Use Outlook to dial and talk on PC?

[Richard Lewis Haggard]

The Outlook on my laptop has the ability to call a contact but it doesn't
have the ability to actually let me have a conversation with the contact
once the call has been picked up. I've looked out on the internet but have
not yet found a product that does all of the things that I want. Does anyone
know how to set things up so that I do the following things:

I) Outgoing call
1) Initiate a call to a contact.through Outlook
2) Optionally open a journal entry for the call
3) Talk to the contact using a head set plugged into the laptop's sound
card.
4) Terminate the conversation and have time of conversation added to
journal.

II) Incoming call
1) Display caller ID
2) Display associated contact information
3) Permit me to answer phone and talk using headset plugged into laptop's
sound card.
4) Act as an answering machine if not answered within a time limit.
5) Add journal entry and add phone message notification to Outlook UI.

===
"I'm not going to get married again. I'm just going to find a woman that I
don't like and give her a house." - Rod Stewart.

Richard Lewis Haggard

 

[Richard Lewis Haggard]

This can't be right, surely! I know that someone in this news group knows
how to get telephone operations completely integrated into Outlook or knows
of an application that does this well.

I want to make calls from Outlook, using the built-in modem and sound card.
When an incoming phone call is received, I want Outlook to bring up the
contact and start a journal entry or, if I don't answer, act as an answering
machine. Suggestions?
===
Richard Lewis Haggard
www.haggard-and-associates.com

 

[Kenn Mor]

Sorry, I don't have a 3rd party program that does all that you wish. It's
just that there is solid Microsoft Knowledge Base confirmation that Outlook
only has a pointer to the Phone Dialer in the Win OS. For that reason
Outlook's contacts information only acts like a huge speed-dialer and a
sceondary phone handset must be used. It was never designed to essentially
convert your computer into a headset/speaker phone - answering machine. 2nd
level software for modem in/output may be available, but comes 3rd party or
with the modem. It seems its integration into the MSOL interface would be
very difficult to facilitate for all the items you have desire for below.
As for Outgoing call Starting Journal entry, there IS a box to check to
start a Journal Entry on dial, that when you save and close it would at
least give you a Start and Stop timer for item #2 and 4 to be fulfilled when
you right-click (secondary click) a contact and tell it to dial.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;274163 is the link
for 2000, and change the last six numbers to 274162 or 274161 for 98 & 97
versions, they just haven't bothered to publish it for 2002/3 on the web
yet. But I know I can't do this in my 2002.

Ken