Configuring Phone Xpress Recorder
Q1. What should I do if no PBX data appears in the Recorder window?
A1. In order to function properly, the software requires having properly configured COM port settings: baud rate, data nits, stop bits, parity, hardware and software flow control. If you know the values for these settings or you can get them, enter them in the PBX port settings in the Recorder. Otherwise, you will need to get those values.
To do this, you can use the Recorder or any terminal application, such as HyperTerminal, which comes with MS Windows.
Let’s go through this by the example of HyperTerminal, although you can reproduce these same actions in a similar way in the Recorder.
Run HyperTerminal and give a name you like to the new connection. In the window that appears, under “Connect using” , select the COM port with the cable from your PBX and then click “Ok”. This opens a new window with COM port settings; there you need to set up the right configuration for your connection with the PBX and then click “Ok”.
Then make one or several test calls, preferably to external (city) numbers, at least 30 seconds long (some exchanges, such as certain Panasonic models, have a buffer, which keeps a number of recent calls, so test calls may be not even necessary).
If you have properly set up the cable and properly configured the port settings, you will see lines of text returned by the PBX in the HyperTerminal window – immediately or in a little while. If instead of something meaningful the lines contain pseudo-graphic characters or other meaningless data, that indicates that the port settings you have entered are most likely wrong. If that’s the case, in HyperTerminal select Call -> Disconnect (or click on the corresponding button on the toolbar), then select File -> Properties (or click on the corresponding button on the toolbar), then click on the “Configure…” button and edit port settings.
The most common settings are: Baud rate (speed) 1200/2400/9600, Data bits 8, Parity None, Stop bits 1, Flow control none/Hardware(CTS/RTS). Once the changes are made, confirm them by clicking “Ok”. Try connecting to the port again by selecting Call -> Connect (or click on the corresponding button on the toolbar) and then try placing another test call. Repeat this procedure until you get meaningful lines of data in the HyperTerminal window.
Many PBX have data output to СОМ port disabled by default. In this case, you should enable it manually or ask the technicians who set up and/or maintain the PBX for you to do so.
Q2. What should I do if HyperTerminal receives data and shows it on the screen, while the Recorder doesn’t show anything?
A2. Such cases were mainly noted with Panasonic exchanges, but it is likely to note the same effect with all exchanges that have the cable, port and PBX configuration supporting hardware flow control signals. It is worth paying attention to the “Hardware Flow Control” property and set it to CTS/RTS. Please note that HyperTerminal disregards the value of this setting; i.e. it does output data through it regardless the value in the setting.
Q3. What should I do if the Recorder window shows data, but the Analyzer does not see it?
A3. Most likely, that’s either because you have selected a wrong PBX model in the Recorder, which you can fix by selecting the right one; because the PBX model you are using is not currently on the list of supported PBX in the program, or your PBX model returns data in a format that is different from those that are supported by the program for this model. In the latter two cases, enable recording all PBX data to file. To do this, open the Recorder settings, open the PBX settings tab and select the “Save PBX data to file” option. Also, it would be good to set the “Details of operation log” option on the “Settings” tab to “Errors, warnings, events”. You can do all that from the Administrator window too. For that purpose, select the “PBX” item on the menu, then right-click on the required PBX, select the “Recorder Settings” in the window that appears and do the above described manipulations there. When you are done with that, pack all the files that appear in the “Logs” folder with an archiver application (WinZip, WinRAR, …) and e-mail them to us at px-support@apslab.com.
Q4. What should I do if my PBX model is not on the list of supported ones?
A4. Enable recording PBX data to file and then e-mail that data file to us. Please see the previous section for further details.
Q5. What should I do if my PBX model is on the list of supported ones, but data from it cannot be parsed?
A5. Enable recording PBX data to file and then e-mail that data file to us. Please see the previous section for further details.
Q6. What logging modes and log types are supported by the Recorder, and what are they for?
A6. The Recorder maintains an operation log file, (CallRegister.log in the Logs folder). That file is used for controlling the Recorder’s performance, as well as for diagnosing problems that occur.
You can also enable recording PBX data to file (the file will be saved in the Logs folder as <PBX model> on <port>.txt). That file is normally sent to the developers for solving problems with parsing data or for adding support for a new PBX type (see the above section for further details.)
Logging modes determine the types of data that will be recorded in the Recorder‘s log file. Here is the list of logging modes that are currently available:
- Errors only – default mode; log errors only to the operating log file.
- Errors and warnings – log errors and warnings to the operating log file.
- Errors, warnings, events – log errors, warnings and events (connections to server, port openings, etc.) to the operating log file.
- All debug data – log all possible information, including debug data, to the operating log file. Use this mode only when you need to figure out the cause of a certain problem. WARNING! Logging in this mode causes writing large amounts of data to the file, making the file size growing rapidly. Do not forget to turn off this logging mode as soon as you no longer need it.
Q7. How do I insert data from a text file into the Phone Xpress database?
A7. Beginning with version 1.0.89b, the software supports operations with the “File” data source. This feature can be configured in “Recorder Settings” – “PBX Connection Method”.