Commercial Module

Overview

Park Pro is a commercial add-on that adds additional features to the standard Parking module. These features include the ability to create multiple parking lots, create public and private parking lots, and configure Park & Announce. Park Pro is ideal for companies who need parking lots for different departments, are sharing a PBX, need a private parking lot for an individual and an assistant, etc.

Overview

The Parking module creates and configures parking lots, sometimes referred to as parking orbits, where calls can be transferred in order to allow another extension to retrieve the calls. This ability is a form of putting a call on hold so that the intended party can retrieve the call from elsewhere. The standard module allows for the configuration of a single parking lot available to all phones on the system. The commercial Park Pro allows multiple parking lots to be configured.

When a call is parked by transferring that call to the configured parking extension, the call is placed into one of the parking "slots" configured by this module. The parking slot number is announced to the person who parked the call (the "parker"). The slot number can then be dialed from other phones to retrieve the parked call. If the parked call times out and is not retrieved in a timely manner, it can ring back to the parker or be sent to another destination. Parking can be greatly enhanced by programming a phone’s BLF buttons to the configured parking slots or by using parking in in conjunction with visual tools like XactView operator panels or Phone Apps.

Logging In

• In the top menu, click Applications

• In the drop down menu, click Parking

Editing or Creating Parking Lots

Configuring a parking lot is substantially the same whether using the standard Parking module or using the Parking module with Park Pro installed. Differences are noted in this wiki.

The most important items to configure with parking are:

• Parking Lot Extension

• Parking Lot Starting Position

• Number of Slots

• Parking Timeout

• Destination and Come Back to Origin configuration

Editing the default lot in the standard Parking module

The standard module comes with one "Default" parking lot and does not allow the creation of multiple lots.

You can edit this default lot by going to the Parking Settings tab.

Editing or creating a lot with Park Pro

Park Pro offers the ability to create additional lots. You can click on the pencil icon  to edit a lot, or click the Add New Parking Lot button to add a lot.

Parking Lot Pro landing page with two lots configured:

Configuration Options

After you've selected a lot to edit, or have created a new lot, you can edit several configuration options. The following screenshot is from the standard Parking module, but we'll explain the Pro options as well.

General Settings

Parking Lot Extension

This is the extension where a call is transferred to in order to send it to the parking lot.

Parking Lot Name

This is a user-friendly name that will show up in the right navigation bar. With Parking Pro, it allows you to identify different parking lots and is used in other parts of the system that may refer to parking lot information, such as the Print Extensions module.

Parking Lot Starting Position

The first slot number for the parking lot. Cannot be the same as the parking lot extension. When used in conjunction with the Number of Slots set below, the system will create a range of extensions for your parking lot, starting with the first slot number.

Number of Slots

The total number of parking slots in this lot. For example, if your extension is 70 and you enter 8 here you would have parking slots 71-78. The slot range will be displayed next to this field.

Parking Timeout (seconds)

The duration of time in seconds that a parked call will remain in the parking lot before timing out. If the call is not picked up within this period, it will automatically be sent to the timeout destination configured in the Alternate Destination section.

Parked Music Class

This is the music class to play to callers who are waiting in the parking lot. If a specific music class has been previously set for the caller prior to being parked, such as if the call came through a Queue that set the music, then this selection will be ignored in favor of the music class that was previously set for the call.

Pro Only: Parking Lot Type

Public/Private: Whether the lot is considered public or private.

• Public: Anyone will be able to transfer calls into this parking lot.

• Private: Only extensions that are set to use this lot will be able to transfer calls into this lot.

BLF Capabilities

Yes/No: Whether to enable busy lamp field (BLF) capabilities. Each parking slot can have an Asterisk BLF “hint” associated with the parking slot. This allows a phone to have buttons programmed to the parking slots. When a call is parked in that slot, the BLF light will illuminate. You must select Yes if you want hints to be enabled.

Find Slot

• Next: The parking lot will seek the next sequential parking slot relative to the the last parked call instead of seeking the first available slot. This is useful if you have a specific application where you would prefer that calls are parked into the next available slot, such as you want to try and visualize the order in which the calls were parked.

• First: Use the first parking slot available. This is the default setting. This might be particularly useful if you have 8 slots available but most phones only have BLF buttons programmed to the first couple of slots. This would maximize the frequency that all calls are parked in the first few slots.

Returned Call Behavior

If a call is not retrieved from the parking lot after the configured timeout duration, then the system will attempt to return the call either directly to the device that parked the call, or to the destination set in the Alternate Destination section. The options configure both capabilities of the returned call, such as whether or not it can be parked again, as well as conditioning of the returned call such as Caller ID pre-pending that may help identify the call as a timed out parked call.

Pickup Courtesy Tone

Caller/Parked/Both/None: Whom to play the courtesy tone to when a parked call is retrieved.

Transfer Capability

Caller/Parked/Both/Neither: Sets who has DTMF-based transfer capability, usually configured as "##," once the call has been picked up. This does not control the transfer capability of a phone’s transfer button unless that phone is programmed to send the DTMF code when transferring.

Re-Parking Capability

Caller/Parked/Both/Neither: Sets who can re-park a call after it has timed out.

Parking Alert-Info

Alert-Info to add to the call prior to sending the call back to the originator or alternate destination. Please see our wiki on Alert-Infos for more information on how they work and the options for different phones.

CallerID Prepend

A string to pre-pend to the current Caller ID associated with the parked call prior to sending the call back to the originator or alternate destination. This is often used to identify where a call came from such as PRK to show us it was a Parked Call. If used in conjunction with the Auto CallerID Prepend below, this will be placed first followed by the configured Auto Caller ID.

Auto CallerID Prepend

This will automatically prepend specific identifying information about the parked call after a timeout. The options are:

• None: Do not auto populate a CallerID Prepend.

• Slot: The parking slot where the parked call was parked prior to the timeout.

• Extension: The user extension number who originally parked the call, if parked by a local extension on the PBX

• Name: The name associated with the user extension number who originally parked the call, if parked by a local extension on the PBX.

Announcement

A message that will be played to the caller prior to sending the call back to the originator or to the alternate destination. You can select "none" or one of your system recordings.

Alternate Destination

Come Back to Origin

Yes/No: Whether to send a timed-out parked call back to the device that parked the call. If No, the timed-out call will be routed straight to the destination set below. If Yes, the call will be sent back to the origin, but if that device is not available or does not answer, the destination below will ultimately be used. Therefore, a reasonable destination such as a receptionist, ring group, voicemail, or similar should be set.

Destination

This is the destination where a timed-out parked call will be sent either directly (if Come Back to Origin = No), or when a device is unreachable or not responding. This can be any destination on your PBX.

Save

When finished, click the Submit button, then click the Apply Config button.

Pick Up Parked Call Feature Code 

Parking includes a feature code called Pickup ParkedCall Prefix. It is *85 by default and can be changed in the Feature Codes module. When used in conjunction with a parking lot number, it picks up "the next call" from the specified lot. When used in conjunction with a specific slot number, it picks up the call in that slot.

This feature code will allow any extension to pick up a parked call. If using Park Pro, and a lot is considered "private," this feature code will still work even if the extension is not part of the private lot. This is useful in situations such as a shared receptionist needing to retrieve a call from a lot that is not theirs.

If BLFs are enabled, they will be generated for each of the possible combinations. For example, if the lot number is 70, then a BLF for *8570 would be be lit if there is a call parked in any of the slots for lot 70.

Please note, this is a global setting and not something you can enable on a per extension or per parking lot level.
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Assigning a Parking Lot to an Extension

Park Pro allows you to configure public and private parking lots and choose which lot an extension can access. At the extension or device level, every device is configured to be associated with a specific parking lot. If not changed, the extension/device will default to belong to the "Default" lot.

If a lot is public, any extension may park a call to that lot by transferring the call to the configured Parking Lot extension. Also, any extension on the PBX may retrieve that parked call by dialing the parking slot where the call is parked.

If a lot is private, then its parking extension and parking slots can normally only be used by extensions/devices that are assigned to it. However, the Park Prefix feature code explained later in this wiki can override this.

Parking Lot Settings in the Extensions Module

After you have created a parking lot, go to the Extensions module to edit an extension. This wiki assumes you are familiar with that module. For more information, please see the Extensions Module wiki.

• In the top menu click Applications

• In the drop-down click Extensions

Click the edit button   for an extension, or create a new extension.

Click on the Other tab.

At the bottom, you will find a Parkinglot item.

Use the Parkinglot drop-down menu to select which parking lot you would like to assign to this extension.

When finished, click the Submit button, then click the Apply Config button.

Park & Announce

*Requires both Park Pro and Page Pro

If you have licenses for both Park Pro and Page Pro, you gain the ability to use the "Park and Announce" feature, which announces parked calls to a page group along with a preconfigured message. A Park and Announce can be used as a destination for an inbound route or IVR option, for example. You can also manually transfer a call to the Park and Announce extension.

Before you configure a new Park and Announce, you should create the parking lot and page group that it will utilize. Park and Announce will use these two elements.

• Parking Lots: See the explanation earlier in this wiki.

• Page Groups: See the Paging and Intercom User Guide.

Navigating to Park and Announce

Park and Announce has its own section in the PBX GUI menu. To navigate to Park and Announce:

• In the top menu go to Applications

• In the drop-down menu go to Park and Announce

Adding a New Park and Announce

From the Park and Announce home screen, click the Add New Park and Announce button.

Configure the Park & Announce options, Park options, and Page options as described below.

Park & Announce Options

Park & Announce Extension

The extension that can be used to manually transfer a call to this Park and Announce destination.

Park & Announce Name

A descriptive name to help you easily identify your Park & Announce extension. This name will show up in other modules that can use this Park and Announce as a destination.

Allow Parkee to Record a Message

Yes/No: Whether the "parkee" (caller) will be allowed to record a short message, such as their name.

• If Yes, the caller has the option to record a message, which can be included as part of the announcement played to the page group. After recording, the caller must press # or wait for the timeout. This option works in conjunction with other options set below, such as Recorded Message Announcement, Recorded Message Length, Silence Detection Length, Recorded Message Success, and Recorded Message Failure.

• If No, the caller will not be prompted to record a message.

Recorded Message Announcement

The announcement to be played to the caller prior to recording the caller's message. Default = None. You can select a system recording from the drop-down menu. This allows you let the caller know what is happening or provide them with information about what they are expected to record when they are prompted for a message. Typically, you would want to select a system recording that gives your caller some instructions. For example, you might use a recording that says, "Please say your name, then press pound."

Recorded Message Length

The maximum amount of time to record a caller's message, in seconds. Default = 5.  Although the caller can press # to end their recording early, it is highly recommended to set a maximum recording length and then explain it in your instructions to the caller.

Silence Detection Length

The time, in seconds, of silence to detect before accepting the caller has said nothing. Default = 3. If the caller does not speak within this time period, the system will consider it a timeout.

Recorded Message Success

The message to be played after the caller has successfully recorded a message. Default = None. You can select a system recording from the drop-down menu.

Recorded Message Failure

The message to be played if the caller said nothing during the recording. Default = None. You can select a system recording from the drop-down menu.

Park Options

Parking Lot

The parking lot to which this Park and Announce extension will send calls. Default = Default Lot. You can select an existing parking lot from the drop-down menu. All phones will be able to park a call to this lot via this Park and Announce. However, if the selected parking lot is classified as "private," then only the phones that have access to that private lot will be able to pick up the parked call.

Announcement

Optional message to be played to the caller prior to sending the call to the parking lot. Default = None. You can select a system recording from the drop-down menu. For example, you might select a recording that says, "Thank you, please hold."

Enable Parking Timeout Override

The timeout period, in seconds, that a parked call will attempt to ring back the original parker if not answered. This will override whatever is set in the parking lot.

• By default, this option is grayed-out and the box is not checked:
  

  

• If you check the box at the right to enable the override, you will also be able to select a time from the drop-down menu:
  

  

Retry Count

How many times to retry waiting in the parking lot before giving up and going to the Timeout Destination set below. Default = 1. Configuring this to a value greater than 1 will allow the system to automatically re-park the caller upon a timeout of the parked call. When this happens, you can play an optional Retry Announcement prior to re-parking the call. The previously configured announcement will NOT be replayed at this time, nor will the caller be given a new opportunity to record another message. A retry will result in the parking announcement to be re-broadcast to the configured page group each time the call is re-parked.

Retry Announcement

Optional message to be played to the caller after the first iteration if returning to the parking lot and retrying. When Retry Count is configured to 2 or more, the caller will hear the specified announcement prior to being re-parked. Default = None. You can select a system recording from the drop-down menu. For example, you might select a recording that says, “We are still trying to locate someone for you. Please continue to hold.”

Timeout Destination

Where to send the call when the timeout limit and retry limit have both been reached. With Park and Announce, a timed-out parked call is always sent to a destination. Unlike normal parking, the call is never "returned to origin." You can use this setting to override the configured destination of the configured Parking Lot, or you can use what is configured there (and if that is changed, this will track any such changes). Default = Default Parking Lot Destination. The call is sent to the default destination set for the parking lot unless you choose a different destination from this drop-down menu.

Page Options

Page Group

The page group that this Park and Announce extension will announce to.

Caller ID Prepend

A string to prepend to the current Caller ID associated with the page group.

Auto Caller ID Prepend

This gives you the option to automatically include the parking slot number in the caller ID for the caller.

• None: Slot number is not included in Caller ID.

• Slot: The parking slot number is included in the Caller ID. If a Caller ID Prepend is set above, the slot number will be added after that string.

Announce Park Slot

Yes/No: Whether to enable the announcement of the parking lot slot that the caller has been placed into. If Yes, the parking slot number will be audibly announced to the page group.

Page Announcement 1, 2, and 3

Here you can select up to three system recordings to play to the page group as part of the Park and Announce announcement. Only non-compound recordings may be used. Use the drop-down menus to select up to three recordings. Default = None. After you select an announcement, it will appear as an element in the Announce Order below, and you will be able to change the order if needed.

Announce Order

Here, you will assemble an automated message to be sent to the paging system. This section controls the order of elements such as system recordings, the caller message, and park slot number. Drag and drop items to change the playback order.

• If you have enabled Allow Parkee to Record a Message, you will see a Caller Message element.

  

• If you have enabled Announce Park Slot, you will see a Park Slot # element.
  

  

   

• If you have selected one or more Page Announcements, you will see the first part of the name for each recording.

For example, here we are moving an announcement so that it plays before the caller's message.

In our example, using two system recordings along with a caller message and park slot number, we have our announcement set up to say, "Sales call from (name), parked on extension (number)." This would alert sales staff that they should dial the slot number to pick up the call.