This chapter explains how to get started with VoiceObjects Desktop for Eclipse, the Eclipse-based graphical development environment of VoiceObjects.

Working Modes in Desktop for Eclipse

In order to support user groups with different requirements Desktop for Eclipse provides two working modes, so-called connection modes, standalone and network (see below for details).

After a fresh installation Desktop for Eclipse starts up in standalone mode, as this mode does not require any additional configuration steps.

The connection mode can be switched from within Desktop for Eclipse in the Preferences window. See Chapter 10 – VoiceObjects Preferences for further details on setting the preferences for VoiceObjects.

Standalone mode

Working in standalone mode means that no remote connection to a Metadata Repository is needed. All components required are installed locally on the user’s machine. The VoiceObjects Installer sets up a database that serves as the local Metadata Repository. For testing and calling the applications an internal VoiceObjects Server process is used.

In standalone mode only a default user and a default service exist. No additional Server, Service or User objects may be created.

By default, the internal server is started on port 8070, which can be changed during installation or later on in the Preferences window. See Chapter 10 – VoiceObjects Preferences for further details on setting the preferences for VoiceObjects.

Network mode

Working in network mode means that Desktop for Eclipse connects to an external VoiceObjects Desktop process. This Desktop process is typically installed on a server machine somewhere in the network, to which the clients connect. Working in network mode has the advantage that all users are working on one central repository, whereas standalone mode is typically used when working “offline”, for instance without a connection to the company network.

i8  Note: Make sure that the encoding used in Desktop for Eclipse is the same as the encoding used for the Metadata Repository you are connecting to. Refer to Change the character encoding in Chapter 1 – Advanced Configuration of VoiceObjects in the Administration Guide for further information on how to change the encoding.

When working in network mode the full capabilities of user management are available in order to control the access of certain user groups by assigning different user roles, creating sites and so on. Refer to the Admin Guide for more details on the supported user management capabilities.

Before You Begin

Desktop for Eclipse must be installed following the instructions in the Installation Guide.

i8  Note: The recommended screen resolution for Desktop for Eclipse is 1280 x 1024 pixels.

After a fresh installation Desktop for Eclipse starts up in standalone mode. This mode does not require any additional configuration steps.

If you intend to work in network mode, the following additional requirements need to be met.

·          The VoiceObjects platform must be installed and configured following the instructions in the Installation Guide.

·          Moreover, working in network mode requires the availability of a VoiceObjects Desktop process in your network. For deployment purposes the VoiceObjects Server process must be running as well. For more information about starting these processes see the Installation Guide or contact your local VoiceObjects administrator.

Opening Desktop for Eclipse

To open Desktop for Eclipse, click the Start menu on the Windows desktop, select VoiceObjects and then Desktop for Eclipse. Eclipse will start, and the VoiceObjects Desktop for Eclipse plug-in will be loaded. Desktop for Eclipse will open up displaying the VoiceObjects Welcome screen.

i8  Note: The Welcome screen will only be displayed if you selected to install the Desktop for Eclipse plug-in including Eclipse 3.3.2. If you installed the Desktop for Eclipse plug-in for an existing Eclipse installation the VoiceObjects Welcome screen is not available and the VoiceObjects perspective will open up right away.

VoiceObjects Welcome screen

By clicking the corresponding links on the left-hand side of the Welcome screen you can open up the VoiceObjects perspective. Or you can select one of various guides provided for Desktop for Eclipse. Moreover, you find links here for downloading the Free Voxeo Prophecy IVR Platform or registering to the Free Voxeo Hosted Developer Portal.

The links on the right-hand side lead to popular areas of the VoiceObjects Developer Portal. You can either browse the Resources, have a look at our Monthly Jam Sessions, get the latest news through the VoiceObjects Blog, or contact a Technical Support agent through a Technical Support Chat.

 

Closing the Welcome screen by clicking the Close button  on its tab opens up the VoiceObjects perspective. You can re-open the Welcome screen at any time by selecting Welcome from the Help menu.

VoiceObjects perspective

The VoiceObjects perspective, the default layout of Desktop for Eclipse, initially displays the following elements:

i8  Note: If the VoiceObjects perspective does not appear automatically, click the Window menu in the menu bar of Desktop for Eclipse, then Open Perspective, then Other, and select VoiceObjects from the list of perspectives.

For details on all elements of Desktop for Eclipse see Chapter 2 – Desktop for Eclipse Elements.

Connecting to the Media Platform

To be able to call your application you need a media platform installation either on your machine or on a remote server that can access your computer.

If no media platform is available you can download a free version of the Voxeo Prophecy IVR Platform from http://voxeo.com/free/. For detailed instructions see the Voxeo Provisioning Guide.

There are also several other free evaluation versions available. For details see Free Evaluation & Low Cost VoiceXML IVRs for Developers in Appendix A – Media Platforms for Developers.

Moreover, you can sign up for our free Voxeo Hosted Evolution Developer Portal. For details see http://voxeo.com/free/.

There are also a number of other hosted media platforms, some of which offer a free developer registration. For details see Free Hosted VoiceXML IVR Deployment Sites for Developers in Appendix A – Media Platforms for Developers.

The paragraph Set up the connection to a media platform automatically describes how Desktop for Eclipse supports you in automatically setting up the connection to a media platform. Automatic configuration is currently supported for Voxeo Prophecy 8, Voxeo Evolution and Visibridge.

If you intend to use any other media platform, refer to the paragraph Set up the connection to a media platform manually, which describes how to adjust the media platform to point to the correct URL and how to configure a softphone.

For further information on how to call your application and test it temporarily refer to Test Application in Chapter 7 – Basic Commands in the Desktop for Eclipse Guide.

If you want to permanently deploy an application on a VoiceObjects Server refer to Permanent and Temporary Deployment in Chapter 4 – Service Deployment in the Deployment Guide for information on how to configure the media platform accordingly.

Set up the connection to a media platform automatically

To setup the connection to a media platform automatically, follow the steps below. The Voxeo platform serves as an example here; in case of Voxeo Evolution and Visibridge the process is similar.

1.        In the menu bar of Desktop for Eclipse, open the Run menu and select Run… (Open Run Dialog…).

2.        Right-click VoiceXML Application in the left pane and from the context menu select New.

3.        In the Name field, specify a name for the new configuration e.g. Voxeo Prophecy.

4.        In the Browser field, select Voxeo Prophecy 8 from the drop-down list.

5.        In the x-lite.exe field, select the x-lite.exe file of your X-Lite softphone installation.

6.        In the Voxeo directory field, select the Voxeo folder of your Voxeo Prophecy installation.

 

7.        Click Apply to apply your settings and Close to leave the Run window.

Set up the connection to a media platform manually

If the connection to the media platform needs to be setup manually, you must configure your media platform accordingly to point to the correct URL:

Local media platform

Point your media platform to the following URL: http://localhost:8070/VoiceObjects/DialogMapping?VSN=testService

Remote media platform

1.        In the menu bar of Desktop for Eclipse, open the Windows menu and select Preferences.

2.        In the left pane of the Preferences window, expand the VoiceObjects entry and click Advanced to display the VoiceObjects advanced preferences.

3.        Select the radio button Use all local network interfaces. Alternatively, you can select the radio button Select network interfaces from the list and check at least one entry in the table below other than the Loopback interface.

 

4.        Click OK to apply your settings and close the Preferences window.

i8  Note: If the default port 8070 is not available on your machine, a different port might have been chosen during installation.

You need to restart Desktop for Eclipse for the change to take effect.

 

Configure a softphone

If you want to configure Desktop for Eclipse for launching a softphone and calling the media platform, do the following:

1.        In the menu bar of Desktop for Eclipse, open the Run menu and select Run… (Open Run Dialog…).

2.        Right-click VoiceXML Application in the left pane and from the context menu select New.

3.        In the Name field, specify a name for the new configuration.

4.        In the Browser field, select Generic Softphone from the drop-down list.

5.        In the Path field, specify the complete path to your softphone executable.

6.        In the Parameters field, specify the appropriate parameter for your softphone, followed by the phone number to the media platform.

The following examples show the parameters for the softphones Skype and X-Lite:

Skype: /callto:<phone number>

X-Lite Softphone: -dial <phone number>

For other softphones, consult the corresponding vendor manuals.

7.        Click Apply to apply your settings and Close to leave the Run window.

Connecting to a Remote Metadata Repository

If you want to work in a network environment you next need to connect to the corresponding Metadata Repository.

This requires an installation of the VoiceObjects platform and a running VoiceObjects Desktop process (see Before You Begin).

To set up the connection to a remote Metadata Repository do the following:

1.        In the menu bar of Desktop for Eclipse open the Window menu and click Preferences. The Preferences window will open up.

2.        In the left pane click VoiceObjects. The VoiceObjects preferences will be displayed in the right pane.

 

3.        In the Repository connection section, select Work in network mode.

4.        Enter voadmin as User ID and manager as Password if no other user ID and password have been provided to you by your local VoiceObjects administrator.

5.        Enter the Host and Port of the machine running the VoiceObjects Desktop process that points to the Metadata Repository you want to connect to (typically also provided by your administrator). Based on this information the corresponding WSDL URL is automatically generated. Typically the WSDL URL is of the form http://server:port/VoiceObjects/Services/WSProvider?wsdl where server denotes the network name or IP address of the physical server running the VoiceObjects Desktop process and port denotes the connector port for the VoiceObjects Desktop process. The port is set to 80 by default, but can be modified during installation and configuration. See the Installation Guide or the Administration Guide for details.
The WSDL URL can also be entered manually by clicking Advanced.

6.        Optionally click Test connection to confirm that the connection details are provided correctly.

7.        Click OK to save your settings.

You will log on to the specified Metadata Repository and all projects and libraries available in the corresponding Metadata Repository will be loaded into the Repository Browser in the left-hand pane of Desktop for Eclipse.

 

For further information on the VoiceObjects preferences refer to Chapter 10 – VoiceObjects Preferences.

i8Note: You can only log on to a Metadata Repository if an appropriate Desktop seat license is available. If a message appears telling you that no more seats are available, contact your administrator. For more information on license management within the VoiceObjects platform see Chapter 4 – Managing Licenses in the Administration Guide.

Exiting Desktop for Eclipse

To exit Desktop for Eclipse, click the Close button  in its upper right corner or open the File menu from the menu bar and click Exit.

By exiting Desktop for Eclipse you will automatically be logged out and the Desktop seat license will be returned. For more information on Desktop seat licenses see Chapter 4 – Managing Licenses in the Administration Guide.