Comdial Execumail Voice Processing System 6.5 Instructions Manual

							14 6 Port Applications EkecuMail6.5 
Displaying Additional Potts 
Only ports 1 through 4 are displayed on the screen. If your system has more than 
4 ports, press m to view the next four ports’ settings. If your system has 
more than 8 ports, pressing [ctrl)l again will display ports 9 through 12, 
etc. Pressing [ctrlHPgUp) a few times will take you back to ports 1 through 4. 
Opening Line Options by Port 
The top half of the screen controls how the system answers the calls coming in 
on each port. It is similar in layout to the Voice Prompt Editor screen. (See the 
Recording Voice Fields topic.) The first three lines (Lines 10-12) store the Opening 
Line prompts for your system. These are the first lines spoken to any caller when 
the system answers a call. 
The last line in this section, labeled 13. 
System ID if no TTs, controls 
where a call will be routed if the caller fails to press a touchtone during the 
Opening Line. (See the 
Opening Line topic.) 
The port columns in the top half of the screen are each subdivided into Day and 
Night 
(Day Nt) columns. The Day and Night columns correspond to the 
system’s Day Mode and Night Mode. Day Mode is typically the hours your office 
is open for business and Night Mode is when your office is closed. You define 
the hours and days the system is 
to operate in Day Mode in the Schedules 
fields on the QuickStart Application Screen, Page 4. Refer to the Schedules topic 
for details. 
The 
All Ports column is the default configuration. The values that are 
entered into this column are used on all system ports, unless a different value is 
specified in any of the individual port columns. 
You may record an alternative series of Opening Line prompts in any of the port 
columns, if you want to have calls coming in on that port answered differently 
(for example, in a different language). Follow the procedure outlined in the topic 
Recording Voice Fields. You may also specify in that port column a different 
routing for callers who fail to press a touchtone. All these changes can be set on 
a particular port for Day Mode only, Night Mode only, or for both Day and Night 
Modes. 
Port Status Options 
The bottom half of the screen has port-specific options that control how a port is 
to be used-for answering calls and/or dialing out, how many rings to wait 
before answering a call, which Day Mode schedule to use, and other special port 
options. These options are used by each port regardless of whether the system is 
in Day Mode or not. 
Port Status 
The Port Status field in Line 14 specifies whether the port is dedicated to 
answering incoming calls or dialing out calls for various purposes. You can vary 
the port status you assign to each port in your system to allow the system to 
efficiently handle the types of incoming and outgoing calls your application 
requires.  
						

							Reference Manual Port Applications 14 7 
. . 
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i 
k The port status codes are: 
An8 
Answer only, no dial out. The port will not dial out to light message waiting 
lamps or deliver new messages. 
A/D 
Answer/Dial out. The port will answer incoming calls. When it is not answering 
an incoming call, the port will dial out to light message waiting lamps and to 
deliver new messages. 
A/L 
Answer/Light Lamps. The port will answer incoming calls. When it is not 
answering an incoming call, the port will dial out to light message waiting lamps. 
The port will 
not dial out to deliver messages. 
A/M 
Answer/Message Delivery. The port will answer incoming calls. When it is not 
answering an incoming call, the port will dial out to deliver new messages. The 
port will 
not dial out to light message waiting lamps. 
Busy 
Stay off-hook. Use for testing or to temporarily take a port off line. 
Dial 
Dial out only. The port is dedicated to dialing out to light message waiting lamps 
and to deliver new messages. It will not answer incoming calls. 
Light Lamps only. The port is dedicated to dialing out to light message waiting 
lamps exclusively. The port will 
not dial out to deliver new messages and will not 
answer incoming calls. 
Mw 
Message Delivery only. The port is dedicated to dialing out to deliver new 
messages exclusively. The port will 
not dial out to light message waiting lamps 
and will not answer incoming calls. 
A typical application uses only two port status codes: Answer (AIIS) and 
Answer/Dial 
(A/D). The answer/dialout ports are used for lighting message 
waiting lamps and delivering messages. A general rule of thumb is to have one 
port out of every four ports set to answer or dial-out 
(A/D), with the rest set to 
answer only @IIS). By limiting the number of ports that can dial out, the system 
gives priority to answering incoming calls quickly. 
However, if the system is not promptly notifying subscribers that they have new 
messages, it is likely that the incoming call load is too heavy for the system to get 
a chance to dial out and light message waiting lamps. If this is the case, you 
might want to assign answer/dial out status 
(A/D) to an additional port, or 
dedicate one port to Dial out only 
(D). The system must have at least one port 
available for dialing out in order to use message waiting lamps and to deliver 
new messages. 
Here are four factors to consider when assigning the port status codes:  
						

							I48 Port Applications EkecuMail6.5 
8 
A dialout port (A/D or Dial) used to call subscribers for message delivery 
can be tied up for long periods by subscribers listening to their delivered 
messages. If this port is also used for lighting message waiting lamps, this 
may delay dialaut calls to light or extinguish message waiting lamps, 
resulting in lamps remaining lit long after a message is heard or delays in 
lighting a lamp after a new message arrives. 
8 
If the system answers calls on a port that is relied upon to dial out for 
delivering messages (A/D, A/M), the system’s ability to dial out may be 
limited by incoming call traffic. 
8 
If the system has several ports dedicated to dialing out for message waiting 
lamps or message delivery (A/D,A/L,A/M,Dial, La~~~p,Msg),too few 
ports may be left available for incoming calls, since most or all of the ports 
will be busy dialing out. This can result in public callers or subscribers 
receiving busy signals when they try to call in. 
It is best to give A/D, A/L, A/M, Dial, Lamp, or Msg status to the least busy 
port, which is typically the highest numbered port on a system (for example, port 
number 8 on an &port system). This allows incoming calls to naturally hunt for 
available ports. 
The system has a built-in call collision prevention feature that is activated if you 
turn dialtone detection on. (See the topic Switch Setup.) If a call comes in on a 
port that is set to A/D, A/L, A/M, Dial, Lamp or Msg at the same time the port 
is attempting to dial out, the system gives priority to the incoming call and 
terminates the dial-out. flhe dial out request is put back in the queue.) 
In addition, if an A/D, A/L or A/M port is the only port not busy, the system will 
not initiate any dial-out calls until another port is freed up to answer incoming 
calls. 
Rings to Answer 
The Rings to Answer field on Line 15 stores the number of rings the system 
should wait before answering a particular port. In most cases you want the port 
to answer on the first ring (Rings to Answer = 1). This parameter applies 
to a port which has a port status of ins, A/D, A/L, or A/M. 
NOTE: Because Comdial telephone systems do not support DIL hunt groups, 
enter 0 (zero) in the Rings to Answer field for pooled ringing. See the 
Switch Setup topic if you need more information on Pooled Ringing. 
Day Mode Schedule for Port 
Much of the system’s interaction with an outside caller depends on whether the 
system is in Day Mode or Night Mode. 
You may set a different schedule for each port on Line 16, Day/Night 
Schedule (1. .4). By default, the system uses only Schedule #l, unless you 
explicitly tell it to use a different schedule on a particular port. You may define 
up to four different Day Mode/Night Mode schedules for the system. See the 
Schedules topic for details on how to define schedules.  
						

							Reference Manual Port Applications 149 
Except in special cases, most applications use only one schedule throughout the 
entire system. On the other hand, if two departments with different business 
hours share a call processing system, using different ports to answer each 
department’s calls, you might want to assign different schedules to each port. In 
this case, you would define two different Day Mode schedules (Schedule #I and 
Schedule #2) on QuickStart Application Screen, Page 4, then enter the number of 
the schedule that is to control each port on Quick&art Application Screen, Page 
2 in the Day/Night Schedule ( 1. .4 ) field. 
Specia/ Poff Options 
Comdial requires no special port options. Line 17 of the QuickStart Application 
Screen, Page 2 should remain blank. 
For related information, see: 
n Applications 
n Message Delivery 
n Message Waiting Lamps 
I 
Opening Line 
n Public Interview Box & Public Messages 
H Recording Voice Fields 
n Schedules 
n Switch Setup 
n System IDS  
						

							7 50 Public hferview Box & Public Messages 
fxecuMail6.5 
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Public Interview Box & 
Public Messages 
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ExecuMail provides a special interview box in the Transaction Directory, called 
the Public Interview Box. Messages left in the Public Interview Box, Operator Box, 
or Public Fax Box are 
public messages, which are available to all subscribers 
with public message access. The system may also be set up to send a public 
message if a system error occurs, ._ 
Typically, the Public Interview Box is used to handle calls that are intended for 
the Operator but go unanswered. The Public Interview Box asks a caller for his or 
her name, telephone number and a brief message so that the call can be 
returned. The use of the Public Interview Box is not restricted to just this purpose, 
however. 
,~:~;::,~:~:,:::::::~:~~~,.~:::::’:’:’:-.’::~:~: .-:: .: 
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::.:.‘.::f::.:::i...:.:: . . . . . . . ..:.,.:.;..: : : . . :.,.,,.:. : 
Name : pu6y r. .y$... ggci?.&. . .  . . ,.,. 
. . . . . . T~~~ti..-ew.66i”‘%& . . . .p~~~lc” fic’t;ess 
System ID: $PM Voice name: 0:02 
- Question - Reply 
1. 0:08 6 sets 
2. 0:02 sets 
3. 0:02 z 
sets 
4. 0:02 9 sets 
5. 0:03 40 sets 
6. 0:03 
sets 
7. 0:oo : sets 
8. 0:OO 0 sets Question - Reply 
9. 0:oo 
00 sets 
10. 0:oo sets 
11. 0:oo 0 sets 
12. 0:oo 
13. 0:oo i sets 
sets 
14. 0:oo 
i sets 
15. 0:oo sets 
16. 0:OO 0 sets -l-- Question - Reply -1 
17. 0:oo 
18. 0:OO 
19. 0:oo 
20. 0:oo sets 
E sets 
0 sets 
0 sets 
Send Msg Urgent? No 
After: Say-bye 
Figure 73: The Public Interview Box 
Setting Up the Public Interview Box 
You set up the Public Interview Box the same way as a regular interview box. 
Refer to the Interview Box topic if you need instructions. 
Public interview Box ID: $PM 
The Public Interview Box comes with a default System ID of $PM. You can 
change the box’s ID, but you cannot delete the Public Interview Box, nor add a 
new one. If you do change the box’s System ID, make sure you also change all 
references to the old ID. (This System ID is typically used in the GotoID--> 
field on the system’s Operator Box, and by the system ID if no TTs field 
on the QuickStart Application Screen, Page 2). \.-- 
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Reference Manual 
Default Questions 
Public Interview Box & Public Messages 15 1 
The questions listed below are recorded as defaults in the Public Interview Box. 
Question Max Reply Time 
who’s calling please? 6 
Whom are you hying to reach? 9 
What’s this in reFerence to? 9 
At what number can you be reached? 9 
What additional message would you like to leave? 40 
Leaving a Message in the Public Interview Box 
A caller routed to the Public Interview Box is asked the series of questions 
recorded in the box. If the caller does not finish speaking in the allotted reply 
time, the system goes on to the next question. 
If the caller does not respond to the first question, the system repeats the first 
question. If the caller still does not respond, the system skips ahead to the 
Action. For example, if the action is Say-bye, the caller hears the following: 
‘lf you need further assistance, press the pound key now. Thank you and 
goodbye. ** 
[PH-Box-Goodbye] 
If the caller responds to the first question, but fails to answer a later question, the 
system continues on with the next question in the series. 
NOTE: If dialtone detect is enabled, the system detects if the caller 
disconnects and stops the interview. 
Deleting Public Interview Box Messages 
You can delete all of the messages in the Public Interview Box. 
NOTE: You should delete Public Interview Box messages when there is little 
call traffic on the system. If the box has many messages, the system may not 
be able to answer calls for several minutes. If you must delete Public 
Interview Box messages while calls are coming in, forward all voice mail lines 
to the operator. 
To delete all messages in the Public lnterview Box 
1. Sign in at the system console. Press [Clrl)(TI to display the Transaction 
Directory. 
2. Press IPeon) (or use the Jump command) to display the Public Interview 
Box. 
3. Press 0. 
4. 
PresS (-Enter) to select All Messages. 
5. Press Q to confirm.  
						

							152 Public Interview Box & Public Messages ExecuMail6.5 
Who May Listen to Public Messages? 
Public Interview Box, Operator Box, and Public Fax Box messages are available 
to all subscribers who have public message access. The system may also send a 
public message if a system error occurs. Subscribers with public message access 
do 
not have the P access code in the Access field on their Personal Directory 
page. A P in the Access field means that the subscriber cannot access public 
messages. 
Most sites want system managers and operators to have public message access. 
Usually these are the only subscribers who do 
not get the P access code (which 
stands for No Public Messages). Without the P access code, they can 
receive public messages. All other subscribers would get the P access code. 
NOTE: Be sure you have at least one subscriber who does 
not have the P 
access code, so that someone will receive public messages. Otherwise, these 
messages can go unnoticed and fill up disk space. 
Messages from the Public Interview Box 
Subscribers who have access to public messages hear any messages left in the 
Public Interview Box once they have checked all their other new messages. 
As with other interview boxes, each set of responses to the Public interview BOX 
questions is stored as a single message. A beep is recorded between each 
response in the interview. You do not hear the original interview questions when 
you hear the replies. If a caller does not answer a question, you will hear two 
consecutive beeps, indicating no response. 
If more than one subscriber has public message access, only the first subscriber 
to hear a public message will hear it as a 
new message. The message will be 
available to subsequent subscribers with public message access as an old 
message. If any subscriber deletes a public message after hearing it, it is deleted 
from the system and is not available to any other subscriber. 
It is best to limit the number of people who can access public messages. This 
helps to ensure that important messages won’t be inadvertently deleted. However, 
you should be sure you have at least one person, such as the receptionist, who 
receives all new public messages, and, if necessary, can redirect the messages to 
the appropriate subscribers. If you delete the only subscriber who has public 
message access, make sure you remove the P access code from another 
subscriber so that person can receive public messages. 
Preserving a Public Message 
Instead of redirecting a public message to a specific subscriber, you can also 
keep a public message as a 
new message that can be heard by other subscribers 
with public message access. To do this, the first subscriber to hear the message 
must press the star (*) touchtone, either while listening to the message or during 
the message’s time and date announcement. :, 
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Whenever any subscriber hears an old public message, that subscriber must 
archive it, if he or she wants to keep the message as an old message for other  
						

							Reference Manual Public Interview Box & Public Messages 153 
subscribers with public message access. If an old public message is listened to 
and not archived, it is immediately deleted from the system. 
Message Notification for Public Messages 
System managers and operators may not want the system to call them or light 
their message waiting lamps if the only messages they have waiting are public 
messages. You can add the C access code to the Access field of their Personal 
Directory pages to have the system light their message waiting lamps only when 
they have new messages specifically addressed to them. 
Public Message Parameters 
Line 51 on the QuickStart Application Screen, Page 6 has parameters that relate 
to the Public Interview Box (Figure 74). 
52. Max person-person recording: 300 sets Max screening recording: 6 
53. Skip back time on #: 4 Max ID attempts: 4 Bad ID Goto--> 
54. Record Pauses...Beginning: 5 Short ending: 2 Long ending: 3 
55. 
BeeD on record? Yes 
Disk full warnins at: 15 mins left 
56. Blank PC screen? Yes Screen Type: Auto Keypad: Q=7, Z=9 keys 
51. OS Surrender- Daily: Weekly: Monthly: 
58. Startup: Error notices to: 0 
59. ID for Alpha Directory: 555 Auto xfer? Yes ID for Num Groups: 
Public Fax Box 
Fax ID: SFAXBOX Transfer? No Alt 
ACtiOn: Operator 
Voice name: 0:02 Await-Ans-->4 Rings 
Holding? No Announce: Always 
Figure 74: QuickStart Application Screen, Page 6, with public message parameters 
Public Hold/Archive msgs 
This pair of fields indicates how many days to keep old public messages (Hold) 
and how many days to keep archived public messages (Archive). The value of 
zero (0) for Hold means that an old public message is deleted at midnight on 
the day it was first heard. The value of 2 for Archive means that if an archived 
public message is deleted two days after it was last saved. Each time an old 
public message is heard, it must be explicitly saved again or it will be deleted. 
New Msgs: O=O:OO Total: O=O:OO 
These are display-only fields showing the number of public messages on the 
system. The first number in the New Msgs field is the number of new public 
messages followed by the total length of these new messages in hours:minutes. 
The first number in the Total field is the number 0; new and 
old public 
messages stored on the system, followed by the total length of these public 
messages in hours and minutes. 
For related information, see: 
n Interview Boxes 
8 Messages 
n Message Playback 
n Opening Line 
w Operator Box 
n Port Applications 
n Recording Voice Fields 
8 Subscribers  
						

							154 Quick Play ExecuMail6.5 
Quick Play 
The voice mail system uses a special feature called Quick Play to speed its 
conversation. With Quick Play, the system indexes commonly-used prompts and 
copies them to a single file each time the system is turned on or restarted. The 
system looks in this special file to play the prompts as needed, without having to 
search the hard disk for individual prompt files. 
This topic explains how Quick Play works, including: 
n Changing which prompts are used for Quick Play 
n Making your own Quick Play file 
n Turning off Quick Play 
NOTE: Any system can use Quick Play, as long as there is enough storage 
space on the hard disk. 
The AVPRMPT File 
Each time the system is turned on or restarted, it reads a special configuration 
file, stored in the system’s prompt subdirectory. This special file keeps track of 
the system’s prompts, and controls whether the system looks for prompts 
individually on the hard disk, or in the Quick Play file. 
This file, called AVPRMPT, has a different file extension and subdirectory 
location, depending on the language the system uses. Refer to the table below to 
find out the extension and subdirectory for the AVPRMPT file used by your 
system. 
Language 
United States English 
United Kingdom English Prompt Subdirectory & Filename 
\PROMPT\USAVPRMPT.US 
\PROMPTW.AVPRMPT.UK 
Australian English \PROMPlWlAVPRMPT.AU 
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NOTE2 The \PROMPT subdirectory is always stored in the directory where 
the voice mail software is installed (C:\VMAIL\PROMPT\US\PRMPT.US, for 
example).  
						

							Reference Manual 
Quick Play 155 
The AVPRMPT file is divided into sections that list the prompts in each prompt 
set. Each section contains a command 
(QP=) that defines which prompts in the 
prompt set should be used for Quick Play. Figure 75 shows the first few lines of 
an AVPRMR file. 
[SYSTEM] 
OpeningLineSet=OP 
[ml 
SetName=DT-Date & Time 
QP=20-34 
DisplayAtConsole=Yes 
PromptMax= 
l=Monday (trailing) 
2=Tuesday (trailing) 
3=Wednesday (trailing) 
4=Thursday (trailing) 
5=Friday (trailing) 
65aturday (trailing) 
7=Smday (trailing) 
Figure 75: Example of AVPRMPT file for United States English 
Each time the system is restarted, the system reads the AVPRMPT file, and copies 
each Quick Play prompt into another file called QP.IDX (the Quick Play index). 
Then, instead of searching through the hard disk each time it needs to play a 
Quick Play prompt, the system plays it directly from the QP.IDX file. This 
significantly speeds the flow of the conversation. 
NOTE: Only prompts recorded as 
Day prompts for All Ports are listed in 
the AVPRMPT file. Therefore, only the 
Day prompts for All Ports may be 
indexed as Quick Play prompts. 
Each prompt in the prompt set is listed by prompt number, followed by a brief 
description. In the example in Figure 75, the first prompt says 
“Monday” with a 
trailing emphasis at the end of the word. The description following the prompt 
number appears on the Voice Prompt Editor Screen, in the Description 
column. Each description is limited to 255 characters. 
NOTE: If you edit the description of a prompt in the AVPRMPT file, you 
change the description that appears on the Voice Prompt Editor Screen. 
Similarly, if you change the description on the Voice Prompt Editor Screen, 
you also change the text in the AVPRMPT file. In either case, changing the 
description does not affect the recording. 
Changing fhe Prompts Used for Quick Play 
You can edit the QP= command in the AVPRMPT file to change which prompts 
are used in Quick Play, or use one of these 3 AVPRMPT files shipped with the 
system: 
AVPRMPT.ENV 
Includes the prompts used most often by 
most systems. Includes prompts used for 
the Opening Line, date and time stamps, 
sending and retrieving messages, 
reviewing old messages, and many 
prompts used for setup options. This is the 
AVPRMPT file used by most systems.