What is Number Rewriting?

Number rewriting is a powerful tool allowing you to manipulate the numbers dialed from SpectrumVoIP Stratus Softphone App. The main purpose of the feature is to allow you to utilize your native contacts without having to add new entries. Since numbers dialed from your SIP account may need to be dialed differently than they are from your native GSM number, this can be very useful. It can also be used to make sure certain numbers are dialed from a specific account on the client, regardless of what account is currently active for outbound calls.

You can access number rewriting from both the preferences menu. 

Number rewriting works by creating rules. For the rules, you will create Conditions and Actions. This basically works in the way - if 'condition', then 'action'. Each rule can potentially have multiple conditions and actions. It's as customizable as you would like it to be. I'll go over what each condition and action means, then give a couple examples of popular uses of the feature.

Conditions

• Starts With - If the number starts with what you put here, then the action will be applied.
• Doesn't Start With - If the number doesn't start with what you put here, then the action will be applied.
• Equals - If the number is exactly what you put here, then the action will be applied.
• Length Equals - If the number is the same length as what you put here, then the action will be applied. For example, if you put 7 here, all numbers with 7 digits will apply the action.
• Shorter Than - If the number is shorter than what you type here, the action will be applied
• Longer Than - If the number is longer than what you type here, the action will be applied.

Actions

• Replace With - Whatever you typed in the condition will be replaced with what you put here.
• Prepend - The number will be prepended with what you put here
• Append - The number will be appended with what you put here
• Try Others - Rules are gone through in descending order from the first on the list to the last. Normally, once a number meets a condition, only the actions of that condition will be completed. Try others assures that actions for any other rules that the number meets the conditions for will be applied as well. 
• Override Dial-Out Account (only available in the advanced settings for the SIP Account) - Any number that meets the conditions will use this SIP Account for the call, regardless of what account is currently active for outbound calls.

Example Use Cases

Say the numbers in your contacts are stored with just the area code and number (e.g. 904 555 1212), but you need them to be dialed with a 1 first when you dial them from your SIP Account (e.g 1 904 555 1212). Go to number rewriting in preferences if you want this rule to be applied to all SIP Accounts, go to number rewriting in the advanced settings for the SIP Account if you want the rule to apply to only one account. Tap on the plus to add a rule. Tap on the + to add a condition and select Starts With and type in 904. Tap done. Tap on the + to add an action and select Prepend and type in 1. Tap done. Then all numbers beginning with a 904 area code will automatically be prepended with a 1. 
This is just a basic example of this type of use. You can program the rules to add country codes, replace + with 00, etc. the feature is very customizable.

Another popular use is to use number rewriting to make sure certain numbers are dialed by certain accounts. There are many reasons why someone would want to do this but I'll give a specific example here.

Say you have several SIP Accounts. You have several people you call regularly in France and one of your SIP Accounts has very good rates for calls to France and you want to be sure all calls to France go through this account. Fortunately, all your French numbers are in the correct format for your SIP provider (e.g. beginning with 0033), but you want an easy way to make sure that all French numbers will go through this account. Go to the advanced settings for the SIP Account you want the numbers to use and tap on number rewriting. Tap on the + to add a rule. Tap on the + to add a condition, select Starts with and type 0033. Tap done. Tap on the + to add an action and select Override Dial-Out Account. Now all numbers beginning with 0033 will always be dialed with this SIP Account. Just like my previous example this a basic example, you can be much more specific with the rule if you like.

Note: Number rewriting is a very powerful tool and can be very useful. But be careful when creating rules. An unthought out rule may cause you trouble making calls in the future. Also, remember that number rewriting will also affect numbers dialed directly from the keypad, not just your contacts.

Please note: This feature is currently only available in the iOS version. We expect to add it to the Android version, but it could be some time.