8.8.15 Enhancements
Below is the list of enhancements by program for version 8.8.15
Click Here to go to the Release Notes/Bug Fixes for Version 8.8
SURVENT
Timed call-back scheduler now defaults to the next year if setting up call backs near the end of the year
If you try to set up a timed call back and do not specify the year, the system now defaults to NEXT year if the month specified is 3 months or less in the future. For example, if you schedule a call for January 5th and the current date is December 12, 2018, it will schedule the call for January 5th, 2019.
You can now change the time zone of a phone number if respondent reports they are in a different time zone than what was originally assigned to the number
The phone,change_number command now accepts an additional parameter which is the location/variable name of where the new time zone is stored. The new parameter can be either 2 columns or 3 columns in length to support half time zones. The original time zone will be stored in 5400.3 for reporting purposes.
EX:
{newtimezone:
Enter in the new time zone for this phone number
!num,z,,5-8 }
{!phone,change_number,,,newtimezone }
Survent now supports a setting for timezone 12 since some parts of that time zone are 12 hours behind GMT and others are 12 hours ahead.
There is a new Fonebuld keyword, time_zone_12_offset which can be used to set the number of hours that time zone is offset from GMT to support the different ways that time zone is handled in different countries. The keyword accepts values, +11,+12,+13,-11,-12, and -13 The default is +12 which matches New Zealand in the winter time New Zealand which does observe Day Light Savings will need to be set to +13 during that time of year. Note, you can ONLY have one setting per study. If you need multiple settings, then you will need to create a 2nd study for the alternate setting.
There are two new functions that have replaced the old websurvent function for easier control over what mode the interview is in and if the interview has been suspended or not.
There are 2 new functions: xf(survey_mode()) and xf(suspend_type((). The XF(Survey_mode()) function returns what mode the interview is being conducted in.
1 – Terminal mode 2 – Online/webSurvent 3 – webCATI 4 – Triple Ampersand Applications 5 – Mentor/Interview from specs 7 – IVR 0 – Unknown
The XF(Suspend_Type() function returns the following:
1 – Auto Suspend 2 – Forced Suspend 3 – Programmatic Suspend 4 – Normal Suspend 5 – Unknonw
Supervisor (Survsupr)
You can now change the time zone of a phone number if you find out it is in a different time zone than what was originally assigned to the number
There is a new supervisor command phone_change_time_zone which allows the supervisor to change the time zone on an existing phone number. The syntax is
Phone_change_time_zone <studyname> <newtimezone> <select statement>
EX:
Phone_change_time_zone jobxyz 8 [1.10#2125551212,2125551234]
This would change the time zone to 8 for the 2 phone numbers 212-555-1212 and 212-555-1234 on the study jobxyx.
This command can be used only when the study is on line. It will load the study if it can if the study is offline.
There is a new keyword “recently_called” that can be used on a select statement to easily identify records that are currently unable to be dialed because they are have waited less than the current minimum system time call setting
This command can be useful if you are doing online hide and reveal statements and you end up with a stack that is unavailable because the numbers just released end up behind a number just dialed. This allows you to, for instance, hide the recently called numbers allowing the revealed numbers to be available. You can at some later time then reveal those numbers.
EX:
Hide jobxyz recently_called and [5020.5]>=350
This would hide all the numbers in jobxyz that are in any of the system stacks and whose last call was less than minimum_system_time_minutes ago.
Note: If you are doing lots of other hides and reveals, you probably want to do this operation as a named_hide so you do not inadvertently reveal these numbers back when you reveal some other set.
The phone_move command has been enhanced to better support ½ time zones.
The timezone can be specified as a 3 digit number with the last digit being either a 0 or 5 where 5 denotes the ½ time zone.
Fonebuld
If you have spaces in the names in the header of your input sample file, the system now automatically converts them to underscores.
If you have a csv input sample file that has spaces in the names on the header record, the system now will change them automatically to have underscores so that they might become valid Survox variable names.
Foneutil
You can now change the time zone of a phone number if you find out it is in a different time zone than what was originally assigned to the number
There is a new foneutil command change_time_zone which allows the user to change the time zone on an existing phone number. The syntax is
change_time_zone <studyname> <newtimezone> <select statement>
EX:
change_time_zone jobxyz 8 [1.10#2125551212,2125551234]
Would change the time zone to 8 for the 2 phone numbers 212-555-1212 and 212-555-1234 on the study jobxyx.
This can only be used when the study is off line.
There is a new keyword “recently_called” that can be used on a select statement to easily identify records that are currently unable to be dialed because they are have waited less than the current minimum system time call setting
This command can be useful if you are doing online hide and reveal statements and you end up with a stack that is unavailable because the numbers just released end up behind a number just dialed. This allows you to, for instance, hide the recently called numbers allowing the revealed numbers to be available. You can at some later time then reveal those numbers.
EX:
Hide recently_called and [5020.5]>=350
This would hide all the numbers in the currently open .fon file that are in any of the system stacks and whose last call was less than minimum_system_time_minutes ago.
Note: If you are doing lots of other hides and reveals, you probably want to do this operation as a named_hide so you do not inadvertently reveal these numbers back when you reveal some other set.
Survox Console
Branding and some of the screens have been updated to match current product brand name and updated terminology
The branding/logos have been updated to match the current product name. In addition, screens have been updated to match current terminology. In particular, the terminology around the different modes a survey can run in has changed. CATI is now referred to as terminal, webSurvent is now Online, and webCATI is CATI.
Better handling of master quota studies
The test worker studies now point at the test master study.
The Console now supports the new interviewer login page
The Console now can be used in conjunction with the agent.php login page so more options can be set when the interviewer logs in. In particular, the interviewer can be allowed to set the special type, practice mode, and their dialer extension including remote ones.
ASCII Quota file can be created and downloaded from the Console
The .aqu file created by quotamod can now be created via the Console and downloaded for reporting or processing.
Better handling of Sound files on the Survox Dialer via the Console
Sound files that will be played during the interview can now be uploaded via the Console .
You can download sound files via the Dialer Recordings link in the Data Analysis menu and have them zipped up into a single download file.
Better handling of master quota surveys in conjunction with 3rd party interviewing packages
You can now assign both a Survox Project Name and a 3rd Party Project Name so that 2 different Survox projects can map to a single 3rd Party Project.
You can now change the time one of a phone number if you find out it is in a different time zone than what was originally assigned to the number
There is a new menu option on the Manage Sample Screen which allows the user to change the time zone on an existing phone number. It will prompt for the study name, the selection criteria, and the time zone to change the number to.
There is now a CLIENT variable for both the index and tmpl files.
You can use the CLIENT variable to customize the index and tmpl files per client.
Survox Dialer Console
Branding has been updated to match product name changes.
The branding/logos have been updated to match the current product name.
Sound file location is now configurable.
The storage location of the sound files is now configurable during the installation process to allow for proper security access to them.