Dialing-out problem

[Jim Scott]

I'm confused. When I was on dial-up there was no problem dialling out from
Outlook Contacts. I have had a love hate with Outlook and this time when I
re-installed it, I have moved to broadband and when I attempt to dial-out I
get the error message "An internal error occurred in the automatic phone
dialler....."

My dial-up modem is still connected and claims to be working, and I know it
is because another program called Phonedeck dials-out fine and I can hear
it doing so.

(XP SP2 Outlook 2002)
Can anyone help?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

This would be a problem with your Windows Phone dialer, not Outlook.

 

[Jim Scott]

This would be a problem with your Windows Phone dialer, not Outlook.

Apparently!
Although nobody in XP ng's seems to know how to fix it and Googling
seems to lead me to believe that it need a work-around using Netmeeting.
I cannot do that either.
;o(

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Odd. Well unfortunately I know nothing about preventing these little
tantrums from the Windows XP Phone Dialer. You mentioned another program
that accesses TAPI protocols for your modem. I wonder if that might be the
source of the problem.

 

[Jim Scott]

Odd. Well unfortunately I know nothing about preventing these little
tantrums from the Windows XP Phone Dialer. You mentioned another program
that accesses TAPI protocols for your modem. I wonder if that might be the
source of the problem.

This is the same question and the reply I got from a windows xp group.

I am on XP SP2.
My isp is ADSL through an external modem.
When I use Outlook 2002 I can send and receive emails and my browser
works fine. I also have a dial-up modem connected and functioning.

What I want to do is to use windows dialer to dial numbers from my
contacts addresses so that I do not have to key them in by hand. Since
this is what my telephone does as it is on the same, and only,
outgoing line. When I hear the number dialling from the modem noise, I
can the pick up the normal telephone handset and wait for the call to
connect. As I mentioned before, I have another address book which does
exactly this, so I know it is possible.
Currently I have an email client + an address book + a calendar and
would like to have them all in one ie Outlook.

Much better description. Now at least we all understand exactly what you
are trying to do. Since this procedure works with another telephone
book but doesn't work in Outlook, my guess is that there is no way for
Outlook to use two different connections at the same time or for it to
"know" that when you access the Contact list you really don't want to
get your email with the broadband. I'm sorry that the Outlook
newsgroups sent you here, but I really don't think this is a Windows
issue - it is an Outlook issue. Obviously Outlook isn't capable of
getting your mail via broadband and allowing you to use its Contact
list for a phone dialer.

The only place I can think of that you might get a *definitive* answer
to this is from one of the Microsoft Outlook developers/coders. I have
no idea how you would contact one of them, either. I guess you'll have
to duplicate your Contact list in the other phonebook program that
works.

Does this seem right and I just have to give up on Outlook to do BOTH
functions?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Details still unclear. Are you saying that you are expecting the Windows
dialer to make a call over the same phone line that you already have
occupied with a dial up connection to the Internet?
If not, clarify your post.

 

[Jim Scott]

Details still unclear. Are you saying that you are expecting the Windows
dialer to make a call over the same phone line that you already have
occupied with a dial up connection to the Internet?
If not, clarify your post.

No I am expecting Windows dialer to make a call over the same line which
has an adsl connection to the internet. I KNOW I should be able to do it
because I already do it with a different software program. Its just that I
cannot get outlook to do it.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Are you using a DSL line filter suitable for connecting a standard analog
voice line to your analog modem?

 

[Gerhard Fiedler]

Are you using a DSL line filter suitable for connecting a standard analog
voice line to your analog modem?

Chipping in here... I don't think that there's something wrong with the
external setup, because the OP said that another program is able to make
the modem dial just fine. Which wouldn't work if there were a problem with
the external setup.

Also, to answer another doubt, from the POV of the computer, the fact that
the ADSL connection and the analog modem in the end connect to the same
telephone wire is completely irrelevant -- as far as the computer is
concerned, the ADSL connection could just as well go over a different phone
line, or be a cable modem or whatever Ethernet connection.

So I think you probably have a problem in your modem setup, and in its
integration with TAPI possibly. There are different ways a program can talk
to the modem and make it dial. (For example, direct AT commands to the
modem's serial port, and going through TAPI are two of the possibilities.)
One way may work correctly, while another may not. This may explain why
another program can dial and Outlook can't (if they are using different
methods).

One thing you can try is whether the Windows Address Book applet can dial
out. At least in Windows XP it is in Start | Programs | Accessories. Add an
entry if you don't have one and try to make it dial. AFAIK this uses TAPI.

You can also try to reinstall your modem driver. If it has an uninstaller,
use that. If it hasn't, you probably can remove it from the device manager.
Then reinstall the driver. It may be good to reboot after uninstalling or
removing. (Don't you like the driver black magic?

Please note that I'm pretty much shooting in the dark here, reading your
previous posts in this ng and seeing that you didn't get better advice so
far.

Gerhard

 

[Gerhard Fiedler]

One thing you can try is whether the Windows Address Book applet can dial
out. At least in Windows XP it is in Start | Programs | Accessories. Add an
entry if you don't have one and try to make it dial. AFAIK this uses TAPI.

There may also be a TAPI dialer on your system -- on mine, you can get to
it by running "dialer" (from the Start | Run... prompt). See how that
works, and maybe the configurations there tell you something.

Gerhard

 

[Jim Scott]

Chipping in here... I don't think that there's something wrong with the
external setup, because the OP said that another program is able to make
the modem dial just fine. Which wouldn't work if there were a problem with
the external setup.

Also, to answer another doubt, from the POV of the computer, the fact that
the ADSL connection and the analog modem in the end connect to the same
telephone wire is completely irrelevant -- as far as the computer is
concerned, the ADSL connection could just as well go over a different phone
line, or be a cable modem or whatever Ethernet connection.

So I think you probably have a problem in your modem setup, and in its
integration with TAPI possibly. There are different ways a program can talk
to the modem and make it dial. (For example, direct AT commands to the
modem's serial port, and going through TAPI are two of the possibilities.)
One way may work correctly, while another may not. This may explain why
another program can dial and Outlook can't (if they are using different
methods).

One thing you can try is whether the Windows Address Book applet can dial
out. At least in Windows XP it is in Start | Programs | Accessories. Add an
entry if you don't have one and try to make it dial. AFAIK this uses TAPI.

Gerhard

Gerhard you are nearly a STAR.
Both the Windows Address Book (via Outlook Exress)
AND
'Dialer' entered directly from RUN _both_ dial out.

So it IS an Outlook problem - in settings?
I have tried H323line and IPCONF LINE with no success.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Exactly. That is the dialer that Outlook uses and that stopped working after
he switched to ADSL. The only setting in Outlook that can be specified is
the Line property and that doesn't help. I have never seen an Outlook
setting that solves dialing problems. These problems have always been in the
configuration of the Windows dialer.
If you know of an Outlook setting that will work, please tell us.

 

[Gerhard Fiedler]

Exactly. That is the dialer that Outlook uses and that stopped working
after he switched to ADSL.

At least on my system (XP SP2) with my Office (2003) the dialer that
Outlook uses looks completely different from the one I get when running
'dialer.exe'.

dialer.exe pops up two small dialogs that can come in from the left or the
right; one shows volume controls, the other the call progress. When I use
Outlook to dial. I don't get these dialogs, I get others. So Outlook may
(or may not) use the same API, but it probably doesn't use dialer.exe
itself.

The only setting in Outlook that can be specified is the Line property
and that doesn't help. I have never seen an Outlook setting that solves
dialing problems. These problems have always been in the configuration
of the Windows dialer.

This in some way seems not to be the problem here, as the dialer.exe and
other programs seem to work just fine. If the OP goes to a Windows or TAPI
ng and asks about what to do, the most likely question is "does dialer.exe
work?" and when the answer is "yes" the next question is "so what is your
problem?" and when the answer is "Outlook doesn't dial" the most likely
answer is "go check your Outlook"

Having said all this, you (the OP) could still try to post your problem in
microsoft.public.win32.programmer.tapi. Maybe someone there knows more
about Outlook's interface to modems.

Depending on your general level of computer knowledge, you also could check
out the test tools section in
http://www.i-b-a-m.de/Andreas_Marschall's_TAPI_and_TSPI_FAQ.htm. Maybe
something there helps...

If you know of an Outlook setting that will work, please tell us.

No, unluckily I don't know of any Outlook settings that control dialing.
Please don't think that I'm trying to be a smarta** here -- I was just
trying to close a circle around the problem.

The fact that I (nor you) don't know of any Outlook configuration item that
could help with the dialing doesn't mean there couldn't be something wrong
with Outlook -- when every other program on the system can dial out but
Outlook can't... ?!?

If only that stuff would be documented /somewhere/. Like how Outlook talks
to the modem, what it requires to be able to dial a number, and what
controls this process. Having to guess these things is not really helpful,
even if you know all about TAPI and modems.

Both the Windows Address Book (via Outlook Exress)
AND
'Dialer' entered directly from RUN _both_ dial out.

So it IS an Outlook problem - in settings?

It's not necessarily an Outlook problem. It seems to be between Outlook,
TAPI and the modem driver. Could be a misconfiguration in or an
incompatibility between any of them. (BTW, I don't think you want the
IPCONF or H323 lines. They almost certainly don't talk to your analog
modem, and even if they do, they definitely won't make it dial the phone
number so that you can pick up the phone and talk to that person.)

Since I don't really know TAPI in detail, and don't know what Outlook needs
(that is different from what dialer.exe needs), I'm as lost as you (and
apparently most everybody else) here. And the only thing that would be left
for me without additional information (like from the TAPI ng I mentioned
above) is to reinstall the modem driver and/or Outlook... in whatever
sequence, and hope that the installation would create/pick up the correct
settings

Gerhard

 

[Jim Scott]

<big snip>

.... the only thing that would be left

for me without additional information (like from the TAPI ng I mentioned
above) is to reinstall the modem driver and/or Outlook... in whatever
sequence, and hope that the installation would create/pick up the correct
settings

Gerhard

Well there you go!
I completely uninstalled the modem and let Windows re-install it.
In dialling options, IPCONF LINE changed to the Modem and all is now well.
Thanks to everyone concerned.
I hope you all learned something along the way :0)

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

It is certainly possible that the problem could be within Outlook. I only
know that similar problems have never been solved by reinstalling Outlook or
by configuring any of the settings in Outlook (almost none of which are
exposed). Outlook simply hands off dialing requests to the Windows dialer
and the only solutions for dialing problems I have ever seen have come from
reconfiguring the Windows dialer or the modem.