HUD Web Launcher

HUD Agent and above includes a feature called 'web launcher' or 'CRM Integration' that can automatically open any website you specify within the Settings page as soon as you answer a call.  Or the window can be configured to open as soon as you hangup a call.  Or you can manually launch it at any time during a call - it's all up to you!

NOTE - Some options are only available on Premise/Dedicated Hosted servers. You are not able to access the server in a Public Cloud Environment.

Manually Execute the Web Launcher

Most often, the web launcher function is set to automatically execute the web launcher URL on an incoming or outgoing call.  However, if you have disabled the auto-execute feature, you can still choose to manually execute the web launcher by clicking the WWW icon on the desktop alert:

Open

Configure the Web Launcher

To configure HUD Web Launcher:

1. Click on File --> Settings

2. Select Web Launcher from the left-hand menu

3. Fill in the URL of the web page you would like to open in one of the boxes under either Inbound or Outbound

   Open

   

4. Tick the Auto-Launch box if you want the page to open automatically for every call of the appropriate type

5. Tick the Silent box if you want the page to open in the background (typically for reporting purposes - some sites log the information in the URL string automatically)

6. Click Apply at the bottom to save your settings

Web Launcher Profiles

Choose from a list of pre-configured URLs:

1. Click File --> settings

2. Select Web Launcher from the left-hand menu

3. Click the drop-down menu next to Web Launcher Profiles

4. Select one of the pre-configured profiles included with HUD

5. Once you select a profile, the URL boxes automatically populate

Variables

Fonality also provides variables for URL strings in case a site requires elements like a Username or Password:

1. Click File --> settings

2. Select Web Launcher from the left-hand menu

3. You can use any and/or all of the variables listed

A fully configured URL string may look like this:

Can I add my own Web Launcher Profiles?

Absolutely!  We have instructions below for adding web launcher profiles via the Admin Panel and for adding profiles via the command line (if you prefer the command line approach)

Adding a profile from the Admin Panel

In this example, we will use the custom URL shown for the Inbound Calls :: During New Call URL field

Please study construction of the URL carefully.  Every variable requires an ampersand as a delimeter (un=%%username%% & pw=%%password%% for example).  A web launcher with an incorrectly formatted URL will fail to do anything.

The example only shows a web launcher profile for INBOUND calls, but you can construct any web launcher profile you like to function for OUTBOUND calls as well (or any type of call!)

1. Click on Options --> HUD

2. Click the + icon next to Create New Web Launcher

3. Fill out all of the sections marked with a red dot in the image below.  The image displays an example web launcher profile - you should not copy the information presented in the image.

   1. Name - the name of this web launcher profile as it will appear within the HUD client web launcher settings panel

   2. Password - if your URL requires a password, set the password encoding (plain text, md5, none)

   3. Launch ... answered - this web launcher will only execute if a user answers a call

   4. Outbound/Inbound - web launchers can be executed when the phone rings, when a user answers, or after a call has ended for both inbound calls and outbound calls

   5. Silent - when you select 'yes', a web page will not open, but data included in your URL can be posted silently in the background (to a CGI programmed to gather statistics for example)

   6. Auto-launch - configures a web browser to open automatically when set to 'yes'

4. Once you have filled out all the required settings for a new web launcher, click Apply All Changes at the bottom of the page.  The page will refresh, and your web launcher profile will be displayed under Showing X Web Launcher Profiles

5. Click the red X to delete a web launcher profile (circled in the image above)
    

Adding a profile from the command line

1. Login to your system as the root user

2. Type: cd /etc/asterisk/ <enter>

3. Use vi or nano or your favorite text editor and open w3.xml

4. Follow the XML structure of the other Web Launcher Profiles and add your own

   1. If your URL string requires a Username and Password to access a secure site, specify account="________" within the launcher line of code.  

   2. Choose from among two account types: Plain or MD5

5. Save your changes

6. Now open the HUD Client software on your computer

7. Use the steps above under Configure the Web Launcher to add your URL string

8. When you add the %%username%% and %%password%% variables, make you enter a plain-text password if you chose account="plain" for your profile.  If you chose MD5, insert the MD5 hash of the correct password

9. Click Apply at the bottom

10. Test your configuration!

Editing an existing web launcher profile

1. Click on Options --> HUD

2. Click on the + icon next to Showing X Web Launcher Profiles

3. Click on the name of any web launcher profile to edit that profile

SugarCRM & Web Launcher

So let's say that you have your own SugarCRM implementation.  You would like to open a contact or opportunity by the incoming Caller ID if it matches something already in your Sugar database.

The search string for this type of search would be like:

In the string above, crm.fonality.com should be changed to YOUR COMPANY'S SUGAR URL.

Now let's take a moment to discuss the pitfalls here:

1. The phone number stored in Sugar must match exactly the Caller ID information sent by your phone company.

   1. If you have a phone number like 310-861-4300 (with dashes), but the phone company sends 3108614300 - the number won't match.

2. Sugar may find more than one match, and return a list of possible results instead of an exact contact or opportunity.  This may or may not be what you want - but it's important to be aware of the possibility.

You could, instead of the above URL, send the call to a CGI that formats the number for you as you have information stored in Sugar.  So you could write a simple CGI that runs a PERL script to perform some simple formatting on the phone number so that it will match your Sugar input.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is my CRM Compatible with HUD Web Launcher?

A: Check this link and try the simple compatibility test:
Is my web-based CRM compatible with Web Launcher?

Q: My HUD Web Launcher does not automatically launch when I get a call.

A: If you received a call from a phone number which already exists in HUD, HUD considers this an internal call and will not auto launch.

For example:Extension 100 lists his cell phone number 555-555-1234 as his mobile number in the http://cp.fonality.com web panel. Thus, in HUD, the number is also listed as mobile number for extension 100. If this user calls from his cell phone to you, your web launcher will NOT auto launch. You can still manually launch the web launcher via instructions above.

Q: How do I know the exact web launcher string to use for my awesome new CRM software.

A1: Contact your CRM technical support team, they created the CRM software, they would know the format of the search string needed.

A2: You may be able to find the search string directly in your CRM website.

Log into the CRM website and go the search bar.

Enter something (a name or a phone number).

The CRM website would direct you to a new page showing the results from the search.

Look at the link in your browser, that would be your search string.  

For Example:

Go to http://google.com , enter Fonality in the search bar and click Google search. The page will reload with link 

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&authuser=0&cp=4&gs_id=13&xhr=t&q=fonality

you can locate the word "Fonality" in the link. In this case, the search link is:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&authuser=0&cp=4&gs_id=13&xhr=t&q=

Fonality is the search term = %%caller_name%%

thus the search string is:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&authuser=0&cp=4&gs_id=13&xhr=t&q=%%caller_name%%