DDE Computer Caller ID Hardware and Caller ID Software for Computer Telephony

PROGRAMMING

REVIEW

CONTACT YES

TECHNICAL MANUAL

ACCESS 97

VISUAL BASIC

DDE

OUTPUT EXAMPLES

FREE DDE Software for the Identifier
Windows 3.1, 3.11, & 95

Description

This is a general purpose DDE application that receives the Caller ID Name & Number from the Identifier and sends it to any DDE enabled application. It will execute any sequence of DDE commands each time a Caller ID signal is received. It can also pass the date, time, and line number embedded within the sequence of commands. It has a built in demo mode where it will simulate an Identifier by generating an incoming Caller ID signal. It comes with a built in utility that will allow you to link with any DDE Server and manually Execute DDE commands and Poke values. This utility is very generic and works with any DDE software.

What you need to know

You should have a working knowledge of DDE in order to use this software. You should understand the following subjects:

DDE Server Application
DDE Topic
DDE Execute
DDE Poke Item
DDE Poke Value

The software comes in a ZIP file. You must be able to create a directory unzip the file and create a Windows Icon for the program.

Download & Installation

Click Here to Download the DDE.ZIP file (595K)
Create a Directory for the program
Unzip the Download file in this directory
Set up an Icon to execute yesDDE.exe
Run the program (yesDDE.exe)

If an Identifier is connected to COM port 1-4 the program will automatically find it If you do not have an Identifier choose CANCEL when asked which port the Identifier is connected to.

Applications

The program can store an unlimited number of DDE Applications. An Application consists of a single DDE Application and Topic, and a list of DDE Commands which are sent to the DDE Server Application whenever Caller ID data is received.

The DDE Commands can be either an Execute Command or a Poke Item and Value. There is no limit to the number of Commands in the List. The Commands are executed in order determined by the value of the "ORDER" field.

It comes set up with a sample application that works with an included Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (yesDDE.xls). If you have Microsoft Excel 97, you can run it and load the yesDDE.xls spreadsheet before running the yesDDE.exe program. With this Application running, when the Caller ID data is received it will be transferred to the Excel spreadsheet.

This Application sends the call date, call time, caller id phone number, and caller id name to an Excel spreadsheet (yesDDE.xls) and then runs a "MoveData" macro which adds the data to a chronological list of calls. The included spreadsheet is in Excel 97 format. In order for the example to work you must have Excel running and yesDDE.xls loaded when yesDDE.exe is run. When the Caller ID signal is received (or generated by demo) and the Command sequence is executed yesDDE.xls must be the active foreground spreadsheet. If not the "MoveData" macro will not execute and will generate an Excel error.

The Utility

When working with DDE it is generally necessary to first manually transmit commands to the DDE Application for test and debug purposes. This utility although incorporated within our Caller ID program is a generic DDE debug tool that can be used a stand-alone program. It can even be used while the main program is operating and sending Caller ID data to another or the same DDE Application.

You are first asked to enter a DDE Application and Topic. If the Application is currently running and the Topic is valid it will take you to the next window where you can Execute DDE command and Poke Item Values. If there is any problem linking with the Application an error message will be displayed.

Microsoft Excel Utility Example

Start Microsoft Excel
Choose "Utility" form Menu Bar

Application:  excel
Topic:  system

Start the Application

Execute Command: [NEW(1)]
Execute Command: [SAVE.AS("DDE_TEST.XLS",1,"", FALSE,"",FALSE)]

Close this window and enter a new topic

Application:  excel
Topic:  dde_test.xls