User's Guide to Business Manager
Chapter 7: Using the Monitor Program
Overview
The Monitor program is the part of the Business Manager program that you use to run your phone applications. This is the big payoff to spending time designing your applications and entering them into the Application Schedule, and also how you make your money. Without Monitor, you would not be able to use your phone applications.
Monitor uses the Application Schedule to know which applications to run on which phone lines, and when. Not only does Monitor run the scheduled applications, but it allows you to view which application is running on which phone line. It also allows you to stop and reset running applications, and to test applications that you edit or create.
In this chapter, you learn how the Monitor program works, and how you use it to perform the necessary functions. Specifically, this chapter discusses:
Terms
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Debug |
This is computerese for 'fix'. This usually involves interpreting information that an application produces to find the source of the problem, or 'bug'. |
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Hard Disk Drive |
The area inside your computer that stores information, such as your applications and programs. |
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Local Launch |
This is a test of an application in which you act as the caller, using your local phone. This is helpful when testing a phone application's system tree. |
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Local Phone |
This is the phone attached to your computer that you use to record speeches, listen to speeches, and perform Local Launches. |
Although the Monitor program is part of the Business Manager program, it has a separate icon. This is so you can work with the other parts of Business Manager separately.
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To begin using the Monitor program, you must first locate the Monitor icon. In Windows 3.1 it can be found in the lower left corner of your screen. In Windows 95, it appears on the task bar at the bottom of the screen. Each time you enter Windows, the Monitor program automatically begins running. Once you locate the icon, double click it. The Monitor program box appears similar to the one shown in Figure 20: |
Figure 20 - The Monitor program box
Looking at the Monitor program box, you notice that there is a large field and four buttons. This field is the Activity list, and the buttons are the Monitor control buttons. The following two sections discuss the function and purpose of these controls:
The Activity List
This is a list of the phone lines connected to your computer, and what's happening on each line. When an application is running on a line, then the name of the application appears next to the phone line on which it is running. If a line is not scheduled to run an application, then it is listed as available. If you close a line, then the message "has been stopped!" appears next to the halted line.
Control Buttons
These buttons allow you to perform a number of operations on a running application. The buttons and their purpose are as follows:
Close This - You use this button to stop the selected line from running the current application. The closed line stops running the application, and displays the message "Has been stopped!" next to the line's number. This comes in handy if you have to stop a single line for any reason.
Reset This - You use this button to restart a closed line. A line that you reset continues its procedures as determined by the Application Schedule.
Debug This - This button is mainly a tool for a ECS Technician. If you have problems with an application, the technician can use the data gathered from the debug report to help you solve your problem. Normally you don't need to use this button.
Local Launch - This button allows you to test a program from your local phone, just as if you'd called into your own system. This allows you to test out an application you designed, or an application that you edited. Using a Local Launch also generates a Debug Report, allowing you to track your progress in the application.
The File Menu
To access the Monitor File menu, click the File option on the menu bar. The File menu appears as shown in Figure 21:
Figure 21 - The File menu
The File menu contains the following options:
Close All - This menu option is similar to the Close This button, except that it closes all of the lines in the Activity list.
Reset All - This menu option is similar to the Reset This button, except that it resets all of the lines in the Activity list.
View Board - Selecting this option allows you to view the Board report, which is generated when the Debug This button is used. This is a very technical report, and is about as much use to you as hieroglyphics. You would use this option if a ECS Technician asked you to do so.
View Tree - Selecting this option allows you to view the Tree report, which is generated when the Debug This button is used. This report shows which objects you navigated to, and what the system did as well. This can be useful if you want to see how a tested program is working.
Disk Space - Selecting this option displays the Free Disk Space box. This box tells you how much disk drive space is required to use the applications you currently have running, and how much space is available. Monitor keeps track of these figures and notifies you if your disk is getting full, and tells you if it is full.
Exit - If you are viewing the Tree or Board report, this option closes the view window and returns you to Monitor. If you are viewing the Monitor program box, then you exit the Monitor program (if no applications are currently running).
Starting the Monitor program is as simple as turning on your computer and starting windows -- literally! The Monitor program is designed to start each time you enter Windows.
In Windows 3.1 the Monitor icon appears in the lower left corner of your screen, indicating that the program is running 'minimized' (i.e., it's running, but you can't see the Monitor program box). In Windows 95, the Monitor icon appears on the task bar at the bottom of the monitor screen.
In Windows 95
You can find Monitor on the task bar at the bottom of the screen. If you wish to get a better look at Monitor, you may click once on the icon. The Monitor program box then appears, so you can see what Monitor is doing.
In Windows 3.1
You find the Monitor icon in the lower left corner of your screen, which means that Monitor is currently running. To open the program box, double click on the icon. The Monitor program box appears.
Restarting Monitor
If you've stopped the Monitor program while in Windows and you want to start it up again, you may do so.
Using Windows 95
If you have Windows 95, you use the Start button and menu to run most of your programs.
To begin, click on the Start button. When you click on the Start button, you see a list or menu similar to the one in the next figure.
Figure 1--The Start Menu
The Start menu allows you to choose from several different options. As you move the mouse pointer over the options on the menu, you will see that each option becomes highlighted, that is, a bar of color appears over the option. The highlighted option is the one that will be selected when you click with the mouse.
As you can see, the Programs option displays a small arrow on the right edge of the menu. Whenever you see this small arrow next to a menu option, you are being told that another menu displays when the option is selected. You will also notice, that just leaving the mouse pointer on the option will display the next menu without requiring you to click at all. This is a common feature in Windows and program menus.
Now, click on the Programs option.
When you click or just highlight the Programs menu, you will see the next menu as shown in the following figure.
The Programs Menu
Again, you can see that some of the options display more menus. If a menu option does not show the arrow, then clicking on that option will immediately open a window or start a program.
Click on the ECS Business Applications option. You will see another menu as shown in the next figure.
The ECS Business Applications Menu
Notice that none of these options show the arrow. Therefore, selecting one of these options will immediately start that ECS program. This is an example only. Your computer will show the list of ECS programs you currently have installed. The programs will be listed alphabetically, from top to bottom.
Now, click on the Monitor program option.
Using Windows 3.1
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To open the Monitor program through Windows 3.1, double click on the Monitor icon in the ECS Business Applications group window. |
The monitor dialog box opens as shown.
Stopping the Monitor program is a simple but critical process. You see, if you don't stop the Monitor program, you cannot exit Monitor, and you cannot exit Windows. If you try to close the Monitor program box while one or more lines are active, the following message appears in the Activity list:
Figure 23 - The active line message
If you try to exit Windows without stopping Monitor, the following message appears:
Figure 24 - The Windows active application message
Both of these messages indicate that Monitor is still running. These messages are precautions against an accidental stopping of your phone applications.
Use the following procedure to stop the Monitor program:
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You may also close Monitor by using the a+ o key combination. |
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The Monitor program offers you much more than just a convenient way to see what's happening. You can use Monitor to directly affect the phone lines in the Activity list, as well as the applications running on those lines. You can stop a running application, and you can also re-start a stopped application. You can also use Monitor as a testing aid when you're testing a new application (or just one you've edited). This section discusses the ideas behind (and the procedures for) using the Monitor program.
Stopping Applications
Monitor allows you to stop a running application using the Close This button. If you close a phone line while it is running, then the application on that line stops. This means that the application on that line is no longer open to callers, or is no longer dialing out. A caller calling in on a closed line will not reach the stopped application.
This feature is useful if you use one of your phone lines as a personal line. You can run an application on it during business hours, then stop it in the evening so it is free for personal calls.
Use the following procedure to stop a running application:
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You may also stop a running application by double clicking the running application in the Activity list. |
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Killing Applications
This is a sort of violent stopping of all running applications. You would only do this if you must stop the running application(s) immediately. If there are callers in any of the running applications, then the system hangs up on them rather abruptly. If you kill running applications, you may get some complaints from your callers. Please use this function with care.
To kill running applications, you must be viewing the Monitor box. Then press and hold down the b and a keys while pressing the K key. All of the currently running applications stop immediately, and Monitor closes.
Re-Starting Applications
If you stop an application for some reason, you can restart it by using the "Reset This" with the stopped application. Use the following procedure to re-start a stopped application:
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You may also re-start a stopped application by double clicking the stopped application in the Activity list. |
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One thing you should be aware of when re-starting an application is that it is the line itself that re-starts. If the time cell in the Application Schedule for the current time contains another application, then the application you stopped will not re-start. The line will re-start, although it will be running the other application.
Remember that Application Scheduler decides what runs on which lines and when, and Monitor follows this schedule. If another application is in the current time cell in the schedule, then that is the application that runs when the line is re-started.
Using the Local Launch Button
Monitor allows you to test the workings of a phone application using the Local Launch button. This means that the system acts as if a caller called into the selected phone application (using your local phone, you are the caller). Your local phone is the phone that is attached to your computer through the Watson® III-100 phone card (the original single line card). You navigate through the application, testing to make sure everything is in working order.
One thing to note is that you cannot use the Local Launch with phone applications that dial out (as opposed to having callers call in). These applications are the Outbound Telenotification phone application, and also the ECS applications Computerized Monitor Service and Computer Appointment Verification.
Use the following procedure to perform a local launch on an application:
Figure 25 - The Local Launch box
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You may test any of your applications at any time, meaning that the tested application need not be running. |
Click on the application you wish to test from the Application list. The selected application highlights, indicating that it is selected. |
If there is no caller using the local phone, the message "Please Pick Up Your Phone" appears. If you wish to cancel this operation, then click the Cancel button. Otherwise, pick up your phone.
If you encounter a part of the system that is not working (or you have cause to stop the application), click the Kill button. This forces the system to hang up.
If you want to run through the application again, click the Launch button on the Local Launch box.
If Monitor was running an application on the local phone when you began testing, make sure to reset the stopped application using the Reset This button. If you do not re-start the stopped application, then it will not run as scheduled.
When Monitor is running, messages appear in the Activity list next to the corresponding application and phone number. These messages are divided into two groups: Running messages, and Advisory messages.
Running Messages
These are messages that may appear during the normal running of applications in Monitor. The following is a list of the messages and what they mean:
Has been stopped - This means that the phone line stopped, due to a Stop Line Activity entry in the Application Schedule.
Out of memory - This means that the system did not have enough memory to run the application. This can happen if you have too many other applications or programs open in Windows.
Dialing (Application name) - This means that the application on this phone line is dialing out to call someone.
Answering (Application name) - In the case of outdialing phone applications, this means that the called party picked up their phone. In the case of applications that people call into, this means that the called application is answering their call.
Running (Application name) - This means that the application is running normally on this line.
Launching (Application name) - This means that the application is beginning to run on the phone line
Off Line (Application name) - This means that Monitor is temporarily stopped while the local line is being used for something else. This message may appear if you are recording a speech, committing changes to an Application Schedule or System tree, using the Line Finder, or any other process that uses the local line.
Lst Comp (Application name) - This indicates that the outdialing phone application on this line has completed its list of calls to make.
Nothing to do - This means that the Application Schedule is blank (i.e., there are no phone applications scheduled to run. You have to tell Monitor which applications to run on which lines, and when.
Not enough memory to launch - This means that Monitor cannot start because there is not enough memory. This may occur if you have many other programs or applications open in Windows. You can solve this problem by closing or exiting any programs you are not currently using.
Advisory Messages
These are messages that may appear if something goes wrong. Some of the messages may flash by quickly, which indicates that the system has corrected the problem. If one of these messages stays on the screen for any length of time, there may be a problem with your Business Manager program. Write down the Advisory message and contact ECS Technical Support. The following is a list of the messages and what they mean:
Problem allocating Schedule - Monitor cannot find the schedule, and therefore does not know which applications run on which lines, and when.
Configuration problem: Share not installed - This means that an important part of the program is missing, or not working properly.
Too many clocks or timers - This indicates a problem with your system's memory or system resources.
Out of disk space - This means that there is no more space on your computer's hard drive. Monitor shuts down, and you must free up space on your disk drive.
Drive (disk drive name) dangerously low on space - This means that your computer's hard drive is almost full. You should seriously consider freeing up some space on your computer's hard drive.
Unable to sweep - This means that Monitor was unable to delete the messages that were supposed to be deleted.
Message passing error - This means that Monitor is not communicating properly with other programs in Business Manager.
Debugging is the process in which you fix the small problems with an application. You would debug an application during the testing stage of the newly edited or created application. Debugging an application is a very useful process, as you find any mistakes you made during editing. You may then correct the mistakes, thereby ensuring that the program runs correctly.
The Monitor program allows you to 'debug' an application by supplying you with two types of debug reports. The first report is the Board report, which is primarily used by ECS technicians. The second report is the Tree report, which you may use to track a caller's progress through the application.
This section contains information pertaining to the use of the Debug This button, and the debug reports that you can generate using this button.
Using the Debug This Button
When you decide you want to debug an application to see what a caller does during a call, you use the Debug This button on the selected line. If you're using the local launch feature, then the debug happens automatically.
Use the following procedure to debug an application:
Board Report
The Board report is a debug report that the ECS technicians use to help you. This is a highly technical report, and it contains the actions that your phone card performed during the debug process. Figure 26 shows an example of a Board report:
Figure 26 - An example Board Report
If you have questions or problems concerning the workings of your phone cards or applications and you call ECS Technical Support, they may ask you to print this report. You then FAX this report to the ECS Technicians, who use this report to assist you.
When you print the Board report for ECS, FAX it to ECS Technical Support at (317) 375 - 7898. ECS Technical Support then uses this report to diagnose and assist you with your problem, or to answer your question.
Tree Report
This is a debug report that Monitor generates when you use the debug feature or the local launch feature. It allows you to see what actions the caller performed during the debug process. Figure 27 shows an example of a Tree report:
Figure 27 - The tree report
This report is most useful when you print a copy of the Detailed Tree report for the application you're working with, then print a debug Tree report. Using these reports, you can see how and why things happened as they did during the call.
Viewing Debug Reports
If you want to view one of the debug reports for the local launch or debug that you last performed, use the following procedure to do so:
Printing Debug Reports
If you need to print one of the debug reports for yourself or for ECS Technical Support, you may use the following procedure to do so:
As stated in the Terms section at the beginning of this chapter, the 'hard disk drive' is the place inside your computer where information is stored. You may ask, "Why do I care about the space on my computer's hard disk?"
The answer is simple. Each time that someone records a speech in a running phone application, the speech is stored on your hard disk. When you run out of storage space, nobody else will be able to record speeches. Each minute of recorded speech takes up about 186 Kbytes of disk space. Recorded speech is either left messages or any recorded speech you create for menus or announcements or advertisements.
Monitor alerts you with an Advisory message when your disk is becoming full. Figure 28 shows an example of this Advisory message:
Figure 28 - The Advisory message
You may click the OK button to acknowledge the message.
If your drive is full (meaning there's no more storage space), then a Stop message appears as shown in Figure 29:
Figure 29 - The Stop message
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If you get a Stop message, you can not start Monitor until you free up the necessary disk space. |
At this point, the disk is filled to the limit, and Business Manager closes Monitor. All lines and all applications stop. This prevents callers from calling in and using a system that may not work properly. Imagine the caller's frustration if they tried to leave a message and couldn't! |
As you can imagine, this situation is less than desirable. For this reason, you should keep a close watch on your hard disk drive space. Be aware that any program or application you put on your computer takes up space on the hard disk. This includes any ECS and non-ECS programs that you copy to or install on your computer.
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As your business picks up, you will most likely use more disk space. |
If you do a lot of business that requires space (for example, a large Voice Mail system) and you've seen one of these messages, you should seriously consider getting another hard disk for your computer, or at least freeing up some space on your current hard disk. |
Monitor includes the Disk Space option on the File menu so you may see how much space is left on your hard disk, as well as how much space is required. Be aware that any program you copy to or install on your computer takes up hard disk space, not just the ECS phone applications.
For each running line, ECS has determined that 1755 Kbytes of space is the minimum space you should have to assure that your callers can leave a message. If the free space on your disk drops below this number, then an Advisory message tells you that you are running low on space. When you reach 585 Kbytes per line, the Stop message appears, and Monitor stops all of your running applications.
Use the following procedure to view the disk space:
Figure 30 - The Free Disk Space box
