> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://plivo.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Call Forwarding > Route incoming calls dynamically based on availability, time, or location ## Overview You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors. * **Agent availability:** You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available. * **Business hours:** You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours. * **Time zones:** You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability. This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below. Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls. ## How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the [Dial XML](/voice/xml/dial/) element. ## Prerequisites To get started, you need a Plivo account — [sign up](https://cx.plivo.com/signup) with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page of the Plivo console, or by using the [Numbers API](/numbers/). If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to [set up a Node.js development environment](/sdk/server/set-up-node-dev-environment-api-xml-voice/) and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet. ## Create an Express server to forward incoming calls Create a file called `forward_call.js` and paste into it this code. ```js theme={null} var express = require('express') var app = express() app.post('/forward_call/', function(req, res) { var plivo = require('plivo'); var response = plivo.Response(); var dial = response.addDial(); dial.addNumber(""); // call wll be forwarded to this number res.send(response.toXML()); }) app.set('port', (process.env.PORT || 5000)); app.listen(app.get('port'), function() { console.log('Node app is running on port', app.get('port')); }); ``` Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234). Save the file and run it. ```shell theme={null} $ node forward_call.js ``` ## Create a Plivo application to forward calls Associate the Go application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > [Applications](https://cx.plivo.com/xml-applications) in the Plivo console and click on **Add New Application**, or use Plivo’s [Application API](/account/api/application/#create-an-application). Give your application a name — we called ours `Forward Call`. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example `https://.com/forward_call/`) in the `Answer URL` field and set the method to `POST`. Click **Create Application** to save your application. ## Assign a Plivo number to your application Navigate to the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page and select the phone number you want to use for this application. From the Application Type drop-down, select `XML Application`. From the Plivo Application drop-down, select `Forward Call` (the name we gave the application). Click **Update Number** to save.

## Test Make a call to your Plivo number using any phone. Plivo will send a request to the answer URL you provided requesting an XML response and then forward the call according to the instructions in the XML document the server provides. ## Overview You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors. * **Agent availability:** You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available. * **Business hours:** You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours. * **Time zones:** You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability. This guide shows how to forward calls either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. Follow the instructions in one of the tabs below. Here‘s how to use Plivo XML to forward calls. ## How it works

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the [Dial XML](/voice/xml/dial/) element. ## Prerequisites To get started, you need a Plivo account — [sign up](https://cx.plivo.com/signup) with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page of the Plivo console, or by using the [Numbers API](/numbers/). If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to [set up a Ruby development environment](/sdk/server/set-up-ruby-dev-environment-api-xml-voice/) and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet. ## Create a Rails controller to forward incoming calls Edit the app/controllers/plivo\_controller.rb file and add this code in the PlivoController class: ```ruby theme={null} def forward response = Response.new dial = response.addDial() dest_number = "" dial.addNumber(dest_number) xml = PlivoXML.new(response) puts xml.to_xml render xml: xml.to_xml end ``` ### Add a route Add a route for the inbound function in the **PlivoController** class. Edit config/routes.rb and add this line after the inbound route: ```shell theme={null} get 'plivo/forward' ``` Now the controller is ready for inbound calls. Use this command to start the server to handle inbound calls. ```shell theme={null} $ rails server ``` ## Create a Plivo application to forward calls Associate the Rails server you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > [Applications](https://cx.plivo.com/xml-applications) in the Plivo console and click on **Add New Application**, or use Plivo’s [Application API](/account/api/application/#create-an-application). Give your application a name — we called ours `Forward Call`. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example `https://.com/forward_call/`) in the `Answer URL` field and set the method to `POST`. Click **Create Application** to save your application. ## Assign a Plivo number to your application Navigate to the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page and select the phone number you want to use for this application. From the Application Type drop-down, select `XML Application`. From the Plivo Application drop-down, select `Forward Call` (the name we gave the application). Click **Update Number** to save.

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the [Dial XML](/voice/xml/dial/) element. ## Prerequisites To get started, you need a Plivo account — [sign up](https://cx.plivo.com/signup) with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page of the Plivo console, or by using the [Numbers API](/numbers/). If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to [set up a Python development environment](/sdk/server/set-up-python-dev-environment-api-xml-voice/) and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet. ## Create a Flask server to forward incoming calls Create a file called `forward_call.py` and paste into it this code. ```py theme={null} from flask import Flask, request, make_response, Response from plivo import plivoxml app = Flask(__name__) @app.route('/forward_call/', methods=['GET', 'POST']) def forwardcall(): response = plivoxml.ResponseElement() response.add( plivoxml.DialElement().add( plivoxml.NumberElement(''))) // call wll be forwarded to this number return(response.to_string()) if __name__ == '__main__': app.run(host='0.0.0.0', debug=True) ``` Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234). Save the file and run it. ```shell theme={null} $ python forward_call.py ``` ## Create a Plivo application to forward calls Associate the Python application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > [Applications](https://cx.plivo.com/xml-applications) in the Plivo console and click on **Add New Application**, or use Plivo’s [Application API](/account/api/application/#create-an-application). Give your application a name — we called ours `Forward Call`. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example `https://.com/forward_call/`) in the `Answer URL` field and set the method to `POST`. Click **Create Application** to save your application. ## Assign a Plivo number to your application Navigate to the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page and select the phone number you want to use for this application. From the Application Type drop-down, select `XML Application`. From the Plivo Application drop-down, select `Forward Call` (the name we gave the application). Click **Update Number** to save.

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the [Dial XML](/voice/xml/dial/) element. ## Prerequisites To get started, you need a Plivo account — [sign up](https://cx.plivo.com/signup) with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page of the Plivo console, or by using the [Numbers API](/numbers/). If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to [set up a PHP development environment](/sdk/server/set-up-php-dev-environment-api-xml-voice/) and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet. ## Create a Laravel server to forward incoming calls Change to the project directory and run this command to create a Laravel controller for inbound calls. ```shell theme={null} $ php artisan make:controller VoiceController ``` The command generates a controller named VoiceController in the app/http/controllers/ directory. Edit the app/http/controllers/voiceController.php file and paste into it this code. ```php theme={null} "https://.com/dial_status/", 'method' => "POST", 'redirect' => "true" ); $dial = $response->addDial($params); $number = ""; // call will be forwarded to this number $dial->addNumber($number); Header('Content-type: text/xml'); echo $response->toXML(); } } ``` Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234). ## Create a Plivo application to forward calls Associate the Laravel server you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > [Applications](https://cx.plivo.com/xml-applications) in the Plivo console and click on **Add New Application**, or use Plivo’s [Application API](/account/api/application/#create-an-application). Give your application a name — we called ours `Forward Call`. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example `https://.com/forward_call/`) in the `Answer URL` field and set the method to `POST`. Click **Create Application** to save your application. ## Assign a Plivo number to your application Navigate to the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page and select the phone number you want to use for this application. From the Application Type drop-down, select `XML Application`. From the Plivo Application drop-down, select `Forward Call` (the name we gave the application). Click **Update Number** to save.

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the [Dial XML](/voice/xml/dial/) element. ## Prerequisites To get started, you need a Plivo account — [sign up](https://cx.plivo.com/signup) with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page of the Plivo console, or by using the [Numbers API](/numbers/). If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to [set up a .NET development environment](/sdk/server/set-up-dotnet-dev-environment-api-xml-voice/) and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet. ## Create an MVC controller to forward incoming calls In Visual Studio, create a new project. Use the template for Web Application (Model-View-Controller). Navigate to the Controllers directory and create a controller called `ForwardcallController.cs`, and paste into it this code. ```cs theme={null} using System; using Plivo.XML; using System.Collections.Generic; using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc; namespace Receivecall { public class ForwardcallController : Controller { public IActionResult Index() { Plivo.XML.Response resp = new Plivo.XML.Response(); Plivo.XML.Dial dial = new Plivo.XML.Dial(new Dictionary() { }); dial.AddNumber("", new Dictionary() { }); resp.Add(dial); var output = resp.ToString(); Console.WriteLine(output); return this.Content(output, "text/xml"); } } } ``` Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234). ## Create a Plivo application to forward calls Associate the .NET application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > [Applications](https://cx.plivo.com/xml-applications) in the Plivo console and click on **Add New Application**, or use Plivo’s [Application API](/account/api/application/#create-an-application). Give your application a name — we called ours `Forward Call`. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example `https://.com/forward_call/`) in the `Answer URL` field and set the method to `POST`. Click **Create Application** to save your application. ## Assign a Plivo number to your application Navigate to the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page and select the phone number you want to use for this application. From the Application Type drop-down, select `XML Application`. From the Plivo Application drop-down, select `Forward Call` (the name we gave the application). Click **Update Number** to save.

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the [Dial XML](/voice/xml/dial/) element. ## Prerequisites To get started, you need a Plivo account — [sign up](https://cx.plivo.com/signup) with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page of the Plivo console, or by using the [Numbers API](/numbers/). If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to [set up a Java development environment](/sdk/server/set-up-java-dev-environment-api-xml-voice/) and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet. ## Create a Java server to forward incoming calls Create a Java class called `ForwardCall` and paste into it this code. ```java theme={null} import static spark.Spark.*; import com.plivo.api.xml.Dial; import com.plivo.api.xml.Number; import com.plivo.api.xml.Response; public class forwardcall { public static void main(String[] args) { get("/forward_call/", (request, response) -> { String from_number = request.queryParams("From"); response.type("application/xml"); Response res = new Response() .children( new Dial() .callerId(from_number) .children( new Number("") ) ); // Returns the XML return res.toXmlString(); }); } } ``` Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234). ## Create a Plivo application to forward calls Associate the Java application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > [Applications](https://cx.plivo.com/xml-applications) in the Plivo console and click on **Add New Application**, or use Plivo’s [Application API](/account/api/application/#create-an-application). Give your application a name — we called ours `Forward Call`. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example `https://.com/forward_call/`) in the `Answer URL` field and set the method to `POST`. Click **Create Application** to save your application. ## Assign a Plivo number to your application Navigate to the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page and select the phone number you want to use for this application. From the Application Type drop-down, select `XML Application`. From the Plivo Application drop-down, select `Forward Call` (the name we gave the application). Click **Update Number** to save.

Plivo requests an answer URL when the call is answered (step 4) and expects the file at that address to hold a valid XML response from the application with instructions on how to handle the call. In this example, when an incoming call is received, Plivo forwards the call using the [Dial XML](/voice/xml/dial/) element. ## Prerequisites To get started, you need a Plivo account — [sign up](https://cx.plivo.com/signup) with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page of the Plivo console, or by using the [Numbers API](/numbers/). If this is your first time using Plivo APIs, follow our instructions to [set up a Go development environment](/sdk/server/set-up-go-dev-environment-api-xml-voice/) and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet. ## Create a Go server to forward incoming calls Create a file called `forward_call.go` and paste into it this code. ```go theme={null} package main import ( "net/http" "plivo-go/xml" ) func handler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { response := xml.ResponseElement{ Contents: []interface{}{ new(xml.DialElement). SetContents( []interface{}{ new(xml.NumberElement). SetContents(""), }, ), }, } w.Write([]byte(response.String())) } func main() { http.HandleFunc("/forward_call/", handler) http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil) } ``` Replace the destination number placeholder with an actual phone number (for example, 12025551234). Save the file and run it. ```shell theme={null} $ go run forward_call.go ``` ## Create a Plivo application to forward calls Associate the Go application you created with Plivo by creating a Plivo application. Visit Voice > [Applications](https://cx.plivo.com/xml-applications) in the Plivo console and click on **Add New Application**, or use Plivo’s [Application API](/account/api/application/#create-an-application). Give your application a name — we called ours `Forward Call`. Enter the server URL you want to use (for example `https://.com/forward_call/`) in the `Answer URL` field and set the method to `POST`. Click **Create Application** to save your application. ## Assign a Plivo number to your application Navigate to the [Numbers](https://cx.plivo.com/phone-numbers) page and select the phone number you want to use for this application. From the Application Type drop-down, select `XML Application`. From the Plivo Application drop-down, select `Forward Call` (the name we gave the application). Click **Update Number** to save.