Call Forwarding

Node

Overview

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

• Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
• Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
• Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below.

Using XML

Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls.

How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the Dial XML element.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to set up a Node.js development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.

Create an Express server to forward incoming calls

Create a file called forward_call.js and paste into it this code.

var express = require('express')
var app = express()

app.post('/forward_call/', function(req, res) {
    var plivo = require('plivo');
    var response = plivo.Response();
    var dial = response.addDial();

    dial.addNumber("<destination_number>"); // call wll be forwarded to this number
    res.send(response.toXML());
})

app.set('port', (process.env.PORT || 5000));
app.listen(app.get('port'), function() {
    console.log('Node app is running on port', app.get('port'));
});

Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234).

Save the file and run it.

$ node forward_call.js

Create a Plivo application to forward calls

Associate the Go application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > Applications in the Plivo console and click on Add New Application, or use Plivo’s Application API.

Give your application a name — we called ours Forward Call. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example https://<yourdomain>.com/forward_call/) in the Answer URL field and set the method to POST. Click Create Application to save your application.

Assign a Plivo number to your application

Navigate to the Numbers page and select the phone number you want to use for this application.

From the Application Type drop-down, select XML Application.

From the Plivo Application drop-down, select Forward Call (the name we gave the application).

Click Update Number to save.

Test

Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides.

Ruby

Overview

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

• Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
• Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
• Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below.

Using XML

Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls.

How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the Dial XML element.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to set up a Ruby development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.

Create a Rails controller to forward incoming calls

Edit the app/controllers/plivo_controller.rb file and add this code in the PlivoController class:

def forward
   response = Response.new
   dial = response.addDial()
   dest_number = "<destination_number>"
   dial.addNumber(dest_number)

   xml = PlivoXML.new(response)
   puts xml.to_xml
   render xml: xml.to_xml
 end

Add a route

Add a route for the inbound function in the PlivoController class. Edit config/routes.rb and add this line after the inbound route:

get 'plivo/forward'

Now the controller is ready for inbound calls. Use this command to start the server to handle inbound calls.

$ rails server

Create a Plivo application to forward calls

Associate the Rails server you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > Applications in the Plivo console and click on Add New Application, or use Plivo’s Application API.

Give your application a name — we called ours Forward Call. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example https://<yourdomain>.com/forward_call/) in the Answer URL field and set the method to POST. Click Create Application to save your application.

Assign a Plivo number to your application

Navigate to the Numbers page and select the phone number you want to use for this application.

From the Application Type drop-down, select XML Application.

From the Plivo Application drop-down, select Forward Call (the name we gave the application).

Click Update Number to save.

Test

Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides.

Python

Overview

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

• Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
• Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
• Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below.

Using XML

Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls.

How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the Dial XML element.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to set up a Python development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.

Create a Flask server to forward incoming calls

Create a file called forward_call.py and paste into it this code.

from flask import Flask, request, make_response, Response
from plivo import plivoxml

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/forward_call/', methods=['GET', 'POST'])
def forwardcall():

    response = plivoxml.ResponseElement()
    response.add(
        plivoxml.DialElement().add(
            plivoxml.NumberElement('<destination_number>'))) // call wll be forwarded to this number
    return(response.to_string())

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(host='0.0.0.0', debug=True)

Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234).

Save the file and run it.

$ python forward_call.py

Create a Plivo application to forward calls

Associate the Python application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > Applications in the Plivo console and click on Add New Application, or use Plivo’s Application API.

Give your application a name — we called ours Forward Call. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example https://<yourdomain>.com/forward_call/) in the Answer URL field and set the method to POST. Click Create Application to save your application.

Assign a Plivo number to your application

Navigate to the Numbers page and select the phone number you want to use for this application.

From the Application Type drop-down, select XML Application.

From the Plivo Application drop-down, select Forward Call (the name we gave the application).

Click Update Number to save.

Test

Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides.

PHP

Overview

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

• Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
• Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
• Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below.

Using XML

Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls.

How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the Dial XML element.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to set up a PHP development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.

Create a Laravel server to forward incoming calls

Change to the project directory and run this command to create a Laravel controller for inbound calls.

$ php artisan make:controller VoiceController

The command generates a controller named VoiceController in the app/http/controllers/ directory. Edit the app/http/controllers/voiceController.php file and paste into it this code.

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;
require '../../vendor/autoload.php';
use Plivo\RestClient;
use Plivo\XML\Response;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class VoiceController extends Controller
{
    // Dial XML to forward the incoming call
    public function forwardCall()
    {
        $response = new Response();
        $params = array(
            'action' => "https://<yourdomain>.com/dial_status/",
            'method' => "POST",
            'redirect' => "true"
        );
        $dial = $response->addDial($params);
        $number = "<destination_number>";  // call will be forwarded to this number
        $dial->addNumber($number);
        Header('Content-type: text/xml');
        echo $response->toXML();
    }
}

Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234).

Create a Plivo application to forward calls

Associate the Laravel server you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > Applications in the Plivo console and click on Add New Application, or use Plivo’s Application API.

Give your application a name — we called ours Forward Call. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example https://<yourdomain>.com/forward_call/) in the Answer URL field and set the method to POST. Click Create Application to save your application.

Assign a Plivo number to your application

Navigate to the Numbers page and select the phone number you want to use for this application.

From the Application Type drop-down, select XML Application.

From the Plivo Application drop-down, select Forward Call (the name we gave the application).

Click Update Number to save.

Test

Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides.

.NET

Overview

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

• Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
• Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
• Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below.

Using XML

Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls.

How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the Dial XML element.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to set up a .NET development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.

Create an MVC controller to forward incoming calls

In Visual Studio, create a new project. Use the template for Web Application (Model-View-Controller). Navigate to the Controllers directory and create a controller called ForwardcallController.cs, and paste into it this code.

using System;
using Plivo.XML;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

namespace Receivecall
{
	public class ForwardcallController : Controller
	{
		public IActionResult Index()
		{
			Plivo.XML.Response resp = new Plivo.XML.Response();
			Plivo.XML.Dial dial = new Plivo.XML.Dial(new
				Dictionary<string, string>() {
			});

			dial.AddNumber("<destination_number>",
				new Dictionary<string, string>() { });
			resp.Add(dial);

			var output = resp.ToString();
			Console.WriteLine(output);

			return this.Content(output, "text/xml");
		}
	}
}

Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234).

Create a Plivo application to forward calls

Associate the .NET application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > Applications in the Plivo console and click on Add New Application, or use Plivo’s Application API.

Give your application a name — we called ours Forward Call. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example https://<yourdomain>.com/forward_call/) in the Answer URL field and set the method to POST. Click Create Application to save your application.

Assign a Plivo number to your application

Navigate to the Numbers page and select the phone number you want to use for this application.

From the Application Type drop-down, select XML Application.

From the Plivo Application drop-down, select Forward Call (the name we gave the application).

Click Update Number to save.

Test

Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides.

Java

Overview

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

• Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
• Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
• Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below.

Using XML

Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls.

How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the Dial XML element.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to set up a Java development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.

Create a Java server to forward incoming calls

Create a Java class called ForwardCall and paste into it this code.

import static spark.Spark.*;
import com.plivo.api.xml.Dial;
import com.plivo.api.xml.Number;
import com.plivo.api.xml.Response;

public class forwardcall {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        get("/forward_call/", (request, response) -> {
            String from_number = request.queryParams("From");
            response.type("application/xml");
            Response res = new Response()
                    .children(
                    new Dial()
                            .callerId(from_number)
                            .children(
                                    new Number("<destination_number>")
                            )
                    );
            // Returns the XML
            return res.toXmlString();
        });
    }
}

Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234).

Create a Plivo application to forward calls

Associate the Java application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > Applications in the Plivo console and click on Add New Application, or use Plivo’s Application API.

Give your application a name — we called ours Forward Call. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example https://<yourdomain>.com/forward_call/) in the Answer URL field and set the method to POST. Click Create Application to save your application.

Assign a Plivo number to your application

Navigate to the Numbers page and select the phone number you want to use for this application.

From the Application Type drop-down, select XML Application.

From the Plivo Application drop-down, select Forward Call (the name we gave the application).

Click Update Number to save.

Test

Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides.

Go

Overview

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

• Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
• Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
• Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below.

Using XML

Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls.

How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the Dial XML element.

Prerequisites

To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to set up a Go development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.

Create a Go server to forward incoming calls

Create a file called forward_call.go and paste into it this code.

package main

import (
	"net/http"
	"plivo-go/xml"
)

func handler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
	response := xml.ResponseElement{
		Contents: []interface{}{
			new(xml.DialElement).
				SetContents(
					[]interface{}{
						new(xml.NumberElement).
							SetContents("<destination_number>"),
					},
				),
		},
	}
	w.Write([]byte(response.String()))
}

func main() {
	http.HandleFunc("/forward_call/", handler)
	http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil)
}

Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234).

Save the file and run it.

$ go run forward_call.go

Create a Plivo application to forward calls

Associate the Go application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > Applications in the Plivo console and click on Add New Application, or use Plivo’s Application API.

Give your application a name — we called ours Forward Call. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example https://<yourdomain>.com/forward_call/) in the Answer URL field and set the method to POST. Click Create Application to save your application.

Assign a Plivo number to your application

Navigate to the Numbers page and select the phone number you want to use for this application.

From the Application Type drop-down, select XML Application.

From the Plivo Application drop-down, select Forward Call (the name we gave the application).

Click Update Number to save.

Test

Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides.