Hack11.Dial Like a Wizard

Hack 11. Dial Like a Wizard

Use Skype's Dialing Wizard to find the correct dial number format and call rate.

Works with: all versions of Skype.

Dialing the wrong number using SkypeOut can be costly in terms of both time and money. You can waste time as you fumble to find the right sequence of digits to make the call, and you can waste money because connecting to the wrong number can be costly, as some SkypeOut rates are more than 1 per minute, and all calls are rounded up to whole minutes.

You can dial a telephone number with Skype in many ways. You can enter digits directly from your computer keyboard into Skype's address bar, use Skype's keypad (on the Dial tab), double-click on an entry in the your Contacts list (Skype can also be set up so that double-click starts a chat), use an advanced USB handset, click on a link in your web browser (see "Make Calls from Your Web Browser" [Hack #43]), or access a shortcut on your desktop (see "Add Fast-Dial Shortcuts to Your Menu or Desktop" [Hack #49]), among other options. Regardless of what method you use to dial a number, all will be for naught if you don't get the format right.

To enter the prefix + using the keypad on Skype's Dial tab, click and hold down your left mouse button over the button with 0+ on it for 2 seconds.

1.12.1. Skype Dialing Wizard

Perhaps the least error-prone method of finding the right digit sequence to call is to use the Skype Dialing Wizard (see Figure 1-13), which you can find at http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/dialing.html.

This wizard also has the added advantage of giving you the per-minute call rate for the number you want to dial. And if your web browser is configured properly (see "Make Calls from Your Web Browser" [Hack #43]), you can dial the number directly from your browser with just one click.

Skype's Dialing Wizard quotes call rates in euros. Knowing the exchange rate between euros and your home currency will allow you to make a quick mental calculation to convert the call rate into something more meaningful. Alternatively, if you don't know the current exchange rate or you simply don't trust your mental arithmetic, visit the Skype rates page, http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/all_rates.html, and select your home currency from the drop-down list at the top of the page.

After making the call, you can add the number to your Contacts list if it's a number you are likely to call often in the future. For the Windows version of Skype, you can do this by navigating to the Call List tab, right-clicking on a call entry, and selecting Add to Contacts. For the Pocket PC version of Skype, navigate to the Log tab, stylus touch and hold on a call entry, and select Add to Contacts.

Figure 1-13. The Skype Dialing Wizard

Skype's reporting of errors is sometimes less than user friendly. For instance, try entering a nonsense number such as +120355512127865273648929. After failing to connect, Skype will report, "Service unavailabletry again."

Alternatively, you might be presented with a numeric error code. Errors #1040 and #1050 in Skype for Mac OS X, for example, typically mean that the SkypeOut number you entered is invalid, even though they are displayed like this: "Internal Error, please try again (#1040)" and "Internal Error, please try again (#1050)." Moreover, Skype's error codes are not consistent across platforms, as the error codes corresponding to #1040 and #1050 on Mac OS X are #10404 and #10503 on Windows. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, no single resource lists all error codes for all platforms, so you must search for your specific error code in the Skype knowledgebase or in Skype's online forums.

1.12.2. Skype Widget

If you use Skype on Mac OS X, you needn't even go to the trouble of opening a browser to have functionality equivalent to Skype's Dialing Wizard. Skype has produced a widget for the Mac OS X dashboard that basically replicates the functionality of the Dialing Wizard in a nifty and quickly accessible tool (see Figure 1-14).

Figure 1-14. The Skype Widget for the Mac OS X dashboard