Cannot Change TAPI Dialing Rules in Windows 98

ID: Q217189

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Windows 98 includes Windows Telephony and the Telephony API (TAPI) version 2.1. One of the features of Windows Telephony is the ability to automatically use the correct outside line access codes, long distance and international prefixes, and other dialing rules based on your location and the destination of a telephone call. You specify most of this information in Dialing properties using the Telephony tool in Control Panel and in most programs that place telephone calls. Windows Telephony includes dialing rules for local, long distance, and international calls for over 240 different countries around the world; these rules are stored in the registry.

From time to time, countries change their dialing rules. If the dialing rules for a country or region change, Windows 98 does not dial it correctly.


CAUSE

The Windows 98 Telephony components do not allow the telephony dialing rules to be updated by settings in a configuration file (.ini file) or in the registry.

If these values in the registry are changed, the Windows 98 Telephony Server component (Tapisrv.exe) overwrites the changed registry values with the original default values.


RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp
The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date      Time     Version     Size      File name  
   ----------------------------------------------------
   3/15/99   3:02pm   4.10.2000   116,736   Tapisrv.exe

NOTE: If this product was already installed on your computer when you purchased it from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and you need this fix, please call the Pay Per Incident number listed on the above Web site. If you contact Microsoft to obtain this fix, and if it is determined that you only require the fix you requested, no fee will be charged. However, if you request additional technical support, and if your no-charge technical support period has expired, or if you are not eligible for standard no-charge technical support, you may be charged a non-refundable fee.

For more information about eligibility for no-charge technical support, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q154871 Determining If You Are Eligible for No-Charge Technical Support


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.


MORE INFORMATION

Methods for Working Around the Default Behavior

Local, Long Distance, and International Dialing

For local dialing, you can click to clear the "Use country code and area code" check box to make Windows dial the number you enter in the Phone Number box exactly as you enter it. Dialing properties (such as call waiting and outside line access numbers) are not applied.

This check box appears in the Dialing properties for Dial-Up Networking or HyperTerminal connections, or are normally accessible through dialing programs that use the Windows Telephony API (TAPI).

For example, in Dial-Up Networking, right-click the connection that you want to modify, and then click Properties to modify the Dialing properties. The "Use country code and area code" check box appears on the General tab.

When you use this method you must enter every digit that is to be dialed in the Phone Number box. The digits are not automatically adapted as you change locations, but you have complete control over the number that is dialed.

You can use this method with HyperTerminal, Dial-Up Networking, and MSN, The Microsoft Network.

For additional information about this method, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q129049 How to Perform 10-Digit Dialing in Windows 95 and Windows NT

Long-Distance or International Dialing Only

For long-distance or international dialing, you can work around this behavior by creating a custom calling card rule that uses the correct dialing rules for the country whose rules are incorrect.

Because the Windows 98 Telephony (TAPI) provider does not read the Telephon.ini file, the method documented in the following article for Microsoft Windows 95 does not resolve this problem for Windows 98:
Q142328 Windows 95 - How to Change International Dialing Access Codes

Additional query words: 


Keywords          : wintapi win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 2, 1999