K3 should be sufficient.
Set up Speed
------------
This is the UART speed, i.e., speed of how fast the modem and
the computer exchanges data, not the speed how fast the modem transfer
data over phone lines. UART speed must be at least higher than the
highest data flow speed. To be safe, always set it to 115200. Most
Pentium computers should be able to handle this speed pretty good.
Set up modem type:
------------------
Unlike data mode operation, different modems have different AT
command set to operate in its voice mode, thus the difficulties in
writing a voice modem application that supports most voice modems.
Currently QFGuard supports 6 different sets of voice commands, which
can be selected as the "Modem Type". They are listed below:
Rockwell Many modems use Rockwell chip sets. These
modems will probably support the original
Rockwell voice modem command sets. Known
modems that supports Rockwell:
SmartLink -- Archteck www.archtek.com
IS_101 The new I.S.101 international standard for
voice modem commands. Known modems in this
category:
MaxTech -- They use Cirrus Chipset but
Cirrus now seems to support IS.101, too.
US Robotics US Robotics, the largest modem manufacture
has their own voice command sets.
CIRRUS Some Cirrus modem supports the Cirrus standard,
but some now supports the international IS.101.
SIERRA SIERRA Command Sets
UMC UMC Command Set.
It is indeed hard to determine which command set a modem uses,
unless the documentation clearly says it's Rockwell compatible, IS.101
compatible or things like that. If you are not sure, try all 6.
Or you can do better: Find the original disks included with the
modem. There is a disk marked as "Windows 95 driver" or " *.INF file
for Windows 95". Look for any file that has a *.INF file name suffix.
It is a plain text file and can be read, and contains every little
detail of the technical specification of the modem! Make a copy and
e-mail it to qfax@qfax.com. I will help you to decide what it is. If
it is a modem not currently supported, once I receive the *.INF file
I will be able to add support to that modem.
Set up voice record and playback device
---------------------------------------
You can select what device you will be using for desktop voice
playback. It is advised that you select the Handset. The Modem speaker
and Sound Card option has been implemented and works, but more tests
are needed to make sure it works reliably under different situations.
A computer modem normally has two phone jacks, one is marked as
"Line", it is to be connected to the phone jack on the wall and goes
to the phone network, This jack is called "Phone Line" in QFGuard. The
other jack is marked as "Phone" and you can connect it to a desktop
telephone set for making phone calls when the modem is not connected.
This desktop phone set is called Handset for purpose of QFGuard.
The modem also will have an audio jack called Speaker. That's
the modem speaker line, Some times it is refer to as External Speaker,
differing from the small beeper mounted directly on the modem, which
is called the Internal Speaker.
If there is a sound card in your PC, you may use it for voice
playback or recording. But usage of Sound Card is discouraged due to
possible incompatibility of voice sample rate difference between the
sound card and the modem.
Set up number of rings
----------------------
The number of phone rings before QFGuard will answer an incoming
call. QFGuard will try to detect caller ID between the first and second
ring. However caller ID has not been implemented pending more tests.
Set up time delay between calls
-------------------------------
If you choose so, QFGuard will dial out a provided phone number
to reach you when new message arrives. It is not always possible to
reach you with just one phone call. If the phone line is busy, no one
answers the phone, or some one else answers the phone, QFGuard will
make two more attempts to reach you before giving up. This time delay
in minutes is the time interval before QFGuard will call again.
Set up action on incoming calls, phone number and pager number
--------------------------------------------------------------
You can specify that QFGuard calls you upon new messages, or page
your beeper, or do nothing and wait for you to call in or come home to
check messages.
If you choose to let QFGuard to call you, you have to enter a
telephone number to call, if you want it to page you, enter your pager
number. You can always call back in to change it when you have gone
some where else.
=========================================================================
2.Desk top operation of QFGuard
===============================
The main QFGuard window contains the menu, 4 push buttons and a
listbox listing all the messages you have and time they were received,
status of either old or new. Any none-listened to message are considered
new and message you have listened previously are considered old.
You can choose a specific message from the list box and then use
the "Play Message" to playback and hear it. The "Delete Message" button
will delete a selected message. Note, once a message is deleted, it can
not be undone and the message can not be recovered.
The "Record Announcement" button will allow you to record a new
announcement message for the callers. And the "Play Announcement"
message allows you listen and verify the Announcement Message. If you
re-record it, the original one is lost and can not be recovered.
Note that your announcement message is NOT the first message
your callers will hear. He/she will hear the computer greeting instead
and there will be instructions on what the caller can press on their
phone to leave message, to listen to the master's message and do other
things. In future versions, a feature will be added to allow you to
leave more than one announcement messages, some can be access code
protected so only your SO (significant Other) will hear the specific
message left for him/her.
QFGuard will always be in a stand by mode, ready to answer any
phone call after certain number of rings, except when you are recording
or playing back. It will still function properly in the background even
if it is minimized (reduced to a small icon on the lower left corner)
and be given low priority of computer CPU processing, and even if the
screen saver is running and reducing available CPU time to QFGuard.
==========================================================================
3.Caller's interaction with QFGUARD
===================================
When a caller (including yourself) calls in and QFGuard answers
the phone, the caller will hear a computer greeting message and be
instructed on what to do. The caller does not need to wait until the
end of message and can directly press keys to select functions. If
the caller hesitates, QFGuard will repeat the message 3 times before
becoming impatient and hang up. If the caller does not do any thing
and just hang up, QFGuard will hang up in about 15 to 20 seconds
after hearing no response. In any case, it will NOT get stuck because
of a none cooperative caller.
The greeting message is like following:
"Hello, your call is answered by the Quick Star Phone Guard
computer program. Please press One to leave a message after
the tone, or press the Pound key to terminate your call."
Depending on the setting, QFGuard will also tell the caller:
"I will forward your message to my master, after you hang up."
or "I will Page my master, after you hang up."
The caller can normally press one to start recording a new
message, when the caller finishes, he/she can press the * key to
end the recording, or simply remain silence for 3 or 4 seconds so
QFGuard know the recording is done. It will then prompt the caller:
"Please press One to re-record your message, Two to listen
to your message, Three to delete it. Four to listen to the
master's message for you. Press the Pound key to terminate
your call. For more detailed instructions, press Zero."
At any moment the caller can press the # key and QFGuard will
say Good bye and hang up. The call is finished. If a legitimate
message has been recorded, and the setting is to forward calls,
QFGuard will make first attempt to dial out and deliver the message,
about 12 seconds after hang up.
All key responses are listed below:
0: Play detailed instruction for all functions.
1: Record a new message
2: Playback the recorded message to verify.
3: Delete the recorded message, if any
4: Listen to the master's announcement message
5: A description of the QuickStar Phone Guard program, if
the caller wonders what the hell it is!
6: Report the current time and day of week.
7: Not assigned currently
8: Reserved as the first digit of security code.
9: Hang up phone. May assign to other functions later.
*: Interrupt key. Used to indicate finish of recording
or interrupt playback of instructions.
#: Say Good bye and hang up immediately.
=======================================================================
4.QFGuard Call out operations
=============================
When a new message has been received and the QFGuard setting is
to dial out, it will do so within 12 seconds after the caller hang up,
and will make up to three attempts to reach the master and deliver the
message, in time intervals specified in the set up. Any call out is
considered a failure unless the master answers and enters the correct
security code. And if the master do enter the security correctly, the
message is considered delivered and even if the master does not intend
to listen to the messages, QFGuard will NOT make another attempt to
call, unless a next message is received.
Upon connection with a remote telephone, QFGuard will play a
greeting message. Unfortunately it is difficult for a modem to detect
whether the remote phone has been picked up. Any software won't out
smart the modem, either. So some times there may be several seconds
delay before you hear the QFGuard start to speak. You need to be
patient receiving such a phone call.
The message is:
"hello! This is an automatic phone call from the QuickStar
computer program. There are some new telephone messages for
my master. Please enter your security code to listen to
those messages. If you are not my master, just press the
Pound key to terminate this call. Thank you!"
If there is no response, it will repeat up to three times:
"Please enter the security code to listen to the telephone
answer machine messages for my master. Or you may press the
Pound key to terminate the call."
You can enter the security code, which always starts with 8.
You should press the keys firmly and with a normal pace. Some modems
have a hard time detecting very fast, tapping key presses. If the
security code is verified, QFGuard will tell you, and then you are
in the Remote Operation mode, as described in next section.
5.Owner's remote operation of QFGUARD.
======================================
You can gain remote access to QFGuard by either call home and
enter the security code, or by answering a call from QFGuard and enter
the correct security code.
You can listen to your messages, and/or delete them, after you
have gained remote access. And you can change your security code and
QFGuard's call answer settings and do other things while you are in
the remote access mode.
Upon entering the remote access mode, QFGuard will first report
to you how many message you have:
"You have ### new messages and ### old messages".
And the instructions:
"Please press 1 to listen to all new messages, press 2
to listen to all messages. Press 9 to end the message
play back and return to the command level. During message
playback, press 3 to repeat the message, 4 to go back to
last message, 5 to skip to next message, 6 to delete the
Message. At any time, press the Pound key to terminate
your call."
And if you do not respond, it will repeat the instructions
3 more times before giving up:
"Please Press 1 to listen to all new messages, 2
to listen to all messages. Press 3 to leave a new
announcement message. Press 4 to verify your new
announcement message, 5 to revert to the old
announcement message, Press Six to hear the current
time. Press 7 to change your security code. 8 to
change the way Quick Star processes incoming
phone calls."
In summary, there are two function levels, the command
level and the message play back level. The key press responses
are listed below:
Command level:
0: Play a more detailed instruction for this level.
1: Enter message play level and play new messages
only. If it is already in message playback level,
it will re-start from the first message and play
only new messages,
2: Enter message play level and play all messages
only. If it is already in message playback level,
it will re-start from the first message and play
all messages,
3: Record a new announcement message, the original
is replaced right away.
4: Playback the existing announcement message.
5: Revert to old announcement message if you are
not satisfied with the new one. Currently this
is not implemented. Once you start recording a
new one, the old one is lost.
6. Listen to the current time and day of week.
7. Change the security code.
8. Change the QFGuard phone answering settings.
9. Reserved for future expansion.
*: Interrupt current operation.
#: End the call and say Good bye. Hang up.
Message play back level:
0: Play a more detailed instruction for this level.
1. Start or re-start play back of all new messages,
beginning from the first one.
2. Start or re-start play back of all messages,
beginning from the first one.
3. Repeat the message
4. Going back to last message
5. Skip to next message
6. Delete the message currently being played
7. Quit message playback level and back to command
level, and change security code.
8. Quit message playback level and back to command
level. And change QFGuard phone answering settings.
9. End the message playback and back to command level.
*: Interrupt currently being played message, goto next.
#: End the call and say Good bye. Hang up.
The message play back level ends naturally and it returns to
the command level when all messages have been played.
======================================================================
6.Technical Specifications of QFGUARD
=====================================
0.How is this program written:
QFGuard is written using the QuickStar Fax/Voice
Modem Software Development kit library, which is
available for purchase by software developers.
A fully functional DEMO version, including sample
application source codes, are available for free
download and evaluation on my web site:
http://www.qfax.com
1.Voice command sets supported:
There are too many variation of different voice
modem command sets. I am striving to collect all
information to provide better support for more
types of modems. You may be able to help me and
also help yourself. See appendix 3.
Currently QFGuard supports 6 types of modems:
Rockwell voice modem command set
I.S.101 International standard of voice
modem command set.
US Robotics voice modem command set
CIRRUS LOGIC voice modem command set
SIERRA Modem voice modem command set
UMC Modem voice modem command set
1.What's the format of the voice files?
For compatibility consideration, I have adopted the
Microsoft Windows RIFF WAVE standard. All the *.wav
voice files should be able to be played back using
Sound Recorder or Media Player.
2.What is the Bits Per Sample and Sample Per Second?
Currently QFGuard only uses sample rate of 7200
samples per second, and 8 bits per sample. In the
future it will support other sample rates, too.
Because it uses a fixed sample rate, it is advised
that you record your messages directly though the
handset or through calling back. The sound card
may not support the same voice specifications.
3.What's the system requirement?
You must have a voice capable modem with an 8 bits
per sample, 7200 samples per second sampling rate.
Normally such modems are 33.6 kbs modem or better.
All 486 Pentium computers should be able to run
QFGuard with no problem. Some slow 386 computers
many not be able to support such high signal rate.
But future version of QFGuard will support lower
signal rate.
4.Will this program ever crash the computer?
Good question! As an answer machine program, the
worst thing that can happen is when you are away
from home, it crashed upon a phone ring and then
damages the data on the hard disk and you won't
be back until hours later!
I view reliability and user friendly of QuickStar
programs as essential. The bottom lines is, it
should NEVER crash or tie up the phone line, even
under the worst scenery of accidents.
There can never be any absolute guarantee. But I
have gone to the extreme to test QFGuard under
different situations. I leave QFGuard running
day and night, tried to load a lot of programs
while QFGuard is running in the background. And
I make all kinds of strange phone calls to try
to harass this answer machine program. So far
it has been behaving itself.
=====================================================================
Appendix 1 Frequently Asked Questions
==========================================
1.How are your voice files created?
I have used a demo web page on the internet which allows you
to enter text and get voice files back. I may decide to buy their
development kit, if I make enough money out of QuickStar Phone Guard.
If so, I may turn QFGuard into a really smart telephone attendant
that really speaks on its own, instead of just playing re-recorded
messages. It may even be smart than your dog, and chat with you for
entertainment, which will be marvelous! So please help me.
2.When will the paging function be implemented?
I hope in the next version, it will. Dialing a number and do
the paging should be pretty easy. Unfortunately I am not rich and
I have never tried a pager myself, lest to say a cellular phone.
If some one give me some advise, I may be able to do it.
3.What if it doesn't work on my computer?
This question is too broad and I can't answer it. Try to narrow
it down. If it doesn't work, it could have different reasons, for each
reason there is specific answers:
a.The Comm Port is wrong. Try Com2, Com3, Com4. There are three
choices so it's not difficult to try out. No damage will be
done, unless you accidentally tried Com1, the mouse port.
b.The initialize string is wrong: Try one that sets the factory
default and set hardware flow control.
c.The modem is not a voice capable modem: You are out of luck.
Get a high speed new fax/voice/modem. They are cheaper now.
d.My modem is voice capable but QFGuard just doesn't seem to
work: Very good! QFGuard can be improved. Provide more inf.
about your modem and how it reacts to QFGuard, in time I
will make it work for you. See Appendix 3.
4.How long did it take you to write this program?
About 3 weeks of working time. One and a half week to write up
the SDK. Once I have the building bricks, writing up the actual
program using MS Visual C++ takes me only 4 days. I spend another
week to test it rigorously.
With my SDK, other programmer may be able to write similar
telephony applications fast and easy! Forget about TAPI. Many people
wasted months on TAPI without figuring out even how to dial a phone
number with TAPI.
5.How much is the cost to register QFGuard?
I decided on $35 for now. I may raise the price if there are
overwhelming support for this program. I believe there will be. I
talked to may people and they are all excited and can't wait to see
the release of this program.
A long painful but enjoyable journey of bug fixing and feature
enhancement is expected. Good news to registered user is: They will
remain registered user for future releases, without paying additional
fee. Even if the registration fee goes up.
6.How much does the QuickStar Fax/Voice/Modem SDK cost?
This price is not fixed and is negotiated on an individual basis.
And not surprisingly, it may relate to the author's personal financial
situation. Since I am in short of cash now (leaving school and have not
landed a satisfactory job yet so far!) you probably want to make a deal
with me and get an early bird reward in doing so.
7.Can I buy the source code of this program and write my own?
With a price, any thing is possible. Again the price will be
negotiated on an individual basis.
8.Why a dialog box keeps popping on my screen?
I don't know why either. But I know if you register it and
get a license number from me and punch it in, that mysterious box
will disappear magically.
As a shareware author, I am spending a lot of my time, energy
and enthusiasm in developing this and other shareware products, I
can continue to do so only when I am rewarded in doing so, by many
heartfelt users. It really does not bother me if you continue to use
my program without paying, I do not pay for every shareware I use,
either. But then again, if this small harmless dancing box on the
computer screen bother you or embarrass you, simply delete it, or
pay to get rid of it.
=========================================================================
Appendix 2 Some Trouble shooting tips
==========================================
1.QFGuard can not open Com Port.
Either the Com Port number is incorrect, or it is being used
by other program. Just quit other programs, and try again. You may
need to re-start Windows if the Com Port number is correct but is
still un-available to QFGuard.
2.QFGuard Opens the Com Port but fails to initialize it.
First try to make sure it is not the problem of the initialize
string itself. Change the Initialize string to simply AT&F. Every
modem should be able to accept this command. Re-start QFGuard. If
the problem persists, shut down the computer, turn the power off
and then re-start the computer again if necessary, to re-set the
modem. If all fails, the port is a serial port but not used by a
modem, or the modem is damaged.
3.QFGuard opened the Com Port, initialized the modem but failed to set
it to the voice mode.
The command to set voice mode is not compatible with the modem.
Try set QFGuard to a different type of modem, out of the total of 6
possibilities.
If none works, you have found a modem that QFGuard need to
support next. Please provide this modem's information, as detailed
in Appendix 3.
4.QFGuard starts up all normally, it also seem to pick up the phone
line when it rings, but I can't hear any thing.
There could be three possibilities.
One, the modem is not in a hardware flow control mode.
Check your modem manual, find out what AT command sets hardware
flow control, and use it in the initialize string.
Two, QFGuard can not find its voice files. These *.WAV files
must be in a sub directory one level under QFGuard's own directory
and named \SYSTEM.
Three, the voice command set is not compatible with the modem.
Try to set QFGuard to a different modem type.
5.I hear broken sounds from QFGuard
If you hear any sound that remotely resembles what the voice
should be like at all, it means that voice playback command must
be correct. The problem could be that it's not in hardware flow
control mode, or the UART speed is not high enough, or there are
other Windows programs running, leaving not enough CPU execution
time for QFGuard.
Try to use the highest UART speed possible, i.e., 115200 bps.
Try to quit all other programs and disable the screen saver.
Try to set hardware flow control in the initialize string.
6.When I record, QFGuard interrupt me before I finish.
QFGuard must detect silence and decides if it is time to end
the recording, otherwise if a caller simply hangs up, it could be
recording forever without knowing what it is doing!
In some case, QFGuard may be too sensitive to the silence and
interrupts even if it is a normal pause during speech. Just try to
speak a little bit louder, and do not pause for long moment, do not
murmur either!
I will try to fine tune QFGuard's silence response so it is
more appropriate.
=======================================================================
Appendix 3 Help me to make this program better
===================================================
This is the first release of this answer machine program. A lot
of improvements are needed, and can be easily done, if I receive feed
backs from users.
As an amateur shareware programmer, I have the skill, knowledge
and enthusiasm to turn ideas into applications. But I do not have the
resource to exhaust test the program for all modems under all possible
situations. Nor do I have access to all technical specifications of
different modems. I need help from you!
If you have a fax/voice modem and are using QFGuard, I would
appreciate it very much if you can do the following:
1.Locate the original disks that came with your modem
2.Find the one disk that says it contains drivers for Win95
or that says it contains the Win 95 INF file. copy the
*.inf file (but ONLY the *.INF file!!!) to a floppy disk.
3.Download the QuickStar Find/a/Modem utility program. It
will do a lot of diagnosis of the modem to acquire detailed
information of its identity. Run the program, and copy the
result file to the floppy disk, too.
4.Send the disk to me. If you registered QFGuard with such a
disk submitted, you will receive a $5 discount on the fee.
So you will be paying only US$30, instead of the normal $35.
If you can provide other information, like the web site of the
modem manufacturer, the default initialize string used by the bundled
software, that will be better!
The author can be reached:
Mr. Anthony Mai
924 Bellaire Avenue, Apt. V-220
State College, PA 16801
Tel: (814)867-3385
E-Mail: qfax@qfax.com
Web: http://www.qfax.com
========================================================================
/*---------------- Thank you! ----------------------------*/