FreePBX

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FreePBX is a free software telephone system that lets you manage calls in a company.

Features

  • Internet phone calls: uses VoIP technology, allowing calls over the internet instead of the regular phone network.
  • Automatic call distribution: helps automatically route incoming calls to the correct numbers or departments within the company.
  • Interactive voice menus (IVR): you can set up interactive voice menus so the caller can choose the appropriate department by pressing keys.
  • Voicemail: if no one can answer a call, FreePBX can record a voicemail message that can be later reviewed.
  • Conference calls: you can organize conference calls so multiple people can participate simultaneously.
  • Call recording: you can record phone conversations for later listening or analysis.
  • Integration with other systems: FreePBX can be integrated with various CRMs, including Planfix.

Connection

You can connect FreePBX to Planfix in two ways:

Note that the Planfix team does not configure Asterisk on the customer's side and does not provide consultations on such matters.

Planfix API for telephony

  • Using this method, you can only receive call events in Planfix, i.e., when a call occurs, a call card will appear in the active Planfix tab.
  • You cannot make calls from Planfix.
  • To obtain call recordings you additionally need to configure apache/nginx (step 5).


Step 1

On the server, edit /etc/asterisk/extensions_override_freepbx.conf (example file) so that it contains the following 3 contexts:

  • [macro-dialout-one-predial-hook]
  • [macro-dialout-trunk-predial-hook]
  • [macro-hangupcall]

For [macro-hangupcall], the exact form is not mandatory as in the example.

Find the [macro-hangupcall] context in extensions_additional.conf — copy it — and add the following line at the very beginning: 

exten => s,1,Macro(hangupcall-send-post)


Step 2

Copy all contexts from the example into extension_custom.conf. This can also be done via the FreePBX interface.


Step 3

Add 3 lines to globals_custom.conf and replace {…} with the appropriate values:

  • PBX_URL = {…} — URL of your PBX
  • PF_URL = {…} — address to receive requests
  • PF_KEY = {…} — Planfix authorization token


Step 4

  • In Planfix, go to Account management — Integrations — Virtual PBXs — Planfix API for telephony.
  • Fill in the PBX address so Planfix knows to accept events coming from that site or address.


Step 5

To get recordings you need to make them accessible externally via a web server. To do this using the Apache included in FreePBX, add a link to the recordings folder. The folder must have the correct owner, group and permissions — 775.

  • Create the link:
ln -s /var/spool/asterisk/monitor /var/www/html/monitor
  • Edit permissions and owner:
chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/monitor/
chown -R asterisk:asterisk /var/www/html/monitor/

If you use a build without Apache — configure a similar setup for your web server.

FreePBX Integration

(FreePBX 16+ / Asterisk 18+)

Before starting, insert the following into your custom settings file extensions_override_freepbx.conf: 

[macro-dialout-trunk-predial-hook]
exten => s,1,Gosub(planfix-mark-outbound,s,1)
same => n,MacroExit()

[planfix-mark-outbound]
exten => s,1,NoOp(Outgoing call from ${CALLERID(all)} to ${EXTEN})
same => n,Set(__CRM_DIRECTION=OUTBOUND)
same => n,NoOp(Setting CRM_DIRECTION=${CRM_DIRECTION})
same => n,Return()

[macro-dialout-one-predial-hook]
exten => s,1,Gosub(planfix-mark-inbound,s,1)
same => n,MacroExit()

[macro-dial-ringall-predial-hook]
exten => s,1,Gosub(planfix-mark-inbound,s,1)
same => n,MacroExit()

[planfix-mark-inbound]
exten => s,1,NoOp(Incoming call to ${EXTEN} from ${CALLERID(all)})
same => n,Set(__CRM_DIRECTION=INBOUND)
same => n,NoOp(Setting CRM_DIRECTION=${CRM_DIRECTION})
same => n,Return()

Step 1

Open FreePBX and add a user: Settings — Asterisk REST Interface Users — Add User.

Fill in the following fields:

  • REST Interface User Name: user name
  • REST Interface User Password: password
  • Password Type: Plain Text
  • Read Only: No

Copy (needed in step 4) and save.


Step 2

Add a manager: Settings — Asterisk Manager Users — Add Manager:

  • Name: name
  • Secret: leave default or set your own
  • It's best not to change the other settings.

Copy (needed in steps 4 and 6) and save.


Step 3

Save settings by clicking Apply Config in the upper right corner.


Step 4

Go in Planfix to Primary Account Admin — Integrations — Virtual PBXs — FreePBX.

Fill in:

  • PBX address: the URL of your PBX (including protocol and port where ARI is available)
  • ARI User Name: Name from step 1
  • ARI User Password: Password from step 1

Copy the receiving script URL and save the integration.


Step 5

On the server:

  • In /var/spool/asterisk/ create a symlink named recording to the monitor folder (in the same directory). Command:
ln –s /var/spool/asterisk/monitor /var/spool/asterisk/recording


Step 6

  • Go to /etc/asterisk/
  • Create a scripts folder if not already present
  • In the scripts folder create a file ami_listener.py


Step 7

Fill ami_listener.py according to the example, replacing:

  • Your_user_name: with the Name from step 2
  • Your_user_password: with the Secret from step 2
  • Your_planfix_endpoint_url: with the receiving script URL from step 4


Step 8

Make the file executable with:

chmod +x /etc/asterisk/scripts/ami_listener.py


Step 9

  • Go to /lib/systemd/system/
  • Create a file crm-asterisk-listener.service
  • Fill crm-asterisk-listener.service according to the example


Step 10

Add the file to autostart and start the service with the following commands:

sudo systemctl enable crm-asterisk-listener

sudo systemctl start crm-asterisk-listener


Working with older versions of Asterisk

For Asterisk 13+ you need to add additional properties to configuration files.

For /etc/asterisk/cdr.conf 

[general]
enable = yes
batch = no
unanswered = yes

For /etc/asterisk/cdr_manager.conf 

[general]
enable = yes
unanswered = yes

Note that call recordings retrieval will only work for Asterisk 14+.

Additional methods

You can call these methods yourself from the dialplan.


Getting information about supervisors

You can send a POST request to the URL specified in the integration containing:

Content-type: application/json

{"event": "callInfoRespNum", "uniqueId": "unique_call_id", "intNum": "short_PBX_extension", "extNum": "external_subscriber_number"}

You will receive in response:

{"responsibleNumbers":["short_number_of_responsible","short_number_of_second_responsible(if_any)"]}

OR

If for the contact:

  • there are no supervisors
  • short numbers are not assigned
  • the supervisor is the employee whose number was called ("short_PBX_extension")

Then the response will contain:

{"error":"no persons responsible"}


Missed call notification

  • To use this method, in the integration settings select — “Record missed calls only by a separate special request”:

7TWeHF.png


You can send a POST request to the URL specified in the integration containing:

Content-type: application/json
{"event": "callMissedNotify", "uniqueId": "unique_call_id", "intNum": "short_PBX_extension_to_receive_missed_call_notification", "extNum": "external_subscriber_number"}

If an employee with that short number exists, they will receive a missed call notification.

The POST request response will be empty.

Operation notes

  • Ensure the "panoramisk" library is installed for the script to work. It can be installed with 'pip install panoramisk'.


  • If the script does not start immediately or you made changes to ami_listener after running commands, the following may help:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart crm-asterisk-listener


  • To disable the integration, run:
sudo systemctl stop crm-asterisk-listener
sudo systemctl disable crm-asterisk-listener


  • In all connection methods you must have configured:
    • internal extensions (Extensions)
    • inbound and outbound routing (Inbound/Outbound Routes)


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