Filtering a database with phone number

[tehvilinaty]

Hello!
I have a Microsoft Access database with some client data, that includes name, address, phone and some others. It's about deliveries to clients, so it's important to know quickly who is calling and get their relevant data.

What I'm looking to do is filter the database automatically using a phone number (over VOIP?). When a client makes a phone call, it is captured and then the database filters and shows their relevant data.

So for example, when someone with the phone number 1234567890 calls, and we see that the number exists on the database, it filters and shows John Smith, the person the number belongs to.

I know I should be asking VOIP software developers, but since there are so many of them, I'm curious if anyone else worked on a similar project and has some pointers to show me.

Thank you!

 

[jleach]

Hi,

Look into APIs for your VOIP software. It'll usually offer a hook or publish an event of some sort that indicates the number calling in. If you're lucky, they'll have an ActiveX component of some sort, but not as likely these days (these days you're more apt to have a .NET or C[++] interface or component, or in the case of cloud-based call-centers like Helpdesk, etc., a REST API where you configure an endpoint).

In any case, there's an event that fires from the VOIP software package, and you subscribe to this event either from your Access project, or some other intermediary tool as required (a custom COM wrapper of a .NET listener, for example). This can be difficult if it's a REST based notification because you have to have a web server to receive those notifications, which Access isn't capable of (and then once received by the web server, you need to forward them to Access)

Once you're able to receive notification of the incoming call into your Access project, the next question is what to do with. This can be a little tricky because it's one of those situations where you can never be sure what the program/user is in the middle of when this happens, so you have to plan for that as well.