Active: turning a VICIdial list on and off

The Active setting on a list is the simplest, most important switch in the whole LISTS section. It decides one thing: whether the records in this list are allowed to be dialed. Active means yes, inactive means no. Everything else about the list can be perfectly configured, but if Active is off, not a single Lead moves.

Where you set it

You'll see an ACTIVE column in the main list table, and the same Active field on the Modify List screen. Toggling it to Y makes the list eligible for dialing on its Campaign; toggling it to N quietly takes it out of rotation. The records aren't deleted or touched — they just stop feeding the Hopper.

Because the change is non-destructive, you can flip a list on and off as many times as you like with no penalty. Nothing about the records changes — their call history, dispositions, and ranks all stay intact. The only effect of an inactive list is that the campaign skips it when deciding which records to pull into the dialing queue. That makes Active the right tool whenever you want to stop calling temporarily without unwinding any of your setup.

When to pause a list

• You're loading or cleaning fresh records and don't want them dialed mid-import.
• You want to focus agents on one list while parking another for later.
• A list has run its course and you want to stop calling without losing its history.

stateDiagram-v2
  [*] --> Inactive
  Inactive --> Active: set Active = Y
  Active --> Inactive: set Active = N
  Active --> Expired: expiration date passes
  Expired --> Active: extend expiration
  Active --> Dialing: campaign feeds hopper
  Dialing --> Active: paused / reset

Active vs. the red EXP flag

Here's a gotcha that confuses people. A list can be marked Active and still refuse to dial. If you see a red "EXP" in the ACTIVE column, the list has hit its expiration date and will not be dialed no matter what the Active flag says. Likewise, if the campaign name shows in red, that campaign has been deleted. So "Active = Y" is necessary, but it isn't always sufficient.

It helps to think of the layers a record has to pass through before it dials. The list must be Active, it must not be expired, the record's status has to be one the campaign treats as dialable, and the campaign itself has to be running and pulling records. Active is just the first of those gates, but it's the one you'll touch most often during a normal day of managing lists. When dialing stops unexpectedly, walking those gates in order — Active, expiration, status, campaign — is the fastest way to find the cause.

For the wider context on how lists feed your dialing, the lists and leads guide is the place to start, and what a VICIdial list is explains the container the Active flag sits on.

Think of Active as the on/off for a single bucket of records — flip it, submit, done. Want a dialer where flipping that switch is the hardest thing you do all day? Our managed plans get you running in under 40 seconds; see pricing.