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Types of voice greetings
For all external calls, the system will look for an external greeting.
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:
Scheduled greeting with override
Scheduled greetings will play at scheduled times, overriding any non-scheduled external greeting. You can have scheduled greetings which play for specific called numbers, or for chosen callers. If there is a schedule conflict, the most recently created scheduled greeting will play.
Override greeting for calling or called number
You can have greetings which play for specific called numbers (if you have more than one phone number linked to your FirstClass Unified Communications Mailbox), or for chosen callers (calling number). The system will check for these settings and override other less customized greetings.
Enabled 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.
Spoken name
Your spoken name will identify you as the sender for any voice message sent to FirstClass Unified Communications users. If you record no other greetings, your spoken name and the default system greeting will play for all callers.
System greeting
If you have recorded no greetings, the system greeting will play and the system will play your name using text to speech if you have this feature installed. The system greeting will be similar to the following:
"Welcome to FirstClass Call Answering. <Name> is not available to take your call at this time. Please leave a name, number and message after the tone."
Creating voice greetings with a FirstClass client
If you urgently need to create a new greeting, but you have only FirstClass client access (no phone or web browser available) you can record a new greeting by doing the following. Remember that the sound quality may not be as high as a recording done by phone.
To create a greeting using the FirstClass client:
1 Open your Voice Greetings folder on your Desktop.
If the folder is not on your Desktop, choose File > Open > Voice Greetings. The folder will open and will be automatically added to your Desktop.
2 Click the new greeting icon to create a new greeting,
or choose File > New > New voice greeting.
3 Record your greeting:
Click record on the recorder panel and record your greeting using your computer’s microphone.
Click record again to stop recording.
4 Customize the greeting
Creating voice greetings with a web browser
If you urgently need to create a new greeting, but you have only web browser access (no phone or FirstClass client available) you can record a new greeting by doing the following. Remember that the sound quality may not be as high as a recording done by phone.
To create a greeting using a web browser:
1 Record and save a voice greeting by following the instructions in Creating voice files, below.
2 Open your FirstClass Desktop using a web browser.
3 Choose Voice Greeting from the dropdown menu at the top of your screen and click New.
4 Upload the pre-recorded voice files.
5 Customize the greeting.
Creating voice files
To create voice files to be uploaded to a message using a web browser, you must be using a Windows operating system.
Configure Sound Recorder:
1 Start Sound Recorder by choosing Start > Run and type "sndrec32".
2 Choose File > Properties.
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 at Attributes (4kb/sec is also acceptable if there is no 3kb/sec option).
6 Click Save As and save the format as something recognizable, like FirstClass.
7 Click OK to close all windows to return to the recorder panel.
Accessing the saved configuration:
1 Start Sound Recorder by choosing Start > Run and type "sndrec32".
2 Choose File > Properties.
3 Choose your saved recording format at Name.
4 Click OK to close all windows to return to the recorder panel.
Record your voice file:
1 Click the record button.
2 Record your message or greeting.
3 Click the stop button.
4 Choose File > Save as and save the file with a unique name.
5 Choose File > New and begin at step 1 to record another voice file.
6 Attach the file to any message, document, or greeting.
Voice menus
You can customize an automated answering system for any phone line, which is a valid FirstClass Unified Communications number.
Since creating a voice menu can be complex, some steps on this help document will link directly to a help form describing how to complete that step. Once you have completed the step, simply return to this help document and continue on to the next step.
For a detailed sample voice menu, including how it was planned, programmed and recorded, see the FirstClass 6 Administrator's Guide.
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.
Choose Message > New Document Special > Voice Menu to create a new voice menu in this folder.
6 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.
7 Create voice prompts in their associated documents.
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.
8 Create associated documents required for the Use with fields.
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 the associated document:
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 Use with field on the numbered tab.
Subject
This field can be left blank, or you can enter comments to help you identify where this document fits into your voice menu.
3 Type the announcement or help script in the document body.
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 announcement or help script:
• 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.
If the script has 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 announcement or help script.
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.
Voice menus override all other greetings scheduled to play at the same time.
Enter the following values:
Name
Enter the name of the voice menu. It is 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 all options in your voice menu to ensure the correct prompts play for the correct options and that all transfer numbers are correct.