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About FirstClass Unified Communications
FirstClass Unified Communications integrates all FirstClass modules giving you one unified Mailbox for all messages, be they voice, fax, or text.
A true Unified Communications system has the following functionality as a minimum:
• voice, fax, and email communications unified in a single message store
• communications collected from multiple telephone numbers or email boxes
• communications accessible from many devices such as telephones, fax machines, web browsers, PDAs, and desktop computers
• device access to communications that is consistent, feature rich, and maintains status changes (for example Unread status).
FirstClass Unified Communications enables you to access your phone and fax messages along with your email messages from your FirstClass client or from a web browser, just as you have always accessed your email. Phone messages are stored on the FirstClass server in standard .wav format, which is playable on virtually any platform.
FirstClass Unified Communications also enables you to access your email messages along with your phone messages from any phone, just as you have always accessed your voice mail. Using text-to-speech technology, text messages are actually read to you over the phone, just like you have always listened to your voice mail.
Using a fax machine to access your FirstClass Mailbox, you can retrieve your new fax messages.
You can also unify all your existing voice mailboxes so all of your voice messages will go to your FirstClass Mailbox, regardless of which of your phones was called.
FirstClass Unified Communications helps you work more efficiently and easily. Your location or technology will no longer determine what types of messages you can access. All your messages are stored on one central Mailbox that can be accessed using any web browser, any phone, or a FirstClass client. Never again will you have to log into your email, check your office phone voicemail, your cell phone voicemail, and your home phone answering machine to find that one important message. Simply log in from wherever you are, using whatever device is handiest and retrieve and manage all your messages.
How Voice Services works
Voice Services is the FirstClass module that links your phone to your FirstClass server. There are two aspects of Voice Services:
• call answering sessions
• login sessions.
A call answering session occurs when someone calls your number and leaves a message for you, or uses your preferences to be transferred to another number or Mailbox. A login session occurs when you log into FirstClass for message retrieval or management.
Call answering sessions
When someone calls your FirstClass Unified Communications number and you do not answer, they are transferred Voice Services. Your preferences and greetings are accessed and, based on these, the call in routed in the appropriate way. Some of these options include automatically transferring the caller to another number, playing a specific customized greeting for the caller, or playing a generic greeting for the caller and allowing the caller to leave a message.
Once the message is recorded it is placed in the user's Mailbox for retrieval.
Login sessions
Although you can log into your Mailbox and retrieve your message using your phone, the FirstClass client, or a web browser, Voice Services is only used when logging in using a phone.
There are two ways to log into your Mailbox using a phone:
• press 81 after leaving a message for someone on your FirstClass system
• call the FirstClass Unified Communications login phone number your administrator gave you from any phone.
For either of these login methods, you will need your Mailbox number (this is any valid FirstClass Unified Communications number for your Mailbox) and your voice password.
Once you have logged into your Mailbox, you can listen to new and saved messages and fax message envelopes. If you log in using a traditional fax machine you can print out your faxes to that fax machine.
Customizing your account
There are several ways you can customized your account to reflect your communications needs and how you work. Customizing options are:
• configuring multiple phones to leave messages in your FirstClass Unified Communications account
• setting your voice messaging preferences (how unanswered calls are handled, whether or not you can receive faxes, Mailbox and text-to-speech language preference)
• recording customized voice greetings.
Forwarding your phone
If you are in an office environment, your administrator can tell you how to forward your office phone to start receiving voice messages in your FirstClass Unified Communications Mailbox.
If you need to forward your cell phone, your home phone, or another phone to your FirstClass Unified Communications Mailbox, there are some things you need to know and some steps you will need to follow.
Your phone(s) must be configured to forward automatically to your FirstClass Unified Communications login number when you do not answer. Each of your phone service providers will have a preferred method of implementing these features. There may be an extra charge for these services. Before starting the steps to forward your phone(s), read the Terminology section below.
Terminology you need to understand before starting:
CFNA/CFB - Call forward no answer/call forward busy. Having this service set on your phone line will ensure unanswered calls will be forwarded to FirstClass.
Call forwarding - If CFNA/CFB are not available for your phone, you can forward all calls using call forwarding. When call forwarding is set, calls will forward automatically to FirstClass without first ringing on the phone.
Cellular/Wireless - A phone system which operates without wires. Any cellular or mobile phone.
Landline/Wireline - A phone line that is carried over land by telephone wire. This is your traditional home phone line.
PBX - Private Branch Exchange. This is an on-site phone switch, usually in an office.
To set up your phone to work with FirstClass Unified Communications:
1 Give your administrator all the details of the phone you want to configure.
Your administrator will add this phone number to your personal list of FirstClass Unified Communications numbers. This is how Voice Services knows this number belongs to your Mailbox.
Your administrator may have special instructions for your particular type of phone, or may advise that the phone is not an ideal candidate for FirstClass Unified Communications, since some phone service providers do not pass the correct or complete call information when transferring or forwarding a call.
Note
You cannot have the same phone number configured as another user on your system. For example, you and your spouse work together and you each have a FirstClass Unified Communications account. Your office number is your FirstClass Unified Communications number, which was set up by the administrator. Your spouse's office number is set up for his account. If you want your home phone number to forward to your FirstClass Unified Communications Mailbox, you can arrange this. However, this means all calls to your home phone number will come to your Mailbox. You spouse cannot arrange to have the same home phone number forward to his Mailbox. Just like a traditional answering machine, you can only have one device configured to answer the phone.
2 Contact your local phone service provider or cell phone service provider.
Ask the customer service representative to implement CFNA and CFB for your line. They will require your FirstClass Unified Communications login number, or the number you want your calls to be forwarded to.
There may be an extra monthly charge for this service.
Note
Many cell phones can be configured by you. You cell phone product documentation or customer service representative will have the details.
Once these steps have been completed, you can receive messages from all callers to this phone number in your FirstClass Mailbox.
Note
Some phone service providers do not forward complete or correct call information when CFNA/CFB are configured. This may result in restriction of some features (custom calling/called number greetings, call sender, reply, etc.)
Setting your voice messaging preferences
Set your voice messaging preferences to specify how your voice messaging works best for you. Through custom greetings, some of these preferences can be overridden for specific callers, specific called numbers, or at set times during the day.
On your Mac or Windows client, set your voice messaging preferences on the FirstClass Preferences form. Choose Edit > Preferences, then go to the Messaging - Voice tab.
 The Voice Preferences client form help explains all the fields on this form.
To access your voice messaging preferences using a web browser:
1 Click Preferences.
2 Scroll down to the Voice section.
 The Voice Preferences web form help explains all the fields on this form.
Creating and customizing voice greetings
With FirstClass Unified Communications, you can create as many custom greetings as you like. Create personal greetings for specific callers, and/or chosen called numbers. You can also schedule greetings to play at specific times of the day and/or on specific days of the week.
Types of voice greetings
There are four main types of greetings:
Spoken name You should record a spoken name. It is used for system identification.
External greeting External greetings will play for callers outside of your organization.
Internal greeting Internal greetings will play for callers within your organization calling your internal extension number from their internal extensions.
Voice menu Voice menus will be discussed in the Voice menus section.
You can record as many internal and external greetings as you like, but we recommend, as a minimum, that you record your spoken name and at least one external greeting.
The order your voice greetings will play
When you receive a call the system will look for and play your greetings based on the following criteria:
1 For all external calls, the system will look for an external greeting.
2 For all internal calls, the system will look for an internal greeting. If there is no internal greeting, the system will look for an external greeting to play.
Both external and internal greetings will be searched for in the following order:
1 Override greetings in the same order as below.
2 Enabled calling or called number greeting. You can have greetings which play for specific called numbers (which must be configured as valid numbers your Mailbox), or for people calling from specific numbers.
3 Enabled scheduled greeting. Scheduled greetings will play at scheduled times, overriding all non-scheduled greetings with the same level of customization.
Scheduled greetings will override one another in the following ways:
• Scheduled greetings for calling or called numbers will be checked for first.
• If you have a greeting scheduled within another scheduled greeting, the one whose start time is nearest the current time will play. For example, you have a greeting scheduled to play for all callers between 9 AM and 5 PM Monday to Friday. You have another greeting scheduled to play for all callers between noon and 1 PM Monday to Friday. Callers will hear the noontime greeting if calling between noon and 1PM.
• If you have two greetings (both for the same calling/called number(s)) scheduled to start at the same time, but end at different times, the first one you created (the oldest) will play.
• If there is a schedule conflict (two greetings for the same calling/called number(s) and identical schedules), the first one you created (the oldest) will play.
4 Enabled non-customized greeting. This is a standard enabled greeting with no custom settings. Your external greeting will play for internal callers if you have not recorded an internal greeting.
5 System greeting with enabled spoken name. If you record no other greetings, your spoken name and the default system greeting will play.
6 System greeting. If you have recorded no greetings and no spoken name, the default system greeting will play. If you have text-to-speech installed, your name will play by text-to-speech.
Recording your spoken name
1 Log into FirstClass Unified Communications using a phone.
2 Press 84 to access your spoken name.
3 Press 5 to record, say your name, and press # to end recording.
4 optional commands
Press 2 to review the recording.
Press 5 to rerecord your spoken name.
Press 76 to delete your spoken name.
5 Press 83 to log out and hang up.
Recording greetings and customizing greetings
You can record greetings using:
• your phone
• your FirstClass client
• a web browser.
Note
We strongly recommend you record your greetings using a phone, since this will assure you a telephony quality recording.
Recording greetings using a phone
1 Log into FirstClass Unified Communications using your phone.
2 Press 82 to access your greetings.
3 Press 1 for your external greetings, or 2 for your internal greetings (the greeting type can also be changed when you customize the greeting).
4 if you have no greetings recorded, or want to record over your existing greeting
Press 5 to begin recording, record your greeting, and press # to end recording.
or
if you already have a greeting recorded and want to record additional greetings
Press 75 to create a new greeting, press 5 to begin recording, record your greeting, and press # to end recording.
5 optional commands
Press 5 to rerecord the greeting.
Press 2 to review the recording.
Press 76 to delete the greeting.
6 Press # to exit the greeting.
7 Record as many greetings as you want.
8 Press 83 to log out and hang up.
9 Log into FirstClass using the FirstClass client or a web browser.
10 Open the Voice Greetings folder, which resides on your Desktop (never delete this folder).
If the Voice Greetings folder is not on your Desktop:
Using your FirstClass client, choose File > Open > Voice Greetings.
The folder will reside on your Desktop once it has been opened. Do not delete this folder.
11 Open the greeting you want to customize.
12 Using the client form help, or the web form help, set your customizing options.
After customizing your greetings, all greetings in your Voice Greetings folder will have an LED light, which will be green when the greeting is enabled and currently scheduled, and black when the greeting is either disabled, or not scheduled to play at the current date and time.
Recording greetings using your FirstClass client
To record a new greeting using your FirstClass client do the following:
Note
The sound quality may not be as high as a recording done by phone.
1 Open your Voice Greetings folder.
2 Click the new greeting icon to create a new greeting:
 3 Record your greeting:
1 Click record on the recorder panel:
 2 Record your greeting using your computer’s microphone.
3 Click record again to stop recording.
4 Using the client form help, set your customizing options.
After customizing your greetings, all greetings in your Voice Greetings folder will have an LED light, which will be green when the greeting is enabled and currently scheduled, and black when the greeting is either disabled, or not scheduled to play at the current date and time.
Recording greetings using a web browser
If want to create a new greeting, but you have only web access (no phone and no client available) you can record a voice attachment on a Windows machine with a microphone and then attach this voice file to a greeting and customize it as you like.
Notes
Remember that the sound quality may not be as high as a recording done by phone.
There is no Mac OS equivalent to Sound recorder. You can only create wav files using a Windows machine.
See Creating voice attachments for web browsers for instructions on configuring Sound Recorder and recording attachments.
Using the web form help, set your customizing options.
After customizing your greetings, all greetings in your Voice Greetings folder will have an LED light, which will be green when the greeting is enabled and currently scheduled, and black when the greeting is either disabled, or not scheduled to play at the current date and time.
Working with messages using a phone
The following section explains how to use FirstClass Unified Communications by phone access. You can listen to voice and text messages from any phone and retrieve faxes through a fax machine. Using a phone, you can create, send, reply to and forward voice and text messages to FirstClass Unified Communications users, send and forward messages to other voice and email systems, and receive voice, text and fax messages from anyone, anywhere.
Phone commands
# Stop/cancel
* Help
2 Play message/greeting
4 Go to previous message/greeting
5 Record
6 Go to next message/greeting
9 Call sender
0 Transfer to attendant
71 Reply to sender
72 Play message envelope
73 Forward message
74 Reply to all recipients
75 Compose new message/greeting
76 Delete message/greeting
77 Play message history
78 Turn unread flag on/off
79 Send/unsend
70 Message delivery options:
1 Urgent delivery
2 Standard delivery
4 Private delivery
5 Acknowledge receipt
81 Login
82 Access greetings:
1 Internal greeting
2 External greeting
83 Logout
84 Record spoken name
85 Toggle between voice and text messages
86 Go to specific message
89 Change password
Logging in
1 Dial into the FirstClass Unified Communications system (your administrator will give you the number).
2 When prompted, enter your Mailbox number, followed by #.
If you are calling from a phone which has been set up as a valid phone number for your Mailbox, you only need to press #.
3 When prompted, enter your password, followed by #.
If your Administrator set up your account without a password, press #. For security, set a password the first time you log in.
General commands
The following commands can be used during any messaging session:
* Help
# Cancel/stop
2 Play message or greeting
4 Go to previous message or greeting
5 Record
6 Go to next message or greeting
0 Transfer to system revert number
84 Change password
Listening to and managing messages
You can access both new and saved voice messages (including faxes) but only new text messages by phone. To access saved text messages, use your FirstClass client or a web browser. The only attachments that can be downloaded are fax messages (see “ Retrieving fax messages using Faxback” on page27” on page~ ). Download all other attachments using the FirstClass client or a web browser.
The following commands can be issued during message playback or at the end of a message.
2 Play message
72 Play message envelope
The message envelope includes who the message is from, the delivery time, the subject (if applicable), the list of recipients, and the priority.
77 Play message history
Message history includes when and by whom the message was created, when it was sent, who has read the message, and who has replied to or forwarded it. This only applies to other FirstClass Unified Communications users.
76 Delete/undelete message
You can undelete a message you deleted during the current session only. Once you have logged out, the message will no longer be accessible by phone.
If you have accidentally deleted a message and logged out, log into your Mailbox using the FirstClass client or a web browser and undelete the message before trash collection occurs.
78 Turn flag on/off
You can tag a message as unread so it will have a flag the next time you login.
71 Reply to sender
Reply only to the person who sent the message.
If the original message was a voice message, you can only reply to a FirstClass Unified Communications user who called from an identified FirstClass Unified Communications number.
If the original message was a text message, the reply will be sent as a voice attachment to the email address.
If you wish to attach the original, forward the message instead.
74 Reply all
Reply to all recipients of the original message. See Reply to sender above.
9 Call sender
This applies if the sender has a valid phone number or is a FirstClass Unified Communications user.
73 Forward message
You can forward a message to another FirstClass Unified Communications user or anyone you have set up in your address book with a phone number (no spaces or dashes) as the name and a valid email address:
 Once you have addressed the list of recipients, you will be prompted to record a message. You can send the message without recording comments.
85 Switch between voice and text message playback
When accessing FirstClass Unified Communications by phone, your new voice messages will play first, followed by new text messages. Use this feature to toggel between text and voice message playback. Once one set of new messages (voice or text) has played to completion, the system will automatically move to the other message type.
86 Go to specific message
Use this command to jump to the start or end (or any other specific point) of your Mailbox. If you want to go to the last new message in your Mailbox, enter a high number like 99.
Creating and sending messages
You can create and send a message by phone to another FirstClass Unified Communications user, or any person you have entered as a numeric name with a corresponding email address in your address book.
1 Log into your Mailbox.
2 Press 75 to create a new message.
3 Address the list of recipients (any FirstClass Unified Communications user or anyone you have set up with a numeric name in your address book.).
4 Press 5 to record the message, followed by # to end recording.
5 optional commands
Press 5 to rerecord the message.
Press 2 to listen to the message.
Press 76 to delete the message.
Press 70 to set delivery options (private, urgent, or standard).
6 Press 79 to send the message.
7 optional
Press 79 to unsend the message.
Express Delivery
Use Express Delivery to leave a message for an individual, a conference, or a personal mailing list, without calling recipients directly or logging into your Mailbox.
1 Dial the Express Delivery number (from your administrator).
2 Enter the recipient’s Mailbox number, or the recipient’s numeric address as saved in your address book.
3 Record your message.
4 Press # to end recording.
5 optional commands:
Press 2 to review the message.
Press 5 to re-record the message.
Press 76 to delete the message.
Press 70 to for delivery options.
6 Press 79 to send the message.
7 optional
Press 79 to unsend the message.
8 Press 83 to log out.
Retrieving fax messages using Faxback
To retrieve faxes, you have to access the system from a fax machine that has a telephone handset. You will be advised of the number of pages the fax contains and then you will be prompted to choose to receive the fax immediately or at the end of the messaging session.
1 Log into your Mailbox using a fax machine handset.
2 To receive the fax immediately (ending your message retrieval session)
Press 1
Press Start on the fax machine.
Replace the handset.
or
To tag the message for end of session delivery
Press 3.
Listen to all of your messages and tag any other faxes.
Press 83 to log off.
Press Start on the fax machine.
Replace the handset.
3 The fax will print out on the fax machine and the system will disconnect when the fax has finished printing.
Through-dialing
When listening to messages, you can directly place an outbound call without hanging up and redialing.
1 Log into your Mailbox using a phone.
2 Press 0 followed by the number you are calling (if you do not begin dialing the number within one and a half seconds of dialing 0, you will be transferred to the system revert number (this is usually reception)).
The number must be preceeded with the outside line access number used on your phone switch (if applicable) and the long distance code (if applicable).
Note
Your ability to use this feature is restricted to the outdialing restrictions your administrator has set up.
Working with messages using a FirstClass client
You can retrieve any voice, text, or fax message received by FirstClass Unified Communications from your FirstClass client. For general information about working with messages, see FirstClass Quick Reference.
A Mailbox with a Called, No message notification, a fax message, and a voice message looks like this:
 Voice messages
To open a voice message, double-click it. The message will look like this:
 To play, stop, or resume playback, click the Start/Stop button.
Go to a specific part of the message by dragging the pointer, then click the Start/Stop button to listen from that point forward.
To adjust the playback volume for the current message only, use the volume control to the right of the recorder panel. To adjust the playback volume for all messages, adjust the volume on your computer.
Replying to voice messages
You can reply by voice, if you have a microphone hooked up to your computer, or in writing to any voice message from a FirstClass Unified Communications user who called from an identified FirstClass Unified Communications number.
To reply by voice:
1 Choose Edit > Reply and then choose Edit > Insert > Insert Voice.
2 Record your message at the recorder panel by clicking the Record button to start and stop the recording.
3 Send the message.
To reply in writing:
1 Click Reply.
2 Type your reply in the message body.
3 Send the message.
If you wish to include the original message with the reply, forward the message instead of replying.
Forwarding voice messages
You can forward a voice message to any valid email address.
1 Click Forward
2 Type your comments in the message body (if desired).
3 Send the message.
The recipient can listen to the message on any computer equipped for sound.
Fax messages
To open a fax message, double-click it. A fax message will look something like this:
 If you have set your preferences to receive each page as a separate attachment (PCX), there will be one attachment per page. These attachments open in a FirstClass viewer window.
If you have set your preferences to receive all pages as one attachment (DCX), there will be one attachment. These attachments must be downloaded before they can be viewed. You can view the fax with most imaging programs.
To view a fax page double-click the attachment.
To save a fax page, right-click the attachment and choose Save Attachment.
Called, No message
If someone phones but doesn’t leave a message, you may see a Called, No message notification (depending on how you set up your voice messaging preferences). The notification looks like this:
 Working with messages using a web browser
You can retrieve any voice, text, or fax message received by FirstClass Unified Communications from a web browser. For general information about working with messages, see FirstClass Quick Reference.
A Mailbox with a Called, No message notification, a fax message, and a voice message looks like this:
 Voice messages
To open a voice message, click it. The message will look like this:
 Your playback options will depend on the current software configuration of your computer.
To save the voice attachment, right-click the attachment and choose Save Link As (Netscape) or Save Target As (Internet Explorer).
Replying to voice messages
You can reply by voice, if you have a microphone hooked up to your computer, or textually to any voice message from a FirstClass Unified Communications user who called from an identified FirstClass Unified Communications number.
To reply by voice using a web browser (Windows only):
1 Click the reply icon.
2 Create a voice file by following the instructions in Creating voice attachments for web browsers
3 Upload the voice file to the message as you would upload any type of attachment.
4 Send the message.
To reply in writing:
1 Click Reply.
2 Type your reply in the message body.
3 Send the message.
If you wish to include the original message with the reply, forward the message instead of replying.
Forwarding voice messages
You can forward a voice message to any valid email address.
1 Click Forward
2 Type your comments in the message body (if desired).
3 Send the message.
The recipient can listen to the message on any computer equipped for sound.
Fax messages
To open a fax message, click it. A fax message will look like this:
 To view a fax page click the magnifying glass to the right of the attachment.
To download the fax to save it, click the download icon to the left of the attachment.
Called, No message
If someone phones but doesn’t leave a message, you may see a Called, No message notification (depending on how you set up your voice messaging preferences). The notification looks like this:
 Creating voice attachments for web browsers
If your computer has a Windows operating system and a microphone, you can configure it to allow you to record voice files. This lets you attach spoken comments to a message by attaching the voice file to the message just as you would attach any other kind of file.
There are two steps to creating a voice file:
1 Configure Sound Recorder on your Windows operating system.
There is currently no equivalent to this on a Mac OS.
The first time you configure Sound Recorder on your computer, you need to do a complete configuration. All subsequent times you want to record a voice attachment, you can access your saved Sound Recorder configuration.
Step 1: Configuring Sound Recorder
Initial configuration
1 Start Sound Recorder on your computer by choosing Run from your computer’s Start menu and typing sndrec32.
Sound Recorder looks like this:
 2 Choose File > Properties to open the Properties for Sound dialog box.
 3 At Format Conversion, choose Recording formats and click Convert Now.
4 Choose IMA ADPCM at Format.
5 Choose 8.000 kHz 4 Bit Mono 3kb/sec (4kb/sec will work if you do not have the 3kb/sec option) at Attributes.
 6 Click OK.
7 Click Save As and save the format as something identifiable like FirstClass.
8 Exit all dialogs to the Sound Recorder.
9 Go to Step 2: Record your voice file.
Accessing your saved configuration
The next time you want to record greetings or messages, follow these steps:
1 Start Sound Recorder.
2 Choose File > Properties.
3 Choose Recording formats at Format Conversion, and click Convert Now.
4 Choose FirstClass from the dropdown list at Name in the Sound Selection dialog box,.
5 Click OK to close the Sound Selection dialog box.
6 Click OK to close the Properties for Sound dialog box.
Step 2: Record your voice file
1 Press Record on the recorder to start recording.
2 Record your message.
3 Press Stop to end recording.
4 Choose File > Save as and name the file appropriately for the greeting.
5 optional
If you want to record several recordings, choose File > New to begin each new recording.
Voice menus
A voice menu is an automated attendant that can be used to manage incoming calls. Since voice menus are a type of greeting, you can use regular greeting options to create a menu that plays for a specific called or caller number, or a menu that plays at scheduled times. This results in a flexible, effective automated voice attendant system. Every FirstClass Unified Communications user has access to the voice menu option, but due to the complexity of this feature, it is recommended that voice menus be created and/or controlled by an administrator or subadministrator.
Planning your voice menu
Before starting to build a new voice menu, we recommend you read the entire voice menus section so you are familiar with all the steps involved and the options available. The following suggestions will help you build a well-planned voice menu:
• Use a flowchart or table to plan your voice menu.
• Leave room to enter voice menu names and prompt names.
• Write a detailed script before beginning.
Planning the voice menu before recording it will result in a more professional, user friendly voice menu system.
Writing your script
When planning your voice menu, there are a few rules of thumb:
• Determine who your primary callers are and tailor the menu to those callers.
• Make the menu simple to follow and easy to use.
• Try to keep the menu short by offering four or fewer call handling options.
• Try using a submenu for detailed call handling.
• Try to keep the options in logical numeric sequence.
Once you have determined how you want to handle incoming calls with your voice menu, you can start to write your script.
Main greeting
Begin with an initial greeting. Husky Planes’ initial greeting for all after hours callers will be called After hours welcome.
Callers will hear:
Thank you for calling Husky Planes. The office is now closed. Our regular hours are Monday to Friday 8 AM to 6 PM. If you know the extension of the person you would like to reach, please enter it at any time.
This greeting will play only once when the call is answered.
Menu script
At Husky Planes we know most of our callers are customers, visitors, and staff calling in to access their Mailboxes. We will build the script with them in mind.
Callers will hear:
If you know the name, but not the extension of the person you would like to reach, please press 1.
To reach the Customer Service department, please press 4.
For our mailing address and directions to our office, please press 5.
To leave a message in the general Mailbox, please press 6.
To log into your FirstClass Mailbox, please press 7.
To transfer to reception, please press 0.
To disconnect, please press #.
If you require further assistance, please press *.
If a caller presses 5, he will hear the following submenu, which we will call Directions:
For our mailing address, please press 1.
If you are calling from a fax machine and would like a map with directions to the office, please press 2.
If you would like verbal directions to the office, please press 3.
To return to the main menu, please press #.
We did not enter options for keys 2 and 3. Extension numbers at Husky Planes all begin with these numbers. We are reserving these for direct extension dialing, which we will cover a bit later when discussing the Dial Direct option.
Throughout this chapter we will be referring to this script and programming this voice menu.
Building your voice menu
Now that we know how we want to serve our customers with our voice menu and we have a written script, we can begin building the voice menu.
Note
We are building our voice menu using the FirstClass client. Voice menus can be modified using a web browser, but the original voice menu form can be opened from the client only.
Before beginning, ensure that the Login limit per user on the Usage Limits tab of the System Profile is set to No limit since the voice menu will use multiple logins.
Creating a voice menu
1 Open the Voice Greetings folder for the user whose valid FirstClass Unified Communications number will be the incoming number for the voice menu.
2 Create a new folder called "Voice Menus" inside the Voice Greetings folder.
This folder must always be called "Voice Menus". If there is no Voice Menus folder in the Voice Greetings folder, your voice menu will not work.
3 Open the Voice Menus folder (created in step 2).
4 Create a new folder inside the Voice Menus folder.
Give this folder a unique name that identifies the voice menu.
If you have several voice menus, they must each have a separate folder inside the Voice Menus folder.
5 Open the folder you created in step 4.
6 Choose Message > New Document Special > Voice Menu to create a new voice menu in this folder.
7 Complete the Voice Menu form.
You must fill in all fields on the General tab and all fields on each of the appropriate numbered tabs.
8 Create voice prompts in their associated documents.
Documents containing your prompts or associated documents must be created to match the information entered on the tabs. Voice Services will look for these documents when playing your voice menu options, as well as once a caller presses a key. The following documents must be created if you entered a document name in the corresponding field.
From the General tab:
• Main greeting (we called ours After hours welcome)
• Invalid key prompt (we called ours invalid)
If you do not record a prompt, the default system prompt will be used informing callers that the command is not recognized.
• Transfer help (we called ours rotary dial help)
If you prefer not to enable this feature, do not record a prompt. No help message will play before the last cycle of the voice menu.
From the following fields on each numbered tab:
• First part of prompt
• Second part of prompt
If you chose to use this option.
• Any voice files required for Use with options.
The following actions require an associated document in the Use with field on the numbered tabs of the Voice menu form:
• Play Announcement
• Play Help
To create voice prompts, follow these steps:
1 Open a new document inside the folder containing this voice menu (the folder created in step 4)
2 Drag the split bar down to reveal the document information fields. Enter the following information:
Name
Give this document the same name as you did in the appropriate field on the General tab (Main greeting) or numbered tab (First part of prompt, or Second part of prompt).
Subject
This field can be left blank, or you can enter comments to help you identify where the prompt contained in this document fits into your voice menu.
3 Type the prompt script in the document body.
For example, the script for your Main greeting could be similar to,
"Thank you for calling Husky Planes. The office is now closed. Our regular hours are Monday to Friday 8 AM to 6 PM."
Note
If you do not record the prompt but it is typed in the document body, the prompt will play by text-to-speech.
4 Record the prompt:
• Choose Edit > Insert > Insert Voice.
• Click Record to start recording.
• Record the prompt as written in the document body.
• Click Record again to stop recording.
5 Play the recording to check the quality.
Ensure that there is no silence recorded at the beginning or end of the .wav file. Silences will cause your voice menu to be choppy, with lengthy pauses within and between the prompts. If the prompts have been recorded too loudly, the playback will be distorted.
6 Close the document.
Ensure it is in the folder for the correct voice menu. If you are recording prompts for a submenu, ensure the document is in the submenu folder.
7 Repeat this process for each prompt.
9 Upload faxes if required.
If you have used the Receive Fax action on a numbered tab, the name of the document containing the fax or announcement must be entered in the Use with field on the same tab.
Follow these steps to create the document:
1 Open a new document.
2 Drag the split bar down to reveal the document information fields.
Enter the following information:
Name
Name this document the same as you did in the Use with field.
Subject
You can leave this field blank, you can enter comments to help you identify where this document fits into the voice menu, or you can add comments about the contents.
3 Anything written in the document body will be sent as a cover page.
4 Choose File > Attach file to upload the fax file or document.
5 Close the document.
6 Ensure it is in the folder for the correct voice menu .
10 Create a new greeting for your voice menu and activate your voice menu.
Note
Do not do this for submenus.
Once the Voice Menu form has been completed and all the prompts have been recorded and attached to documents residing inside your voice menu folder (inside the Voice Menus folder), you can activate your voice menu. To do this, create a new voice greeting using the standard Voice Greeting form.
Complete the form as follows:
You can choose options on the General tab and the Scheduling tab, but the Call Handling and Faxes tabs are not applicable to voice menus. The Addressing Options field on the General tab is not applicable to voice menus.
Enter the following on the General tab:
Name
Enter the name of the voice menu. This will be the name of the folder you created inside the Voice Menus folder in step 4, as well as the Name from the General tab of the Voice Menu form.
Greeting Type
Choose Voice Menu.
Status
Choose Enabled.
11 Test the menu.
Test all options in your voice menu to ensure the correct prompts play for the correct options and that all transfer numbers are correct.
Ensure there is an association or document created or existing for any entry in the Use with field. If this is anything other than a DN or the name of a user who exists in the FirstClass Directory, the document must be in the voice menu folder. If it is a document requiring a voice attachment, you must record a prompt .
Creating a submenu
1 Choose Go to Submenu as the action on the numbered tab.
2 Enter the name of the submenu in the Use with field.
3 Enter a document name in the First part of prompt field.
4 Enter a document name in the Second part of prompt field, if required.
5 Create a new folder within the current voice menu folder, with the name of the submenu that you entered in the Use with field.
We will call our submenu Directions and create this folder inside the After hours folder.
6 Open the folder created in step 5.
7 Go to step 6 of Building a voice menu and complete steps 6 to 9.
Note
Do not create a new greeting for a submenu.
8 Test the submenu.
Your completed voice menu
Once you have completely set up your voice menu and it is activated and working, you should keep a record of all settings for future reference. You may find it helpful to create a chart something like the following:
  Submenu:
 When the voice menu is complete, the Voice Greetings folder will look like this (there may be additional greetings):
 The After Hours folder (inside the Voice Menus folder) will look like this:
 The Directions folder is the submenu created for tab 5. All the documents related to this voice menu will be inside this folder.
Scenarios of FirstClass Unified Communications working for you
FirstClass Unified Communications can truly change the way you work and how you think about communications. FirstClass Unified Communications users are never cut off from their important data, as long as they have access to a telephone or a computer. Let's take a look at some uses of FirstClass Unified Communications that help to demonstrate the power of the product. All of these scenarios can be created by any FirstClass Unified Communications user, by following the instructions detailed throughout this document:
• Steve is a busy executive and FirstClass Unified Communications user. Every morning during his commute to the office, he puts his cellphone on handsfree and logs into his FirstClass account. Not only does he get all of his voice mail, but he has all of his email read to him using text-to-speech (TTS). By the time he arrives at the office, he has an overview of what he has to do that day.
• Julie is a sales representative who is on the move all day. Since she is hard to reach, she has her voice greetings configured to allow callers who reach her work number to either leave a message or get connected to her cell phone number. Whenever she is waiting in an airport lounge, she logs into her FirstClass account using a web kiosk, and is able to read her email, listen to her voicemail, and view her faxes.
• Len has four telephone numbers: his business line, his business fax, his cell phone, and his home phone. He has all of these forwarded to FirstClass Unified Communications, with a separate greeting for each. His fax number just beeps and receives the fax, while his business phone has a sophisticated voice menu allowing callers to do one of the following: leave a message, call his cell phone, or talk to his secretary. The cell phone greeting simply prompts the caller to leave a message, while the home greeting has his best Clint Eastwood imitation and a "secret" option for his friends to reach his cell phone.
• Joe is a financial advisor who spends a lot of his day on the phone and prides himself on personal service. In addition to the kinds of greetings mentioned in the previous example, which help Joe's customers reach him, Joe uses custom greetings to let specific customers know what's happening with their accounts. When Joe's biggest client calls, she gets the message, "Hi Cheryl, Joe here. I recorded this message at 9:00 AM on December 8th and it looks like a good day to buy the stock we discussed. Let me know in your message if you want me to make a buy, and I'll call you back ASAP". Because Cheryl is so important, Joe records a message for her each day, and any message she leaves is marked urgent so Joe gets paged as soon as she hangs up.
• Elena is a lawyer working in a small firm. For each client the firm represents, they create a conference to track communications with or about that client. If anyone at the firm gets an email, fax, or phone message regarding Tridem Labs, for example, they simply drag it into the "Tridem" conference. When the Tridem Labs VP, Elena, calls to complain about the way they handled a contract negotiation, Elena is able to find the Tridem Labs CEO's voice mail that instructed them, and forward it to Elena via Internet email.
• Bill is a lawyer at Elena's firm who specializes in recording transcripts. The firm has set up a "Transcripts" conference with its own phone number. Now, instead of taking a recorder and bringing tapes into the office, Bill calls the "Transcripts" number with his handsfree cell phone, and starts recording. When he's done he hangs up, the message arrives in the conference immediately, and the transcription clerks start working right away transcribing the text directly into the body of the message. The message is then sent into the appropriate client conference for later use, where both the original recording and the text transcript can be accessed.
• Rose is an elementary school teacher in a school where FirstClass UC is installed. Even though the school has only a couple of telephones, each teacher has a personal phone number. Parents can call and leave messages for Rose without disturbing the class or the secretaries. By using the powerful greetings system, Rose has set up a voice menu that allows parents to hear about homework assignments and school news. Rose listens to her voice mail from her classroom computer and uses FirstClass documents (and TTS technology) to keep the homework section of her voice menu up-to-date. For her, the best feature is that she can type in the day's homework just once, and use FirstClass Unified Communications to publish it to both her class web page and the voice menu system.
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