Start

The entry point of the dial plan: every call starts here, and the link leaving its output decides the first step of the journey.

At a glance

How it works

When a call enters the plan, the interpreter looks for the Start module, follows the link leaving its output, runs the module it reaches, then repeats step by step.

The module has no input: nothing can come before it. It also has no settings window; double-clicking it opens nothing.

If the Start's output is not connected to anything, no module runs and the call is hung up without a word. This is the same rule throughout the plan: as soon as a triggered output leads nowhere, the call ends. This explains half the calls that "just cut off by themselves," and on the Start it produces a completely silent plan.

A counter limits the number of modules traversed during a call to 250. It exists only to stop a plan that loops back on itself.

What to fill in

Step by step

1. Open Dial plans, then the Visual editor of the plan in question.
2. Locate the Start module. On a new plan, it is placed at the top left of the canvas.
3. Place the first module of the journey from the palette, for example Menu or Time condition.
4. Drag a link from the Start's output point to this module's input.
5. Check that the link is properly attached on both ends: a link that doesn't reach the input is not saved.
6. Click Save in the editor's toolbar.
7. Click Apply changes in the top bar, and wait for the Configuration applied message.
8. Call the number that enters this plan: the first module should be heard.

If it doesn't work

The call is hung up immediately, no module runs. The Start's output isn't connected to anything, or the link isn't attached to the next module's input. Reopen the editor and redraw the link end to end.

I can't find the Start module in the palette. It's not there, and that's normal: it is placed automatically when the plan is created. If it has disappeared from your canvas, it's the plan you need to reopen, not the module you need to add.

I can't delete the Start. It has no delete cross and the Delete key has no effect on it. To stop using a journey, delete the modules that follow, or the whole plan from the dial plans list.

I connected the Start, but nothing changes on the phone. Two actions are needed: Save in the editor's toolbar, then Apply changes in the top bar. Until the Configuration applied message comes back, the installation is still running the previous version.

The call runs for a while then cuts off. The plan is looping: a module sends the call back to a module already traversed. At the 250th module traversed, the call is stopped. Trace the links backward from the looping point.