Phonebook Files and Connection Information

A RasDial call must specify the information that the Remote Access Connection Manager needs to establish the connection. Typically, the RasDial call provides the connection information by specifying a phone-book entry. The connection information in a phonebook entry includes phone numbers, bps rates, user authentication information, and other connection information.

A RAS client uses the parameters of the RasDial function to specify a phonebook file and an entry in that file. The lpszPhonebookPath parameter can specify the name of a phonebook file, or it can be NULL to indicate that the default phonebook file should be used. The lpRasDialParams parameter points to a RASDIALPARAMS structure that specifies the name of the phonebook entry to use.

To display a list of phonebook entries from which the user can select a connection, a RAS client can call the RasEnumEntries function to enumerate the entries in a phonebook file.

To make a connection without using a phonebook entry, the RasDial call can specify an empty string for the szEntryName member of the RASDIALPARAMS structure. The RASDIALPARAMS.szPhoneNumber member must contain the number to call. In this case, the Remote Access Connection Manager uses the first available modem port and default values for all other settings.