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Click to Dial a Web Page Hyperlink

The CIC client enables you to use the CALLTO protocol to make calls. You can dial specially formatted phone numbers just by clicking them. The phone number must be formatted with the HTML tag <a href>. This tag is most often used to create a hyperlink to a webpage or a specific point in a webpage. However, it can also be used to create hyperlinks that place phone calls.

The phone numbers must be formatted like this example:
<a href="callto:5550101">home office</a>

Tip: The phone number must not include an empty space. An empty space causes the CIC client to drop the digits after the space when dialing the number.

This appears as the hyperlinked words "home office" in a webpage. If you click this hyperlink, the CIC client uses the CALLTO protocol to place a call to the 555-0101 phone number.

Note: If you are not logged onto the CIC client when you click a phone number hyperlink, the Logon dialog box appears and prompts you to log on. After you log on, the CIC client places the call. Also, numbers dialed using the callto protocol appear in Call History and in the Windows 7 CIC client Jump List.

Finding Phone Number Hyperlinks

Appropriately formatted phone number hyperlinks are not usually available on most web pages. However:

Your company could set up a webpage on an internal site that contains appropriately formatted phone numbers.
The CIC client can also dial using phone number hyperlinks from a third-party CRM system, if your CRM administrator ensures the phone numbers are appropriately formatted.
There are some internet browser add-on applications available that convert telephone numbers appearing on web pages into clickable links. If you use a browser add-on, it must convert the phone numbers using the CALLTO protocol to enable CIC to place the call for you.

Troubleshooting

When you install the CIC client, the installation program automatically associates the CIC client with the CALLTO protocol in Windows. Other applications, such as Skype and NetMeeting, can also use the CALLTO protocol. If the CIC client does not dial a phone number when you click an appropriately formatted phone number hyperlink, check that the Windows protocol association is set correctly.

In Windows 7, select Start > Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program.
Scroll to the Protocols section at the bottom of the list.
If the CALLTO program association is not set to the CIC client, double-click the CALLTO protocol.
In the Open with dialog box, associate this protocol with the CIC client.

To test this configuration:

In Windows 7, open the Start menu and then, in the Search Programs and Files text box, type Run and press Enter.

In the Run dialog box, in the Open drop-down list, type callto:number where number is an actual phone number.
Click OK.