ATT Merlin Identifier Installation Administration Manual

							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
Caller Names
All upper-case alphabetic characters and punctuation marks can
be used for caller names. The MERLIN Identifier system stores
database records in alphabetical order by caller name. To
facilitate recognition of names on the MERLIN Identifier Displays,
always record caller names in the same format—such as last
name first. For example, enter SUE WALLACE and BERT
WASHINGTON into the database as WALLACE, SUE and
WASHINGTON, BERT, or SUE WALLACE and BERT
WASHINGTON, 
but not WALLACE, SUE and BERT
WASHINGTON.
Telephone Numbers
Telephone numbers are stored in the database using standard
area code, exchange, and number format. All 10 digits of the
telephone number must be used.
Depending on your data collection and call tracking needs, you
may not want to differentiate calls based on all digits of telephone
numbers. The MERLIN Identifier system lets you substitute the
question mark (“?”) as a wild-card character in place of individual
digits in the telephone number.
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
Advantages of Using the
Wild-Card Character
Using one or more wild-card characters offers the following
advantages in storing telephone numbers in the database and
displaying Caller ID information:
n
n
n
nEach wild-card character used in a telephone number
replaces 10 individual digits (0 through 9)—thus a single
wild-card character has the potential to reduce the
database by 9 records, two wild-card characters have
the potential to reduce the database by 99 records, and
so on
Selected ranges of telephone numbers could be assigned
to a single record
All telephone numbers within a calling exchange could be
represented by just a single database record
All telephone numbers within an area code could be
represented by just a single database record
The following examples show how the wild-card character can be
used to address business needs.
Example 1: A local delivery service in the 901 area code has
been monitoring its telephone calls and finds that a significant
number of calls involved telephone numbers 555-4100 to
555-4199. A further check reveals that a single company uses all
100 of those telephone numbers. To use a single database record
to represent all 100 of the company’s telephone numbers, a caller
record with telephone number 901-555-41?? and the
company’s name has been set up in the MERLIN Identifier
database. Now any time a telephone order is placed from
telephone numbers 555-4100 to 555-4199, the delivery service
knows to send the delivery person to the same company.
MERLIN Identifier Database Description
35 
						

							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
Example 2: The delivery service in “Example 1” only delivers
within a five mile radius. The manager has identified four
surrounding telephone exchanges outside the radius likely to
place an order, but to which deliveries would not be made: 332,
125, 976, and 212. To immediately identify those exchanges to
employees, the following telephone numbers were added to the
MERLIN Identifier database with the name 
NO DELIVERY:
901-332-????, 901-125-????, 901-976-????, and
901-212-????. Now whenever a delivery request comes in
from those exchanges, the employee politely explains that the
location is outside the delivery range.
Setting Up and
Maintaining the Database
The MERLIN Identifier database enables you to match the names
of frequent callers to their telephone numbers. This database can
be set up in the following ways:
n
nUsing the Administrative Keyboard and Display or
Administrative PC to enter individual caller records
directly into the database from the following sources:
Your files or paper records
Caller ID information output from the serial printer
attached to the MERLIN Identifier Control Unit
Transferring data from computer-based applications:—
—
—
—
—
Database files
Mailing list files
Plain ASCII text files
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
Maintaining the Database Directly
The following MERLIN Identifier database functions can be
performed from Administrative Keyboard and Display or the
Administrative PC:
n
n
n
nAdding a new record
Searching for a specific record to display, edit, or delete
Editing an existing record
Deleting an existing record
Adding Database Records
To add a record to the MERLIN Identifier database, follow the
instructions below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.Enter the administration password.
Enter N (for New).
The MERLIN Identifier system displays the following
characters to prompt the correct entry of the caller record:
----------------1-to-16 chararcter caller name
-000-000-0000Priority flag (default is no priority)
and 10-digit caller telephone
number
Type over the dashes with the name of the caller.
(Priority Callers (Only) Move the cursor to the minus sign (-)
and press the Plus (+) key to identify a priority caller.
Type over the 000-000-0000 with the telephone
number. The MERLIN Identifier ignores dashes and spaces
between the area code, exchange, and line number fields.
Type all 10 digits, including the area code.
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
6.
7.Press  to save the record.
If a record with the identical telephone number already
exists, enter 
Y to confirm its replacement.
Repeat Steps 2 through 6 to add more records.
Selecting Database Records
Use the following commands to select a MERLIN Identifier
database caller record for displaying or subsequent
administration tasks:
CommandMERLIN Identifier System Response
F (First)Select the first caller record in the database
+ (Plus)Scroll to the next caller record in the database
. (Period)Display the currently selected caller record
- (Minus)Scroll to the previous caller record
$Display the number of records in the database
The MERLIN identifier database contains the following lines to tell
you when the beginning or end of the database has been reached:
BEGINNING OF DATABASE
END OF DATABASE
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
Searching for Specific
Database Records
To search for a record containing a specific string of characters in
the caller name, follow the instructions below:
1.
2.
3.Enter the administration password.
Enter S (for Search).
NOTE:
The search starts from the current record. If you want to
search the entire database, enter F (for First) before
entering the Search command.
Enter the string of characters to search for.
The MERLIN Identifier system displays a record with a caller
name containing the search string entered.
Repeating the Last Search
Searches may not always display the caller record you want.
To repeat the search using the same string of characters defined
in the last search:
nEnter R (for Re-search).
The MERLIN Identifier system displays the next record
with a caller name containing the search string entered.
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
Editing Database Records
To edit the current record after selecting or displaying it, follow the
instructions below:
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.Enter E (for Edit).
Move the cursor to the information to be changed and type
the changes.
Press  to save the record.
If the record already exists, enter Y to confirm its
replacement.
Deleting a Database Record
To delete the current database record after selecting or
displaying it, follow the instructions below:
Enter D (for Delete).
You are prompted to confirm the deletion.
Enter one of the following:
Y  to delete the record
N  to cancel the deletion
Maintaining the Database Using
File Transfers
n
n
The MERLIN Identifier Transfer command lets you download
MERLIN Identifier database records for use in other applications
or to make a backup copy of the database. The Transfer
command also lets you maintain caller names and telephone
numbers in a PC application and upload the records to the
MERLIN Identifier database.
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
There are no restrictions on downloading MERLIN Identifier
database records to the Administrative PC. However, the
following restrictions apply when uploading records to the
MERLIN Identifier database:
n
n
n
n
n
n
nRecord format must not exceed the following record format
or the record will be discarded by MERLIN Identifier:
PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN
where:
P is “+” to indicate a Priority record.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA is the 1-to-16 character
caller name.
NNNNNNNNNN  is the caller’s 10-digit telephone number.
Only the first 16 characters of the name are accepted—
any others are discarded
Records must be delimited by a carriage return ; no
field delimiters can be used
First line of the upload file must contain the uppercase
words BEGINNING OF DATABASE
Last line of the upload file must contain the uppercase
words 
END OF DATABASE
File upload is destructive—new records are added and
records with matching phone numbers are overwritten
If more records are uploaded than will fit in the database,
the extra records are discarded and the MERLIN
Identifier system displays the last record that was
successfully uploaded
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
Downloading Database Records
To download records from the MERLIN Identifier database to the
Administrative PC, follow the instructions below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
1.
2.Start the communications software on the Administrative PC.
Enter the administration password.
Enter 
T (for Transfer).
Enter one of the following:
n
nX  to download using the XMODEM protocol
T  to download as standard ASCII text characters
Enter R (for Receive).
Initiate the download file transfer option for the
Administrative PC communications program and specify a
target filename of your own choosing.
Uploading Records
CAUTION:
When uploading a large database during a heavy incoming call
period, some Caller ID data may be missed. It is recommended
that such transfers be made during evening hours or other light
call traffic periods.
It is recommended that you sort the records on your
Administrative PC before you upload them to the MERLIN
Identifier database.
To upload records from the Administrative PC to the MERLIN
Identifier database, follow the instructions below:
Start the communications software on the Administrative PC.
Enter the Administration password.
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							Administering the MERLIN Identifier Database
3.
4.
5.
6.
1.
2.Enter T (for Transfer).
Enter one of the following:
X  to upload using the XMODEM protocoln
n
T  to upload as standard ASCII text characters
Enter S (for Send).
Initiate the upload file transfer option for the Administrative
PC communications program.
Changing the
Administration Mode
If you are using the Administrative PC, you can speed up
administration tasks by changing the mode from Beginner (factory
default setting) to Advanced. In Advanced mode, the MERLIN
Identifier system does not display extended prompts or the
command menu unless you type 
? or H for Help.
To toggle the Administration Mode between Beginner and
Advanced, follow the instructions below:
Enter the Administration password.
Enter M (for Mode).
Changing the Administration Mode43