Amanda Work Group Norstar Work Place Instructions Manual

							Appendix B:
Glossary
Telephony terms, such as station side, CO, single-line, hunt group, pilot number, pickup group, 
coverage path, hookflash, call forward ring-no-answer, call forward busy, DTMF, and tone patterns.
RJ-XXRegistered Jacks. Telephone and data plugs that are registered with the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
RJ-11Telephone jack (or plug) commonly used to connect telephones, mo-
dems, and fax machines. The red and green pair carry the conversation 
for one line. The black and white pair might light buttons, send sig-
nals, or go unused.
RJ-14Telephone jack (or plug) commonly used to connect telephones, mo-
dems, and fax machines. The red and green pair carry the conversation 
for one line. The black and yellow pair carry the conversation for the 
second line.
class of serviceA grouping of privileges and features assigned to a telephone in a sys-
tem. Each mailbox in an Amanda system can be given all or any subset 
of the available privileges and features. There are no classes of ser-
vice.
alphanumeric characterA letter from the alphabet (A–Z, a–z), a space, or a digit (0–9).
analog telephoneSingle line telephone or 2500 set (as opposed to digital), the type of 
telephone most often seen in residential units. In a commercial setting, 
analog phones must be connected to analog (single line) ports (jacks) 
which can be limited or unavailable. All telephone ports must be con-
nected to analog (single line) ports off the telephone switching system.
ANIAutomatic Number Identification T1 line
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange—a standard 
used by the computer industry to encode all characters (alphabetic, nu-
meric, etc.) as integers. This code represents 256 characters as integers 
0 through 255. For example, A is encoded as 65 and a is encoded as 97.
audiotextThe ability to play information (instructions) to the caller such as di-
rections to the office or the instructions recorded in mailbox 991. In 
Amanda, this is done by having the Do Not Disturb field set to ON.
automated attendantA computer loaded with software (such as Amanda) capable of an-
swering incoming lines and transferring calls to extensions based on 
DTMF entered by the caller.
back-door attendantAn automated attendant answering specific incoming CO lines dedi-
cated to calls from those callers who do not wish to go through the live 
attendant (receptionist or operator). 
						

							104 Administering [email protected]
blind transfer (unsupervised 
transfer)The execution of an H token (to accomplish a hangup) after dialing an 
extension. This, in effect, releases the call to the extension and is usu-
ally done to make the telephone port available for the next call more 
quickly. (Also, see supervised call transfer.)
Do not use Call Screening with an unsupervised transfer. If you do, the 
caller is screened, but the user never hears that recording.
cadenceA repeating cycle of ON and OFF tones such as ring, busy, fast busy.
call accountingAlso called SMDR. A system used to record information about tele-
phone calls, organize that information, and create reports. The infor-
mation gathered usually includes what extension the call is coming 
from, what circuit is used for the call, when the call started, how long 
it lasted, and the purpose of the call (usually what client or project 
should be billed). Requires a computer, a disk for storing data, and 
some software set up to monitor the telephone calls made. A serial port 
must be dedicated to it.
Caller IDAutomatically identifies the caller Trunk line.
case-sensitiveThe act of differentiating between lowercase (a–z) and uppercase (A–
Z) characters. Amanda uses case-sensitive passwords. AMANDA, 
Amanda, AMandA, or amanda are all different passwords. On the oth-
er hand, if you type these words at the DOS prompt, DOS treats them 
as the same command. 
Channel (port)Amanda software supports systems as small as 2 channels and as large 
as 24 channels.
characterA single symbol including letters from the alphabet, digits 0–9, or spe-
cial ones. For example:  ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) - + < > [ ] { } \ / ? :  | ~ ` _ ,
c-like escape sequenceAny sequence of characters within a string which starts with a \. This 
refers to the C programming language developed at Bell Labs.
CO Telephone Company Central Office
componentEvery message contains one or more components. Components “de-
fine” a message. For example, if a message is forwarded from another 
mailbox with a Message Prefix attached, that message contains two 
components. Similarly, if that message is then forwarded to another 
mailbox with another Message Prefix attached, that message contains 
three components.
composeTo build a message that consists of components.
data corruptionWhen the contents of some memory location or portions of a file re-
siding on a disk or diskette is damaged and lost. This can occur due to 
power fluctuations, faulty hardware such as motherboard or memory 
chips, or software bugs.
dB levelDecibel level. Used to measure the volume of sound or noise.
DBF fileA file which is in dBase format. Amanda tokens can work with dBase 
format as well as ASCII files. A dBase format file must have a DBF 
extension if used with Amanda tokens.
dead/phantom callThe situation where the outside caller hangs up before the extension is 
answered by the user. This might result in the user hearing a fast busy 
(reorder tone) or just silence, depending on the telephone switching 
system and the CO. 
						

							Appendix B: Glossary105
dedicated notificationWhen the first port of Amanda is set aside for notification only. It is 
displayed as 1/N (as opposed to 1/A) on the Main Screen.
The extension connected to port 1 of Amanda must have outside ac-
cess so that pager notification can be successful. You must make sure 
that no incoming calls are routed to port 1 and instead port 2 is desig-
nated as the first answer port. This is useful in eliminating notify col-
lisions (glare condition). To achieve a dedicated notify, set the 
n_ochan parameter in the System Configuration Options file to 1 in-
stead of 0.
default valuesThe values of parameters, variables, and user settings in Amanda 
when the system is first installed. The installer, the system administra-
tor, or the user can change the default values using the keyboard (or 
DTMF from the telephone).
defaults boxMailbox 997 is set up with reasonable default values for each Mailbox 
field. When creating a new mailbox, Amanda accesses the defaults 
box for basic mailbox settings. If you want to change the defaults, 
modify mailbox 997 and Save.
dial codesA set of codes that enable Amanda and the telephone switching system 
to communicate. These are set using Setup option 1 or by editing the 
ASCII file C:\AMANDA\PBX.DB\1001.PBX.
direct callDialing Amanda internally by calling one of her ports from an exten-
sion within the telephone switching system.
direct message codeA mailbox (usually mailbox 998) which functions as a code to skip the 
transfer to a user extension and go directly to the current greeting for 
that user. For example, entering 998#185# causes the caller to hear the 
current greeting for mailbox 185. The caller can then press # twice to 
skip the greeting and go directly to the recording mode. Additionally, 
if you set the short_direct_send parameter in the System Configura-
tion Options to true (its default is false) then using the direct message 
code mailbox causes the caller to hear the Name/Extension recording 
instead of the current greeting.
direct message mailboxA mailbox that allows you to record a message for another mailbox 
without having to execute the Extension field and/or hear the mail-
box’s greeting. This is particularly useful for an operator transferring 
callers directly to a user’s voice mail.
disconnect (hangup) super-
visionThe ability of the telephone switching system to inform Amanda that 
a hangup has occurred on the line. This is normally accomplished by 
the voice board driver monitoring the loop current and informing 
Amanda of loop current OFF or loop current DROP events. This is be-
cause the default value for the hangup_supervision parameter in the 
System Configuration Options is true. If this parameter is set to false, 
Amanda ignores these events.
disk notificationA type of notification used to warn the system administrator (mailbox 
999) that the hard disk space has fallen below a predefined threshold. 
This is set in Setup, Option 4, set diskwarn xx. The default is 20, mean-
ing the Disk notify activates when free disk space is less than 20 per-
cent of total disk space. 
						

							106 Administering [email protected]
Done ChainAfter Amanda is finished processing a mailbox, she continues pro-
cessing the call by going to the mailbox specified in the Done Chain. 
If this field is blank, Amanda uses the Done Chain of the Company 
Greeting, or starting greeting mailbox (generally 990). Usually, the 
Done Chain of 990 is set to 991. Therefore, the default Done Chain is 
usually mailbox 991 (The Caller Instructions).
DTMFDual Tone Multi Frequency (Touch Tone) tones generated by most 
phones when you dial a telephone number. However, the fact that a 
telephone has a dial pad with 12 keys (0–9,*,#), does not guarantee 
that it can generate DTMF.
edit blockA solid colored, or reversed video block seen on the screen (selecting 
the field or the line you are editing) within Amanda or the Setup util-
ity.
employee directory mailboxIf you designate a mailbox using the box_idx configuration option, 
Amanda builds an employee directory which lists all the users based 
on the contents of the Directory Name 1 and Directory Name 2 fields. 
This allows callers to use their telephones to spell the names of the us-
ers they want to reach. Digits 7 and 9 should be used for letters Q and 
Z respectively.
empty stringA string containing no characters at all. To represent an empty string 
you can use  when using tokens.
execution errorA fault which can cause a program to crash and shutdown or produce 
an incorrect result. The error might be due to a logical error in the soft-
ware, faulty hardware, or corruption of memory location caused by 
other programs.
exit code or errorlevelBefore the completion of a program (e.g., RAMANDA.EXE), an in-
teger code can be generated (default is 0) by that program. This code 
can be used by another program or the batch file (e.g., AMAN-
DA.BAT) which started that program in order to determine what to do 
next. This is used by the Auto Shutdown mechanism of Amanda. 
When an Auto Shutdown occurs (by default every Tuesday at 1:30 
AM), RAMANDA.EXE exits (completes execution) with errorlevel 3 
which when passed on to AMANDA.BAT, causes control to be trans-
ferred to the section labeled:  AUTO
flash timeThe amount of time Amanda must remain on-hook while performing 
a hookflash usually set to 55 (0.55 seconds).
flash-hookSee hookflash.
floppy disk driveA storage device, typically referred to as the A or B drive, capable of 
reading and writing information to diskettes (3.5-inch or 5.25-inch). 
Amanda and its associated utilities are distributed on 3.5-inch 1.44 
MB diskettes only. Therefore, the PC designated for Amanda must 
have at least one 3.5-inch 1.44 MB floppy disk drive (A or B).
general protection faultA fault that can cause a program to crash or produce an incorrect re-
sult. The error might be due to a logical error in the software, faulty 
hardware, or corruption of memory location caused by other pro-
grams.
glareThe collisions between incoming calls and notifications. For example, 
a port might try to execute a notification record and accept an incom-
ing call simultaneously. 
						

							Appendix B: Glossary107
hard drive/hard diskA long-term storage device, typically referred to as the C drive, on 
which Amanda is installed. The Amanda Company recommends us-
ing IDE hard drives with a 12ms access time or faster to insure optimal 
processing of calls. Consider large capacity hard disks if a high vol-
ume of outgoing and incoming messages is expected. A 540 MB hard 
disk is estimated to provide 33 hours of messages.
hookflashA momentary on-hook condition which lasts anywhere from 0.25 sec-
onds to 0.85 seconds (usually set to 0.55 seconds.) which is normally 
required to put a caller on hold before Amanda can transfer to an ex-
tension. This is also used when Amanda determines a Ring No An-
swer or Busy extension. A second hookflash (or hook-flash) makes 
Amanda able to get the caller back and play the current greeting or 
Busy message for that user.
inband signalingThe telephone switching system’s ability to send DTMF tones to a 
telephone port as soon as it answers (goes off-hook), informing Aman-
da of the nature of the call as well as the extension or CO line which 
is calling. This helps Amanda make the correct decision in processing 
the call (i.e., play a Busy message, play the current greeting, enter the 
log on mode, or play the company greeting by processing mailbox 
990). This is useful in conjunction with a blind transfer when the call 
volume is very heavy and you wish to make telephone ports available 
for handling the next call as quickly as possible.
informational mailboxA mailbox which usually does not accept messages from callers; in-
stead, its greeting is played to callers to provide them with various 
pieces of information. To accomplish this in Amanda, the Do Not Dis-
turb field must be ON.
integerA whole number with no decimal point or fractions. For example, 24,-
32768,1,8,-30,32767,-1 are integers.
Integration HelperA program accessed by selecting option 3 within the Setup utility and 
pressing the F1 key. This program can assist an installer in determin-
ing the DTMF coming from a telephone switching system using in-
band signaling. An alternative is using an Amanda trace file (either 
C:\AMANDA\TRACE.OUT or C:\AMANDA\SCREEN.OUT).
integration timeoutThe pause after Amanda goes off-hook to allow for the arrival of 
DTMF sent by the telephone switching system using inband signaling. 
It also serves as an inter-digit timer after the arrival of the first digit. 
You can set this timer by modifying the first line of the screen access-
ed by selecting option 3 of Setup. The default is 0 which means inband 
signaling is disabled. Use 10 to specify 1.0 second, 15 for 1.5 seconds 
and so on.
Interactive Voice Response 
(IVR)A way in which callers can obtain information from a computer data-
base through the use of DTMF. This is common in the banking indus-
try. For example, if you want to know your account balance, you enter 
your account number and your personal identification number when 
prompted. The system you are communicating with confirms your ac-
count number and security code and accesses a database to retrieve 
your account balance.
jumper pinsPins found on a voice board and used to set the correct address for the 
board.
List CommentA comment describing a mailing list that is recorded by the user who 
creates the list. The comment should help you distinguish one list from 
another and remember whose extensions are on the list. 
						

							108 Administering [email protected]
LoginsThe total number of times the mailbox was accessed by a user by 
pressing the * key.
long pauseUsing , within a token string causes Amanda to pause for 2 seconds.
mailboxThe user options, messages, mailing lists, and other data identified by 
a mailbox.
menu barLists a program’s choices. It is found at the top of the screen of any 
Amanda screen or Windows application.
MFMulti-frequency. An inband address signaling method which uses ten 
decimal digits and five auxiliary signals are each represented by se-
lecting two frequencies and combining them into one sound.
monitored transferSame as supervised transfer.
non-empty stringA string containing 1 or more characters.
notification templateA general notification action which can be used for any number of no-
tification records belonging to any number of mailboxes. For exam-
ple, message waiting light ON and message waiting light OFF 
notification actions should be saved as templates.
nullEmpty string or empty value.
on-hookWhen a port or extension is ready to take a call. When off-hook, a port 
or extension is not available to accept calls.
PCPMProgrammed Call Progress Monitoring. See supervised call transfer.
port (channel)A hardware device in the computer or telephone switching system 
where data can be accessed. When not prefaced by COM, serial, or 
parallel, this guide refers to a port created by connecting a telephone 
port to a voice board. Amanda supports from 2 to 24 ports. See also 
COM port, RS-232 port, serial port, and parallel port.
prompt fileThe Amanda file containing all system prompts (prerecorded words, 
sentences, or questions) that are included within the Amanda soft-
ware. The default prompt file is C:\AMANDA\ENGLISH.IDX or EN-
GLISH.BDX (depending on whether your computer is a Rhetorex 
voice board or an Amanda Company voice board for Norstar KSUs). 
The Spanish and French versions of the system prompts are also avail-
able from The Amanda Company.
reorder toneA fast busy or busy tone heard when you dial an invalid extension or 
when no intercom path is available.
ring voltageA ring signal provided by the Central Office. It is generally 70 to 90 
volts at 17 Hz to 20 Hz.
sampling rateAn indication of the method used for digitizing sound which is re-
quired before you can save prompts, greetings, and messages onto the 
hard disk.
SMDISimplified Message Desk Interface, a Bellcore standard, is a data line 
from the central office that sends information and instructions (about 
the caller and called party) to your on-site voice mail box. For exam-
ple, if you call yourself, Amanda assumes you want to listen to your 
messages. 
						

							Appendix B: Glossary109
SMDRStation Message Desk Reporting. See call accounting.
status barArea at the bottom of the screen or window that describes actions cur-
rently being performed within the program.
stringA sequence of 0 or more characters. The length of a string is the num-
ber of characters in the sequence. A space counts as one character 
when it appears anywhere within the sequence. A string of length 0 is 
null or empty.
substringA portion of a string. For example, “EN” is a substring of “MEN” as 
well as “WOMEN”, or “TENTH”.
supervised transferA type of call transfer in which Amanda stays on the line and listens 
to telephone switching system tone patterns after putting the caller on 
transfer hold. If what is heard does not match a Ring, Busy, or Reorder 
tone, the voice board driver reports an answer to Amanda. To com-
plete the transfer, Amanda hangs up. (See also blind transfer.)
system integration patternsThe patterns expected from the telephone switching system when 
Amanda is integrated with the telephone switching system. These pat-
terns can be defined using Setup option 3 or editing the same ASCII 
file that 
contains the dial codes (C:\AMANDA\PBX.DB 1001.PBX). The In-
tegration Helper can assist in defining the correct patterns, or you can 
use the trace facility within Amanda.
taskbarA tool used in Windows 95 that helps you track the programs you are 
currently running and gives you easy access to those you are not. This 
is typically located at the bottom of the screen and includes the Start 
button.
timed break recallUsing ~ token to make Amanda pulse dial the digit 1 to effect a timed 
break recall.
tokenA command in the Token Programming Language that cause Amanda 
to perform some action. For example, the P() token causes Amanda to 
play messages and so forth. Tokens usually appear in the Extension 
fields of mailboxes and in the Method fields of notification records.
tone patternsThe Ring, Busy, Reorder, and Hangup tones that Amanda uses to su-
pervise transferred calls.
toolbarA bar of buttons which represent common tasks of the program you 
are using.
traceA facility within the Amanda software which logs all activity on tele-
phone ports into a file named 
C:\AMANDA\TRACE.OUT. This file can be viewed using any 
ASCII editor such as MS-DOS EDIT or JOVE (supplied by The 
Amanda Company).
The TRACE.EXE utility allows you to review Amanda’s activities. 
When testing token programming, use the following command to start 
Amanda with trace turned on:
C:\AMANDA /t /s 1300
This command also limits the size of the trace file to 1.3 MB so it can 
fit on a 3.5-inch floppy disk. The trace can be left on indefinitely and 
will retain only the last 1.3 MB of data. The /t turns on trace mode and 
the /s limits the size to the specified number of bytes. 
						

							110 Administering [email protected]
transfer dial toneThe solid (continuous) tone which must be heard by Amanda after a 
hookflash is performed and before DTMF digits representing the ex-
tension to connect to are dialed. If one second of continuous dial tone 
is not detected by Amanda, a second hookflash is performed in order 
to get back to the caller. The absence of transfer dial tone is usually 
due to the fact that the telephone switching system does not have an 
available intercom path or DTMF receiver at the time. A non blocking 
telephone switching system is one that can guarantee transfer dial tone 
for all telephone ports by allocating one DTMF receiver per port.
turnkey systemA system that comes ready to use.
mailboxA unique number chosen to identify an Amanda voice mailbox. Any 
number from 0 to 99,999,999 is acceptable as a mailbox.
unsupervised transferSame as blind transfer.
voice boardThe audioboard which communicates with Amanda software and en-
ables it to process incoming calls and/or make outbound calls.
voice formVoice response to a series of questions that constitute a form. For ex-
ample, Amanda might ask a caller for his name, address, and other 
pertinent information for a mailing label. Using the Q() command in 
the Token Programming Language, all the caller’s answers can be 
stored as a message.
voice notificationDialing an extension or an outside number and playing the mailbox’s 
Name and Extension recording and saying the total number of mes-
sages and how many of them are unheard. This is useful when mes-
sage waiting lights cannot be lit by a single line port or when users 
wish to be notified at home after hours. 
						

							Symbols
%R
 53
%V 57
/I
command-line options
 11
/P
command-line options
 12
/S
command-line options
 12
/T
command-line options
 12
Numerics
411
 31, 39, 44
990 2, 22, 93
sample greetings 23
991 3, 28, 94
sample greetings 29
997 36
Norstar 36
999
computer use of
 83
recording system announce-
ments
 79
telephone use of 79
A
accessing
Amanda
 11
Main screen 11
Users screen 33
activating
notification records
 57
scheduling records 70
alphanumeric
defined
 103
Amanda
calling
 21
Main screen 15
password 13, 33
shutting down 12, 81
starting 11
version 16
analog telephone
defined
 103
ANI
defined
 103
announcing
called party
 46
ANSWER 16
ASCII
defined
 103
At
scheduling fields
 70
attendant
automated
 1
off-duty 1
primary 1
secondary 1
audiotext
defined
 103
Auto screen
And Every
 70
At 70
Auto-scheduling Records List 
67
Call Screening 70
Change On 70
displaying 67
Do Not Disturb 70
Enabled 70
Extension 70
Greeting 70
menu bar 67
MTWTFSS 70
Next Change 70
Restrict To 70
Rings 70
scheduling record fields 70
Selected Record’s Fields 67
User Information 67
autocreating
mailboxes
 40
automated attendant 1
defined 103
Auto-scheduling Records List
Auto screen
 67
B
back-door attendant
defined
 103
backing up
Amanda files
 85
BackRest utility 85
BACKREST.EXE 85
Basic Options
Users screen
 34
beepers
see pagers
 49
blind transfer
defined
 104
BUSY 16
Busy Chain 47
busy hold music
changing
 80
busy message
custom
 46
locking 46
maximum length 46
system 46
Busy Message? 46
C
cadence
defined
 104
call accounting
defined
 104
Call Processing diagram 5
Call Screening
scheduling field
 70
called party
identifying
 46
Caller ID
defined
 104
Caller Instructions 28
caller instructions
setup sheets
 95
Caller Instructions mailbox 94
calling
Amanda
 21
home 62
pager 60, 61
Calls 16, 17, 48
calls
processing
 4
case-sensitive
defined
 104
center
voice messaging
 1
CHAIN 16
Index 
						

							112 Administering [email protected]
Chains
Users screen
 34
Change On
scheduling field
 70
changing
busy hold music
 80
dates 18
field settings 35
mailboxes 42, 47
notification record templates 
55
notification records 55
pager telephone number for no-
tification
 59
report column order 75
report column widths 75
scheduling records 69
system date 83
system time 83
times 18
Variable field for notification 
59
channel
defined
 104, 108
character
defined
 104
class of service
defined
 103
c-like escape sequence
defined
 104
CO
defined
 104
columns
changing widths in reports
 75
order in reports 75
command-line options 11
Comment 44
comments
notification records
 57
Company Greeting 22
Company Greeting mailbox 93
company greetings 93
component
defined
 104
compose
defined
 104
Conn Secs 48
connection time
total
 48
Continue Every
notification record field
 57
conventions iii
Copy Messages To 45
copying
files
 19
mailboxes 42
copyright ii
Created 47
creating
informational mailboxes
 41
mailboxes 47
mailboxes automatically 40
mailboxes based on another 
mailbox
 42
mailboxes from template 38
menu options 47
notification record templates 
51, 52
notification records 51, 52, 
54
report templates 74
reports 74
scheduling records 68
system announcements 79
system-wide mailing lists 82
Current Greeting 46
locking 46
custom
busy message
 46
customer support 9
customizing
reports
 73
D
D/T
 46
data corruption
defined
 104
dates
message
 46
resetting 18
resetting system 83
scheduling 70
days of week
notification
 57
scheduling 70
dB level
defined
 104
DBF file
defined
 104
deactivating
notification records
 57
scheduling records 70
dead call
defined
 104
dealer sales 9
dedicated notification 49
defined 105
default box
defined
 105
default values
defined
 105
defining
mailboxes
 44
Delay 47
delaying
between greeting and next ac-
tion
 47
deleting
mailboxes
 43, 85
mailing lists 86
personal mailing lists 86
system announcements 80
DelUsers utility 85
DELUSERS.EXE 85
diagrams
Call Processing
 5
Mailbox Processing 7
mailbox processing 6
DIAL 16
dial codes
defined
 105
Dir Name 1 44
Dir Name 2 44
direct call
defined
 105
direct message
defined
 105
direct message mailbox
defined
 105
directories
employee
 31, 44
disabling
notification records
 57, 58
scheduling records 70
disconnect supervision
defined
 105
disk
notification
 54
disk notification
defined
 105
disk space
notification
 54, 83
displaying
Auto screen
 67
files 90, 91
mailboxes 43
message statistics 86
Notify screen 51
Users screen 34
distribution sales 9
Do Not Disturb 45
locking 45
scheduling field 70
Done Chain 29, 47
defined 106
DTMF 3
defined 106
E
edit block
defined
 106