Windows 2000 Quick Fixes

Using a credit card for dialing

You might expect that configuring Windows 2000 to dial using a credit card would be easy, but that isn’t always the case. When you throw in the fact that there are lots of different credit cards, each with its own access number, the task gets a little more difficult.

Set up and use a credit card for dialing

Setting up a dialing card isn’t too tough, but there are a few steps to follow. You make the necessary changes through the properties for the dial-up connection. Since you might be dialing the same connection locally as well as from remote locations, the following steps assume you want to create a location specifically for using a credit card:

1. Open the Network and Dial-Up Connections folder, right-click the dial-up connection, and choose Properties.

2. On the General page, select the option “Use dialing rules,” then click Rules to open the Dialing Rules property sheet.

3. Click New and type Credit Card in the Location name field (or use a name of your choice).

4. In the Area code field, type the area code from which you’ll be dialing. Don’t worry if you dial from different area codes. Windows 2000 uses this value to determine whether or not to treat the call as long distance.

5. If you need to dial a number to get an outside line, such as dialing 8 in a hotel prior to dialing out, enter the number in the “To access an outside line for long-distance calls, dial:” field.

6. Click the Calling Card tab and look in the Card Types list for the type of calling card you’re ...