Amanda Work Group Administrations 7 Xx Instructions Manual

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 91
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.
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 telephone. 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 re-
cording 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 mail-
box 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 in-
formation 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 Length When selected or YES, Amanda records and saves a message for the 
mailbox after playing the greeting. The maximum number of seconds 
for each message is defined by Maximum Length.
N
OTE:Even when this field is cleared or NO, Amanda takes a mes-
sage if Copy Messages To specifies a valid mailbox.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							92 Administering [email protected]/DOS
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 mail-
box, Amanda 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, select 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 cre-
ated all the Guest mailboxes that he is allowed. He must delete one 
before creating another.
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 mail-
box 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, 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.)
For convenience, Amanda Administrator allows you to name your 
greetings.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 93
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, Aman-
da 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 num-
ber greater than 0. (45 was the default and is a good choice.)
Identify Called 
PartyWhen Identify Called Party is cleared and Amanda performs a super-
vised transfer, she plays a connection tone that only the called party 
can hear before she connects the caller. When Identify Called Party 
is selected, Amanda plays the Name/Extension recording of the mail-
box that was called. This is particularly useful when two or more 
mailboxes ring the same telephone extension. 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 record-
ing, Amanda defaults to saying the mailbox number.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

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Chains
DoneAfter Amanda finishes processing a mailbox, control is transferred to 
the mailbox specified in the Done Chain. If this field is blank, Aman-
da uses the Done Chain of the company greeting mailbox (generally 
990). This chain normally points to mailbox 991, the caller instruc-
tions 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 Answer action (which is to play the mailbox’s greeting and 
possibly take a message) can be changed to continue processing at 
the mailbox specified in the RNA chain. When not blank, the mail-
box 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 extension 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 mail-
box that shares a group with the Company Greeting mailbox, or no 
callers can reach the user. A mailbox can belong to up to four groups.
For convenience, Amanda Administrator allows you to name your 
groups.
Even integrated calls cannot violate mailbox group rules.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 95
Menus
1:     2:     3:
4:     5:     6:
7:     8:     9:
        0:Using these fields allows you to provide callers with a menu. If the 
menu field contains a mailbox, Amanda transfers control to that mail-
box 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.
CreatedThe date and time that the mailbox was created.
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
SavedThe date and time that the mailbox was last saved. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
Messages CurrentThe total number of messages currently in the mailbox. (The New 
field specifies the number of unheard messages. The Sec field con-
tains the total number of seconds needed to hear this mailbox’s mes-
sages.)
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
Messages 
MaximumThe maximum number of messages this mailbox has accumulated at 
one time. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
Messages TotalThe cumulative total of messages taken for this mailbox since its cre-
ation.
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
Conn SecsThe total amount of seconds callers accessed this mailbox. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
User SecsThe total amount of seconds the user was logged on to this mailbox. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

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Statistics StartedThe date and time since creation or the last reset of this mailbox’s sta-
tistics. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
CallsThe total number of times the mailbox was processed. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
TransfersShows the total number of times Amanda successfully transferred a 
call to the User’s extension. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
LoginsShows the total number of times the User logged on to this mailbox. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
NotifiesShows the total number of times Amanda successfully notified this 
mailbox. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
FaxesThe total number of Faxes that have been received. 
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.
UrgentThe total number of urgent messages that have been received.
This appears in the Status window in Amanda Administrator.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 97
Using the Users Screen
When you use Amanda as a Standalone, you can create, modify, and delete 
mailboxes from the Users screen.
To access the Users screen:
1. From the Main screen (which has Main in the upper right corner), press 
Alt+U.
The password dialog box appears.
2. Type in the password. (The default password is AMandA, with the first 
two and the last letter capitalized.)
The Users screen appears. The word Users is in the upper right corner 
of the screen. The Mailbox field is empty, and the Basic Options con-
tains the default values for a new mailbox.
N
OTE:The password is not displayed as you type. If you enter 
it incorrectly, you must start over by selecting Alt+U 
from the Main screen again.
3. In the Mailbox field, type the new mailbox or an existing mailbox.
If you typed an existing mailbox, press Enter to display that mailbox’s 
current settings.
While in the Users screen, you can change the value of any selected field.  
						

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The Users Screen
Save  Auto  Delete  Notify  Table  Copy  Esc/EXIT  PgDn/NEXT  PgUp/PREVUsers
Mailbox: Comment/Set Name: Security Code:
Extension:
Dir Name 1: Dir Name 2: Read-Only:
Basic Options Chains Groups
Maximum Rings:0  (default is 4) Done: 1:  1
Do Not Disturb:OFFLock:OFFRNA: 2:  0
Screen Calls?OFFLock:OFFBusy: 3:  0
Store Messages?YESMax:180 sec Delay:04:  0
Copy Messages To:Menus
Message Volume:0Guests:-11: 2: 3:
Current Greeting:0Max:45 sec4:5:6:
Busy Message?SYSMax:45 sec7:8:9:
ID Call? NOD/T?YESName/Ext?YES0:
Created: NEVER Conn Secs: 0 Statistics Started: NEVER
Saved: NEVER User Secs: 0 Calls: 0 Last: NEVER
Messages Transfers: 0 Last: NEVER
Current: 0,   0 new ( 0 sec) Logins: 0 Last: NEVER
Maximum: 0 Total: 0 Notifies: 0 Last: NEVER
The Users screen has the following parts:
menu bar The rectangle at the top of the Users screen. The left side 
displays menu commands that you can access by press-
ing Alt plus the first letter of the selection. For example, 
pressing Alt+S saves a new or modified mailbox. The 
right side lists keys on the keyboard and the actions they 
perform. For example, pressing Esc allows you to exit 
the Users screen and return to the Main screen. 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 99
To change a field:
1. Select the field. The selected field is highlighted, and a description 
about it appears in the status bar. When you first access the Users 
screen, the Mailbox field is selected. Do any of the following:
 To move from one area to the next, press Tab.
 To move from one field to the next, press Enter, Up Arrow, or 
Down Arrow.
User InformationJust below the menu bar. The fields in this area provide 
the minimum information Amanda requires for defining 
a mailbox. See “Mailbox Field Reference” on page 89 
for more details.
Basic OptionsJust below the User Information and on the left side of 
the screen. The fields in this area define the options for 
the mailbox. For example, to screen calls, the Screen 
Calls? field must be set to ON. See “Mailbox Field Ref-
erence” on page 89 for more details.
Chains and MenusJust below the User Information and on the right side of 
the screen, opposite the Basic Options. The fields in this 
area control what happens to the caller if the user does 
not answer the telephone. See “Mailbox Field Refer-
ence” on page 89 for more details.
GroupsAmanda cannot go from one mailbox to another unless 
the two mailboxes belong to the same group. A mailbox 
can belong to as many as four groups. Generally, all 
mailboxes belong to Group 1 so that Amanda can go 
from the company greeting and caller instructions to the 
mailbox for the person being called.
StatisticsThe bottom rectangle on the screen contains statistical 
information collected by Amanda about the mailbox. 
This information can be used in generating reports. See 
“Mailbox Field Reference” on page 89 for more details.
Status barThe bottom line of the screen (not shown in the figure) 
contains a one-line description of the selected field. 
						

							100 Administering [email protected]/DOS
 To return to the Mailbox field. press Home.
 For help (which appears near the bottom of the screen and provides 
more information about the selected field), press F1. After reading 
the help, press Esc to return to the Users screen.
2. Do one of the following:
 Type the value you want. (You can also use the Backspace, Delete, 
Right Arrow, and Left Arrow keys to edit a field.)
 To toggle the value in the field (from YES to NO, ON to OFF, and 
so on), press the spacebar.
3. Press Enter.
At the end of this chapter is a summary of each of the mailbox fields. 
T
IP:Any time you return to the Mailbox field, the entire screen 
is refreshed as you make your next move. Use this to start 
over after a mistake. Otherwise, make sure you save your 
changes (using Alt+S) before returning to the Mailbox 
field.
You can make changes to a mailbox while Amanda is run-
ning. However, if a caller accesses that mailbox or if the 
user makes changes to the mailbox over the telephone, the 
screen is refreshed and your changes are lost. Save often 
while working on mailboxes that might be accessed.
Creating a Personal Mailbox
If you are running Amanda as a standalone system, you create mailboxes 
using the Users screen. For more information, see “Using a Template” on 
page 68, “Using Templates with an Amanda/Norstar System” on page 69, 
and “Asking the User for Preferences” on page 69.
To avoid security problems, always return to the Main screen after managing 
mailboxes and so forth. From screens other than the Main screen, non-
authorized personnel can change and perhaps damage the system. 
For details about the differences between personal and information 
mailboxes, see “Using Mailboxes” on page 72.