Description - NuPoint Voice Application

Overview

This page provides a description of the configuration and available features for the NuPoint Voice application. Click any link for more details about that item. For programming instructions, see the Procedures section.

The NuPoint Voice application is the standard message-taking and retrieval application providing voice messaging capability for each user's personal mailbox. The NuPoint Voice application can be used with most Central Offices (COs) and some PBXs (check the compatibility list supplied with the Dialogic Media Gateway documentation).

Numerous customized integrations (variations of the NuPoint Voice application) are also available. These are optional features; they provide message waiting control, and functions like personal greetings for forwarded calls.

To use the NuPoint Voice application on your server, you must do the following:

1. Define a line group (assign server ports to the NuPoint Voice application).

2. Configure the application to establish the following parameters:

   • day/night hours

   • a mailbox dialing plan

   • the use of transfers/attendants

   and, optionally:

   • customize administrator's mailbox and attendant's mailbox as required

   • configure Dial-by-Name

   • enable the Dial-back feature

   • add a wait prompt

   • change the default language for system prompts

   • configure NuPoint TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf)

   • configure mailbox passcodes

   • configure an answer delay if required

After the initial configuration is complete and you have activated the changes, you can create mailboxes and record a company greeting.

The NuPoint Voice application can issue different company greetings for day answering and night/weekend answering. With the NP Receptionist optional feature, the software can treat individual extensions differently when calls are received during night and weekend hours, rather than during normal business hours. The hours that constitute a normal work day, and the days of the week that are considered a weekend, can be customized for the individual installation. The company greeting is the greeting in the administrator’s mailbox.

Day and night hours are scheduled for each line group. If you have different day and night/weekend hours for each line group on the server, the greeting that an outside caller hears depends on the line group used to access the mailbox. Of course, if you do not record any custom greetings then all callers hear the same default greeting.

The NuPoint Voice application is configured with default settings from the factory. View default settings.

Day and Night Hours

Start Time of the Work Day

This is the time for the start of the work day in the format “hh:mm AM (or PM)”; where hh is the hour and mm is the minute. The default start time for the work day is 8 a.m. If neither AM nor PM is specified, the server assumes that the time is AM.

End Time of the Work Day

This is the time for the end of the work day in the format “hh:mm AM (or PM)”; where hh is the hour and mm is the minute. The default end time for the work day is 5 p.m. If neither AM nor PM is specified, the server assumes that the time is PM.

If you want to use the same greeting 24 hours a day, enter “12:00AM” in both Start and End time.

Weekend Days Table

This is a table that tells the NuPoint Voice application when to treat calls that are answered during the work day interval (as specified in the two entries above) as day calls, and when to treat these calls as night/weekend calls. The table starts with Monday. The default value is DDDDDNN, which means that the work days are Monday through Friday, and the weekend days are Saturday and Sunday.

Transfers and Attendants

The NuPoint Voice application allows you to specify dial strings and methods for transferring callers, and to specify the use of a wait prompt. If the NP Receptionist optional feature is installed, you can specify the conditions for a company greeting and mailbox greeting.

Attendant’s Transfer String and System Attendant’s Extension

These two dial strings together describe the steps needed to transfer a call to a live attendant, or other general assistance number. These steps are PBX-dependent, and can be determined by actually transferring a call to the attendant from a station set. Use the dial string characters in Table 2-6.

The attendant’s transfer string contains the coding for all the steps that the PBX must take before dialing the attendant’s extension number. The default attendant’s transfer string is S+ which means “do a switch hook flash, then pause for one second.” This string is also used when transferring a caller to a mailbox attendant’s extension number.

The system attendant’s extension consists of the PBX extension number of the live attendant (or a “must answer” number, with no mailbox), plus coding that describes any subsequent steps necessary to complete the call. Up to 30 characters can be entered in this field.

The default system attendant’s extension number is 0. In addition, the NuPoint Voice application automatically appends an H (hang up) command to the end of the string. This allows the PBX to drop the call if the caller hangs up before the NuPoint Unified Messaging server completes the transfer to the attendant. If your PBX does not allow blind transfers to the attendant, add a G (the code for “wait for a greeting”) to the end of the system attendant’s extension.

If the PBX allows trunk-to-trunk transfer, you can program an off-site system attendant’s extension number.

Each mailbox can be programmed to direct calls to an intermediate attendant when the caller requires assistance. In the absence of an intermediate attendant, calls are routed to the system attendant. Transfer to an attendant can occur in the following situations:

1. When the Key_0 for Attendant Transfer During Greeting parameter is enabled, a caller can press 0 while listening either to the server greeting or to a mailbox greeting. When 0 is pressed during the server greeting, the caller is transferred to the system attendant’s extension. When 0 is pressed during a mailbox greeting, the server first checks the mailbox for the attendant’s extension number; if none is present, the caller is transferred to the system attendant’s extension.

2. While logged in, a mailbox owner can press 0 to be transferred to an attendant, if the mailbox’s FCOS includes feature bit 002 (Can Reach Mailbox Attendant). The server first checks the mailbox for the attendant’s extension number; if none is present, the caller is transferred to the system attendant’s extension. (See the Features Class of Service section for more information about FCOS and feature bits.)

3. If the called party’s mailbox FCOS includes outside caller functions, a caller can press 0, after recording a message, to send the message and transfer to an attendant. If the message is left in the attendant’s mailbox, the caller is always transferred to the system attendant. If the message is left in a personal mailbox, the caller is transferred to the system attendant only if no attendant’s extension number is present in the mailbox.

4. If the attendant’s mailbox has been deleted, or has a Greeting-Only FCOS, and the wait prompt is enabled, the outside caller who waits is transferred to the system attendant’s extension.

Key_0 for Attendant Transfer During Greeting

This function designates the 0 key as either an attendant access number or a log in code. The default is N, or disabled.

To enable the Key_0 function, you must enter Y. If this function is enabled, be sure to define a suitable system attendant’s extension number and dial string.

When the Key_0 for Attendant Transfer During Greeting parameter is enabled:

• The server allows an outside caller to press the zero key, while either the company greeting or a mailbox greeting is playing, to be transferred to the system attendant’s extension.

• Mailbox owners must log in by pressing the star (*) key either before or after entering their mailbox numbers. The zero key cannot be used to signal a login.

When the Key_0 for Attendant Transfer During Greeting parameter is disabled:

• Mailbox owners can press either the zero or star (*) key, before or after entering their mailbox number, to log in. (The zero option is essential when telephones at the installation-site do not have a * key.)

• Callers will trip the bad passcode attempt counters. This will cause a higher account for mailboxes getting locked out.

• The server does not allow an outside caller to press 0 while either the company greeting or a mailbox greeting is playing. Therefore, an outside caller cannot be transferred to the system attendant's extension.

Automatic access to the attendant on time out (that is, when the caller waits in response to the “Please enter a mailbox number or wait” prompt) can be provided, if necessary, by assigning a Greeting-Only class of service to the attendant’s mailbox. The attendant’s mailbox can then be used only to make messages of the day.

Pre-Company Name Dial String

The NuPoint Voice application outputs this dial string immediately after going off-hook, and before playing the Company Greeting (either the standard “Welcome to the message center” prompt, or the Administrator’s mailbox greeting).

This string is used only if the NP Receptionist (Receptionist) optional feature has been installed on your server, and employees can manually call forward their phones directly to the message center number. In this situation, an NP Receptionist port may inadvertently be connected to one of the ports that is running the message center application. The pre-company name dial string forces NP Receptionist to drop the call, and instructs the server to wait a designated number of seconds before playing the company greeting.

There is no pre-programmed default.

• The pre-company name dial string must include a pound sign (#). You can configure DTMF A (fourth column DTMF key) in place of the pound sign if the PBX recognizes the pound tone as a code for some other function. The port that answers the call issues this tone, which forces NP Receptionist to release the call. Be aware that callers and mailbox owners always hear this dial string when a mailbox is reached through the NuPoint Voice application.

• To give the PBX time to make the connection before the company greeting is played, program a series of plus signs (+++) after the # or A. Each + in the NuPoint Voice application configuration means “wait one second.” To determine how many pluses are needed, forward one station to another station, make a test call to the first station, then count the number of seconds that elapse before the second station rings.

• If the test call showed that it takes two seconds for a forwarded call to connect to the second extension, for example, use “#++” for the pre-company name dial string.

• You can experiment to find the optimum number of seconds to wait for call connection. If the first half of the message center greeting does not play when NP Receptionist calls are forwarded, add more pluses to the string. If there is a long silence before the greeting is played, delete pluses from the string.

Pre-Mailbox Greeting Dial String

The NuPoint Voice application outputs this dial string immediately after receiving a valid mailbox number, and before playing the mailbox’s greeting.

This string is used only if 1) the NP Receptionist optional feature has been installed on your server and 2) employees may manually call forward their phones directly to their mailboxes. In this situation, an NP Receptionist port may inadvertently be connected to one of the ports that is running the message center application. The pre-mailbox greeting dial string forces NP Receptionist to drop the call, and instructs the server to wait a designated number of seconds before playing the mailbox greeting.

There is no pre-programmed default. The same conditions apply as listed above in “Pre-Company Name Dial String.”

Customize Administrator Mailbox

The NuPoint Unified Messaging software is installed with a default dialing plan of 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 and one administrator's mailbox, which is 998. If you change the dialing plan (i.e. the number of digits in valid mailboxes that start with the digit 9), then you must also change the Administrator's mailbox to match the new criteria. (For example, if your dialing plan were configured as 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4, then mailboxes that start with 9 must have 4 digits - 9998.) An error message is generated if the administrator mailbox number does not match the dialing plan.

The default administrator's mailbox, 998, does not have a default passcode. You must set a passcode for this mailbox before you can access it. The passcode you set must not be trivial (for example, 1111 or 1234).

The administrator’s mailbox number has special privileges:

• The administrator’s mailbox day and night greetings are the day and night company greetings. If you do not record one or both of these greetings, the default (��Welcome to the message center”) is played instead.

• Distribution lists that are created from the administrator’s mailbox are server-wide master lists that can be used by any mailbox owner on the server. See Distribution Lists.

• The system administrator may add/delete/modify mailboxes over the telephone, from the Telephone Administration Menu. See Telephone Administration.

Mailbox Security

For increased server security, you can change the administrator’s mailbox number from the default. You can use any mailbox number on the server; but if you select a mailbox number other than one of the defaults, you must create the mailbox before it can be used. The mailbox number you select must also be valid for the dialing plan. (See Administrator's Mailbox.) You must also identify the new mailbox in the line group for NuPoint Voice as the administrator mailbox to enable it to perform specialized administrator functions. The recommended FCOS for both mailboxes is 10 (VIP), the LCOS is 1 (Default), the GCOS is 1, and the message waiting type should be whatever is available for your server.

For highest security, you can also delete the Administrator's mailbox and re-create it only when you need to make changes.

Administrator Passcodes

When creating the administrator mailbox, you must ensure that the passcode you enter is not trivial. If you use the following types of passcodes, NuPoint UM will accept the entry but you will not be able to log in to the admin mailbox on subsequent attempts:

• do not use the mailbox number

• do not use consecutive digits (like 1234)

• do not use repeated digits (like 1111)

Examples of valid passcodes are: 1397 or 2684 (as long as the mailbox number is not the same).

Customize Attendant Mailbox

The NuPoint Unified Messaging software is installed with a default dialing plan of 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 and one attendant's mailbox, which is 999. If you change the dialing plan (i.e. the number of digits in valid mailboxes that start with the digit 9), then you must also change the Attendant's mailbox to match the new criteria. (For example, if your dialing plan were configured as 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4, then mailboxes that start with 9 must have 4 digits - 9999.) An error message is generated if the attendant mailbox number does not match the dialing plan.

The default attendant's mailbox, 999, does not have a default passcode. You must set a passcode for this mailbox before you can access it. The passcode you set must not be trivial (for example, 1111 or 1234).

The attendant’s mailbox also has special privileges:

• Its greeting is the message of the day. This message is heard by all mailbox owners whose FCOSs include feature bit 043 immediately after they log in. The message is played twice (after two separate logins), the first time hard-played and the second time soft-played. (Hard-played prompts cannot be interrupted; soft-played prompts can.)

• The message of the day is stored only in the attendant’s mailbox. Once it has been deleted, no mailbox owners hear the message, even if they have not logged in since the last message was created. Conversely, if an old message of the day is not deleted, or replaced by a new message, all newly created mailboxes receive the outdated message. For procedures to record and enable a message of the day, see Record/Delete the Message of the Day or Enable/Disable the Message of the Day.

• A customized site tutorial greeting can also be recorded from the attendant’s mailbox. When the system administrator presses G to record a company greeting, the server prompts, “Press M to record the message of the day; press T to record a site tutorial.” See Record a Site Tutorial for procedures.

• When outside callers access the message center, they are prompted to “Please enter a mailbox number or wait” after the company greeting is played. Callers who wait (because they have rotary dial phones, or do not know the correct mailbox number, for example) are then prompted, “Please leave your name, the name of the person you are calling, and a message.” These unaddressed messages go into the attendant’s mailbox.

Multiple Attendant’s Mailboxes

If a large number of unaddressed messages is expected, up to five Attendant’s Mailboxes can be configured by entering the mailbox numbers, separated by commas (for example, 999, 910, 911, 912, 913). The message of the day and the site tutorial can be made only from the first attendant’s mailbox that is configured; the other mailboxes are used only for storing unaddressed messages. When the first mailbox is full, NuPoint Voice begins using the second mailbox until it is full, and so on until all attendant’s mailboxes are full.

You can configure any mailbox as the attendant’s mailbox by entering the mailbox number in this field. If you select a mailbox number other than one of the defaults, you must create the mailbox before it can be used. (See Attendant Mailbox.)

Disabling the Attendant’s Mailbox

When an outside caller accesses the message center number, NuPoint Voice issues the prompt, “Please enter a mailbox number or wait.” Callers who wait are prompted to leave a message in the attendant’s mailbox. Some installations require these callers to be transferred to the system attendant’s extension, instead. There are two ways to do this:

• If the system administrator does not issue messages of the day, delete the attendant’s mailbox.

• Assign a Greeting-Only FCOS to the attendant’s mailbox.

Dial By Name

Dial-by-Name is a feature of NuPoint Voice that allows callers to dial a user's number by saying that user's name. See Dial-by-Name for configuration.

Dial-back

The dial-back feature gives users a second option when answering voice mail messages. When enabled, dial-back allows users to dial the caller who left the voice mail, with the option to either keep or delete the original message. See Dial-back for configuration.

Wait Prompts

When the Wait prompt is enabled, the server issues the prompt “Please enter a mailbox number, or wait” immediately after the server greeting is played. The default value is Y (enabled).

To disable this prompt, you must enter N. In some cases, you must disable the Wait prompt for any number of reasons, among them:

• To record the company greeting (administrator’s mailbox greeting) and the Wait prompt in the same voice. The text of the Wait prompt is recorded as the last sentence of the company greeting.

• When neither a system attendant’s number nor an attendant’s mailbox is defined, and the Wait prompt is enabled, callers who wait are thanked for calling, then disconnected.

• If you disable the Wait prompt and are using the Dial-by-Name function, you must record the “Press [digit] to dial by name” prompt in your own voice. The server prompt for Dial-by-Name plays if the Wait prompt is enabled.

Default Language for Prompts

The default language of voice prompts is English. You must purchase and install language prompts in order to use any other language on your server. For information about installing language prompts, see the NuPoint Unified Messaging Technician's Handbook.

Refer to the General Information Guide for more information about supported languages, or contact your distributor for further information.

A mailbox’s LCOS can specify a different prompts language. Prompts in a secondary language must be installed before these mailboxes issue any prompts in these languages. Callers hear prompts in the default language.

A server can have one default language and up to seven alternate languages, depending on the number and size of the hard drives. For more details about the number and kinds of languages supported, see LCOS.

NP TDD can be installed like any of the language prompts. If NP TDD is installed, selecting it as a response to the Default Language for Prompts parameter enables the NP TDD feature of the NuPoint Voice application in the current line group. When any mailbox owner receives or makes a call through that line group, NP TDD replaces voice prompts with TDD tones. (See “NP TDD for the Hearing Impaired” below for more information.)

NP TDD for the Hearing Impaired

The NP TDD feature of the NuPoint Voice application supports telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs). With NP TDD, hearing-impaired mailbox owners can receive TDD-generated text from other users.

NP TDD users can be notified about messages by message waiting lights or any other message waiting indication supported by a NuPoint Unified Messaging server, just as other users can.

Outside callers with a TDD can call a mailbox configured for NP TDD prompts, be answered by a TDD greeting, and leave a message for the mailbox owner. Standard user options such as reviewing and recording over a message, making a message urgent, appending to a message, and dialing an extension are also allowed.

Configuring NP TDD

You can configure NP TDD to apply to either an entire line group or specific mailboxes. To configure NP TDD, make the following changes:

• Set the default language for prompts to TDD in the NuPoint Voice application (if configuring the line group).

• Assign an NP TDD LCOS or another LCOS specifying NP TDD as the prompts language to any mailboxes using NP TDD. This LCOS should also have the Greeting Length and User Name Length limits parameters appropriately set for NP TDD.

Effect of NP TDD on Other Server Features

Certain NuPoint Unified Messaging server features and user options are not available to any mailbox associated with the line group in which NP TDD is configured. These features are:

• NP WakeUp optional feature

• Call scheduling for pages

• Future delivery

• Standard tutorial

Mailbox Passcodes

NuPoint Unified Messaging includes security devices to protect your installation at a server level and mailbox level. A device for use at the mailbox level is mailbox passcodes, which you configure through the NuPoint Voice application. The following paragraphs outline the configuration of mailbox passcodes; for more complete information, see Server Security.

Minimum and Maximum Passcode Length

Minimum and maximum passcode length sets the range for the number of digits a passcode can have.

Enter the minimum number of digits that constitute a valid passcode for users of this line group. The minimum passcode length can be any number from 4 through 10. The default value is 4. This means no user can enter a new passcode shorter than 4 digits. If you want users to have longer passcodes (for security reasons) then you can specify a larger minimum length.

Enter the maximum number of digits that constitute a valid passcode for users of this line group. The maximum passcode length can be any number from 4 through 10. The default value is 10.

If you leave the maximum passcode length at the default, 10, then all passcodes can be no longer than 10 digits. You cannot enter a value greater than 10, and users cannot enter a passcode longer than 10 digits.

Passcode Trip Count, Passcode Trip Period

These two entries set the parameters for the passcode break-in warning, which is a server security feature. The default values for the passcode trip count and the passcode trip period are 5 and 24. This means that a warning is issued to a mailbox if someone attempts to enter an incorrect passcode for that mailbox at least 5 times (the passcode trip count) within a 24 hour period (the passcode trip period).

The passcode trip count can be set to any value from 0 to 255. The passcode trip period can range from 0 to 240 hours. In both cases, zero means the passcode break-in warning function is disabled.

The passcode break-in warning function is enabled when you configure both a trip count and trip period.

Answer Delay

You may set a variable answer delay with the Delay Before Answer parameter. The default for this parameter is zero (no delay), and in most cases, it does not need to be changed.

Users need to use this delay if the application software sometimes answers an incoming call before all the digits are received, causing the switch to stop sending digits. This can happen when E & M trunks are being used.