Shortcuts in Managing the Virtual PBX®

Summary: Because It Is Not Necessary to Wait for the Menu Items, the Speed-Dial Feature of Most Modern Phones Can Be Used to Greatly Speed-Up and Ease the Management of the Virtual PBX®.

Don't Wait for the Menus to Play

The menus are included to make the system easy to use; but you don't have to listen to them if you don't wish to.

When dialing in the hidden phone menus of the Virtual PBX®, it is not necessary to wait for the Menus to play before dialing ahead. Because of this the system management can be almost totally automated and done at high speed using a modern telephone with stored numbers which can be dialed at the push of a button.

For cell phones, see the end of this tutorial.

All of the examples in this tutorial assume that a company's Virtual PBX® Main Number has been stored in an speed-dial location and pressed AND ANSWERED before pressing the numbers illustrated below.

Danger: the Phone Password Can Be Compromised

In order to enter the Virtual PBX® system management mode it is necessary to enter "#Extension#PhonePassword#. It is possible to have a second speed dial button which does this, but this is dangerous in general AND IT IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS FOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS. The reason for this is that anyone can learn another extension owner's pass word by pressing the button that has #Extension#PhonePassword# stored on it.

This is not usually serious for ordinary extension owners; but for System Administrators, it can breach the security of the entire system. A System Administrator can make other extensions (including his own) into System Administrators, he can allow out-bound dialing, international dialing, calls from pay phones (at $ 0.30 per call), etc. He can change the settings of other extensions and generally wreck havoc with the system. REMEMBER THAT A Virtual PBX® OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL CALLS THAT GO THROUGH HIS SYSTEM.

Also be careful with "Redial". In general going though any of the switches listed below will reset "Redial"; but if one is interrupted, the phone password may be left on "Redial". Pressing any number when finished will usually erase any previous numbers in "Redial".

For this reason it is important to properly configure the second step in the short cuts. There are four possibilities:

Most modern phones have an upper/lower button so that a feature can be turned on or off by simple pressing or not pressing the lower button before pressing a stored number key.

Three Easy Steps to Using the Shortcuts

To use any of the shortcuts listed below:

With a cell phone which is always kept in the extension owner's possession, only two steps are necessary. See below.

Examples:

The six ******'s shown in the front of each string are not really necessary. They have the great convenience, however, that they take the system back to the starting point; and several functions can be changed with only one login. The actual number of *'s required to always go back to the login start equals the number of digits in the longest shortcut string. BUT:

CAVEAT MOSTLY FOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS: Some phones are limited to only 12 stored digits. In this case the number of *'s and menu digits cannot exceed twelve. For the example below of a System Administrator logging in and out of two ACD queues at once, there are 7 menu digits. For System Administrators, no other example has more than 6 menu digits and most have only 5. Thus if they have phones that only store 12 digits, at most 7 *'s can be entered. For the cases with six or seven menu digits, it is simple to store 6 or 5 *'s and to press extra *'s manually before using a second shortcut. Or they can do the long case last, and then it wont matter.

The examples shown assume a phone with a 12-stored-digit limit. For a phone without the 12-stored-digit limit, the number of *'s should equal the number of digits in the longest menu string as mentioned above.

Remember that in entering the strings in the examples below that System Administrators must include a 1 at the beginning of the example string except for the Day/Night mode switch which already has the 2 in front.

The meanings of the strings in the following examples can be heard by calling into the system, manually dialing the numbers in the string instead of using the "shortcut" buttons, and listing to the menus before dialing the next digit in the string.

Day/night mode (System Managers only)

"Day Mode" answers with the "daytime greeting" during normal business hours and rings the extensions.

"Night Mode" answers with the "business-is-closed greeting" and sends all callers to Voice Mail.

Switch to "Day Mode": Store "*******2411" and mark the button "Day Mode".

Switch to "Night Mode": Store "*******2412" in the lower button and mark the lower button "Night Mode".

Mark the Extension as Available/Unavailable

"Available" receives calls with the option of answering or sending the caller to Voice Mail.

"Unavailable" sends all callers immediately to Voice Mail.

Switch to "Extension Available": Store "******2211" (System Administrators store "*******12211") and mark the button "Available".

Switch to "Extension Unavailable": Store "******2212" (System Administrators store "*******12212") in the lower button and mark the lower button "Unavailable".

Turn Follow-Me Calling On/Off

"Follow-Me Calling" tries all contact phone numbers stored in the extension settings until the called employee either answers or, when the contact numbers are exhausted, the caller is sent to Voice Mail.

When "Follow-Me Calling" is turned off, only the primary contact phone is rung. If there is no answer, the caller is sent to Voice Mail.

Switch to "Follow-Me Calling On": Store "******2241" (System Administrators store "*******12241") and mark the button "Follow-Me Calling On".

Switch to "Follow-Me Calling Off": Store "******2242" (System Administrators store "*******12242") in the lower button and mark the lower button "Follow-Me Calling Off".

ACD Queue Login/Logout

ACD queues are Sales, Tech Support, Customer Support, Special Product, Special Location, Special Language, etc queues. When extensions owners log in to an ACD queues, their extension is marked to take calls from the queue on a round-robin basis. The queues are numbered 1 through 8.

For the purposes of this example assume that ACD queue number 1 is the Sales queue, and that it is desired to log in or out of the Sales queue.

Log Into "ACD Queue Number 1": Store "******2311" (System Administrators store "*******12311") and mark the button "ACD 1 Login".

Log Out Of "ACD Queue Number 1": Store "******2312" (System Administrators store "*******12312") and mark the lower button "ACD 1 Logout".

Some menus return to the previous level when a choice such as login to an ACD queue is made. This means that it is possible to login to two more ACD queues at one time.

Log Into "ACD Queue Numbers 1 and 2" At the Same Time: Store "******231121" (System Administrators store "*****1231121") and mark the button "ACD 1 and 2 Login".

Log Out of "ACD Queues Numbers 1 and 2" At the Same Time: Store "******231222" (System Administrators store "*****1231222") and mark the lower button "ACD 1 and 2 Logout".

If using a 12-stored-digit only phone (as is assumed in these examples), System Administrators must press two *'s manually after logging into two ACD queues at once if more shortcuts are going to be used. If the phone does not have the 12-stored-digit only limit, System Administrators put 7 *'s before each example in this tutorial, if it it is planned to use the "two at once" ACD login or if any other shortcut that uses 7 menu digits.

Contact Phone Number 1 Default/ Contact Phone Number 2 Default

Note: This shortcut does not change which contact phone numbers are actually stored but only which one is the Default. See below to change the stored Contact Phone Numbers.

The default contact number is the first number to be tried if Follow-Me Calling is on, and it is the only number to be tried if Follow-Me Calling is off.

For the purposes of this example assume that the two most common contact phone numbers used are in positions 1 and 2.

Switch to "Contact Phone Number 1": Store "******2111" (System Administrators store "*******12111") and mark the button "Contact # 1".

"Log Out Of ACD Queue Number 1": Store "******2112" (System Administrators store "*******12112") and mark the lower button "Contact # 2".

For contact phone numbers 3 and 4, change the last digit in the string to 3 or 4.

Entering New Contact Phone Numbers

The short cut described above was only for changing which Contact Phone Number was the Default phone number. It was not for changing which Contact Phone Number is actually store in a given location.

If an extension owner is traveling, it is often convenient to change his contact phone numbers 'on the fly'. For example, he might want to enter the number of a rented cell phone, or the room number of his hotel.

To Enter a "New Contact Phone Number in Location 1": Store "******21212" (System Administrators store "******121212") and mark the lower button "Change Contact # 1".

To Enter a "New Contact Phone Number in Location 2": Store "******21222" (System Administrators store "******121222") and mark the lower button "Change Contact # 2".

For contact phone numbers 3 and 4, change the next to last digit in the string to 3 or 4.

To actually use the shortcut to change the number, call in to the Virtual PBX®. When it answers, send "#Extension#PhonePassword#", press the corresponding "Change #" button, and enter the new number without the # key. At this point follow the rest of the menu instructions.

Any Other System Management Functions

The cases given here are merely examples. Any system management function including Fax Mail, VirtualDID numbers, etc may be handled as in the examples above.

Cell Phones

Most cell phones have up to 100 stored numbers, but most cannot switch to another stored number in the middle of a call. What to do?

I can't give a generic answer for all cell phones because each one is different, but most have a pause function in the speed-dial string to allow for a switch board or auto-attendant to answer, etc.

Since I own a StarTac ST7860 (or ST7760) CDMA digital phone, I will explain the procedures for this phone, since I can be sure that the explanations are correct. I assume that this explanation also holds for the ST7790 (the StarTac TDMA digital phone) and the ST7762 (the StarTac CDMA PCS phone, (1900 MHz)). See also Motorola's Phone-Comparison Page.

For those who own an other type of cell phone, the examples given here can serve as a guide for what to look for in the features list of the phone in its instruction manual.

To achieve a different management function, use a different stored number for each management function. Since there are usually 100 stored numbers, this will not saturate the cell phone's memory; but it does require a separate call into the system for each change.

The StarTac ST7760, ST7762, and ST7790 have a pause function that pauses the dialing of a stored number. It can be entered into a stored dial string by pressing FCN SEND and then the diamond key.

When using the stored number, pressing the diamond key after a pause will continue dialing the stored string.

For example, to switch to "Day Mode": Choose an empty location and enter " Virtual PBX® Main Number", "FCN SEND Diamond (pause)", "#Extension#PhonePassword#2411". Next enter "Day Mode" in the alpha (letter) part of the storage location.

To switch to "Night Mode": Choose a second empty location and enter " Virtual PBX® Main Number", "FCN SEND Diamond (pause)", "#Extension#PhonePassword#2422". Next enter "Night Mode" in the alpha part of the storage location.

To actually switch to "Night" mode, for example, send the number in the location for "Night Mode"; and when the phone pauses wait for the Virtual PBX® to answer, then press the diamond key to finish the string for the switch to "Night Mode". Thus with a cell phone, this is only two steps instead of the three described above.

Notice that the "******'s" are not necessary with cell phones since most cannot switch stored number locations in the middle of a call. Thus having the capability of going back to the start is not necessary.

The same caveats about the phone password mentioned above, apply to cell phones. If the cell phone owner is always careful to keep the phone in his possession or if it is locked (page 82 in the StarTac instruction manual), having the phone password stored is not too dangerous (See also the next paragraph). If this not the case, more than one pause can be put into a stored number. This allows the phone password to be entered by hand and then the automatic string can be continued.

The StarTac ST7760, ST7762, and ST7790 have a feature called Service Level 1. Which restricts access to locations 1-10. When the extension and phone password are stored in 11-100, no one has access to those locations. In other words it is a partial lock of the cell phone, only locations 1-10 can be dialed. This is explained on page 84 of the instruction manual. The disadvantage is that the phone must be switched back to Service Level 4 to use the shortcuts. Thus a StarTac may be either locked or set to Service Level 1 to hide the phone password, but it must be unlocked or reset be be used. Whether this feature would be used or not depends on the importance of keeping a phone password secret.