2009-06-22 15:13:28Version .30 released. FOP2 is born.   
I have just released FOP 0.30, this version works reasonably well with Asterisk 1.6. There are no new features. It is a maintenance and compatiblity release.

I would also like to inform you that FOP2 is born. It is the next generation FOP. A complete rewrite focused on the user and taking into account all what I learned throughout the years.

Please visit http://www.fop2.com to read more about it.

FOP1 will not be discontinued. I will keep mantaining it but I won't be adding any new features. I will fix bugs and make it work with future asterisk releases.

  2008-06-12 16:18:13Version 0.29 released   
This version fixes the "red/green flashing problem" that is experienced by using the latest Flash Player from Adobe.

So, if you have some machines that work ok, and some that have problems, then you will need to update FOP to this version, or install an older version of the flash player on the affected machines, but I do not recommend that since Adobe patched a security issue in the last version, so you should be updating all of your flash players together with FOP.

If you use FreePBX (that is, trixbox, elastix or some other distribution that includes it) you have to replace only op_server.pl and operator_panel.swf and then add one line to op_server.cfg:

use_amportal_conf=1

just below the [general] section.

All those files are inside /var/www/html/panel. And finally issue a "killall op_server.pl" at the linux console to restart the panel.
  2008-03-31 10:18:28.28 is out   
Ok, just tagged a new version. There are lots of bug fixes, mostly to make fop work with asterisk 1.4. I will be making a new branch shortly for 1.6. Some new features:
  • spyext (in op_button.cfg): adds a new extension and drop target. You drop a phone into the ARROW and it will originate a call to the spyext context@extension. You can fire chan_spy from there.
  • Use native park commands for asterisk 1.4, so parking works as expected.. bounces and announces to the correct side, etc.
  • no_label_counter in op_buttons.cfg (prevents counting on multiple position labels). So you do not end with "my label 1", "my label 2" if you don't need that incremental number.
  • removed dhtmltooltip in dhtml panel and replaced it with wz_tooltip due to license restrictions (particulary for debian)
  • Add "include" support in op_server.cfg, so you can include files.
  • Add passvars parameter (in op_server.cfg) to pass extra values to popups (Eg. passvars=FROM_DID to pass the DID variable for popups)
  • use_amportal_conf in op_server.cfg to parse /etc/amportal conf for FOP configuration overriding op_server.cfg values
  • And several others as mentioned in the Changelog
  2007-03-19 11:43:45.27 First SVN Release   
Several new features added, too many to list. Now that I am moving to SVN we will hopefully have a more detailed view of changes, revisions, etc. Some of the new features:
  • Timer Alarms (popup when a button timer exceeds a defined interval
  • Improved handling of ASTDB states and Userevent
  • Fixes for making it work with 1.4
  • Autosip button improvements. You can have one block for configuring several sip buttons automatically.
  • Groupcount for buttons, to show number of calls beign made over that trunk instead of latest clid
  • Attendant transfers (sortof)
  • Add callerid name to clidformat
  • Wildcard server monitoring (to monitor a channel name no matter the server it lives on)
Now that we are living on svn, the idea is to release more often, and add a trac site.
  2006-05-09 22:02:20.26 Eye candy, DHTML client, transfer to voicemail   
Please refer to the CHANGES file for more details.

  • DTHML client: There is now included a DHTML client. It is actually an hybrid client where real time communication is handled by an invisible flash movie and the presentation is done entirely using DHTML/CSS and Javascript. It allows you to develop completely customized panels using just web technology. No need to learn ming/flash! The current version allows you only to monitor status, not perform actions.
  • Eye candy: it is possible to specify individual button backgrounds with external .jpg files. Together with enable_label_background you can have nice results like in the live demo. You can also scroll when you have too many buttons, just move your mouse to the right edge and see it in action.
  • Transfer directly to voicemail: you can now drag a phone over the MWI icon and it will transfer the call directly to the voicemail extension for that button (if defined). Use VoiceMailExt in each op_buttons.cfg entry.
  • Callerid Privacy per button: first pass at enabling individual button clid privacy. Just set Privacy=true in op_buttons.cfg for each button you want to protect.
  • Improved agent status: you can watch agent status more accurately, including Paused agents. Set agent_status=1 in op_server.cfg.
  • Several bug fixes, internal refactoring, profiling and optimizations. I have removed some duplicate code and unused variables.
The Flash Operator Panel was the first truly multiplatform realtime display for a PBX enabling drag&drop transfers and actions and it is the only one GPL'd. The project has more than two years in existance. I have put countless hours of work. Please consider making a donation or hiring me for custom work, sponsored development, etc. More information in the services tab.
  2006-03-13 17:19:08.25 New button types and link mania!   

I decided to release .25 after several months. There are lots of changes and new features. I tried to update the online documentation a bit to keep up with the progress/changes.

Particullary, we have now some new button types; new style options that lets you have more than 600 buttons on one screen, etc.

I will try to "release more often" from now on.

  2005-09-12 11:49:20.24 Bugfix release   
As I was expecting, an overlooked tiny bug slipped out on .23. This version fixes it. Now, the security code validation must work for everybody.
  2005-09-09 18:51:26.23 Internationalization, command line options   
Please refer to the CHANGES file for more details.

  • Internationalization support. FOP is now translated into some languages. Please contribute your language file to be included in the distribution.
  • Command line parameters. Run op_server.pl -h for a full list. Now its easy to specify a custom logdir, pid file, debug level, etc.
  • web_hostname setting is now optional. That means that is much easier to get it working and it overcomes the internal/external view problem that many people were having.
  • Popups via UserEvent can be limited to only one button/viewer.
  • New style parameters, to set the color for label, legends, callerid and timer.
  • It uses less CPU when monitoring heavy asterisk boxes
  • New event_mask parameter, to filter out unwanted/unneeded manager events
  • FOP now tries to keep track and displays the number of agents logged into a queue.
  • Several bug fixes, internal refactoring, profiling and optimizations..
  2005-05-29 12:43:17.21 Regexp buttons, ASTDB and more   
There are too many changes to list in here. Please refer to the CHANGES file for more details.

  • Regexp buttons: they replace wildcard buttons, they are much powerfull
  • Reworked some button matching routines, now it should support Modem[i4l], oh323/*, mISDN, etc.
  • Configurable/Selectable absolute timeout for transferred calls
  • Background image (background.jpg 996x600)
  • Added callerid name in screen popups
  • Works well with Asterisk HEAD without using special flags
  • Added actions to be fired from asterisk dialplan, as screen pops, change led color, etc.
  • Added support for changing buttons states based on astdb values (see RECIPES for examples)
  • Several bug fixes, internal refactoring, profiling and optimizations..
  2005-02-22 18:52:32.20 Multiple server monitoring   
  • Multiple server monitoring: you can monitor many asterisk servers at once and look at the status of your extensions from multiple servers in just one screen
  • Wildcard buttons: you can define buttons like SIP/* to match all SIP channels.
  • You can monitor park slots by using [PARKXXX] where XXX is the park slot number.
  • New option to start muted when barging in (barge_muted in op_server.cfg)
  • You can add text legends to the panel
  • The linked buttons are highlighted when you mouseover them
  • You can specify a channel in the dial parameter for click-to-dial, thus making it easier to setup (so you don't have to know the button number on FOP)
  • Added the option to hide the callerid/called number (callerid_privacy in op_server.cfg)
  • Added the option to show the ip address of sip and iax peers (show_ip in op_server.cfg)
  2004-11-04 15:09:54.19 configuration improvements   
  • Improved call details, now there is a queue/agent information window and last call details window.
  • Bugfixes and visual layout tweaks. You can set the highlight color.
  • You can define a distinct style for each panel context. See op_style.cfg
  • You can include files in op_buttons.cfg with the keyword include =>
  • The swf client is compressed and much smaller.
  • When op_server.pl reconnects, it closes flash clients sockets to force a reconnect and update on the client status.
  2004-10-29 14:31:12.18 Click-to-Dial and more   
Please NOTE: The MING swf client is now the default client. All the new features work with the new client only.

Due to public preasure ;-) I'm releasing this new version now. I did not have the chance to test the new features as I liked, please do the testing for me and report back!

Some exciting new featues are introduced:
  • Click-to-Dial: You can use javascript to make links in a web page that fire a dial command via FOP
  • IAX status polling
  • Configurable LED colors
  • More agent status options
  • Draw rectangles below or above buttons

Enjoy! (Please consider making a donation if you like the program)
  2004-10-21 20:38:58.17 Bug fix release   
Fixed the reload button on the ming client and added polling of agent status on connect.

Also my first attemp on displaying individual agent details..
  2004-10-20 19:36:23.16 Ming Port and Agent Login   
I have ported the flash client to Ming. The source is included and is GPL like op_server.pl. The Ming port is fully functional, it might have some rough edges. The fonts are handled differently. See CHANGES and UPGRADE for details.

New features:
  • FOP can change the button labels for logged in agents
  • Encryption is now optional
  • FOP can poll for voicemail as well for sip peers
There are a couple of bugfixes too: the parked channels work again, and the ringing state too.

If you enjoy FOP or find it useful, please consider making a donation. Thanks to everyone who already have!
  2004-10-01 10:48:22.15 Asterisk 1.0 is here!   
Now that we have Asterisk 1.0, it's time to release the new version of FOP.
  • It looks better and has some animations
  • The timers are polled now from Asterisk, if you load the panel, the ongoing conversations will show the correct duration.
  • You have more information available for each call and for call queues. (available when you double click on the arrow after a call is finished)
  • You can now mute/unmute meetme members, also by double clicking the arrow.
  • The security code is now entered in a more intuitive way. You also have visual feedback about the status of the panel (locked: you can perform actions; unlocked: you need to enter the correct security code)
  • The panel context are further separated. Now you can have a different security code for each context, a different directory and domain, and distinct meetme rooms for bargein.
  • I have implemented some security, messages from server to client are encrypted, and MD5 is used when authenticating with asterisk manager and for the security code. It is not SSL, but its a start.
  • You can use the Local channel in buttons to perform different actions, like originating a call to go inside a Meetme, speed dials, etc.
  • Supports for register / unregister / unreachable / lagged realtime events for SIP and IAX peers
  • You can restrict the drag and drop commands to one button only, see index-restrict.html in the html subdirectory. Enjoy!
  2004-07-29 18:22:20.14 RC1 compatibility and details   
The new version is compatible with Asterisk 1 RC1 as the IAX naming convention has changed from IAX2[user] to IAX2/user

There are lots of improvements in the flash side, plus more detail on ongoing calls. A little arrow showing the direction of the call, and if you double click that arrow after the call, a little window will show the status for the last call.

I have fixed many bugs. Now parked extensions should display correctly. It is possible to transfer a parked extension via drag&drop.

See CHANGES and UPGRADE for more info.
  2004-07-12 11:45:31.13 Duration Timer and bugfixes   
I fixed two annoying bugs introduced with version 0.12: the drag and drop was erratic because of the incorrect height of a text field in the flash client and the initial status was discarded by the panel because it sent its context request after the status were generated.

New feature: timers on each button, showing the duration of the call. You need to add four new parameters to op_style.cfg, see UPGRADE

The trunk feature has bugs, I still need to sort them out. I also found that Asterisk CVS prior to July 11th had problems creating SIP channels. An upgrade to Asterisk CVS as of yesterday is adviced.
  2004-07-05 18:37:08.12 Caller ID in each button   
Included in this version is the ability to display the caller id in each button, so you don't have to hover the button to see who's calling.

The handling of events was rewriten, and the internal status of the panel is now properly cleaned. Previous version will slowly 'leak' memory because of a bug related to this that its now fixed.

The status information sent to the flash clients is now only for the context they requested on initial connection. In previous version the status was 'broadcasted', so in the debug window you could see the events related to another context.

You can now see the status of meetme and queues on initial connect.

The debug ouput was cleaned up a bit, its now easier to read. I have added another option to see debug info, by sending an USR1 signal to the server. It will display the number of flash clients connected and the internal state of the panel.
  2004-06-29 16:07:08.11 Trunk buttons and CRM integration   
You can have a trunk button. Its a normal button, but you specify more than one button number, separated with semicolons. The button will break out in all those slots, and show each session in a different button.

CRM Integration: you can now monitor a specific button for 'ringing', when it rings, it will load a web page with the caller id of the caller. See the online documentation for detailed information.
  2004-06-22 19:26:31.10 Multiple Contexts   
Now you can have different contexts in the panel. This means that you can have only one op_server.pl running, and multiple instances of flash clients, with different displays each. Ideal for hosted PBXs, etc.

It also fixes important bugs, adds a 'parked' state for channels, adds support for regenerating configuration files in the server without the need to restart it (send a HUP signal to the op_server.pl and it will regenerate the configuration files)

The flash movie has a 'reload' button for reading the configuration files again. Its a step closer to a visual layout configuration from flash, together with a little cosmetic change in the toolbar layout.
  2004-06-08 10:00:20.09 How many voicemails?   
This version can display the number of new and old messages waiting in a user mailbox. Just drag your mouse over the 'envelope' and the information will be displayed in the status bar.

You can also specify the context for each extension. This solves the transfer problem some people where having (because the extension number was not reachable from the default context)

When originating a call, the caller id is set (with the extension number and the button label)