Placecall

This help page is for Desktop Studio. This information is also available for Studio.

Dials a new outbound phone call. This action can be configured to differentiate between a live answer and an answering machine/fax machine.

Dependencies

Placecall is reserved for outbound calls that need their own script processing. Once the destination party answers, the script may behave like an inbound script.
If an outbound call is placed and then fails due to any of the failure branches (NoAnswer, Busy, InvalidNumber, or Error), best practice is to use the Hangup action to terminate the script. If the call does not connect, use the End action for Error branch conditions. Using these actions prevents the script from remaining in CXone Mpower as a non-terminated script.

Supported Script Types

The icon for the Phone script type - an old-style phone handset with curved lines indicating sound coming out of it.

Phone

Comparison of Similar Actions

The following actions have similar functions, but with some key differences:

Placecall: Reserved for outbound calls that need their own script processing, such as spawning pre-recorded calls or prompts. For example, you can inform the call center manager that ports are nearing max, or you could spawn a survey call, and so on.
Transfer: Transfers an existing call to an alternate phone number. Transferred calls remain in the CXone Mpower platform and the call progress continues to be monitored and recorded. On transfer, the call begins consuming two ports. Because this action uses CXone Mpower ports, call details can be saved and reporting can be used.
BlindXfer: Transfers an existing call to an alternate phone number.

Input Properties

These properties define data that the action uses when executing.

Property	Description
Caption	Enter a short phrase that uniquely identifies this action in the script. The caption appears on the script canvas under the action icon. The default is the action name.
PhoneNumber	The phone number being dialed. You can either hard code a specific number in this field or use a variable to reference other numbers.
CallerID	The phone number that appears on the contact's caller ID when the call is made.
Timeout	The number of seconds the system waits for an answer before triggering the NoAnswer branch. A timeout starts when a ringing indication is received from the called party. The timeout limit is 55 seconds.
DetectionType	Allows you to specify whether the outbound call script should attempt to distinguish a live answer and an answering machine. Select NONE if there is no need to distinguish between a live person and an answering machine. Select NOTIFYOFMACHINEASAP if you do not plan to leave messages on answering machines and want the call to disconnect. If you use this option, you must set MaxMachine to 0. Select NOTIFYOFMESSAGEEND if you plan to leave messages on answering machines. When you set this value to anything other than NONE, the script uses Answering Machine Detection (AMD). AMD holds PlaceCall result responses for seven seconds. In certain scenarios, this can result in lack of audio during the detection window.
NoVoiceTimeout	The number of seconds that silence on the line will be accepted before the script follows the NoVoice branch.
VoiceMinimum	The number of seconds a sound on the line must be sustained to avoid triggering the NoVoice branch.
MaxLiveVoice	The number of seconds in which a voice answering a call may speak before it is determined to be an answering machine.
LiveSilence	The number of seconds of silence required after a voice is detected to trigger a LivePerson branch. Set this property only if DetectionType is set to NOTIFYOFMESSAGEEND.
MaxMachine	The number of seconds in which an answering machine message can continue without finishing before the MachineTimeout branch is taken. If you set DetectionType to NotifyOfMachineASAP, you must set MaxMachine to 0.
MachineSilence	The number of seconds after the system determines that an answering machine message has finished before the AnswerMachine branch is taken.
LinkContactID	Causes the new outbound call to be pre-linked to the call specified. This allows the other party to hear ringback, busy, and so forth.
SourceLegPersistent	Use this property with caution. Default is FALSE. When TRUE is selected, the called party is prevented from dropping the source leg The portion of an interaction that takes place between CXone Mpower and the agent. of the call when it hangs up.
NewLegPersistent	Use this property with caution. Default is FALSE. When TRUE is selected, the calling party is prevented from dropping the destination leg of the call when it hangs up.
Parameters	Sets the name and value of parameters to send when calling another CXone Mpower phone number. Pass as NAME=VALUE pairs. Curly braces are supported. For example, FromID={contactID}. Maximum size is 100 characters.

Result Branch Conditions

Result branch conditions allow you to create branches in your script to handle different outcomes when an action executes.

Condition	Description
Default	Path taken unless the script meets a condition that requires it to take one of the other branches. It is also taken if the action's other branches are not defined.
Answer	Path taken if the call is answered and DetectionType is set to None.
NoAnswer	Path taken when the destination party does not answer before or within seconds set in Timeout. The call may be terminated with the Hangup action.
Busy	Path taken if the call results in a busy signal.
Error	Path taken when the action fails to execute properly. For example, when there is an unexpected problem such as poor connectivity, syntax errors, and so on. The _ERR variable, with a single underscore character, should be populated with a condensed explanation of the problem.
InvalidNumber	Path taken if the phone number is invalid, with an incorrect number format or other error.
LivePerson	Path taken if a live person answers the call and DetectionType is not set to None.
NoVoice	Path taken if the call is answered but no voice is heard for the specified amount of time.
AnswerMachine	Path taken if an answering machine picks up the call.
Fax	Path taken when a fax machine is detected.
MachineTimeout	Path taken if an answering machine is detected and DetectionType is set to NOTIFY OF MACHINE ASAP or NOTIFY OF MESSAGE END.

Script Example

This is an example to show how this action can be used in scripts. It is not intended to be a complete script. Additional scripting may be required.

The script illustrated below uses the Placecall action to place an outbound call. If an error occurs, the call is not placed and the script ends with the End action. However, after the call is placed, if an answering machine picks up, the system uses Hangup to terminate the call. If a live person picks up, an agent with a designated ACD Skill Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge. is requested.

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