Amanda Work Group Administration Guide

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 43
The proper settings for Amanda Administrator are:
The other Basic Options fields are not evaluated, so their values do not matter for an 
information mailbox. 
T
IPS:You can lock the Current Greeting setting after recording your informa-
tion (by changing the Max field to 0), so that it cannot be changed acci-
dentally.
In the Comment field, you might refer to the menu or data the mailbox 
provides.
If the informational mailbox provides information to the user after which 
only a hangup is appropriate, the Extension field might contain some-
thing like the following:
@P(G1)G(999)
Amanda plays Greeting 1 for mailbox 122 and goes to mailbox 999’s Ex-
tension field for an immediate hangup.
This last example using the Token Programming Language. For more de-
tails, see Installing [email protected]/Windows.
To use a menu with an informational mailbox:
1. Make sure the greeting lists the menu options.
Make sure that you list no more than 10 possible menu options.
2. For each menu option in the greeting, direct the user to a specific mailbox.
For example, if the greeting says, “Press 1 for Sales....,” then the text box labeled “1” 
in the Menus group box should contain the extension number for a sales representa-
tive.
If the greeting says, “Press 0 for the operator...,” then the text box labeled “0” in the 
Menus group box should contain the operator’s extension.
1Creates a 3 to 6 second pause allowing the caller to decide 
what option to select from the menu. If there is no menu, the 
Delay should remain 0, the default.
Extension:blank
Directory Name 1:blank
Directory Name 2:blank
Do Not Disturb:checked
Lock:checked
(Messages group box)
Store:
cleared
Copy Messages To:None
Delay:30-601 (when the Menu fields are used) 
						

							44 Administering [email protected]/Windows
Creating a Range of Mailboxes from an Existing 
Mailbox
Occasionally, you might want to create a range of mailboxes. For example, you might 
create the mailboxes for all the extension numbers at your site at one time. The mailbox to 
be copied can be the mailbox template (usually 997) or any other mailbox. 
In general, you want to select the mailbox most similar to the mailboxes you create so you 
make the fewest changes to each new mailbox. Sometimes you use this procedure to 
create only one mailbox. For example, you might create a mailbox that requires only a 
name change.
To create a range of mailboxes based on another mailbox:
1. From the Mailbox window, click the   button after the current mailbox.
The Mailbox List dialog box appears.
2. Select the mailbox to be copied then click Copy….
The Copy Users dialog box appears.
T
IP:If the Mailbox window already displays the mailbox to be copied, on 
the Edit menu, click Copy….
3. Type the number for the first mailbox in the range in the Start At text box.
4. Type the number for the last mailbox in the range in the End At text box.
Amanda creates the specified mailboxes by copying the fields from the current mail-
box. See “Using a Template” on page 38 for a list of the fields that are copied.
Modifying an Existing Mailbox
As users’ needs and corporate policies change, you can modify how calls are processed by 
modifying mailboxes.
To modify a mailbox:
1. From the Mailbox window, click the   button after the current mailbox.
The Mailbox List dialog box appears.
2. Double-click the mailbox to be viewed or modified.
3. Change the desired fields.
4. On the Mailbox menu, click Save… to save your changes.
The Save Changes dialog box appears.
5. Click Yes. 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 45
Moving from One Mailbox to Another
You can always move from one mailbox to the next in numeric order. Ctrl+P goes to the 
previous mailbox and Ctrl+N goes to the next. 
When you are in search mode, Ctrl+P and Ctrl+N move from one mailbox to another 
within the set of mailboxes that are the result of the search. 
You can select any mailbox, regardless of order, from the list of all the mailboxes (or all 
the mailboxes that match the search criteria). However, you can identify the mailbox more 
readily if you display both the number and the contents of the name fields. 
To display the mailbox and/or its owner’s name:
1. On the Mailbox menu, click Display….
The Mailbox Name Display dialog box displays a series of options:
 Mailbox Followed by Name
 Name Followed by Mailbox
 Mailbox Only
 Name Only
The name is formed by combining the contents of the Directory Name 1 and Direc-
tory Name 2 text boxes.
2. Select an option then click OK.
To select a mailbox to be displayed:
1. From the Mailbox window, click the   button after the current mailbox.
The Mailbox List dialog box displays all the currently defined mailboxes (or all those 
found by a search) in numerical order.
2. Select a mailbox from the list box by scrolling through the list box or typing the first 
few characters displayed in the list box; then click OK.
Amanda displays the selected mailbox in the Mailbox window.
Deleting an Existing Mailbox
You can delete any existing mailbox.
To delete a mailbox:
1. From the Mailbox window, click the   button after the current mailbox.
The Mailbox List dialog box appears.
2. Select one or more mailboxes to be deleted. 
						

							46 Administering [email protected]/Windows
3. Click Delete…
The Delete Mailbox dialog box appears.
4. Click Yes or Yes to All.
Finding Mailboxes that Match Certain Criteria
You can use Amanda Administrator to find all the mailboxes that have a particular setting 
or combination of settings. For example, you can locate:
 All the mailboxes that have Do Not Disturb turned on and locked
 All the mailboxes that have Call Screening turned on but not locked
 All the mailboxes in the specified range that are members of group 1
After you locate those mailboxes, you enter search mode. Amanda Administrator displays 
only the matching mailboxes in the Mailbox list box. On the Edit menu, clicking Next and 
Previous move you from one matching mailbox to the next matching User — instead of 
from one existing mailbox to the next existing mailbox.
To search for mailboxes with specific settings:
1. From the Mailbox window, press F3 (or, on the Edit menu, click Find…).
An information dialog box explains how to search.
2. Click OK.
The Mailbox window becomes blank with “none” as the mailbox. 
3. Do any combination of the following:
 Select or clear the appropriate check boxes. For example, you might select the 
Do Not Disturb check box and clear the Lock check box.
Notice that each check box has three states:
- Selected (or checked)
- Cleared (or unchecked)
- Don’t care (disabled/grayed)
 Provide values for text boxes (to be matched during the search) or leave them 
blank (to indicate that their contents are not part of the search). 
4. On the Edit menu, select Start Search.
Amanda Administrator searches for mailboxes that match those values. 
The Mailbox List displays all the mailboxes whose settings match those you pro-
vided. 
5. Select a mailbox from the list, then click OK.
6. To move from one matching mailbox to another, do either of the following:
 Use Ctrl+P (or click Previous   on the toolbar)
 Use Ctrl+N (or click Next   on the toolbar) 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 47
These buttons wrap from the first to the last and vice versa.
7. When finished, on the Edit menu, select End Search.
Ctrl+P and Ctrl+N will then move from one mailbox to the next, regardless of 
whether the mailboxes have any matching values. 
N
OTE:To end a search or exit search mode at any time, on the Edit menu, 
click End Search.
Naming Groups and Greetings
Amanda Administrator allows you to name your groups and greetings. The name should 
help you remember what the group or greeting is for. 
To name a group: 
1. From the Mailbox window, click the   button after the group to be named (or 
renamed). 
The Group Number List dialog box appears.
2. Click Edit Name….
The Edit Group Name dialog box appears.
3. Type a name for the group in the Group Name text box. 
The name can contain up to 15 characters.
To name a greeting: 
1. From the Mailbox window, click the   button after the RNA box (in the Personal 
Greetings group box).
The Greeting List dialog box appears.
2. Select the greeting to be named from the list box.
If the greeting has not been previously named, the greeting is identified only by its 
number.
3. Click Edit Name….
The Greeting Name dialog box appears.
4. Type a name for the greeting in the Greeting Name text box.
The name can contain up to 50 characters. 
						

							48 Administering [email protected]/Windows
Mailbox Field Reference
The following table defines the User fields in the order in which they appear in the 
Mailbox window. Some appear in the Status window.
   
 
Mailbox Fields
FieldDescription
MailboxRepresents the number that Amanda uses to access the mailbox. It ranges from 
0 to 99,999,999 and must be unique.
CommentIf you are using a Brooktrout voice board, this field is provided for you as a no-
tation field. Its maximum length is 17 characters.
Security CodeThe up-to-eight digit security code that permits access to this mailbox (0 to 
99999999). For added security, the security code does not remain on the screen 
after you save the mailbox. The system administrator can change a security 
code but cannot see the current one—unless the configuration option 
sec_code_display has been set to true. (It’s default is false.)
ExtensionContains the programmed dial actions Amanda should perform when the sys-
tem transfers a call that has accessed the mailbox and Do Not Disturb is OFF. 
Typically this field contains the extension that Amanda should ring. Amanda 
also allows you to program other call actions by using her Token Programming 
Language. Other call actions include: system paging for an urgent call, trans-
ferring to a remote number, and modifying Amanda’s standard call processing. 
Use a maximum of 65 characters.
Directory Name 1Amanda uses this information to automatically build her 411 directory. Nor-
mally you put the user’s first name in this field. Leave this field blank for mail-
boxes which are not to appear in the employee directory. If you leave this blank, 
you may want to use the Comment field to identify the user who has this mail-
box. Its maximum length is 16 characters.
Directory Name 2 Same as Directory Name 1. Amanda provides this second directory field to al-
low for second names, such as last names or nicknames. Its maximum length is 
16 characters.
Read-OnlyIndicates whether or not this mailbox can be only viewed or viewed and modi-
fied. You must enter a special password as you access the User window or you 
cannot access the read-only field.
Adjust Maximum 
RingsThe number of rings Amanda allows when transferring a call to the extension 
before determining that there was a Ring No Answer. If it is 0, Amanda uses 
the system default (which is 4). This parameter only works when Amanda per-
forms a supervised transfer.
Do Not Disturb
LockWhen cleared or OFF, Amanda evaluates the Extension field. If this is selected 
or ON, Amanda plays the current greeting for the mailbox. When the Lock field 
is selected or ON, Amanda does not permit the user to change this setting from 
a telephone. In fact, Amanda does not play the menu option about changing the 
setting for the user. 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 49
Call Screening 
LockWhen selected or ON and Do Not Disturb is cleared or OFF, Amanda says to 
the caller, “At the tone, please say your name and company, and I’ll announce 
your call.” The caller’s response is played to the user when he answers the tele-
phone. The user can accept or reject the call. Lock is the same as for Do Not 
Disturb.
Use Call Screening only with supervised transfers. If Call Screening is on and 
the call is not supervised, the caller is screened but that recording is not played 
to the user. (An unsupervised transfer has an H token in the mailboxs Extension 
field. For example, if mailbox 127 has 127H in the Extension field, Amanda 
transfers all calls to mailbox 127 to extension 127 and immediately ends her 
participation in the call.)
Another method of screening calls is called Modified Call Screening.
This feature is controlled by the configuration option modified_call_screening. 
When set to true (default), and both call screening and identify called party are 
selected for a mailbox, the person who answers the call hears which mailbox 
the call is for and then hears the Call Screening menu. The caller is not asked 
for his name and company.
Setting modified_call_screening to false allows the user to hear information 
about both the caller and the called party before accepting or rejecting a call.
Never use call screening with unsupervised (blind) transfers. The caller is asked 
for information that cannot be announced.
Store
Maximum LengthWhen selected, Amanda records and saves a message for the mailbox after 
playing the greeting. 
N
OTE:Even when this field is cleared, Amanda takes a message if Copy Mes-
sages To specifies a valid mailbox.
The maximum number of seconds for each message is defined by Maximum 
Length.
Copy Messages ToWhen this setting is a valid mailbox, Amanda takes a message and stores a copy 
of it in that mailbox. 
When Store is selected and Copy Messages To contains a valid mailbox, Aman-
da stores the message for both the current mailbox and the mailbox specified 
by Copy Messages To. To prevent Amanda from taking a message after the 
mailbox’s greeting plays, you must clear Store. In Amanda Administrator, se-
lect None for Copy Messages To.
GuestsIndicates the number of guest mailboxes that a user can create. As a user creates 
or deletes a Guest mailbox, this number is automatically decreased or increased 
by 1.When the number is 0, the user has created all the Guest IDs that he is al-
lowed. He must delete one before creating another.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							50 Administering [email protected]/Windows
RNA
Max. Length
Lock Indicates which of the user’s recorded greetings becomes the RNA (Ring No 
Answer) greeting. Amanda plays this greeting when any of the following is 
true:
 Do Not Disturb is selected or ON.
 The user does not answer the telephone and there is no mailbox in the 
RNA chain.
 Call screening is selected or ON and the caller rejects the call.
If this field is 0, Amanda uses the system greeting (“Please leave a message for” 
followed by the Name/Extension recording for that mailbox).
Maximum Length defines the maximum number of seconds allowed for each 
greeting. A value of 0 acts as a lock. It prevents the user from recording or 
changing greetings. 
In Amanda Administrator, there is a Lock field for this purpose. However, be-
fore you unlock this field, you need to change the Max. Length field to a num-
ber greater than 0. (45 was the default and is a good choice.)
For convenience, Amanda Administrator allows you to name your greetings.
Custom Busy
Max. Length
Lock Indicates whether Amanda should use the system busy greeting or the custom 
busy greeting when letting the caller know that the dialed extension is busy. 
The system busy greeting allows the caller to hold for the extension by pressing 
*, which, in turn, causes Amanda to play the Busy-Hold music file (about 30 
seconds of custom music) before trying the extension again. If the extension is 
still busy, Amanda changes her prompt, allowing the caller to continue holding, 
enter another extension, or leave a message. 
Maximum Length defines the maximum length in seconds for the custom busy 
greeting recorded by the user. 
In Amanda Administrator, there is a Lock field. However, before you unlock 
this field, you need to change the Max. Length field to a number greater than 0. 
(45 was the default and is a good choice.)
Identify Called 
PartyWhen Identify Called Party is cleared and Amanda performs a supervised trans-
fer, the system plays a connection tone that only the called party can hear before 
the system connects the caller. When Identify Called Party is selected, Amanda 
plays the Name/Extension recording of the mailbox that was called. This is par-
ticularly useful when two or more mailboxes ring the same telephone exten-
sion. Messages are stored with different mailboxes, so each users’ messages are 
private.
Play Date & TimeIndicates whether Amanda plays the date and time of the message. When Play 
Date & Time is selected, Amanda plays the date/time when that message was 
recorded followed by the message itself. When cleared or set to NO, the date/
time is not given before playing the message. 
N
OTE:A user can always get the message date/time by pressing 74 during the 
message regardless of this setting.
Record Name & 
ExtensionThe Name/Extension field controls whether users can record their names and 
extensions. When cleared, Amanda prevents the user from recording his name 
and extension. If selected, the user can record his name and extension. If there 
is no Name/Extension recording, Amanda defaults to saying the mailbox num-
ber.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 51
Mailbox Statistics Reference
You can review your current mailbox statistics (since they were last reset) using the Status 
command.
To review statistics:
1. Click Status on the menu bar (or press Alt+S) to display the statistics for the current 
mailbox.
The Statistics dialog box appears.
Chains
DoneAfter Amanda finishes processing a mailbox, control is transferred to the mail-
box specified in the Done Chain. If this field is blank, Amanda uses the Done 
Chain of the company greeting mailbox (generally 990). This chain normally 
points to mailbox 991, the caller instructions mailbox. When not blank, the 
mailbox specified must both exist and share at least one group with the current 
mailbox.
Chains
RNAIf a dialed extension returns Ring No Answer, Amanda’s standard Ring No An-
swer action (which is to play the mailbox’s greeting and possibly take a mes-
sage) can be changed to continue processing at the mailbox specified in the 
RNA chain. When not blank, the mailbox specified must both exist and share 
at least one group with the current mailbox.
Chains
BusySimilar to the RNA chain field, Amanda uses the Busy Chain when a dialed ex-
tension is busy. When not blank, the mailbox specified must both exist and 
share at least one group with the current mailbox.
DelayTime in tenths of seconds to delay after playing the mailbox’s current greeting 
that Amanda waits before performing the next action (either taking a message 
or chaining to another mailbox). A value of 20 is 2 seconds. The caller can still 
enter DTMF digits during this time. For example, if the greeting offers a menu, 
allow the caller enough time to decide which item to select.
GroupsEach mailbox is accessible from any other mailbox with which it shares at least 
one group. Every user, for example, must have a mailbox that shares a group 
with the Company Greeting mailbox, or no callers can reach the user. You can 
specify up to four groups for a mailbox to belong to. If no groups are specified 
for a mailbox, it belongs to all groups.
For convenience, Amanda Administrator allows you to name your groups.
Even integrated calls cannot violate mailbox group rules.
Menus
1     2     3
4     5     6
7     8     9
        0Using these fields allows you to provide callers with a menu. If the menu field 
contains a mailbox, Amanda transfers control to that mailbox when the caller 
presses the digit corresponding to that field. If a menu field is empty, Amanda 
interprets the digit pressed by the caller as a mailbox. The menu is available 
only while Amanda plays the current mailbox’s greeting or during the delay 
you specify to follow the greeting. For example, suppose that mailbox 100 has 
menus 1: 1001 and 2: 1002. If a caller presses 1 or 2 during the greeting, Aman-
da sends the caller to mailbox 1001 or 1002. But, if the caller presses 3, Amanda 
sends the caller to mailbox 3.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							52 Administering [email protected]/Windows
2. To exit, select OK.
The following table defines the statistics fields in the order in which they appear in the 
Statistics dialog.
   
 
Statistics Fields
FieldDescription
CreatedThe date and time that the mailbox was created.
SavedThe date and time that the mailbox was last saved.
Messages Current, 
New and (___ sec)The total number of messages currently in the mailbox. (The New field speci-
fies the number of unheard messages. The Sec field contains the total number 
of seconds needed to hear this mailbox’s messages.)
Messages 
MaximumThe maximum number of messages this mailbox has accumulated at one time. 
Messages TotalThe cumulative total of messages taken for this mailbox since the last statistics 
reset.
Conn SecsThe total amount of seconds callers accessed this mailbox. 
User SecsThe total amount of seconds the user was logged on to this mailbox. 
Statistics StartedThe date and time since creation or the last reset of this mailbox’s statistics. 
CallsThe total number of times the mailbox was processed. 
TransfersShows the total number of times Amanda successfully transferred a call to the 
User’s extension. 
LoginsShows the total number of times the User logged on to this mailbox. 
NotifiesShows the total number of times Amanda successfully notified this mailbox. 
FaxesThe total number of Faxes that have been received. 
UrgentThe total number of urgent messages that have been received.