What Scheduled Callbacks Calltime Block does in VICIdial

Scheduled Callbacks Calltime Block stops a callback from being dialed if the current time is outside the campaign's scheduled call times.

Scheduled Callbacks Calltime Block is a campaign-level setting that stops a Scheduled callback in the agent callback list from being dialed when the current time falls outside the campaign's scheduled call times. Call times are the windows you define for when a Campaign is allowed to place calls — your dialing hours. This setting makes those windows apply to callbacks too, not just fresh dials.

What it actually blocks

The setting is a simple on/off, and the default is DISABLED. When DISABLED, a triggered callback can be dialed regardless of the campaign's call-time window. When enabled, the dialer checks the clock first: if the moment falls outside the campaign's scheduled call times, the callback is blocked from being dialed even though it appears in the agent's list. The callback does not vanish — it simply cannot be placed until you are back inside an allowed window.

flowchart TD
  A[Callback triggered, in agent list] --> B{Calltime Block enabled?}
  B -- No, DISABLED --> C[Callback can be dialed]
  B -- Yes --> D{Now inside campaign call times?}
  D -- Yes --> C
  D -- No --> E[Dial blocked]
  E --> F[Wait for allowed window]
  F --> D

This is a guard against an awkward edge case: an Agent sets a callback, the trigger time arrives, but it is now outside your dialing hours. Without the block, the Lead could be called at a time your campaign is supposed to avoid. With the block on, the callback waits politely until the campaign's call-time window reopens.

How this plays out depends entirely on the call times you have defined for the campaign:

Inside the window — the callback dials normally, exactly as if the block were off.
Outside the window — the callback stays visible in the agent list but is held back from being placed.
Window reopens — once the clock is back inside an allowed period, the held callback becomes dialable again.

Because the behavior is tied to your campaign call times, this setting is only as good as those times are. If your call-time schedule is loose or wide open, the block rarely fires; if it is tight, the block does real work. So before relying on it, make sure the campaign's call times actually reflect the hours you are willing to call. The setting borrows that schedule rather than defining its own — it simply extends the same rules you already use for fresh dials to callbacks as well.

When to turn it on

If your call times exist for compliance or customer-experience reasons, enabling Calltime Block keeps callbacks honoring those same boundaries — a sensible default for most outbound work. Leave it DISABLED only when you genuinely want callbacks to bypass the window, which is rare.

One practical gotcha: when the block holds a callback outside hours, it does not warn the agent that the contact is unreachable right now — the callback just sits there as something that cannot be placed until the window opens. So if your agents work across time zones or odd shifts, it helps to brief them that a callback showing in their list is not always a green light to dial. They may need to come back to it when the campaign's call times allow. That small bit of context saves confused agents from clicking a callback that quietly refuses to dial. Set the block once at the campaign level and it applies to every callback on that campaign, with no per-callback fiddling.

Either way, getting the disposition right is the first step; for that, see how to disposition a call as CALLBK. And for how every callback control fits together, read our pillar, VICIdial scheduled callbacks explained.