Step 2: Administering the Automated Attendant as a Subscriber

About this task

Automated attendants are administered as regular subscribers except that you select auto-attendant in the PERMISSIONS, Type: column of the Add/Edit Local Subscriber page.

Once a subscribebr is given auto-attendant permission, that subscriber is added to the attendants list (Under Messaging Administration, select Attendant Management).

For a particular attendant, you can edit settings of this attendant such as; Basic Information, parameters, permissions, incoming mailbox, outgoing mailbox and so on. In addition, you can utilize the special features associated with an automated attendant, such as the actions the automated attendant performs when a caller presses specific buttons. For example, when a caller reaches this auto-attendant, a set of options helps the caller.

You must create a nested attendant before the main or higher-layer attendant that will contain it (see Planning an Automated Attendant).

For complete information on adding a new subscriber, see Adding, Changing, and Removing Subscribers.

To administer the automated attendant as a subscriber:

Procedure

Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.
On the Messaging Administration menu, click Subscriber Management link.
On the Manage Subscriber page, you can:

add a subscriber

Provide a new extension number that will be the new automated attendant.

edit a subscriber

Edit the existing extension number you want to use as an automated attendant.
If you set the permissions for a subscriber as auto-attendant, the next time you edit that subscriber additional fields are available to set up your automated attendant menu:
On the Edit Local Subscriber page, provide details for the following fields:
Name

Enter a 1- to 29-alphabetic character name for the automated attendant. The name must be touch-tone unique.

Permission, Type

Select Auto-Attendant

Extension
Enter the extension of the automated attendant. The extension can be determined as follows:
- If you are using a routing table, the extension of the main automated attendant is the number you defined in the table. (See Setting Up a Call Routing Table for more information and instructions.)
- If you are not using a routing table, the extension of the main automated attendant is the telephone number callers will dial to access the attendant.
- For a nested automated attendant, the extension is an extension accessed as an option on a main or higher-layer automated attendant.
- Security
  The extension you enter in this field should be an administered extension on the switch to minimize the possibility of toll fraud.
COS

Enter the class of service (COS) name or number you want for this automated attendant. You may create a special COS that identifies the PERMISSIONS, Type: as automated attendant. If you do so, enter the name or number of that COS in this field so you do not have to customize Page 2 of the automated attendant Subscriber screen.

Note
If you decide to set up an automated attendant COS, be sure that existing subscribers are not already assigned to that COS.

Switch Number

Enter the switch number of the media gateway on which the messaging software resides. This number must match the switch number entered in the Switch Link Administration page. Normally, you enter 1
Complete the fields as follows:
Addressing Format
- Enter name if you want callers to be able to enter names rather than extensions to select certain destinations.
- Enter extension if you want callers to enter extension numbers to select certain destinations.
Call Answer Language Choice?
- Enter y if you purchased multilingual announcement sets and are using the Multilingual feature to give callers the option to listen to voice prompts in another language.
- Enter n if you are using either the Single or Multiple Personal Greetings feature to record the voice prompts for the automated attendant menus.
Call Answer Secondary Annc. Set

Enter the name of the secondary language set you want callers to be able to select. This only applies if you purchased a second announcement set and entered y into the Call Answer Language Choice? field. If you are using Multiple Personal Greetings for the voice prompts, skip this field.

PERMISSIONS, Type

Enter auto-attendant
Proceed to complete the last section on the page, see table for Field Definitions: Edit Local Subscriber page.
You may want to refer the following before completing the fields:
- Suggestions provided in Examples of Automated Attendants
- Your own plan or flow chart as suggested in Planning an Automated Attendant
When you finish entering the automated attendant information, click Save.