Creating a Portable Windows NT Phonebook
What if you use two different computers, one in the office and one for travel? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to copy all the DUN connection settings from one machine to the other? This is relatively easy to do with Windows NT by creating a personal phonebook. Unfortunately, Windows 95 doesn’t offer a similar function.
The phonebook entries you create with Windows NT are initially contained in a system phonebook, one that is shared by everyone who uses the computer. You can copy these entries to a personal phonebook, which consists of a .pbk file. Here’s how:
Open My Computer, then open Dial-Up Networking, or click the Start button, then choose Programs, Accessories, Dial-Up Networking.
In the Dial-Up Networking dialog box (Figure 3.13), click the More button, then choose “User preferences.” In the User Preferences dialog box, switch to the Phonebook tab.
On the Phonebook tab (Figure 3.20), you will see that “The system phonebook” is selected. This means that DUN is using a phonebook that is available to everyone who uses the computer.
Select “My personal phonebook,” then click the OK button. Phonebook entries from the system phonebook are copied to a new phonebook file. Click OK to return to the Dial-Up Networking dialog box, where you’ll now see the entries for the new personal phonebook.
The new phonebook is a .pbk file named for your user name. For example, the Administrator account would have a personal phonebook named Administ.pbk. This file is stored in the Winnt\System32\Ras folder. (The system phonebook is itself a file of this type: Winnt\System32\Ras\Rasphone.pbk.)
To use your personal phonebook on another computer, follow these steps:
Copy the .pbk file to the other machine.
Follow Steps 1 through 3 above to access the Phonebook tab (Figure 3.20).
Select “This alternate phonebook,” and either enter the path and file name, or click the Browse button to locate the file.
Click OK to switch DUN to use the phonebook you specified.
Making a Manual Connection
You may find yourself at a location where it’s impossible to make a phone call without going through an operator. In that case, you need to configure DUN to allow you to dial the number manually. When you hear the computer answer, you’ll be able to continue the connection process.
For Windows NT, manual dialing is turned on and off in the Dial-Up Networking dialog box (Figure 3.13). Click the More button, then choose “Operator assisted or manual dialing.” This option will appear checked the next time you click More. Use the same procedure to turn off manual dialing.
On Windows 95, manual dialing must be set for each particular DUN connectoid. To set manual dialing, follow these steps:
Open My Computer, then open Dial-Up Networking, or click the Start button, then choose Programs, Accessories, Dial-Up Networking.
Right-click the DUN connectoid that you want to use manual dialing, then choose Properties.
On the General tab, click the Configure button, then switch to the Options tab.
Check “Operator assisted or manual dial.”
Click OK twice to return to the Dial-Up Networking folder.
To use manual dialing once you’ve enabled it, follow these steps:
Start to connect with the desired DUN connectoid or phonebook entry. On Windows 95, a Manual Dial dialog box will appear. On Windows NT, it’s an Operator Assisted or Manual Dial dialog box.
Place your call.
On Windows NT, click the OK button as soon as you’ve finished dialing, then replace the telephone handset. On Windows 95, wait until you hear the computer at the other end, then click the Connect button and replace the handset.
SUMMARY
Connecting your computer with others is what Exchange is all about. Such connections include dialing up to the Internet, or to your office Microsoft Exchange server or Microsoft Mail server. One of the most ingenious Windows aids to making connections is the concept of dialing locations. Your address book and DUN phone numbers stay the same, while you change access codes and credit card numbers with a single command.
Key Points
Windows keeps phone numbers separate from dialing location settings, then puts the two together when you dial.
A Windows calling card is more than a telephone credit card; a Windows calling card can solve a number of dialing-code problems.
Dial-up networking (DUN) lets you connect with either a Microsoft Exchange server or a Microsoft Mail server at your office, or with an Internet mail server.
You can automate your dial-up log-on process with a script.
By sharing either your folders or your printer(s), your system becomes a network server.
For More Information
One of the places where you’ll apply your new knowledge of connections is in using Remote Mail, which we discuss in Chapter 13. Microsoft Fax (Chapter 14, “Sending Faxes”) also depends a lot on your having the right dialing location so Microsoft Fax can determine what codes to dial.
If you want to go beyond a standard dial-up connection to a high-speed ISDN link, you may want to obtain Microsoft’s Get ISDN for Windows, a free program that helps you order ISDN service from your telephone company. See Appendix B, “Exchange Resources,” for details about how to download this program from Microsoft’s Web site.
Finally, if installing a modem is something that’s new to you, both the Windows 95 and Windows NT help files have lots of information to assist you in what is a largely automatic process. Click the Start button, then choose Help. On the Index tab, search for “modems” to get a list of relevant topics.
Master SharePoint with 3 eLearning Seminars Learn how to build a better SharePoint infrastructure and enable powerful collaboration with MVPs Dan Holme and Michael Noel. Register today!
SharePointConnections Conference Fall 2008 Don’t miss the premier event for Microsoft IT Professionals in Las Vegas, November 10-13. Register and book your room by August 25 and receive a FREE room night (based on a three night minimum stay).
VMworld 2008 - Sign Up Today! Join your peers on September 15-18 at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas as VMware hosts VMworld 2008, the leading Virtualization event.
Microsoft® Tech•Ed EMEA 2008 IT Professionals Advance your thinking with new ideas and practical real-world solutions at Microsoft’s FIVE day technical infrastructure conference 3-7 Nov., 2008. Register before 26 September 2008 to save €300.
Order Your SQL Fundamentals CD Today! Learn how to use SQL Server, understand Office integration techniques and dive into the essentials of SQL Express and Visual Basic with this free SQL Fundamentals CD.
Are You Really Compliant with Software Regulations? View this web seminar that will help you with compliance best practices and check out a management solution to assure that you won’t be in jeopardy of an audit.
Windows IT Pro
Register
