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Get Started

CallGraph Skype Recorder has been successfully installed on your PC. This page provides resources, troubleshooting tips and recommendations to help you use get started and use CallGraph effectively for your purposes.

Brief

• Follow these instructions to authorize CallGraph to connect to Skype
• Run the interactive demo to record a test call
• Change the recording settings from configuration -> recording tab to suit your preferences
• Change the folder where the recorded files will be saved
• Check the FAQ for resolution of common issues.
• Learn about the known issues with this version of CallGraph Skype Recorder

Authorizing Skype Access

CallGraph requires to be authorized to connect to Skype so that it can record both sides of the Skype call. The authorization has to be done manually. An illustrated guide follows (click on the images to view the enlarged version).

Step 1: Go to Skype -> Tools -> Options.

Step 2: Click on ‘Advanced’ tab on the left navigation bar and click on the ‘Manage other programs access to Skype’ link at the bottom of this window.

Step 3: Highlight CallGraph.exe Recorder and click on the ‘Change’ button. If CallGraph is not listed there, then try restarting both CallGraph and Skype.

Step 4: Select ‘Allow this program to use Skype’ and click on the OK button.

Step 5: Wait till CallGraph system tray icon shows a green tick mark and toolbar has the message ‘Ready to record’ at the bottom.

For troubleshooting Skype connection issues check this post on our blog.

Please also note that it takes a few seconds for CallGraph to connect to Skype when it's started. Before starting the recording you should always check if the Skype connection has been established. The CallGraph Toolbar will show the message 'Ready to record' and the CallGraph system tray icon will have a green tick mark after the connection has been established. You should start the recording only after these visual clues.

Interactive Demo

The Interactive Demo walks you through the steps of recording a call. You can start the interactive demo from the link in the help box of the 'Recordings' window of CallGraph Browser. It will record a test call with Skype Test Call Service and you can play it back to check if the recording was done correctly. Calls made to Skype's test call service are free and you can record your voice as well as the other speaker's voice in it. We recommend that you finish the demo and verify the recording by playing in from the CallGraph Browser as well as with your PC's media player. To play the file with the media player click on the folder icon on CallGraph toolbar and double click on the file.

For resolution of common issues please check the FAQ.

Recording Settings

The recording settings can be changed from Configuration -> Recording tab. The default settings are good enough for most setups, but you may want to change it to suit your purposes.

CallGraph records by default in stereo mode which means that your voice and other caller/callee's voice are on different tracks in the file. While playing back you will hear your voice on one side of the speaker while your caller/callee's voice on the other side. To force CallGraph to record in single track change the channels to mono from stereo. This mode is useful while recording podcasts since you can edit each track separately. It also helps with the transcription.

You can also choose WAV or MP3 recording format. WAV format is the pristine format where the data as it's received from Skype is encoded. There is no loss of quality incurred in this format. If you are using CallGraph for podcasting then this is the format to choose. The WAV format however is uncompressed and takes up large amount of space on the disk. The MP3 format is compressed and uses only a fraction of the space required for WAV files. However MP3 is a lossy format and there will be a degradation of quality. The degradation is mostly unnoticeable, but if you are planning to edit and/or convert to other formats then WAV is more suitable.

Sometimes due to misconfiguration of the computer's playback settings only one track is audible during playback and it appears that CallGraph is recording only one side of the call even though Skype connection has been authorized. The quick fix is to set the recording mode to mono.

Recording Folder

CallGraph requires a lot of space in the recording folder to function correctly. CallGraph first records the call in WAV format and converts it to MP3 after the call is finished (if that's set as your recording format). Since WAV requires a lot of disk space, your recording folder must have that space free; around 200 to 300 MB is a good number. If your C Drive does not have space then change the recording folder to some other drive which has the space.

You can also change this to any other folder if you do not prefer the default path and want the files to be stored somewhere else. All recorded files are stored in this folder and therefore can be accessed directly.

Recording Tips

The following presentation provides good tips on recording high quality interviews with Skype.

Known Issues

The updated list of known issues is maintained on our Blog. For resolution of common issues please check the FAQ.

Legal Considerations

Please be warned that it is illegal to record phone calls without prior verbal or written consent of all the parties involved in most countries. The laws vary from country to country and we advise you to check the applicable laws to your jurisdiction. Illegal use of CallGraph is prohibited by our terms of service.

Disclaimer

CallGraph Skype Recorder is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the use of this software.