Most paging companies support only one protocol for issuing messages to numeric pages. That is, a phone number (issued to the pager) is dialed. The paging computer answers the phone and announces its readiness by a tone or by a voice recording. Then, touch-tone signals are sent that correspond to the numbers intended for the pager display.
This protocol is called DTMF, and PageMaster/ex must use this protocol for sending numeric pages. There are two ways that paging service providers implement DTMF for paging. The first method is used when the paging provider has issued a dedicated phone number for the pager. The second is used when the paging company provides a central phone number for all numeric pagers, and a PIN number must be used to specify which pager is to receive the page.
This method is used when the paging company has issued a dedicated phone number to the pager. The following properties are required when using this method, and are detailed below:
| PHONE NUMBER | The dedicated pager phone number |
| DELAY | The delay between dialing the phone number and sending the message |
| SEPARATOR | The touch-tone character used to generate a dash on the pager |
PHONE NUMBER is the dedicated pager phone number. PageMaster/ex begins by dialing this number. After dialing, PageMaster/ex must wait until the paging company signals it readiness by issuing a tone or voice prompt. Unfortunately, modems do not have the capability to detect the "readiness" signal. Therefore PageMaster/ex, after dialing the pager number, will pause for a specified number of seconds (the DELAY property) before sending the touch-tone codes that represent the message. Eight seconds (the default setting) is usually sufficient, but this figure may need to be customized for the pager.
The SEPARATOR property specifies the touch-tone character used to display a dash (-) on the numeric pager display. Most paging companies use the * key. However, some paging companies use the * to cancel a page. If this is the case with this pager, this property should be cleared so that no separator character is used.
This method is used when the paging company has issued a central phone number used by all pagers, and a unique PIN number. For these systems, PageMaster/ex will dial the number, delay for the specified duration, send the PIN number, delay for another specified duration, and then send the display message. The following properties are required when using this method, and are detailed below:
| PHONE NUMBER | The central paging provider number |
| DELAY | The delay between dialing the phone number and sending the PIN |
| PIN DELAY | The delay between sending the PIN and sending the message |
| SEPARATOR | The touch-tone character used to generate a dash on the pager |
PHONE NUMBER is the central paging provider phone number. PageMaster/ex begins by dialing this number. After dialing, PageMaster/ex must wait until the paging company signals it readiness by issuing a tone or voice prompt. Unfortunately, modems do not have the capability to detect the "readiness" signal. Therefore PageMaster/ex, after dialing the pager number, will pause for a specified number of seconds (the DELAY property) before sending the touch-tone codes that represent the PIN. Eight seconds (the default setting) is usually sufficient, but this figure may need to be customized for the pager. PageMaster/ex must then pause (the PIN DELAY property) before the paging system is ready to receive the touch-tone codes that represent the page message. The default is two seconds, but may need to be increased for some paging systems.
The SEPARATOR property specifies the touch-tone character used to display a dash (-) on the numeric pager display. Most paging companies use the * key. However, some paging companies use the * to cancel a page. If this is the case with this pager, this property should be cleared so that no separator character is used.
In either method, the modem is being used as a simple dialer, and has no way to detect the status of the line other than a no dial tone or busy signal condition. As such, the delay properties are critical to proper delivery of the message. The only way to adjust these properties is to listen to the activity using the modem’s speaker and adjust the values accordingly.