The Cradle desktop app gives you four ways to dial out. Use whichever fits the moment.

Before you start

You're signed in to the Cradle desktop app.
Your microphone and speaker are set up. See First-time setup checklist if you haven't done that yet.
For an international call, see Why can't I call international numbers? if you hit a "not permitted" message.

Call a contact by name

Contacts from your CRM and address book show up in Cradle automatically.

Click the receiver icon in the bottom tab bar to open the call page.
Click into the search box in the header at the top of the page.
Type the contact's name, for example, "Sarah Mitchell" pulls up Sarah Mitchell at Henderson & Co Accountants.
Press enter, or click the green phone button next to their name, to start the call.

Type a number

The fastest way to dial a number is to type it into the search box on the call page. You don't need to open the keypad first.

Click the receiver icon in the bottom tab bar to open the call page.
Click into the search box in the header.
Type or paste the number (Ctrl + V on Windows / Cmd + V on macOS) and press enter.

If you'd rather use an on-screen keypad, click the keypad icon in the header to open it. You can then click the digits, type on your keyboard, or paste a number. Press enter or click the green phone button to dial.

If you're dialling outside your default country, use the international format: + then the country code, then the number, for example, +44 20 7946 0111 for George Whitfield at Whitfield & Partners Solicitors in London.

To pick which number you're calling from, see How to set your default outbound country code.

Redial a recent caller

Open the Recents tab in the bottom tab bar.
Find the call in the list. Missed calls appear in red.
Click the green phone button next to the entry to call them back.

You can search Recents by name or number from the header search box.

Call a teammate

Open the Team tab in the bottom tab bar.
Scroll the team list, or type a name in the search, for example, "Tom Henderson" for the Partner on +64 9 555 1002.
Click the teammate to start an internal call.

Internal calls between teammates can't be transferred, so the transfer button is hidden during a team call.

Click-to-call from a link

You can launch Cradle by clicking a phone-number link in another app:

tel: and callto: links on any webpage open Cradle with the number pre-filled. These are the standard click-to-call schemes most browsers and apps recognise.
cradle://+<E.164> links open Cradle directly with the number ready to dial. The Cradle Chrome extension generates these links across HubSpot, Xero Practice Manager, FYI, and any other web app where it detects a phone number, so a single click dials through Cradle instead of triggering the browser's default handler.
On macOS, clicking the phone icon in the Apple Contacts app calls the number through Cradle.

What you should see

The in-call screen shows the contact's name (if Cradle has them), the number, and a running timer. From there you have the in-call controls, hold, mute, dial pad, and the transfer button.

If it doesn't work

"You don't have permission to call this country." The country is restricted. See Why can't I call international numbers?.
The contact doesn't appear in search. They may not be in your synced address book or CRM. Type the number directly on the dial pad.
The call doesn't connect. Check the network indicator in the top corner. If you're offline, the call won't go through.

Making calls with the desktop app