Lizzy and VOIP Clients in Windows
As many of you know, Lizzy has the ability to dial phone numbers through Skype. Starting today Lizzy now supports other VOIP clients such as 8×8’s Softalk Office and Bria. Before you can use this feature you will need to set an option in your profile. First log into Lizzy and go to Setting -> Security -> My Profile. Once there you will see an option called “Choose Dialing Method”, simply select VOIP for standard VOIP clients or Skype, then click “Save” at the bottom of the screen. If you are using Skype, then you are all done, however, if you are using a different VOIP provider there is a little more setup.
Softalk Office and other VOIP software
Unfortunately, most VOIP client software does not register the tel: URL with Windows, but there is a fix for this. You will have to patch the Windows registry and at this point I will warn you that messing with the registry can mess up Windows. If you are not comfortable about modifying the registry or are unsure of how to complete the following steps, stop here and ask someone who is familiar with the registry to help you.
The first step is to download the following zip file tel.zip, and to unzip the file onto your hard drive.
Inside the file you will find two files “tel.reg” and “tel-64bit.reg”, tel.reg is for 32 bit versions of Windows and tel-64.reg is for 64 bit versions of windows. Double click on the appropriate file and Windows will ask you if you want to load the registry setting. Click “OK” to have it load it for you.
If you are using Softalk you are done with this step and can continue on to Browser. If you are using other VOIP software, then you will have to edit one line in the registry. Start the registry editor by clicking on the Windows logo on the bottom left of your screen, then type “regedit” in the search box and hit enter. Once the registry editor starts, open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\tel\shell\open\command folder.
We are going to edit the Default value and change the path and options to match your software’s requirements. When you have finished your changes you can close the registry editor.
Browser
Now that you have finished the registry changes, all you need to do is open your browser and log into Lizzy. Next lets locate a contact and click one of the phone numbers.
The first time you do this your browser will give you a warning about opening another program, in this case your VOIP client. Before you click “OK”, look for a check box with a message like “Never ask me again” or “Always allow this”, make sure that you check that box otherwise your browser will pester you every time you click a phone number.
Now you can click the “OK” button, at this point your VOIP software should dial the number automatically and complete the call. If your VOIP software fails to dial the number, check your software’s manual and make sure that you have the right path and command line options in the registry.