UIUC 800 Numbers: Mac OS 9 Dialing Instructions

What you'll need in order to connect

• A Macintosh OS 9 computer with a modem
• Your personal access number (provided to you with the paperwork for the UIUC 800 number application)
• The UIUC 800 number: 1-800-782-4800
• The UIUC dialup modem numbers:
  • 239-7252 for Premier users (designed not to have busy signals)
    or
  • 333-3700 for free dialup (busy signals likely at high-demand times)
• A working dialup configuration which allows you to connect to either Premier or free dialup from within the 217 area code (see the note below for more information).
  

Note: If you haven't yet configured your system for regular dial-up networking to campus (without the 800 number), you should make sure that part of your configuration is working first. See Macintosh OS 9 Dialup Networking for instructions.

Configuring your system to connect to campus modems through an 800 number

For most users, 800 number access to campus dialup pools is a special case rather than the everyday method of making a network connection. There's also no need to use 800 number access from within the 217 area code. Therefore, we'll be defining a "travel" location which is outside the 217 area code and a special "UIUC 800" calling card in your calling rules.

After you've created your regular dialup configuration as noted above, you can use DialAssist to create a custom calling card for your 800-number access.

DialAssist

DialAssist helps you manage your calling configurations by allowing you to put prefixes and suffixes behind whichever access number you've chosen to use, without changing the number itself. When at home, you dial directly, without DialAssist; when traveling, you choose a profile from the Long Distance Access list.

Under the Apple menu, go to the Control Panel and select DialAssist.

A window like the following opens (except that the UIUC 800 configuration won't have been created yet):

In the DialAssist window, select the Long Distance button. A window like the following will open:

Click the Add button. A window like the following will open:

Fill in the blanks as follows:

Label: UIUC 800

Number: 1 800 782 4800 W [your personal access number] W 9,
[555555555 is used in the place of the personal access number in this example.]

Click OK until you return to the DialAssist window.

Checking your new dialing rules

Before you travel outside the local dialing area, you can test your dialing rules from home to make sure that your modem connects correctly with this configuration. If your modem doesn't connect correctly, try replacing the Ws with two commas (,,). You can also try the troubleshooting measures in the Calling Cards page.

To use your 800 configuration, open DialAssist and select UIUC 800 from the list of long distance options.

After that, continue with your regular connection process. Your computer will dial the UIUC 800 connection sequence before it dials the UIUC modem pool phone number you normally use.

Returning from the trip and customizing for other locations

To return to your regular home configuration, return to the DialAssist window. Click on the list which shows the UIUC 800 number location, and select none instead. The phone number will be dialed as usual, without the additional numbers in front of it.

Similarly, you can later turn the UIUC 800 number back on by selecting the UIUC 800 location from this list.

Other options

The descriptions presented above assume that you will begin your dialing string either directly with the UIUC 1-800 number or with 9-1-800. However, some locations require other calling sequences -- for example, some hotels require you to dial 8 before the 1-800 number; others use 109 or a different number entirely.

Check with the hotel or office you're calling from in order to determine the correct sequence of numbers to be dialed before the UIUC 1-800 number at that particular location.

Note also that the UIUC 1-800 number is only useful within the United States; if calling from a foreign country, you'll need to dial a different sequence of numbers, and your modem may or may not be able to communicate with their phone lines. For more information about modem dialup from international locations, see Network Access for Travelers.