Dialing properties
The dialing properties determine how the Zetafax Server converts numbers which are entered at the fax addressing stage at the Zetafax Client into a format that can be dialed. The conversion rules are vital if LCR is to be used, since numbers entered at a client in one location will probably be passed to a server in another geographical location. As LCR may be installed between servers in different countries, or different areas within a country, it is possible that each server requires numbers to be dialed differently. To cope with these differences Zetafax first converts telephone numbers into a universal (canonical) format, and then into the correct format for dialing.
Configuring the dialing properties
If you intend to use LCR between one or more remote Zetafax Servers, then you must configure the dialing properties. To do so:
•In the LCR configuration dialog, click Dialing in the Category list.
•Select the Dialing option and click Configure….
The Dialing properties dialog allows you to specify settings which help the Zetafax Server convert the fax number entered by a user into an international format, adding area and country codes if necessary. It also tells the fax server how to dial an international format number from this fax server.
To disable dialing properties at any time:
•Select Dial numbers as entered .
The Zetafax Server will not perform any conversion of the fax number entered by a user when addressing a fax at the Zetafax client.
The Dialing properties dialog allows you to specify the dialing properties.
To use the standard Windows dialing properties:
•Click Use standard TAPI dialing properties .
Under Windows 2003, these settings can be adjusted in the Telephony control panel, or by clicking Edit TAPI settings… in this dialog.
To use the Zetafax dialing properties:
In some cases, particularly for earlier versions of Windows, TAPI settings may not give reliable results all of the time. In this case we recommend that you use the Zetafax settings instead:
•Select Use Zetafax dialing properties.
Server location
The Server location section allows you to specify the country and the area code where your server is located, and list the national and international dialing prefixes.
For example:
UK |
International |
00 |
National |
0 |
|
US |
International |
011 |
National |
1 |
Area rules
In some countries, numbers with the same area code are treated as "local" - you omit the area code for local numbers, and you dial the area code for all other numbers, often with an added digit at the start (the national access code). However, in certain countries, such as the USA and Canada, it may be necessary to dial certain area codes as local area codes, i.e. without the national dialing code prefix.
For example, in Atlanta, numbers beginning (770) and (404) are treated as local calls when dialed from within the Atlanta area. The Server location section specifies that the fax server can only be located in one of these locations, e.g. (770), therefore it is necessary to dial all numbers beginning (404) as if they were local and without the national access code. Click Area rules… to specify such telephone numbers that must be treated as special cases.
National area codes
The Identifying national numbers section allows you to tell the Zetafax Server how it can recognize a telephone number which contains a national area code.
For some countries, such as the UK and most of Europe, telephone numbers are normally quoted with the national access code, for example in the UK a central London number normally begins 020 7 where zero is the national access code. For other countries, where the area code is not normally quoted, e.g. the US and Canada, the only way to recognize a local telephone number is by its length.
The Zetafax Configuration program can deal with both of these scenarios. Zetafax can be configured to count the number of digits in a given telephone number, to determine whether the telephone number includes an area code. It does this by comparing the number of digits with the Numbers of more than field. If the telephone number contains more digits than this field, Zetafax will assume that the area code is not included and will add it while converting to canonical format.
This setting can be used if it is common for network users to enter fax numbers without entering an area code, for example if they are dialing to another local number within their local area code.
Alternatively, you can configure Zetafax to identify whether a national number has been entered by reading the first digit of the telephone number and matching it to the national access code. Numbers of any length without the National access code prefix are treated as local numbers.
Local area codes
This section allows you to specify how Zetafax handles local telephone numbers. It allows you to define whether the fax server should always dial the area code (called 10-digit dialing in the USA) and whether it should always dial local numbers using the national access code.
Test dialing properties
Whichever method you use to resolve telephone numbers you should use the Test dialing properties facility before you leave this dialog. This utility allows you to test and confirm that both Windows settings and any Zetafax settings behave as intended and they convert the different types of telephone numbers to a valid format for this fax server.
The list of numbers included should test all cases; however you can also enter any number by hand.
The canonical format and dial able number conversions for the test number are displayed so that your settings can be checked.
Example 1 - Atlanta, USA
The following example highlights some valid dialing properties for a fax server based in the (770) area code in Atlanta, USA. It is intended as a guideline to help network administrators configure LCR for a fax server within North America.
•Select USA and Canada from the list of countries for Server location and enter 770 for the Area code .
This informs Zetafax that the fax server is located in the US, but more specifically within the Atlanta (770) region.
Zetafax Configuration will complete the National access code and International access codes as 1 and 011 respectively.
•Enter 7 in Numbers of more than for identifying local numbers.
As numbers within North America contain 7 digits, the Zetafax Server will recognize all telephone numbers which it receives containing more than 7 digits in an area code, and will deal with them appropriately.
•Finally check Always dial area code (10-digit dialing) and leave the Include the National access code box unchecked.
This ensures that the fax server always dials 10 digits when calling a local telephone number and does not prefix local telephone numbers with the national access code 1.
•Use the test function to check that numbers are converted as expected.
For Atlanta, numbers with area code 404 are also treated as local telephone numbers and must not be prefixed with the national access code when dialed. To configure this:
•Click Area rules… to display the Area rules dialog.
•In the Do not dial National access for numbers with these Area codes dialog, click Add to display the Add number dialog and type 404 in Number.
This configures Zetafax to treat telephone numbers to the (404) area as local calls so they are not prefixed with the national access code 1.
•Click OK to add the new area code to the list and click OK to close the Area rules dialog.
Example 2 - London, UK
The following example highlights some valid dialing properties for a fax server based in the 020 area code in London, UK. It is intended as a guideline to help network administrators configure LCR for a fax server in the UK, and may also be applied to most European countries.
•Select United Kingdom from the list of countries for Server location and enter 020 for the Area code .
This informs Zetafax that the fax server is located in the UK, but more specifically within the Inner London (020) region.
Zetafax Configuration will complete the National access code and International access codes as 0 and 00 respectively.
•Select Numbers with area codes always begin with the National access code for identifying local numbers.
This setting makes Zetafax recognize telephone numbers which are prefixed with the national access code, in this case a 0 as containing the area code.
•Leave Always dial area code and Include the National access code unchecked.
In the UK, it is possible to call telephone numbers in the same area code without prefixing the number with the area code.
•Use the test function to check that numbers are converted as expected.
Related topics
Least Cost Routing - Introduction
Configuring Least Cost Routing