New v20 softphone

[SteveITS]

The picture from https://www.3cx.com/community/threads/v20-3cx-reloaded.122495/ doesn't show an expanded dialer; does the new softphone have BLF? Hoping that little arrow in the top left pops out the BLF panel... We heavily use those for shared parking, and the post compares the app to the mobile apps which do not have BLF.

Is there chat in the new app? Or must one also use the web client?

Thanks for moving out the voicemail menu button/status.

Just commenting, using the Store would hopefully indicate the app maintains compatibility with at least some older versions for people who don't immediately upgrade.


Might be a typo at the bottom of that blog post..."host desking"?

 

[Tyler.Calhoun]

I wouldn't worry about that. The 3CX guys know that BLF keys and a decoupled dialer are very important features. Here in the forum, a lot of users have always remarked how elementary these features are and the BLF keys have been added to the web client. The decoupled dialer is the main reason why we and many others use the desktop app. I strongly suspect that this feature will remain.
Chat is also an elementary function. Many companies used chat not only for their customers, but mainly for internal communication. It is actually inconceivable that there will be no chat function in the desktop app.

Don't panic and wait for the alpha first

 

[SteveITS]

@Tyler.Calhoun It was the "similar to the iOS or Android app and will run in conjunction with the web client" that raised that alarm to me...sounded like it was the dialer but they also expect/quasi-require you to use the web client. Agree, we'll see when it's out.

 

[Tyler.Calhoun]

I do, because some decisions from the past were questionable for me. But in the end, you have to live with it.

that's right, I agree with you. There were some strange decisions.
But I don't believe anything that the 3CX team meets and says: Hey guys! These great features like chat and dialer that people love so much... let's kill them"
There are some great features on the roadmap. Different phonebooks are a dream.
It sounds to me that 3CX is listening to the users and is moving forward in a meaningful way.
They're not going to create a completely new desktop application and then only give it half the functionality.

Of course I could be wrong

 

[N_G]

@Tyler.Calhoun Thanks for the headsup. Of course there will be a BLF expandable keypad in the softphone, its a key feature of a softphone.

 

[Evolute IT]

@Tyler.Calhoun Thanks for the headsup. Of course there will be a BLF expandable keypad in the softphone, its a key feature of a softphone.

The softphone needs 3 important things:
- BLF
- Headset Integrations
- TAPI for older apps/Integrations for newer ones (like the ability to launch an app instead of a URL.)

With that, the rest can be used in the Webclient while controlling the softphone.

 

[Guillaume Bourgeois]

The softphone needs 3 important things:
- BLF
- Headset Integrations
- TAPI for older apps/Integrations for newer ones (like the ability to launch an app instead of a URL.)

With that, the rest can be used in the Webclient while controlling the softphone.

BLF, are you referring to the right panel? The shortcut keys whether they are BLF, Custom Speed Dial or ShareParking. Do you agree?

 

[Evolute IT]

View attachment 37313

BLF, are you referring to the right panel? The shortcut keys whether they are BLF, Custom Speed Dial or ShareParking. Do you agree?

Yes, actually "BLF" like the current panel.

Also, I gotta say the auto-away after X inactive minutes would be neat. It wasn't possible in the DesktopApp but is in the older client, so having that in the new app would be nice.

 

[Tyler.Calhoun]

The softphone needs 3 important things:
- BLF
- Headset Integrations
- TAPI for older apps/Integrations for newer ones (like the ability to launch an app instead of a URL.)

With that, the rest can be used in the Webclient while controlling the softphone.

Here I would add the separate dialer as a must-have. I would say that if the key features of the current desktop app are simply taken over and extended in a meaningful way, all users will be happy.

I'm looking forward to the alpha.

 

[bdoviack]

The softphone needs 3 important things:
- BLF
- Headset Integrations
- TAPI for older apps/Integrations for newer ones (like the ability to launch an app instead of a URL.)

With that, the rest can be used in the Webclient while controlling the softphone.

Yes, please keep the TAPI functionality even though it is an older feature of Windows. It's a feature that 3CX has that very others do. The software in our industry (dental laboratory), is not the most cutting-edge so having TAPI support helps us a lot.

 

[it_pro]

I know the v20 softphone is only in preview and will never be supported on v18 but I couldn't resist trying it out.
I just wanted to give some feedback about CRM number lookups, the name/company name does not appear in the call popup/notification but it does show if you open the app itself. Hopefully that one will get fixed so we can see the caller names in the popup, to be clear internal extension names do appear

 

[N_G]

@it_pro thanks for the heads up we will certainly fix that!

 

[SteveITS]

It turns out, the Softphone app does configure on v18 using the "Windows App" downloaded config file. Some quick notes after a few minutes of clicking....this is on the current available version 20.0.229:

• There is no BLF panel; the sideways "left pointing" arrow doesn't do anything if I click it (might be grayed out?)
• No headset integration, though it of course works with a Windows connected headset
• No option to see unregistered extensions, even using the Team page search
• No option to configure the ringer destination for incoming calls (only mic and speaker)
• (I'm assuming) It can switch users, since it looks like "add profile" is a list with checkboxes, like the mobile apps
• Can only view/search company contacts not personal contacts
• As expected, various things are only in the web client, e.g. add a contact, meet, chat

Obviously v20 isn't out yet though...