What is the Zonetabl?

The zonetabl is a file that is in the control sub-directory that maintains a relationship between the area code a phone number has and what time zone it is in. When a phone number is added into a .fon file the system uses that table to determine which time zone to store the number under. This allows the system to make sure calls to specific phone numbers are made at the appropriate time.

The zonetabl is version independent and works with all versions of the software.

NOTE: Any given phone number can have its time zone designation in the zonetabl overridden by putting the time zone number in columns 23-24 of the raw sample record. The use of this option is getting more and more common as more and more respondents have cell phones with area codes that no longer correspond to their current location.

How do I obtain the latest Zonetabl?

The latest zonetabl is attached to this article in the zip file zonetabl.zip.

There are other files in the zip which may also be useful if you are updating the zonetabl. They are all described in the file zonetabl.txt, which is also pasted in here.

 

List of files in the zipfile:

 

ZONETABL is the latest version of ZONETABL file.  This HAS to be put  in the Control sub-directory of where the Survox software is installed.

 

ZONETABL.DOC is the latest ASCII version of the ZONETABL.  This can be put anywhere as it is only for documenation purposes. 

     

 ZONETABL.SRC is the latest version of the source file for MAKEZONE.  This can be put anywhere, but you’ll need to know where it is should you want to make your own changes to the zonetabl file.

 

ZONETABL.CHG is a readable file that has notes about how the ZONETABL has changed in the recent past.  It is actually the notes from the top of the ZONETABL.SRC file.

ZONE_TO_DOC.SPX is a Mentor spec file that will read the zonetable and create an ASCII copy of it (zonetabl.doc) that can be used to not only verify changes, but also as future documentation as to what area codes

are active in the current zone table.

     

ZONETABL.TXT is this file which has notes on what each file does.

     

When was the Zonetabl last updated?

The Zonetable was last updated on October 29, 2019

Below is a list of the most recent changes. See the file attached file zonetabl.chg for a comprehensive list of all the changes.

 

 

Adding a new area code that is not in your current zone table:

The MAKEZONE program is provided to all users which allows you to update your own zonetabl. We recommend that you use the zonetabl attached to this article, but there may be customizations you want to make for your own site. Be careful about adding area codes into the table before the area is activated, or your interviewers will be unable to successfully dial those numbers and if you have a dialer, those numbers will be silently marked as non-working.

Note to predictive/preview/auto dialer users. Some dialers have their own area code data bases and will reject numbers they think are invalid. You need to either turn that checking off for Survox jobs, or make sure you have the same area code update on your dialer.

The program MAKEZONE will read a spec file that is basically an ASCII version of the zone table. This spec file is the zonetabl.src and is in the attached zip file. We strongly recommend that you start with this file and make any updates in it. The format of the file is pretty easy to understand. Here is a snippet of the source file.

 201      5     Yes       NJ         No

 202      5     Yes       DC         No

 203      5     Yes       CT         No

 

 

The fields in the record are:
area code, time zone, daylight savings, state code, exceptions

The exception field will be a yes if there are exchanges in the area code that do not observe the same rules as the area code, otherwise it is no.  An example of an exception would be an exchange that does not observe daylight savings time, even though the rest of the area code does.  The listing of exchanges that are exceptions is at the bottom of the file.

 

Steps to add a new area code into the zonetabl:

1) Make backup copies of the current zonetabl and zonetabl.src files.

2) Try dialing a couple of the numbers that your current zone table is rejecting and verify that the phone rings. If it does ring, then the area code has been activated. If it doesn’t ring and you get a fast busy signal, then the area code may not have been activated and you probably should not add that area code into the zone table. You may want to go back to your sample provider and have them verify that the area code is actually valid.

3) Check the current zone source file to see if the area code is in there as a comment and just remove the comment notation. However, if it does not exist, find the area code it split off from, and if it has no exceptions, you can copy that line to the appropriate place for the new area code and change the area code to the new area code.

The current zone source has been updated with comments about area codes that are not currently activated, but are planned to be activated in the near future. Many of these new area codes have test numbers which you can use to see if the area code has been activated. The source file will also have comments in it for when the file was last updated.

If the old area code has exceptions, you CANNOT update this area code with 100% accuracy. Contact Support for information about this area code. Survox may not have 100% accurate information for some time after the area code is activated.

We must rely on our supplier to give us a list of exchanges for the new area code. If you need 100% accuracy and Survox has not yet received updated information, then your only recourse, is to use a Mentor procedure that converts the new area code to the old one.

4) After adding the area code(s) into the zone source file, run the program MAKEZONE and at the spec file put in the name of the zone source file. At the list file prompt put in valid file name to save any error messages. If you get error messages, try to figure out what you did wrong. Most likely you did not supply a proper time zone or daylight savings setting for the area code you added.

5) If MAKEZONE runs successfully, it will create a file called zonetabl in the local directory. You can then use the Mentor spec file ZONE2DOC to convert the zonetabl back to an ASCII readable format zonetabl.doc. Compare the new zonetabl.doc file with the zonetabl.src file to make sure it has all your changes.

6) If zonedoc has all your proper changes then, you can rename the zonetabl file into the CONTROL directory.

7) Use FONEBULD to add some numbers into a dummy phone file. Make sure you use a cross-section of numbers that contain both new and old area codes, plus some known bad area codes like 999. If this works everything is okay. If it doesn’t retrace your steps to see what went wrong.

8)  If you are unable to figure out what is wrong, then use your backup of the zonetabl and contact the Support for assistance.