Voices for Outbound Telephony

You can choose to use human-voice .wav files for outbound telephony messages, or computer-generated SAPI (Speech Application Programming Interface) voice .wav files that derive their message text directly from the Polaris database.

Human Voice Messages

If you want to use human-voice messages, you can use the default set of .wav files that Polaris provides or you can record your own. When you install telephony software on the telephony server, you indicate your preference for using human voice files. The .wav files are stored in the following location on the telephony server:

C:\ProgramData\Polaris\[version]\[datalink]WaveFiles\Outbound\
[language folder]

where [language folder] is a number that corresponds to a specific language:

If you use multi-lingual notification, there is a set of .wav files for each licensed language in the appropriate language folder.

Note:
When you use human voice recordings for the static portions of your messages, the system still uses text-to-speech technology for message content that changes, such as specific title information or hold pickup locations.

If you record your own .wav files, name them exactly as they are named in the existing language folders and place them in the appropriate language folders, overwriting the default set. Polaris Telephony Voice Recorder, a utility for recording telephony .wav files, is available for conveniently recording .wav files.

Important:
Back up your custom .wav files in a safe location. Although they are not overwritten if the telephony service is stopped and restarted, they are not protected if the server software must be reinstalled.

SAPI Voice Messages

When you use computer-generated SAPI voice messages, the system converts message text stored in the Polaris database to speech. You may prefer to use SAPI voice messages because you can customize the stored message text with the Polaris Language Editor. You do not need to record new .wav files to customize messages. For details, see Edit a SAPI Voice Message with Polaris Language Editor.

When you install telephony software on the telephony server, you do not select the human voice file option. Instead, the system creates the file structure described in Human Voice Messages, but no .wav files are included. When the service is run for the first time, or when the service is restarted, the message text in the Polaris database is converted to audible speech and stored in new .wav files, one .wav file per message. The .wav files are cached in the appropriate folders to reduce processing time for all calls after the first one. If you edit a message, you must delete the associated .wav file for the message before you restart the outbound telephony service. The .wav file is located in C:\ProgramData\Polaris\[version]\[datalink]WaveFiles\Outbound\[language folder]. The edited message is converted to a new .wav file when the service restarts.

You select SAPI voices and adjust volume and rate with telephony parameters. See Set SAPI Voice Parameters for Outbound Telephony.