Linux Networking Cookbook

5.10. Recording Custom Prompts

Problem

You've done a bit of research on how to create your own custom prompts for Asterisk, and you know that Digium will sell you nice, professionally recorded custom prompts for a reasonable fee. You know that you can go nuts with recording gear and do it yourself. Both sound like nice options, but for now, you just want quick and cheap.

Solution

You can have quick and cheap. You'll need sound support on your Asterisk server. This can be a sound card plus a microphone and speakers, or a sound card and headset, or a USB headset. (A USB headset replaces a sound card, microphone, and speakers.) Or, call into your server from a client's phone. Then you'll create a context in Asterisk just for recording custom prompts.

First, create two new directories:

	# mkdir /var/lib/asterisk/sounds/local
	# mkdir /var/lib/asterisk/sounds/tmp

Then, create this context for recording your custom prompts in /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf:

	[record-prompts]
	;record new voice files
	exten => s,1,Wait(2)
	exten => s,2,Record(tmp/newrecord:gsm)
	exten => s,3,Wait(2)
	exten => s,4,Playback(tmp/newrecord)
	exten => s,5,wait(2)
	exten => s,6,Hangup

	;record new messages
	exten => 350,1,Goto(record-prompts,s,1)

Reload the dialplan:

	asterisk1*CLI> dialplan reload

Now, dial 350. You will hear only a beep—start talking after the beep, then hit the pound key when you're finished. It will replay your new message, then hang up. The first file you're going to record should be an instructional file that ...