How to get going with Vicidial

1) Remember that Vicidial does NOT run well Virtualized for more than two users. However: It runs perfectly when Virtualized for a single user on a single call for development and testing purposes. Vicidial CAN be transplanted easily between servers, so once you get it designed in your Virtual Sandbox, it can be plopped onto a physical machine easily.

2) Begin with a simple install from the Vicibox.com iso. Use the Standard install and use the install PDF from the Vicibox website. Install it at least half a dozen times until you are comfortable with it. If you still fear the install, there are bad days ahead. Even if your reason for shying away from the install is that it took a lot of work to "make it work" ... you're probably still looking at some darkness if you're not ready to for a simple quick rebuild when a HD dies. Since it's free, and can be installed virtually, and there's a PDF with instructions ... well, you're a Professional, I'll leave it there. LOL

3) AFTER the primary install from the ISO, you will switch to the Vicidial Managers Manual which is available (in Free and Paid versions) on EFLO.net. I recommend getting the paid version the day you actually get paid for your first sale from the Vicidial system. A plain install is good, but learning the rest of the possibilities (from the deeper book) will always save much more than it cost. LOL

4) When using the Free version of the Vicidial Manager's Manual to set up Vicidial, don't skip anything. Start at page one. Work your way through until everything works. If you skip something, later something won't work and it'll likely be simply because of a skipped step or a step out of order. Two methods: Attend the $3000 course in Clearwater, or skip the class and spend the time to walk through each page in the manual. I actually do recommend the course in Clearwater.

5) When you do bump into a problem, you can use the Forums for Free support or The Vicidial Group or PoundTeam for Paid support. Collect the page and line on the manual that you're on; what you did and what you expected to happen; plus what actually happened in Detail. Include any pertinent configuration settings. Note that if you miss any pertinent configuration settings, you'll get asked for them (and often the simple fact that you didn't give them will indicate you didn't know they were involved, and you'll fix the problem right there! LOL). Alternately, you can have PoundTeam fix anything you need fixed instead of going to the forums. To provide support, we require root and http access to the server.

6) When you have your system built, documentation is available in: /usr/src/astguiclient/trunk/docs

7) You can also learn quite a bit from running the perl scripts with "--help" added which will show their options (or reading the scripts directly, since many of them have notes in the code at the top and throughout), perl scripts are in: /usr/share/astguiclient

There are also scripts in /var/spool/asterisk/agi-bin, but those require direct reading as they cannot be run from the command line. They are asterisk channel scripts and actually interact with the phone calls in progress.

8) And then there are the hidden gems, look for undocumented or just "interestingly named" php scripts in: /srv/www/htdocs/vicidial /srv/www/htdocs/agc

9) PoundTeam Incorporated:

Another method that many call centers use is to lease a server from us or purchase one and leave it here for hosting (less expensive monthly than a lease, obviously).

In all cases, development of integration and customization of the system is where we come in. We can coach YOU through integration ("Where do I put this? ... Where can I get this? ...") or we can accept your other system's API information and configure the integration for you ... OR we can root into your other system and "just do it" (a surprisingly common solution ...).