Properties Dialog

Properties Dialog

Tip

For information on a specific item, press ? and click on the item; or right-click item and select What's this? string.

 

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Description of the Tabs

Property Description
General Type of installed modem, serial port number, fonts and LCD screen color
Actions Actions to perform when receiving a call; incoming message time limit
Caller ID Detection A few options regarding Caller ID type and detection
Russian ANI Russian Caller ID options
Signals Line signals detection, volume, gain control, frequencies
Serial Parameters for serial (COM) port, line selection, and modem initialization
Compatibility Compatibility and troubleshooting options
Sounds Tab Sounds played through modem and sound card
Modem Properties Modem voice compression settings
Fax Settings for external FAX software

 

Property Sheet Tabs:

General

Setting Description
Modem Consult the modem selection guide for information on selecting the correct modem. Choosing the wrong modem may cause unexpected results.
COM port number Serial COM port selection is here, not in the Serial tab. This is usually COM port 1-4.
LCD color. Fixed font size. Screen settings are here, such as LCD color or Font size.  Check Use fixed font size if you experience troubles with font sizes. Uncheck if you are using large fonts in your Windows theme.
Start disabled Starts the program in 'paused' mode, without capturing the port.
Single click toggles pause CHECKED - single left mouse click on ACC icon in the tray will toggle pause/resume states;
UNCHECKED - single mouse click does nothing.
Show pop-up on incoming call Show pop-up dialog for call notification. If UNCHECKED, only see a tool-tip window at the bottom right of the desktop will be visible.
New pop-up window design Use new design for pop-up call notification dialog. Try both new and old styles and choose whichever you prefer.
Region / Language An important setting. Usually, ACC can detect this setting automatically (System default setting), but it is useful to select the region manually. This setting controls:
  • Default telephone number formatting for Caller ID presentation
  • Default area code rules for dialing (long distance calls in the U.S. often have to be prefixed with '1'; Russian long-distance calls must be prefixed with '8')
  • Default area codes database for region announce0 (Caller ID part)
  • User interface language, time and date presentation defaults (currently there are English and Russian user interface languages only)
 
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Actions

Tip

An action can be performed immediately after caller identification as well as after the phone rings for a specified number of times. Those actions beginning with 'After N rings...' will cause the program to count incoming rings and, after the phone rings a for specified number of times, perform the action. All other actions will happen immediately after the call comes. This scheme is useful if, for example, you'd like to restrict some group of callers from calling in by disconnecting them immediately after it's determined who's calling.

Action Result
Do nothing After the caller's name is detected, the program shows notification and does not perform any action
Turn on Telephone Answering Machine Acts exactly as a real-world answering machine, that is: plays a pre-recorded greeting message, sends a short beep to the line and records voice/monitors DTMF signals. Maximum length of the recorded voice is set in Online inactivity timer (in 1/1000 s units). The program can detect the remote caller's disconnect. It then hangs up (drops carrier).
Go off-hook and record conversation Starts recording without playing a greeting message or a beep. Hangs up when the caller hangs up.
Go off-hook Goes off-hook after a Caller ID is detected and starts DTMF and line signals monitoring. If output to a sound card is permitted, routes the call to the sound card. When the caller's dialog ends, or busy signals are detected, ACC goes on-hook and returns to a line monitoring state.
Play music on hold Goes off-hook and sends music-on-hold to the line if you downloaded sounds from the Web site, or simply goes off-hook and does nothing
Hang up Goes on-hook (hangs up).
Disconnect the caller Disconnects the caller. The program answers, then immediately hangs up.
   
After N rings - [action] Performs an [action] after N incoming rings
Option Description
Online inactivity timer Limits the time (in seconds) that remote callers can speak. After that time has elapsed, the modem will hang up and reset to a ring waiting mode.
  
Number of incoming rings before action A number of rings that the program waits before performing the action specified. For example, you may wish to set the answering machine to answer after 3 rings. If you pick up the handset and answer, the program will not start an answering machine sequence.
Emulate that number of rings (Off-hook CID) If there is an off-hook Caller ID scheme employed, the program must answer (go off-hook) in order to detect Caller ID. After that it can simulate 'ring back' signals (the tones the remote caller will hear when dialing up). If you set this value to more than 0, the program will:
  1. Wait the number of rings specified in the previous setting
  2. Go off-hook and detect the number, showing a pop-up notification
  3. Simulate several tones to the remote caller
  4. Perform a defined action

'ring back' parameters can be adjusted from the 'Signals' tab.

 
Save log file Logs telephone line activity (incoming and outgoing calls) to the file specified.
Keep Log entries For answering machine messages, keeps two records about the call: 'Log' record with call information only, and 'Message' entry, the .WAV file with recorded message. Checking this option allows you to delete the message but keep the complete log of incoming calls.
Log originated calls Saves information about out-going calls to the Originated calls folder.

Notes

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Caller ID Detection

Caller ID Type

Type Meaning
American (CND), Bellcore Calling Number Delivery. Type I Caller ID scheme used in the USA, Canada, Australia, China and others. Complies with Bellcore standard. Caller ID signal is sent after first RING, modem on-hook.
American (Off-hook, Type II) Off-hook Type II Caller ID. Caller ID packet is sent after going off-hook. After going off-hook, program emulates 'ring back' signals to the line ('ring back' frequency (synthetic ring frequency) can be changed from Signals tab.
Russian ANI Software implementation of Caller ID scheme used in Russia (Automatic Number Identification) and several ex-USSR states. In Type II, the Caller ID signal is sent after going off-hook, the program then emulates 'ring back' signals to the line ('ring back' frequency (synthetic ring frequency) which can be changed from Signals tab; length and pause are both configurable through aon32.ini file.
Hardware (ID_SDL, IDC, ZyXEL) Hardware implementation of Caller ID scheme used in Russia and several ex-USSR states. A Type II scheme, similar to Russian ANI. The line signal parameters are not directly configurable through the GUI, but must be adjusted through Modem strings command.
Voice IDC modems provide emulation of American Caller ID. Do not use Hardware CID with IDC Voice modems.

Caller ID Options

Option Description
Time to wait for CND, ms Maximum time, in 1/1000 of second, to wait for Caller ID information. If no Caller ID info received in this period of time, the call will be classified as 'not detected/unavailable' (N/A). Default recommended value is 4000 ms.
Format phone number Format the number for better recognition. U.S. 10-figure numbers will be formatted as (sample only):
Original number Formatted number
USA, Canada 18005553333
2100004444
1 (800) 555-3333
(210) 000-4444
Australia 12345678901 +12 3 4567 8901
United Kingdom 1234 567 8901 1234 567 8901
 You can change default formatting at Options - Phone Number Format
Advanced (heuristic) formatting Used when there is no fixed number length / format in your country. When you check this option and allow "Show state from which a long distance call is originated" option, if there is an appropriate area code database available (see areacode folder), the number will be formatted according to the format specified (Options - Phone Number Format) and area code itself. Example: in Australia all numbers beginning with 04 are mobile calls and must be formatted as 0434 567 890, while regular numbers of the same length will be displayed as 12 3456 7890.
Phone number only Caller ID service Avoid delays if your Caller ID service does not transmit caller's name.
Play Ring sound before the caller is detected When this option is CHECKED, standard Ring sound will be played immediately on incoming ring. When UNCHECKED, Ring sound will only play back when Caller ID is detected, which allows you to assign separate Ring sounds on every caller. Note: you can add several SPECIFIC contacts to your contact book. Click 'Contacts' / 'New', type any name you wish. In the 'Phone number' field type 'N/A' (without parentheses) for not detected/unavailable numbers, 'O' for out of area calls and 'P' for private calls. Then, by assigning each of them specific greeting and incoming ring sounds, you can audibly determine non-local calls as they arrive.
State announce / area codes DB Controls whether the state (province) from area code is announced or not, and assign an area codes database.
Show the state from which a long distance call originates Announce state or province. For example, in the U.S. this will display 'Toll-Free' Incoming WATS Service Access Code for all 800 calls, Alabama, Decatur, Gadsden, Huntsville for calls originated from the area 256. There are several databases included: Australia, Canada, Israel, Sweden, United Kingdom, U.S., several Russian regions. 
Map Area codes database. You can select existing DB or create your own (for example, you may mark all numbers beginning with 123 as Local ATE calls). Please see areacode folder for area codes DB format.
Include major cities Currently this option works only for us0.db map. Sample: 240 - Maryland (major cities: Cumberland, Frederick, Hagerstown)
Off-hook (Type II) Caller ID With off-hook Caller ID, caller ID information is sent after your telephone or modem goes off-hook. Modify these options ONLY if you have such service AND selected American (Off-hook, Type II) as your Caller ID type
Synthetic ring length (ms) ACC will emulate 'ring back' signals after it goes off-hook. Number of signals can be adjusted from Properties - Actions. Set ring back signal length here (1/1000th of second).
Pause between rings (ms) Pause between ring back tones (1/1000th of second).

Note

 

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Russian ANI

Provides options for software Caller ID detector. There are three main sections: Request parameters, Real time detection parameters and Advanced.

If there are fewer than 7 digits in your telephone number, adjust the Digits in phone number parameter.

Request

There are two choices: use hardware or software tone for request.

Hardware tone is generated by the modem hardware. Generally not precise enough in frequency and length, it is, however, the most compatible option.

Software tone generator uses an internal sinusoidal signal generator, allowing full control over the generated signal volume, frequency (Signals Tab) and timing.

Request length is highly dependent on ATE (Telephone Exchange). I recommend using the more precise software tone generator along with Request length of 160 ms. 130 ms request can be used with the exception of modems with GSM voice compression (U.S.Robotics and Texas Instruments modems). The latter must use a 160 ms request.

Some telephone exchanges prematurely send Caller ID packets. For these ATEs, use the Pre-detect ANI before request option along with Pre-detect time around 300 ms. If Pre-detect ANI before request is NOT used, Pause before request should be set to 50 to 250 ms (100 ms is usually good).
Real time operation

One adjustable parameter: Time to wait ANI. The value is time (in milliseconds) the program will wait for Caller ID packet to appear. If Caller ID was not received during this period, another request is sent. If Caller ID presence is confirmed, Time to wait for CND, ms time is added to this value.

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Signals

Option Values Description
Detect line signals Detect line signals like 'busy' and 'dial tone' and DTMF signals. Hang up if cadence detected. Default is ON.
 
Detect silence Hang up if no sound present for a specified amount of time.
  • Sensitivity
min
The least sensitive setting. The system is configured to a state in which it is least likely to detect periods of silence, but is still able to do so if the line is really quiet.


<midrange value>
An exact value; midrange setting. The system is configured to a state that is likely to be the best overall compromise on normal telephone lines.

max
The most sensitive setting. The system is configured to a state that is most likely to detect periods of silence.

  • Period
Measured in 0.1 sec. Default is 55 (5.5 seconds) to 70 (7 seconds) Silence detection period, 1/10ths of second. When no voice present in the line for a specified period, the modem assumes silence. 
 
Use software 'busy' signal detection Software busy signal detection (for modems without hardware 'busy' detection).

Determines presence of the signal with minimal length of the <value below> and the same frequencies as 'Line Busy and Synthetic Ring double frequency'. Some modems like U.S.Robotics Sportster Voice may REQUIRE use of this parameter in order to use SILENCE DETECTION.

  • One signal length
Usually 150, 300 or 500 milliseconds. Minimal length for single busy signal (milliseconds).
  • Analyze each Nth block
Use 1 to maximize robustness, 2 as midrange setting, 4 or more if you have weak CPU. Limits CPU usage while analyzing incoming audio data.

1 - analyze all wave blocks; use if CPU is mostly idle.

2 - analyze 1/2 of all blocks; use if CPU is reasonably busy.

***

4 - analyze 1/4 of blocks; use if CPU is not too busy.

The higher values used, the less quality 'busy' detection you get, but more CPU time is available for other tasks.

  • 'Busy' detected after N signals
Default is 3 tones The program will report 'busy' after this number of tones of the specified length.
 
Line Busy and Synthetic Ring double frequency Depends on your telephone line Tone frequency (in Hz) sent to the phone line to emulate on-hook state ('ring back' emulation, or 'Synthetic ring') and 'busy' signal frequency. Two values used as most telephone lines employs double tone (DTMF) signaling scheme.
Generated signals volume Volume of the signals (tones) generated. Usually 100%, but if the answering machine tone sounds distorted, reduce it to 10%.
Use software tone generator Voice modems have a built-in tone generator, but the quality is often poor and they produce loud, distorted sounds. Enable this option to use a precise software tone generator with clean sound and an adjustable volume, or disable it to use your modem's hardware tone generator.
 
Enable DTMF monitoring Monitor DTMF tones (telephone tone buttons). Versions 2.X will just hang up if the tone is detected; upcoming releases (3.X and higher) will perform a user-assigned action on every tone.
Release line when handset off-hook Releases phone line and lets you talk when you pick up handset. Please note that most modems can only detect a handset position if a handset is plugged into the modem's RJ-11 (phone jack). Please also read the FAQ, Q. #9.
 
Use hardware gain control (AGC) Disabled by default Allow modem hardware to perform Automatic Gain Control to adjust the voice volume to a standard level. Please note that many modems have no AGC at all, while some other modems do not allow it to be turned off.
Use software gain control (AGC) Enabled by default Software Automatic Gain Control adjusts the sound volume to an average level automatically. Turn it ON if sound levels are too loud or too quiet, and turn it OFF if a recorded voice is noisy. If your modem has built-in hardware AGC, you may also wish to turn this OFF.

Notes

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Serial

Option Values Description
Serial baud rate 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400, 256000 Keep the Serial baud rate as high as your modem can handle. Not all modems can support the last two values. Some (older) modems do not support 115200 port speed.
Default serial port timeout  1000 - 10000 milliseconds. Recommended value is between 2500 to 3500 ms. Sets the time (in milliseconds) to wait for a modem response to the command issued. If the modem does not reply within the time specified, the program assumes 'no result'.
 
Voice Line Select This setting is used to select which devices are routed through the modem by default.
Telephone Line (default) Instructs the modem that the telephone line interface should be routed through the modem.
Monitor This mode is the same as Telephone Line, except that the modem enables the external speaker as well as the telephone line/handset circuit.
Speakerphone Instructs the modem that both the microphone and speaker should be routed through the modem. This setting can be chosen for Full duplex AEC speakerphone operation.
- Special -
Handset Instructs the modem to route only the handset through the modem. This setting can be chosen before recording a greeting message.
Speaker only Instructs the modem to route only the speaker through the modem. This setting can be chosen before playing back any message.
Auxiliary input device (microphone) Instructs the modem to route only the auxiliary input device (microphone) through the modem. This setting can be chosen before recording a greeting message.
 
Faster modem init As a troubleshooting option, you can disable this option. Modem initialization will be slower. Some modems experience problems with fast initialization turned on.
Use hardware to detect RING Uses a special modem line state to detect incoming rings. Otherwise the program will rely on the word 'RING' sent by the modem to detect ring.
Confirm incoming ring The 'Use hardware to detect RING' option requires the modem to confirm the 'ring' line state with the word 'RING' to decrease the possibility of false ring detection, otherwise it has no effect.
Enable modem speaker Turns the modem speaker on when off-hook. Note that not all modems will turn on their speakers because of possible noise when performing commands and voice transmission / recording.
Monitor calls via sound card Plays back voice from the telephone line through your sound card speakers in real-time.
Monitor outgoing messages Plays back the messages being transmitting (i.e. greeting message playing back in an Answering machine mode) through the sound card. Many people do not like hearing their greeting over and over again; if so, they should disable this function. 
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Compatibility

Debug level With this option turned ON, modem.log file will be created with full list of commands sent to modem and modem responses. With level 2 debug information it is possible to debug Russian Caller ID detection.
Value Meaning
0 (default) No debug info
1 (minimal) Creates modem.log.
Saves PCM data from your modem (Russian ANI only).
2 (max) Russian ANI: saves PCM (if 'Real-time CID' is NOT used) and device-specific compressed sound data. Always saves full information on detected CID to files.
Note that all debug files except of 'modem.log' are being deleted after ACC shutdown.
Maximum block size (if using block writes) Causes the program to write data in blocks instead of byte-by-byte (which reduces CPU usage). If maximum block size is 1 or 0, no block-writes will occur (sometimes useful for compatibility).
Synchronize modem and sound card playback Causes modem and sound card to play back together. May cause pops and clicks in sound output. If you get sound distortions during playback through modem and sound card simultaneously, turning this option OFF may help.
Overlapped I/O This option gives you an ability to make use of Serial - Use hardware to detect RING option. Using Overlapped I/O decreases CPU usage and serial port utilization in monitoring state. 
Safe I/O Adds extra error control. Using this option may help if your modem hangs up from time to time.
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Sounds

Sound Description

Sounds to play through the sound card

Incoming ring An incoming ring sound.
Synthetic ring For off-hook Caller ID schemes, the sound to play back while emulating a 'ring back' signal.
On-hold music On-hold music file to play back through the sound card

Sounds to play through the modem

Default greeting Answering machine default greeting message.
Alternate greeting Alternative greeting message. Some actions will make use of this greeting.
On-hold music On-hold music file to play back through the modem. May differ from the sound card on-hold music playback file.

Notes

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Modem Properties

Please read your modem manual to find out which types of voice compression it supports. You may also consult Modem Notes about your device.

A variety of voice codecs are available; if garbled sounds are produced, try changing the voice compression codec.

GSM

GSM 6.10 compression is a frame-based speech codec with at least two different implementations: encapsulated GSM and un-encapsulated GSM. The GSM compression type in use will usually be detected automatically.

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FAX

Option Description
Enable FAX tone monitoring Specifies whether the program should respond to a detected FAX calling tone.
Run this application when FAX tone received Specifies an application (executable file) to be run when a program detects FAX calling tone.
Command line parameters Provide command line parameters for the application you choused to handle your incoming faxes. Each application may have its own command line parameters.
Number of seconds to wait after running FAX program Specifies a time that the program will wait before attempting to capture serial port again. The program will show 'Disconnected' icon during this period of time.
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Note

 

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