Goodmorning,

I'm trying to let PRTG call through Skype but I'm having a strange behaviour.
I tried two kind of call:

  • A BAT file with this instruction:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" /callto:nickname}}}
  • A BAT file that call a C# program that call the instruction:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" /callto:nickname}}}

Each bat if launched by doubleclick works (start Skype and start a call to "nickname") but if I create a notification with "Execute program" it doesn't work.

I logged and see that the notification successfully start 

Call Skype Andrea	Notification Info	
Status sending EXE:Ok (Sensor/Source/ID: 2853/2853/3)

Why this doesn't work?

Article Comments

Dear AndreaM

Please go to Logs | System Events | Notifications. Which error message are you getting for this notification?


Jul, 2016 - Permalink

Good afternoon,

it doesn't show any error as I wrote in my previous post it only report this: 14/07/2016 14:19:43 None Notification Call Skype Andrea Notification Info Status sending EXE:Ok (Sensor/Source/ID: 2853/2853/3


Jul, 2016 - Permalink

Dear AndreaM

Right.

PRTG runs a service without having a GUI context. That means it cannot start an application which interacts with the desktop. Please look if there is a commandline tool to generate a Skype call. Interactive / GUI applications cannot be started.


Jul, 2016 - Permalink

Good afternoon,

there's a command, usable in command line, to launch a Skype call: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" /callto:nickname

I also tried put this command in a BAT but PRTG launch the BAT (logging the "OK") but nothing happens.


Jul, 2016 - Permalink

Dear AndreaM

I assume this is the default Skype.exe, meaning a GUI application. Those cannot be started from a service which runs without a GUI context. Doing it indirectly via a bat file doesn't help, I am sorry. Only commandline-only tools can be run.

For example, a (though complicated) solution would be to use the Windows scheduler. Use a script to configure a schedule to run Skype.exe once. Since the actual application then is started via the scheduler, not by the PRTG core service, it should work.


Jul, 2016 - Permalink

It could be great if we can launch even GUI applications. A voice notification with Skype would be awesome!


Jul, 2016 - Permalink

Dear AndreaM

That would be nice, but there are some reasons why we don't offer it. The main reasons is that a Windows service with no GUI context takes less resources.

PRTG comes with an array of notification options, including HTTP POST, SMS, Push Notification and of course E-Mail. All these notifications are under tight control by PRTG. Allowing to start just any application can cause stability issues in some cases.

As a workaround in your case you could try to create a system which plays a particular sound when an email with a particular subject arrives. That is not easy to set up, but it would work with the notification options provided by PRTG.


Jul, 2016 - Permalink