SpeedDial is US$8 shareware. See the Registration Info section below.
SpeedDial is a program that lets you keep a list of entries of names and phone numbers. When you want to call someone in your list, SpeedDial will dial it for you through your modem or speakers. You can also organize your list into different groups, and share these groups with others.
Getting Started
The minimum requirements of SpeedDial are as follows...
Any Macintosh with a 68020 processor or higher, or a PowerPC processor
Mac OS 7.1 or later
1.5MB of free RAM (2MB preferred)
Any Hayes-compatible modem for modem dialing (OPTIONAL)
If you aren’t sure if your computer meets these requirements, switch to the Finder and select About This Macintosh... from the Apple menu. If you see a picture of the Earth from outer space, or the words “System Software” followed by a number equal to or higher than 7.1, and the number next to “Largest Unused Block” is higher than 1.5MB (or 1536K), you’re a-okay. However, if you have an ‘020 or ‘030 processor, you may need Apple’s Thread Manager extension installed. If your computer looks fine in the About This Macintosh... window but the program still won’t run, install Thread Manager and give it a try. You can get it at most shareware sites out there.
Wonder if SpeedDial is Power-PC native? Well, it’s not. I really didn’t think that the speed boost PowerPC users would get would be worth increasing the size of the program, since it’s not a program that needs a lot of horsepower. But it should run just fine on any of the computers that fit the above requirements.
And as for your modem, if you have a modem, it's probably Hayes-compatible. There's not many modems out there that aren't. If it turns out yours isn't, SpeedDial will not be able to dial numbers through your modem, but you can still dial through your speaker. Keep reading to find out how.
If your computer meets the above requirements but the program still won’t run, contact me. The info’s at the bottom of this page.
Tutorial
All right, let's get started. Start up SpeedDial by double-clicking it. This will bring up the main window with a lot of empty spaces, but don't get scared... this is a very easy to use program. I'll take you through it step by step. Balloon Help is there to help you if you need it as well.
The first thing we need to do is create a new entry. This is easy; just click the New button. This will create a new entry with the name of New Entry; you'll see it appear in the list of entries above the New button.
Now, New Entry is a lousy name, so in the Name field, type John Doe. In the Number field, type 555-6639. And in the Comments field, type "Don't call before 10 AM." We now have an entry for John Doe.
Let's create another one. Click New again, and enter Jane Doe for name, 555-5578 in the number field, and "Ask for Extension 5564" in the Comments field.
So we now have two entries; one for John and one for Jane. You can switch between them by clicking on their names in the entry list box on the left. You can also further edit their names, numbers and comments in their respective fields. But you can only enter five entries until you register SpeedDial... see the Registration Info part of this document.
Deleting an entry from the list is easy. Select John's entry and click Delete. Oops! You'll get an error message saying that if you want to delete an entry, you have to hold down Option while you click Delete. This is to make it real hard to accidentally delete the phone number of a big client or something.
Now say we wanted to give our pal Jane a call. There are two ways you can use SpeedDial to dial the number for you. Those two ways are using your modem, or playing the touch-tone dialing sounds through your computer's speaker.
Dialing Through the Modem
To have SpeedDial dial through your Hayes-compatible modem, go to the Options menu, select the Dial Through submenu, and select Modem. Now go to the Options menu to the Port submenu, and select which port your modem is plugged into. Odds are it's plugged into the Modem port, but it might be plugged into the Printer port since they're interchangable. (If you have an internal modem, try selecting Modem.) Again, go to the Options menu to the Dial Type submenu, and select if you want your modem to use pulse or tone dialing. If the phone wiring your modem is connected to is pretty old, you might have to use tone dialing, but most places should do just fine with either. (Using tone dialing is faster though.) One more trip to the Options menu to the Speaker submenu, and select what volume you want to set your modem's speaker to... the higher the number, the louder. If you later find you have problems dialing through your modem with SpeedDial, select Ignore... this tells SpeedDial to not send a command to the modem about the speaker. (The modem will use its built-in setting.)
Okay, that's enough options. Now, whenever you want SpeedDial to dial a number, select the entry you want to call, pick up your telephone, and click Dial This Number. SpeedDial will tell your modem to dial the digits. Listen through your phone, and when the modem is done dialing, press any key or click the mouse. SpeedDial will tell your modem to hang up, but, so long as your telephone is still picked up, your connection will still remain active.
Also, if you have a lot of entries, you can automatically jump to an entry by typing its name into the listbox. For example, if you type "j", SpeedDial will find the first entry that starts with "j"... let's say it's Jack. Then if you type "o", SpeedDial will look through the list for an entry that starts with "jo", and it might find Joanne. Then if you type "s", it will look for "jos" and find Joseph. Type "r", and SpeedDial will look for "josr" If it doesn't find a name that begins with "josr", it will look for the first name that begins with "r" and maybe find "Randy" Get the idea? Capitalization doesn't matter. This will make it easier to sort through a group with a lot of entries. This feature can be deactivated in the Preferences window (which you can bring up by selecting Preferences... from the Options menu).
Dialing Through the Speaker
Dialing through the speaker is easy. Go to the Options menu, and in the Dial Through submenu, select Speaker. Ignore all the other stuff.
Now, when you want to make a call, select the entry you want to call. Pick up your telephone, and hold the mouthpiece (the part you talk into) up to your Mac's speaker. You should probably turn the volume on your speakers up pretty loud if they aren't already. Click Dial This Number, and SpeedDial will play the touch-tone sounds through your Mac's speaker and into the phone's mouthpiece. When SpeedDial is done dialing, begin your conversation.
Note that sometimes, especially if there's a lot of loud background noise in the room or your speakers are playing other sounds, the phone might miss one of the sounds that SpeedDial makes. If this happens, hang up the phone and try again.
Dial Now!
The Dial Now! function lets you dial a phone number instantly, without having to create a new entry for it first. To do this, simply select Dial Now!... from the Windows menu, type a phone number in the text box, and click the Dial Now! button. SpeedDial will dial that number according to what you've got set up in the Options menu.
Alphabetical Sorting
By default, SpeedDial will sort the entries in your groups alphabetically. This may slow down your computer if you have a lot of entries in a group. If you want to turn this off, you can do that in the Preferences window by selecting Preferences... from the Options menu.
Managing Groups
Once you register, SpeedDial, you can create any number of groups, each of which have their own entries. For example, you can have a Family group, a Co-workers group, a Friends group, an Enemies group...
...But you can't do anything with groups until you register. See the Registration Info section later in this document.
Once you've registered, select Manage Groups from the Windows menu. This will bring up a new window. The list box on the left lists all the groups that have already been created. If this is your first time using this window, you will only have one group, labelled Main Group. That's a boring name, so let's rename it. Click on it in the list, and type a new name in the Name text box.
Now let's make another one. Click the New button below the list box and a new group, appropriately titled New Group, will be created. Type a name for it in the Name text box. Continue making as many groups as you want this way.
Now let's say you want to delete one of your groups. To do this, click on the group in the list box and click on the Delete button. ...Geez, haven't you learned? If you REALLY wanna delete something in SpeedDial, you have to hold down the Option key while clicking Delete. Be warned that when you delete a group, you delete all the entries that are in that group... you might want to transfer the entries you want to keep to other groups beforehand. (See Transferring Entries below.)
When you're done creating, renaming and deleting groups, click the Done button. When the main window reappears, you'll be able to access your new groups. To do this, select the group you want to use from the Group pop-up menu in the upper-left corner of the window. When you change this menu, the entries in the group you selected will appear in the list below it (the ones you just created will be empty). You can then add, delete and modify entries in these groups just like you did in your first group.
Transferring Entries
(A quick note: This window was a real pain in the butt to me... a certain bug where not all of the transferred entries were saved when the window was closed had me hung up for at least two weeks. I hope you guys use this a lot and appreciate it... Back to the tutorial.)
You can transfer entries from one group to another using the Transfer Entries window. To do this, you must have more than one group.
Say you had someone in your Friends group, but you found out they kicked your dog and spat in your Mountain Dew, so you want to move their entry to your Enemies group. To do this, you can either open your Friends group, delete your fromer friends' entry, then open up your Enemies group and re-enter his/her entry there, or you can automatically transfer it using the Transfer Entries window. To use this window, select Transfer Entries from the Windows menu. This will bring up a window with two pop-up menus and two list boxes. Select the Friends group from one menu and the Enemies group from the other (it doesn't matter which side is which). This will bring up all the entries in your Enemies group in the listbox beneath the menu you selected Enemies from, and same with Friends. Then click in the entry in the Friends list box you want to transfer, and click the Arrow button between the list boxes. That jerk's entry will jump from the Friends list box into the Enemies list box, where it belongs. That'll teach 'em...
While you're here, you can transfer more entries by selecting their groups from the pop-up menus, selecting their names from the listboxes and clicking the Arrow button, just as you have done before. When you're finished, click the Done button.
Importing v1.0 Data Files
Hey, users of SpeedDial 1.0! Wouldn't it be great if you could import your old SpeedDial data file into SpeedDial 2.0? Well now you can!... if you have registered. Simply select Import v1.0 Data File from the File menu, and SpeedDial will put the entries from your old data file into a new group. You can then transfer those entries into other groups as described above.
Importing and Exporting Groups
The Import Groups and Export Groups functions let you trade groups and their entries with other people that use SpeedDial. Say you made a group that contains entries for all your relatives, and your brother uses SpeedDial too. You can export that group into an Export file and give it to your brother. Your brother can then import that group into his data file, so he doesn't have to re-enter all of those entries. It can be quite handy! But, like some of SpeedDial's other neat features, you can only use it after you have registered.
To create a SpeedDial "Export file" that can contain one or more groups and its entries, select Export Groups... from the File menu. This will bring up a window that contains a list box listing all of your groups. Select the groups you want to export. To select more than one group, shift-click on the groups. (Unfortunately, non-contiguous selections aren't supported.) Then click the Export button, and you'll be presented with the standard Save dialog box. This will create an Export file that has the names and entries of the groups you selected. The SpeedDial Export file is just a plain text file, so you don't have to worry about encoding it if you plan to send it over the internet.
To import one or more of the groups in an Export file, select Import Groups... from the file menu. Navigate to the Export file in the Open dialog box. If the Import file appears to be valid, SpeedDial will bring up a window with a list box that lists the groups that are stored in that Export file. Select the groups you want to import into your own data file. (Again, shift-click to select more than one group, but again, non-contiguous selections aren't supported.) Then click the Import button. If all goes well, new groups will be created with the same names as the ones you selected, and they will have all the entries as the groups the other person exported.
If you're someone who backs up their hard drive as often as we all should, these functions can help a lot. Whenever you make a backup disk, export all of your groups into an Export file and put it on the backup disk. If/when your hard drive crashes, just download SpeedDial again and import the Export file, and you'll have all of your entries at your fingertips again.
Sending Command Lines Before & After Dialing
If you want SpeedDial to send an AT command line of your choosing to the modem before and/or after it dials the number, you can set it up in the Preferences window (select Preferences... from the Options menu). SpeedDial will wait one second after it sends the commands before moving on. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, DON'T GOOF WITH THESE. You probably can't do any physical damage to your modem or computer, but you could confuse it and make it act stubborn to any program that want to use it.
Supported and Not Supported Phone Keys
Through both the modem and the speaker, SpeedDial can dial numbers with the digits 0-9, the characters * and #, and the letters A, B, C, and D (which are used in some parts of the globe). However, SpeedDial doesn't support the R button (also used in some parts on this planet).
And SpeedDial supports the comma for making two-second pauses while dialing. This is great for automatically entering calling card numbers or PINs. For example, if you put "1-800-555-5771,,,1234-5678-9012" into a Number field and clicked Dial, SpeedDial would dial 1-800-555-5771, then wait six seconds, then dial 1234-5678-9012. Again, this works through both the modem and the speaker.
Registration Info
SafePicker is distributed as shareware. You may use SpeedDial as long as you like without registering, but your list of entries can't have more than five entries in it. You also can not edit or create groups, import or export groups. or import version 1.0 data files. To be able to do this stuff, register today. Registration is only US$8! (But if you don't live in the US, you can also pay in your local money.)
To register SpeedDial, open up the Register application included with SpeedDial. It's pretty easy to use, but if you need help you can turn on Balloon Help. Select the payment method and how many copies of SpeedDial you want to register and enter your postal or email address and any other info the program prompts you for.
Registration is handled through Kagi, so don't worry that you're not sending the money directly to me. Kagi is a service that takes registrations, notifies the author (that's me) when someone has registered, and every month sends the author (again, me) the profits minus a small percentage they keep for their services. When they notify me that you have sent in your money, I'll then send you the code you need to register your copy of SpeedDial.
Once you register, you can make the "Registered To: Your Name" message go away simply by moving the mouse over it.
Known Problems & Troubleshooting
SpeedDial will not dial phone numbers through the internal modem on later-style Powerbook G3s (the ones with the big silver Apple logos on the cover). This is not a bug in SpeedDial, but an oddity in the way the internal modem is wired, and some other modem-using programs have problems with it too. External modems should still work, though. It is unknown if/when this bug will be fixed.
If SpeedDial crashes or unexpectedly quits on you, the first thing you should try is increasing SpeedDial's memory allocation. To do this, select SpeedDial's icon in the Finder (click on it once), and then select Get Info from the File menu. Then make the number in the Preferred Size box near the bottom a few hundred notches higher. Close the Get Info window, fire up SpeedDial, and try again. If you're still having the same problems, try running fewer programs at the same time as SpeedDial (if you are), or try freeing up more RAM by removing unnecessary Extensions and Control Panels from their respective folders in the Extensions folder and restarting. If you've increased the Preferred Size by more than a thousand and you're sure you have enough RAM free, contact me and I'll see what I can do.
If you open SpeedDial, then switch to another program that uses the modem (like a BBS or accessing the internet), then switch back to SpeedDial and try to dial numbers through your modem, your modem might not respond. If this happens, try selecting Reset Modem from the Options menu and try again. (Thanks to Deborah for finding this bug.)
Version History
1.0 (August 17, 1998) - Initial release
1.0.1 (August 24, 1998) - Someone alerted me that the Register program has SpeedType instead of SpeedDial in it. SpeedType is another program of mine that's freeware... I musta got confused... Anyway, I fixed it, and that's really the only difference between this and version 1.0.
2.0 (November 17, 1998) - This greatly improved version was rebuilt from almost the ground up, including the interface... very little of the same code was kept from earlier versions. The two biggest changes were the addition of Groups and removal of the ridiculous Save Changes button.
2.1 (December 30, 1998) - Lotsa bugs are squashed, and the Import/Export Groups and Dial Now! features are added.
2.2 (January 16, 1999) - More bug fixes and cosmetic improvements, and addition of the alphabetic sorting, custom command lines and jump to an entry when its name is typed features.
Distribution Information
SpeedDial is shareware. That means you are free to make as many copies and distribute this program to your hearts' content; in fact, I encourage it. Just make sure this Read Me file and the Registration program is included.
Contact Information
If you have a problem, think you’ve found a bug, or just want to tell me how cool or pathetic my program is, don’t hesitate to contact me! Just email me at albright@kagi.com and I’ll get back to you. If you're on a OneNet BBS, you can also email me at Garrett Albright, Smuggler's.
Also, the web site for all of my programs is at http://members.xoom.com/albright_sw/ If you’ve think you’ve found a bug, check here to see if it’s already been discovered by someone else before you mail me, if you can.
And as for Hotline, I go by the appropriate handle "Albright." You can find me hanging out at the REALbasic Café at cafe.realbasic.com
Credit Where it's Due
Niklas Frykholm created the sounds SpeedDial uses to dial phone numbers through the modem in his SoundPhone package. Check out his web site at http://www.ts.umu.se/~r2d2/ As part of the deal for using the sounds, he gets free registration.
Thanks to everyone who has sent in a bug report or a suggestion. You know who you are, and it's a good thing because I can't remember everyone that has.
