The Callscreen programs provide a simple method of screening incoming telephone calls and posting them by the person answering the phone (the Call Screener) for review by the persons taking the calls (the Host). The Call Screener uses the callscreenform program to post the calls, while the Host uses the callscreen program to view the calls. Both programs are run from a website, thus requiring only a web browser to use the programs. A single website can handle multiple sets of Call Screeners and Hosts at the same time. The common use of the system is for radio talk show programs.
Using the Program:
First, the Call Screener establishes a database of
calls.
This is done by going to the url of the callscreenform program
such as
"http://callscreen.ninehundred.net/cgi-bin/callscreen/callscreenform.cgi".
A
simple
form is presented for the creation of the database which will
consist
of
up to 10 characters. Likely it would be the station's call
letters
(ie: wxxx), but could be any series of characters which would
provide a
bit of security. Upon clicking "CREATE", a new database is
created, or if it already existed
will be deleted and recreated. If there is an existing
database and you DO NOT want to delete the existing calls use the
"REJOIN" button instead of "CREATE". Optionally,
if a database already exists (such as from a previous show of if
the
page
was accidently closed during a show) the Call Screener can enter
the
url with the name of the database supplied in the url, like this:
"http://callscreen.ninehundred.net/cgi-bin/callscreen/callscreenform.cgi?wxxx".
Note this is the same URL as above with the addition of "?wxxx" appended to
the url. Using the "REJOIN" button on the main page is the
same as entering the long URL in the browser's address line.
Once a database is created, the name of the database will then
be given to the Hosts that will be viewing the call list. A link
at the top of the screening page can be copied and pasted into an
email for the host, or the Host (having been given the name of the
database) goes to the
url
of the callscreen
program. In keeping with the example given for
the callscreenform
program, the url would be "http://callscreen.ninehundred.net/cgi-bin/callscreen/callscreen.cgi?wxxx".
Note
the difference between the Call Screener's URL and that of the
Host:
The only difference between the two URLs is the word "form" used
in
the Call Screener's URL. A simple method of sending the URL
for
the Host's page to the Host is for the Call Screener, having
created
the database, to copy and past the Host's URL into an e-mail to
the
Host. That URL is shown at the top of the Call Screeners
page,
and is also a clickable link so the Call Screener and quickly
switch to
the Host's page if necessary.
Once opened, the callscreen (Host's) program will update itself every 5 seconds. In the event that automatic update is not supported by the Host's browser, a manual refresh can be forced with the F5 key. There may be more than one Host connected to the same url at the same time. The Host's display contains 5 fields of information: Line Number, Caller's Name, Caller's City, Caller's Topic (and screener comments), and the Time the call was added to the list.
Call Screening:Entering a New Call
The Call Screener enters information about the new caller
at the bottom of the call list. There are 4 items of
information:
Line
Number, Caller's Name, Caller's City, and Topic or comments.
All
fields are free form but can not contain .html tags. Each
time
the page is refreshed, the cursor is placed in the line number
field. Begin the new call entry by typing the line number.
Use
TAB to move to the next field and enter the caller's name, TAB
again to
City and type the city name. Finally TAB again to the Topic
field
to enter any other information about the call. After the
information
is entered, the call is submitted to the list by clicking the "+"
button in the SUBMIT column of the table (or by hitting the ENTER
key
if supported by your browser). The information may be
cleared
without submitting it to the list by clicking the "-" key in the
DEL
column. You must
enter
a line number in the proper field. Note: as soon as you
click the
"+" button the operation begins. You
must wait for the
page to refresh before attempting the next operation.
Entering
a
New Call, Alternate method
A call may be entered using the original Callscreen method using a
form
where the Topic is entered first and followed by the Line
Number,
Name, and City then clicking the submit button. Some prefer
this
method since entry is only started when a caller's topic matches
that
of the discussion. Open the form by clicking the link under
open
fields for entering a new call. Once opened it will remain
open
for future entries. Once the main page is refreshed
following an
entry, the form should pop back to the top with the cursor in the
Topic
field. That is unless you use Microsoft's Internet Explorer
which
does not conform to the accepted standards. When using IE
you may
need to click on the link again to bring the form to the top and
manually put the cursor in the first field you wish to fill.
If
using IE you may want to make the main page smaller and let the
pop up
window live in a blank area of your desktop where it is not
covered by
the main window.
Deleting
a Call
To delete a call that has been added to the list, simply click the
button in the DEL column on the row for the call you wish to
delete. The DELETE function begins as soon as the
button is
clicked. You must wait
for the
page to refresh before attempting the next operation.
Moving
a
Call to Air
When a call is taken to air you have the option of clicking the
button
in the AIR column for the call that is now On Air.
This
moves the call to the top of the table and gives it a light green
background. This helps the Host keep track of which caller
is on
the air and also resets the timer on the Host's page to show how
long
the call has been on the air. Bringing a call to air also
makes
an entry in the "On Air Caller Log". The log may be viewed
by
clicking the link at the bottom of the page. When the call
ends
you may delete it using the delete
button
or simply move the next call to air, which will delete the ended
call
when the new call moves to the top. The AIR function begins
as
soon as the buton is clicked. You
must wait for the page to refresh before attempting the
next
operation.
Editing
a Call
A call that has been added to the table of calls can be edited by
retyping the information in any or all of the name, city and topic
fields and clicking the numbered button in the submit column (or
by
hitting ENTER if supported by your browser) for the line you
edited. Edit operations are done on one line at a
time. The
EDIT operation begins as soon as you click the numbered button (or
hit
ENTER). You must wait for the
page
to refresh before attempting the next operation.
Changing
the Position of a Call
A
call may be
moved to a new position in the list by changing the number in the
POS
column and clicking the numbered button in the submit column (or
by
hitting ENTER if supported by your browser) for the line you want
to
move. For example, if there are six calls on the list
numbered
1-6 (or 0-5 if there is no call on the air) and you want to move
the
call numbered 4 to the top of the list, change the 4 to a 1 and
click
the button numbered 4 (or hit ENTER if supported by your
browser). The call is moved to the top and all others are
moved
down one position. If there was not a call on the air
and
the calls were numbered 0-5, you would change the 3 to a 0
to
move the fourth call since its POS number was 3 and the top of the
list
was 0. It is also possible to change the contents of the
name,
city and topic fields and move the line by changing the POS number
in a
single operation. The operation begins as soon as you click
the
button. You must wait for the
page
to refresh before attempting the next operation.
Viewing the
On Air Caller Log
To view a list of calls that have been taken to air, click the
link at
the bottom of the page on either the Call Screener's page or the
Host's
page. A new window is opened with the information. The
page
refreshes every 60 seconds if left open. The log of calls
remains
available at least 2 hours after the last entry to the file.
A
typical entry in the log looks like this:
09/22/07 18:22:52 PDT - 6 [Mark] [Pittsburg] [Thinks that the IRS is out of control] 18:22:45