Amanda Work Group Administrations 7 Xx Instructions Manual

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 111
Screen Calls? 
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.” 
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 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 a mailbox 
has both Screen Calls? ON, and ID Call? set to YES, 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 com-
Store Messages?
MaxWhen 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 Max.
N
OTE:Even when this field is cleared or NO, Amanda takes a mes-
sage if Copy Messages To specifies a valid mailbox.
Copy Messages ToWhen this setting is a valid mailbox, Amanda takes a message and 
stores a copy of it in that mailbox. 
When Store Messages? is YES and Copy Messages To contains a 
valid mailbox, Amanda stores the message for both the current mail-
box and the mailbox specified by Copy Messages To. To prevent 
Amanda from taking a message after the mailbox’s greeting plays, 
you must set the Store Messages? field to NO and leave Copy Mes-
sages To blank.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

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Message VolumeThe current volume at which messages are played back. The range 
for the volume settings is -8 (softest) to 8 (loudest) for Brooktrout 
voice boards and 1 to 9 for the Amanda Company voice board for 
Norstar. The default volume is 0 for Brooktrout and 5 for the Amanda 
Company voice board for Norstar.
GuestsIndicates the number of guest mailboxes that a user can create. When 
the number is -1 in Amanda standalone, this mailbox cannot access 
the Guest mailbox features of Amanda. When it is greater than 0, the 
user can create that number of additional Guest mailboxes. As he cre-
ates or deletes a Guest mailbox, this number is automatically de-
creased or increased by 1.When the number is 0, the user has created 
all the Guest mailboxes that he is allowed. He must delete one before 
creating another.
Current Greeting
MaxIndicates 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).
Max defines the maximum number of seconds allowed for each 
greeting. A value of 0 acts as a lock. It prevents the user from record-
ing or changing greetings.   
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 113
Busy Message?
MaxIndicates 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. 
Max defines the maximum length in seconds for the custom busy 
greeting recorded by the user. 
In Amanda standalone, a value of 0 acts as a lock and prevents the 
user from recording or changing his busy greeting. 
ID Call?When ID Call? is NO and Amanda performs a supervised transfer, 
she plays a connection tone that only the called party can hear before 
she connects the caller. When ID Call? is YES, Amanda plays the 
Name/Extension recording of the mailbox that was called. This is 
particularly useful when two or more mailboxes ring the same tele-
phone extension. Messages are stored with different mailboxes, so 
each users’ messages are private.
D/T?Indicates whether Amanda plays the date and time of the message. 
When D/T? is YES, 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.
Name/Ext?The Name/Extension field controls whether users can record their 
names and extensions. When NO, Amanda prevents the user from re-
cording his name and extension. When YES, the user can record his 
name and extension. If there is no Name/Extension recording, Aman-
da 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.
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.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							Chapter 5: Setting Up Mailboxes 115
CreatedThe date and time that the mailbox was created.
SavedThe date and time that the mailbox was last saved. 
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.)
Messages 
MaximumThe maximum number of messages this mailbox has accumulated at 
one time. 
Messages TotalThe cumulative total of messages taken for this mailbox since its cre-
ation.
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 sta-
tistics. 
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.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

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UrgentThe total number of urgent messages that have been received.  
Mailbox Fields (Continued)
FieldDescription 
						

							Chapter 6:
Notifying Users
Overview
Amanda uses notification records to notify users that they have messages. 
The records tell Amanda to:
 Turn message lights on and off 
 Page users using their pager numbers
 Call users at their homes, off-site locations, or other extensions
 Use an office paging system to locate users
Amanda can also perform a relay page, allowing the caller to reach the user 
without leaving a message. 
If you are running Amanda as a voice server, you use Amanda Administrator 
to create, edit, and delete notification records. The icon to the left indicates 
the sections of this chapter that pertain to Amanda Administrator.
If you are running Amanda as a standalone system, you use the Notify 
screen for this purpose. The icon to the left indicates the sections of this 
chapter that pertain to the standalone system. 
						

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Selecting a Port for Notification
To select a port for notification, Amanda can use roving, dedicated, or 
restricted notification. You must use dedicated or restricted notification if 
your telephone switching system expects the same port to both turn the 
message light on and turn it off. In this case, only one port should perform 
notification.
The kind of notification is usually set up for you by the person who installed 
the Amanda system. You can change the kind of notification using the Setup 
utility (selection 4). 
With roving notification, Amanda tries to use the last port (for example, 
port 4 on a four-port system) for notification. If the last port is busy, Amanda 
tries the second-to-last port (for example, port 3), and so forth. 
With dedicated notification, port 1 is used:
 Only for notification
BUT that port
Cannot take incoming calls
Dedicated notification eliminates glare (the collisions between incoming 
calls and outgoing notifications), but you have one fewer port for calls. 
When two calls collide, Amanda fails to get a dial tone on the port and hangs 
up. From the caller’s perspective, he hears DTMF tones and/or a hangup 
instead of the company greeting.
When a port is dedicated to notification, it is identified by an N in the 
Amanda Monitor main window on the standalone system’s Main screen. 
Otherwise the port is identified by an A (for Answer) because it can answer 
calls.
With restricted notification, one port is used:
 Only for notification
AND that port
Can take incoming calls 
						

							Chapter 6: Notifying Users 119
With restricted notification, there can be some glare. However, all your ports 
can be used for calls. If you select restricted notification, you must indicate 
which port has the highest number.
N
OTE:When using roving or restricted notification, the ports 
should be in a linear hunt group (not a circular hunt group). 
In a linear hunt group, port 1 always rings first, port 2 rings 
only if port 1 is busy, and port 3 only rings if port 1 and port 
2 are both busy. Then when Amanda’s last port rings, all 
the other ports must be busy. 
Norstar KSU’s must use restricted notification.
Planning Your Notification Records
If users’ telephones have message lights, you need notification records that 
turn those lights on and off. You program a normal notification record to 
turn the light on and a pickup notification record to turn the light off.
Users with pagers can be notified using normal or urgent notification 
records. However, if you want Amanda to ask callers for their telephone 
numbers and send those numbers to the pagers, you need to use relay page 
notification records.
A normal notification record works for both urgent and non-urgent 
messages—until you add an urgent notification record. Then only non-
urgent messages activate normal notification records. That means that, if 
urgent messages are to turn on message lights, you must add an urgent 
notification record that turns on message lights. This record is identical to 
the normal notification record for message lights, but its type is urgent 
instead of normal.
As the system administrator, you should use the disk notification record 
(available only for mailbox 999). Amanda lets you know when disk space 
becomes less than a specified percentage. By default, that is 20%, but you 
can change the diskwarn configuration option that controls this percentage 
using the Setup utility (selection 4). 
						

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Managing Notification Records and 
Templates
Notification records are created:
 When the mailbox is created (by copying the notification records 
that already exist in the mailbox on which the new mailbox is based)
 At the same time you create a new template
 By starting with an existing template
Each user can have up to ten notification records.
Many users use exactly the same notification records with the exception that 
their extensions, home telephone numbers, or pager numbers differ. Because 
of this, every notification record is based on a template. The templates make 
it easy to add notification for new users or additional types of notification for 
existing users.
Changing a notification template changes all the records that are based on 
that template—unless the change only enables or disables the record or 
changes the contents of the Variable field. These two fields are part of a 
notification record but not part of a notification template because they vary 
from user to user.
N
OTE:When you create new mailboxes, all the fields in the notifi-
cation records—including the Enabled and Variable 
fields—are copied to the new mailbox from the mailbox on 
which it is based. When an enabled record’s Method field 
uses %V, the Variable field must include a number.
Managing notification records includes:
 Creating and modifying notification templates and records. 
The next few sections cover the creation and modification of templates 
and records.
 Making the notification records needed by most or all users part of 
the mailbox template (by default mailbox 997). 
For example, if the records that turn message lights on and off are in the 
template, you don’t have to create those records for each mailbox that 
requires them.