Telephones...

Or maybe  a rule-based system that was site-definable to deliver a site-based set of defaults, with an override.

Like

If the number is associated with an address, use the country and state info from that address

Else if the constituent has a country/state in their primary address use that

Else use the default country/state combo (set in t-defaults) and mark it as uncertain

Show those next to the number so you can over-ride if you want to

Then…

If the country is Australia

and if the number starts with 04, use this mask ####-###-###

– and mark it as a mobile (that’s a “cell” for you yanquis), .

with various other settings becoming visible and selectable maybe (like “ok to sms to”)

else if the number starts with 1300, use this mask ####-###-###

– and mark it as a special kind of number

else if the number starts with 0 use this mask (##) ####-####

else if the state is certain, use the mask for that state (eg for NSW use (02) ####-####)

else if the state is uncertain use this mask (??) ####-####

else if the country is USA

and the number has 10 digits, use this mask (###) ###-####

…

…

…

Etc

…and allow entering a leading + to explicitly mark and handle as an international number, like on a mobile phone…..

and if you don’t like the result you can maybe over-ride it with a named format.

Does that work for everyone?

We could collaborate on  writing the rules for various countries and then share them???

Ken McSwain Business solutions Manager

kmcswain@sydneyoperahouse.com

T+61 2 9250 7876  F+61 2 9251 7821  M 0418 659 360

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE BENNELONG POINT

GPO BOX 4274, SYDNEY NSW 2001, AUSTRALIA

SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM

It's an interesting questionYou get one mask per installation which you can override on a per-number basis.  Either enter the number according to the site's mask or hit some control and enter that number free form.  (Or make the site's mask free form and then all phone numbers would be that way.)

Thoughts?

I don’t think anyone actually handles it.

I was just fantasising.

…Buuuuut

Is this the story?

Julie is on the phone taking a booking from a new customer.

“And what is the best phone number to reach you on?” she says.

The customer says “95698417” or “08 4567 8954”

Or they say – “My mobile is best – 0418 659 360”

Julie wants to just type the number in as she hears it – she’s not going to be affected by the mask – she just accepts the number as is.

Then when she’s entered it, she wants to see it formatted, so she can read it back easily, and maybe recognise straight away that she must have made a mistake because it’s badly formatted.

But input masking doesn’t seem to help her in this story – it might even get in the way.

Ken McSwain Business solutions Manager

kmcswain@sydneyoperahouse.com

T+61 2 9250 7876  F+61 2 9251 7821  M 0418 659 360

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE BENNELONG POINT

GPO BOX 4274, SYDNEY NSW 2001, AUSTRALIA

SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM

It's interesting to have a mask that depends on the value being entered into the field.  How do other AU systems handle this?  ("and if the number starts with 04 use this mask")  Do such systems start with an unformatted mask and then depending on what you enter it reformats it?

So it would just be a display mask and not an input mask?

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

=====This message is intended for the addressee(s) named and may contain confidential information.

If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify the sender.

Views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender and are not necessarily the views of the Sydney Opera House Trust=====

You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!

Could be good for us.

Our biggest issue around this is that the state code is not required if calling from within the state, so its common practice to not enter (or say) the prefix at all.

So we have a significant data management issue with cleaning records that should be like this “02 9250 7180’ but because the prefix is commonly left off is saved as ’92 5071 80’.

So if the user left off the prefix but the mask applied it anyway (as Outlook does) that would be nice.

Although I notice my Outlook applies a (##) mask on the first two numbers even if it’s a mobile.

It's interesting to have a mask that depends on the value being entered into the field.  How do other AU systems handle this?  ("and if the number starts with 04 use this mask")  Do such systems start with an unformatted mask and then depending on what you enter it reformats it?

So it would just be a display mask and not an input mask?

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

=====This message is intended for the addressee(s) named and may contain confidential information.

If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify the sender.

Views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender and are not necessarily the views of the Sydney Opera House Trust=====

You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!

This e-mail message is intended only for the recipient(s) named above. This message may contain trade secrets, attorney-client communication, or other privileged and confidential information. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination, reproduction or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the Sender and delete the material from any computer.

You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!

No – Outlook applies the normal area code format, like (04) 1865-9360, treating the mobile network lead-in code (04) like an area code – which it is, effectively,  of course - It’s just that we have this curious habit of pronouncing them with different groupings - probably because of what  Peter says in his note – that we don’t usually bother with the area code for fixed lines, but we always quote the full number for mobiles.

I think we can do better than Microsoft, can’t we? We don’t want to set the bar too low.  J

Ken McSwain Business solutions Manager

kmcswain@sydneyoperahouse.com

T+61 2 9250 7876  F+61 2 9251 7821  M 0418 659 360

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE BENNELONG POINT

GPO BOX 4274, SYDNEY NSW 2001, AUSTRALIA

SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM

Yep, that's what I meant by display mask instead of input mask.  You enter it free form and the system does it's best to figure out what you mean.  Ken, if you enter a phone number into Outlook, does it know whether it's a mobile number or not and format it properly?

It's interesting to have a mask that depends on the value being entered into the field.  How do other AU systems handle this?  ("and if the number starts with 04 use this mask")  Do such systems start with an unformatted mask and then depending on what you enter it reformats it?

So it would just be a display mask and not an input mask?

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

=====This message is intended for the addressee(s) named and may contain confidential information.

If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify the sender.

Views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender and are not necessarily the views of the Sydney Opera House Trust=====

You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!

This e-mail message is intended only for the recipient(s) named above. This message may contain trade secrets, attorney-client communication, or other privileged and confidential information. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination, reproduction or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the Sender and delete the material from any computer.

You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!