Caller ID gadget for Windows Sidebar

Use this forum to request and discuss features you would like to see added to Ascendis Caller ID.
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MEE
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 8:25 am

Caller ID gadget for Windows Sidebar

Post by MEE »

I?m running Vista beta 2 since a week and Caller ID works fine.
One nice feature would be if Caller ID could work as a gadget in Windows Sidebar.
Bill Root
Site Admin
Posts: 1025
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:29 pm
Location: Perrysburg, OH
Contact:

Re: Caller ID gadget for Windows Sidebar

Post by Bill Root »

Hi MEE,

That would be nice! I added it to the feature request list. Thank you for the idea!

Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
AReed
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:43 am

Been a Long Time

Post by AReed »

I'm very pleased with Acendis caller id program. It has done a very good job. Currently am only running this on one machine (server), but I want to install a client on my Vista computer. I was wondering if the gadget feature has been added?

Thanks
Areed
Bill Root
Site Admin
Posts: 1025
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:29 pm
Location: Perrysburg, OH
Contact:

Re: Been a Long Time

Post by Bill Root »

Hi AReed,

I'm afraid we don't have a Vista gadget yet. I suggest you install Ascendis Caller ID on the client, configure it to get caller information from the server, and set the notification options as desired. If you have any questions about doing this, please ask!

Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
AReed
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:43 am

Post by AReed »

Bill:

Have you had a chance to look into the gadget feature? Am moving one of my machines to Windows 7. I was wanted to use the gadget feature instead of a client install. I did some research and it looks like gadgets are done in html / xml and js. I have a friend that codes. What information would I have to supply him so he can write me a gadget to display the last few calls from Ascendis

Thanks
Areed
Bill Root
Site Admin
Posts: 1025
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:29 pm
Location: Perrysburg, OH
Contact:

Post by Bill Root »

Hi AReed,

The problem is that JavaScript doesn't support sockets (raw TCP connections), which is how Ascendis Caller ID supports clients. However, there is one way to get calls displayed in a gadget:

1) Create a new Ascendis Caller ID web page named "small_call.html", with the following contents:

Code: Select all

<HTML>
 <HEADER>
  <TITLE>
   Ascendis Caller ID - Small Call
  </TITLE>
 </HEADER>
 <BODY style="margin&#58; 0px; padding&#58; 0px">

  <!-- data -->
  <div ALIGN="center" style="font-size&#58; 75%">
   ###Name###<br>
   ###Number###<br>
   ###CallBegan###<br>
  </div>
 </BODY>
</HTML>
2) Save the file to your web root folder on your Ascendis Caller ID server. Depending on your version of Windows, this defaults to something like:

Code: Select all

  C&#58;\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Ascendis Software\Caller ID\WebRoot
(The folder is specified in the Options window, Network page, Web/TiVo Server sub page. Make sure "Show advanced settings" is checked.)

3) Download and install the "minibrowser" gadget:
http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail. ... &bt=1&pl=1

4) In minibrowser, specify the URL of "small_call.html" on your Ascendis Caller ID server. For example, this is what I use:

Code: Select all

http&#58;//dell/small_call.html
5) Save the URL as the home page in minibrowser (click the floppy disk icon)

6) (optional) Hide the address bar, button bar, and status bar in minibrowser's settings.

7) Set minibrowser to reload the home page every 5 seconds, or longer. Ascendis Caller ID doesn't cache web pages yet, and each request runs a query.


Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
AReed
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:43 am

Post by AReed »

I was very close. I created a "small call html" file, but couldn't get it to load in the sidebar. My problem was I linked it in the XML file. The minibrowser solved that problem.

I changed your code a little and the address

HTML>
<HEADER>
<TITLE>
Ascendis Caller ID - Small Call
</TITLE>
</HEADER>
<BODY style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px">

<!-- data -->
<div ALIGN="center" style="font-size: 70%">
###CALLS###

###Name###<br>
###Number###<br>
###CallBegan###<br>
<br>
###END###
</div>
</BODY>
</HTML>

Code: Select all

http&#58;//dell/small_call.html?first=1&last=5
This did what I wanted.

Thanks for the support , this is a great product.

Areed
Bill Root
Site Admin
Posts: 1025
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:29 pm
Location: Perrysburg, OH
Contact:

Post by Bill Root »

That's good; your solution shows the last five calls, which is presumably more than can be displayed in minibrowser at one time (on my system anyway), but lets you scroll to see more items.

I just uploaded a new beta version of Ascendis Caller ID that caches web pages. With an infrequently changing database, it greatly speeds up web page access for the last ten unique requests. Using it you can probably have minibrowser refresh the web page every second or two, if desired. (This can interfere with scrolling to see older calls because minibrowser will refresh even if you're trying to scroll down.)

The new version also installs small_call.html and small_calls.html (basically your version) into the WebRoot folder by default. It shouldn't overwrite existing files, although I didn't test this.

You can download the latest beta version from
http://ascendis.com/callerid/CallerID_Beta_Setup.exe

Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
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