Asterisk Voicemail User Reference

Revised 03/26/2008

An Overview:

Welcome to your new voice mail service.  This Voice Mail System offers a highly flexible, highly capable voice mail system. Among the features that it offers are briefly:

• Three different types of Greetings.

• Notification of new messages through email.

• The notification message will include an audio file containing the complete message.

• Ability to organize messages into folders.

• Mailboxes are password protected.

• Allow callers to review and re-record messages

  Message Taking

  If you are not able to answer a phone call, your voice mail service will allow the caller to record a message that you can listen to later. Depending on how your mailbox was configured, the caller may first hear a greeting and/or some instructions before leaving message. The process of leaving a message looks like this:

   

• Play the appropriate greeting – busy, unavailable or temporary greeting – See above

• Play some short instructions.

• Play a beep.

• Record the message, and optionally allow the caller to review the message.

  While the Caller is listening to the greeting or the instructions, the caller can press any of the following buttons:

  • “#” Skip the rest of the greeting and instructions and immediately begin recording the message.

  • “*” Transfer out of the message recording application. Typically used to allow users to access their mailboxes.

  After the greeting and the instructions have played the caller will hear a beep and then the system will start recording a message. To end the recording, the caller can hang up the phone or press the “#” button. If the caller hangs up the phone to end the recording, the voicemail system will put the message in your “New” folder. If the caller pressed the “#” button to end the recording, the system will let the caller review the message and the caller will be presented with the following options:

  • “1” Save the message. The message will be placed in your “New” folder

  • “2” Review the message.

  • “3” Re-record the message

  Types of Greetings:

  A greeting is a short message that plays before the caller is allowed to record a message. The greeting is intended to let the caller know that you are not able to answer their call. The greeting can also be used to convey other information like when you will be available, other methods to contact you, or other options that the caller can use to receive assistance.

  There are two types of greetings:

  • Unavailable Greeting <= use this

    If the voice mail system thinks that you are unavailable (e.g. you don’t answer the phone or your phone is not connected to the network) the caller will hear your “unavailable” greeting. The unavailable greeting can either be a generic message, like:

    • "The person at extension number is unavailable." - Default
    • Your recorded name is unavailable.
    • The unavailable greeting can be a message that you record

  • Temporary Greeting <=or this

  You can also record a temporary greeting. A temporary greeting will always be played regardless of your “busy” or “unavailable” status. This could be used, for example, if you are going on vacation and want to inform people not to expect a return call anytime soon, but you do not want to re-record your busy and unavailable greetings when you come back.

   

• Busy Greeting:

  This message is not used now

Message Notification:

When a message was left in you mailbox, you can elect different notifications. We will need you email address for both of these option. These are:

•  To your email address
•  Signal your Pager. 

Message Folders

The voice mail system allows you to save and organize your messages into folders.

When you first log into your mailbox, the voice mail system will make the “New Folder" the current folder if you have any new messages. If you do not have any new messages the voice mail system will make the “Old Folder" the current folder.  When a caller leaves a message for you, the voice mail system will put the message into the “New folder". If you listen to the message, but do not delete the message or save the message to a different folder, the VMS will automatically move the message to the “Old folder". There are ten folders as listed below:

Message Folder Names:
Folder 0 - New Messages	Folder 5 Messages <= You assign name
Folder 1 - Old Messages	Folder 6 Messages <= You assign name
Folder 2 - Work Messages	Folder 7 Messages <= You assign name
Folder 3 - Family Messages	Folder 8 Messages <= You assign name
Folder 4 - Friends Messages	Folder 9 Messages <= You assign name

 

Message Playback:

Message can be heard by dialing in to your service from a standard telephone or at the web site http://chillhut.com/.  When an email arrives, there will be a link to log on to your message playback web page that looks something like this:  http://chillhut.com/cgi-bin/vmail.cgi?action=login&mailbox=xxx .  From here you can manage your message over the internet.

Accessing Your Mailbox

Logging In to your Mail Box

Asterisk allows your administrator a lot of flexibility so there is no single answer to how to log into your mailbox. Contact your administrator for details on how to access your mailbox. However, below is a discussion of several popular methods for accessing mailboxes that your administrator may have chosen.

• By calling your Voice Mail Number and pressing the “*” button.
• By calling 714-228-5600 to access your mailbox by entering your mailbox number and passcode.
• Before you are allowed to listen to your messages, you may be asked to enter your mailbox number and a password.
• By pressing a button on your VOIP Phone.

The First Time You Log In

The first time that you log into your mailbox, you may be required to change some settings. In particular, you may be required to:

• Change your Password
• Record your Name
• Record your Unavailable Greeting.
• Record your Busy Message - not used, but needed

Main Menu

The main menu will be the first menu that you are presented with once you have logged in.

• “1” Listen to messages in the currently selected folder.
• “2” Change folders.
• “3” Advanced options.
• “0” Mailbox options – Greeting Recordings, Passcode etc.
• “*” Repeat the menu options.
• “#” Exit from the voice mail system.

 Below explains the choices at Main Menu:

Listening to Messages

While listening to the greeting or the instructions, the caller can press any of the following buttons:

• “#” Skip the rest of the greeting and instructions and immediately begin recording the message.

• “*” Transfer out of the message recording application. Typically used to allow users to access their mailboxes.

After the greeting and the instructions have played the caller will hear a beep and then the system will start recording a message. To end the recording, the caller can hang up the phone or press the “#” button. If the caller hangs up the phone to end the recording, the voicemail system will put the message in your “New” folder. If the caller pressed the “#” button to end the recording, the system will let the caller review the message and the caller will be presented with the following options:

• “1” Save the message. The message will be placed in your “New” folder
• “2” Review the message.
• “3” Re-record the message

The Message Envelope

The voice mail system will play back the message “envelope”. Depending on how the voice mail system has been configured, the message envelope may consist of the items listed below.  :Pressing “1” any time during the playback of the message envelope will skip to the message playback. The voice mail system will then play back the message.

• The Message Number.
• Date and time that the message was received.
• Caller ID information.
• Duration of the message.

During Message Playback

During the playback of the message, any of the following buttons may be pressed:

• “*” Rewind the message by 3 seconds.
•  “#” Fast forward the message by 3 seconds
• “0” Pause the message playback. Press any other button to resume playback.
• “1456789” - Pressing any of these buttons will halt the playback of the message and perform the corresponding action from the post-message playback options.

After Message Playback

After the message has been played back, the system will play a prompt and wait for you to press a button:

• “1” Go to the first message in the current folder.
• “2” Change folders. See below for more information.
• “3” Advanced options. See below for more.
• “4” Go to the previous message in the folder.
• “5” Replay the current message.
• “6” Go to the next message in the folder.
• “7” Delete or undelete the message.
• “8” Forward the message to another user on the system.
• “9” Save the message to a different folder.
• “0” Mailbox options.
• “*” Replay the prompt.
• “#” Exit the voice mail system.

Advanced Options After Listening to a Message

The following buttons may be pressed in the “Advanced Options” menu while you are listening to a message.

• “1” Record a message and send it directly to the mailbox of the person that sent you the current message.
• “2” Call the person that left the message back.
• “3” Play the message envelope.
• “4” Place an outgoing call.
• “5” Leave a message for another user on the system. See Chapter 2 for more information.
• “*” Return to the main menu.

Changing Folders

If you select the option to change folders the VMS will present you with the following options:

• “0” “New” messages.

• “1” “Old” messages.

• “2” “Work” messages.

• “3” “Family” messages.

•  “4” “Friends” messages.

• “5” “Folder 5” messages.

•  “6” “Folder 6” messages.

•  “7” “Folder 7” messages.

• “8” “Folder 8” messages.

• “9” “Folder 9” messages.

• “#” Cancel the change folder operation.

Advanced Options in Main Menu

The following buttons may be pressed in the “Advanced Options” menu that was accessed from the Main Menu.

• “4” Place an outgoing call.
• “5” Leave a message for another user on the system.
• “*” Return to the main menu.

 Mailbox Options

The following buttons may be pressed in the “Mailbox Options” menu that was accessed from the Main Menu

• “1” Record your unavailable message.

• “3” Record your name.

• “4” Record your temporary greeting.

• “5” Change your password.

Recording a Temporary Greeting

If you do not have a temporary greeting set, you will immediately be asked to record a temporary greeting. If you do have a temporary greeting set you will be presented with the menu below. Once your temporary greeting has been erased callers will be presented with either your busy or unavailable messages, depending on your status.

•  “1” Record a temporary greeting - This will allow you to record a new temporary greeting.

•  “2” Erase temporary greeting.

•  “*” Return to the main menu.

How to Retrieve your message from the old system:

You may still have messages left in your old mailbox.  To get into the old system, Dial 714-228-5610 - This will prompt you for you mailbox number and then your passcode.  When you have emptied your old mailbox, it will be deleted

Please setup your new voice mailbox as soon as possible to avoid confusion to your Callers.