I’ve been playing with VOIP products a lot recently. For instance, I learned you can make VOIP calls through Gizmo5 [registration currently closed] using your Google Voice number. That’s pretty handy when you’re in another country – so long as you’ve got wifi, you’ve got a US phone number. For free. Since Google purchased Gizmo5, I expect we’ll see some interesting offerings when the product is re-launched.
But I digress. As great as the above combo is, I still often connect with others using Skype. This lead me to start collecting their IDs on the contact record. From there it is pretty simple to create a URL to dial them through Skype directly.
Skype ID is a text field. Skype URL is a formula field using the following:
IF( LEN(Skype_ID__c) > 0, HYPERLINK("skype:" & Skype_ID__c & "?call", "Skype " & Skype_ID__c ), "No Skype ID")
This can also be implemented as a button using this code:
skype:{!Contact.Skype_ID__c}?call
Happy dialing. Cheers,
John
Tags: gizmo5·Google·salesforce·skype·voip
I am typically not doing a ton of programming, but when I do I like to use meaningful (long) variable names, and frequently mistype them. Woe was me, until…
I type: pb# and the code is translated automatically.
The configuration is really simple:
So far I have used this mostly for shortening email addresses, company names, and URLs. But when I fired up a DE tonight for some light code testing it hit me that this could be a huge time/pain saver for you heavy coders out there.
PhraseExpress is Windows only (Mac users can try TextExpander), free for non-commercial use, $49.95 otherwise.
Note: PhraseExpress v7 was recently released, includes Windows 7 support and new features.
Tags: phraseexpress·time saver
Check out the developerforce wiki for some great cheat sheets. I can see how these would be an absolute lifesaver, especially during the initial learning process.
[edit: updated URL]
http://developer.force.com/cheatsheets
[edit: Direct to PDF shortcuts removed by request]
Tags: apex·cheat sheets·visualforce·wsdl
It’s Not About Technology, It’s About Ideas
The Ideas platform provides a method to collect feedback from end users, consumers, and other influencers of a product or service. The goal of ideas is to create a collaboration platform to prioritize requests and highlight delivery of past requests.
Examples of this platform in action:
http://ideas.salesforce.com
http://www.mystarbucksidea.com/
You could use this platform in any number of ways; here are a few examples:
- A suggestion box for your company
- Prioritize software feature requests from your end users
- Use customer/partner portals to collect and prioritize product feedback from outside of your company
[Read more →]
Tags: ideas
I passed the developer exam a little over a month ago, and have finally gotten around to posting my notes. These notes can serve as a great supplement to the 401 podcast. The exam itself is pretty straightforward, more situation-based than the admin exam, and there is definitely overlapping subject matter between the two. Good luck! Drop me a line with any thoughts/comments.
Tags: Certified Developer
I’ve been playing with VOIP products a lot recently. For instance, I learned you can make VOIP calls through Gizmo5 [registration currently closed] using your Google Voice number. That’s pretty handy when you’re in another country – so long as you’ve got wifi, you’ve got a US phone number. For free. Since Google purchased Gizmo5, I expect we’ll see some interesting offerings when the product is re-launched.
