Parallel Rec Filenames and the CO, CM, FR prefixes

When Parallel Stereo Recordings are active, VICIdial needs to name each parallel file in a way that does not clash with the standard stereo file or the mono Call recording from the same call. Its default approach: take the Stereo Rec Filename and prepend a short prefix — CO, CM, or FR — that identifies which channel mode produced the file.

What the three prefixes mean

• CO — Customer-Only. The agent channel is silent; only the customer audio was recorded.
• CM — Customer-Muted. The customer channel is silent; only the agent audio was recorded.
• FR — Full-Recording. Both channels carry audio.

So if your Stereo Rec Filename template resolves to S_20051020-103108_3125551212, a Full-Recording parallel file will be named FR_S_20051020-103108_3125551212 by default.

Overriding with custom Parallel Rec Filenames

The Parallel Rec Filenames field gives you three optional sub-fields — one for each parallel Stereo recording type. If you populate them, VICIdial uses your custom template for that track instead of the prefix-plus-stereo-filename default. If you leave them blank, the prefix behavior kicks in.

Custom parallel filenames support the same dynamic variables as the Campaign Rec Filename and the Stereo Rec Filename: CAMPAIGN, INGROUP, CUSTPHONE, FULLDATE, TINYDATE, EPOCH, AGENT, VENDORLEADCODE, LEADID, CALLID, RECID, and the POST variants when POST recording processing is enabled. The 90-character limit on resolved filenames applies here too.

How the naming decision flows

flowchart TD
  A[Parallel Stereo Recording runs] --> B{Custom Parallel Rec Filename set?}
  B -->|Yes| C[Use custom template for this track]
  B -->|No| D{Which channel mode?}
  D -->|Customer-Only| E[CO_ prefix plus Stereo Rec Filename]
  D -->|Customer-Muted| F[CM_ prefix plus Stereo Rec Filename]
  D -->|Full-Recording| G[FR_ prefix plus Stereo Rec Filename]

When to use custom names

The default prefix approach works well when you only run one parallel channel mode. If you run multiple modes or feed files into a downstream system that expects a specific naming convention, custom filenames give you full control.

For example, a voice analytics platform might expect files to start with the Agent ID. Setting the FR parallel filename to AGENT_FULLDATE_CALLID gives that platform what it needs without requiring a rename step after the fact.

Heads up: keep all filenames distinct

**Heads up:** If you set custom parallel filenames, make sure each one differs from the Campaign Rec Filename and the Stereo Rec Filename. VICIdial writes all these files to the same recording directory. Two files with identical resolved names will collide, and one recording will overwrite the other silently.

Check your Recording format (WAV/MP3) settings too. If mono and stereo recordings use different codecs, the file extensions will differ — but if they share the same codec, only a distinct filename pattern prevents collisions.

For the full recording naming and storage picture, see VICIdial call recording explained. For how stereo recording channels work, see VICIdial stereo recording channel modes.

Ready to run a hosted VICIdial system with parallel stereo recording configured from the start? See VICIfast pricing.