Once you’ve successfully logged into the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System, you are presented with the following options at the Main Menu:

• 1. Listen to New Messages

• 2. Review Saved Messages

• 3. Send a Message

• 4. Access Personal Options

• 5. Access Private Messaging Options

• #. Make a Call

If there are new messages in your voice mail box, the dial tone changes from a constant tone to a broken tone. At the Main Menu, the VerticalAnswer

Voice Mail System announces the presence of new and saved messages. To check voice mail messages, press…

The Main Menu options 1 and 2 are not available and are not announced if there are no new or saved messages.

After or while listening to a new or saved message, you have the following options. Press…

This is the Boomerang feature Press *** to disconnect from the call and return to the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System. The sender’s caller ID information is automatically captured by the VerticalAnswer if the caller is an internal user or an outside caller who has either a publicly listed number or has entered their callback number in the delivery options menu after leaving the message. But if the caller ID is not available, you can still use the Boomerang feature by manually dialing the number. When using Boomerang with Cellular or PCS phones, see the discussion in the next subsection.

Note: See your System Administrator to activate or deactivate the announcement of time and date for each message before playing the message content. The time stamp can be skipped by pressing 9 during playback.

When an outcall is made by the system (for One-Number-Access, Message Notification, Boomerang, Call Forwarding, etc.), to a cellular or PCS phone, it may ring the phone once but not necessarily present the call and make a connection. This will happen if the ringback tone played by the cellular service provider does not conform to standard ringback tones.  To work around this problem, instruct users to append a few commas (,) to the outcall (cellular) number when entering it. One comma provides a one second pause.

1. At the Main Menu, press 3. 
2. Record your message and press # when finished.  If you need to re-record the message, press * when prompted.
3. Select a destination by entering one of the following:

• destination extension number

• # to enter destination extension by name. Enter last name followed by the first name and press # when finished. (Use 1 for “Q” and “Z”.)

• 01 followed by a personal Distribution List number to send a message to a personal distribution list.

4. After selecting the destination, press one of the following:

• # to send immediately

• 1 for delivery options, then 1 for urgent delivery, or 2 for future delivery. Urgent messages are placed at the beginning in the queue of new messages to be heard, before other non-urgent messages.

• 2 to re-enter a destination as in step 3.

Personalize your VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System by creating unique greetings and customizing the system to notify you of important calls or remind you about meetings and action items. At the Main Menu, press 4 for the following Personal Options:

At the Personal Options menu, press 1 to record greetings, then press… 

• 1 to record your Personal Greeting. Record your greeting and press # when finished. Example: “Hi, this is Mary Smith. I am unable to answer your call at this time. Please leave a detailed message and I will return your call promptly.”*

• 2 to record your Directory Name. Record your full name and press # when finished.

• 3 to select which greeting to use (the system greeting or personal greeting). 

*Even if you have recorded your personal greeting, the default system greeting is used until you select and thus activate your personal greeting.

Changing your Password

To protect your voice mail system, memorize your password without writing it down. Change your password frequently, and change it any time you suspect it has been compromised.  To change your password, after pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options …

1. Press 2 for the Password options

2. Press 1 to change the password

3. Enter a new password. 

When you’re away from your desk, you can use the Message Notification function to alert you about incoming messages. When a caller leaves a message in your voice mailbox, the system calls the extension, phone number or pager that you designate—the delivery phone number. The VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System then prompts you for your password and places you at the Main Menu.

When setting this delivery phone number, the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System asks you to enter the number (up to a maximum of 64 digits), using the long distance prefix 1 for out of area phone numbers. You must also identify the type of number: extension, phone number, or pager.  

If the system is unable to reach you for Message Notification or Reminder Calls, it will play “Attempts to reach you earlier were unsuccessful” the next time you login to the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System. 

To Set Message Notification:

After pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options menu, press 3 to hear the Message Notification options, then press…

• 1 to activate notification at all times

• 2 to activate notification during off hours

• 3 to setup your own notification schedule

The VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System will prompt you for the activate and deactivate times. If the hour digit is “1” in the case of one o’clock for example, press # after the entry. Always enter two digits for minutes. The VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System will only accept 10 minute intervals such as 10:10 or 10:20 and not 10:15.

You can nudge your memory about important meetings, calls, or other events by setting up a Reminder Call. The VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System will ring you and play back your pre-recorded message at a specified time and date, to a specified delivery phone number. For example, you can have the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System call you at home tonight to remind you to bring a file to work the next morning!

Note: The delivery number used by Reminder Call is the same as the one used by the Message Notification function. If you want to use a different number than the one set in Message Notification, open the Message Notification options by pressing 3 on the Personal Options menu, then press 4 to set or change the delivery number. Also, please see “About the Delivery Number”.

After pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options menu, press 4 again to hear the Reminder Call options, then…

1. Press 2.

2. At the prompts, set the time and date for the call  If the hour digit is “1”, press # after the entry. Always enter two digits for minutes. The VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System will only accept 10 minute intervals such as 10:10 or 10:20 and not 10:15.

3. Record the reminder message, then press #.

4. Select one of the following:
   A) to deliver the reminder to your extension
   B) to deliver the reminder to the outcall number or delivery phone number designated in Message Notification. If you want to change this number, you need to separately. 

5. Press # to confirm the message delivery.

If a scheduled reminder call has not been delivered, there is an additional option on the Reminder Call menu; you can press 1 to review scheduled reminder calls.

You can configure Call Forwarding from your phone or from a remote location by dialing into the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System and following the steps listed here: Note: Forwarding calls to a pager is possible but not recommended since callers will only hear what is heard when calling a pager and might not know to enter a return phone number unless instructed.

To Set Up Call Forwarding:

After pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options menu, press 5 to set up call forwarding, then…

1. Enter the destination number.  Begin with 9 and any long distance prefix digits such as 1 and area code.

2. Immediately after entering the destination number, press #. This forwards all calls to the destination number until you login and select the call forwarding option again and disable it.

Distribution lists provide a way to use a single destination number to send messages to a group of people. You can send or forward a message to a list just as you would to an extension. When you send a message to a list, it is sent to everyone on the list. You can create up to 100 distribution lists, and each list can have up to 64 entries. An entry can be an extension of any kind, including virtual or workgroup pilots, or another distribution list, so in effect there is no practical limit to the number of people to which you can send a single message.  When you create lists at your station, they are your personal distribution lists—every extension can have its own lists. There may also be system distribution lists created by your system administrators.

After pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options menu, press 7 to access the Distribution Lists menu, then…

1. Press 1 to Add a distribution list.

2. When prompted, enter a 2-digit number to identify the list.

3. When prompted, enter the list members, which can be one of the following forms:
   • Extension numbers.
   • 01, followed by a Personal Distribution List number.
   • 02, followed by a System Distribution List number.

4. The system reads back the entry to you, and you press # to save or * to cancel the entry.

5. Repeat the previous two steps until you’ve added all the list members.

To add or remove list members, after pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options menu, press 7 to access the Distribution Lists menu, then…

1. Press 3 to Modify a distribution list.

2. When prompted, enter a 2-digit number to identify the list.

3. When prompted, do one of the following:
       • To add members, press 1, then follow steps 3 and 4 in the immediately preceding procedure, Creating a Distribution List.
       • To delete members, press 2. When prompted, enter the member number you want to delete. For extensions, enter the extension number. 
         Use 01 or 02, followed by the list number, to specify system or personal distribution lists, respectively.

4. The system reads back the entry to you, and you press # to save or * to cancel the action.

5. If you just added a member, you’re prompted to add another. If you just deleted a member, you’re asked if you want to delete another.

After pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options menu, press 7 to access the Distribution Lists menu, then…

1. Press 2 to Delete a distribution list.

2. When prompted, enter a 2-digit number to identify the list.

3. The system reads back the entry to you, and you press # to confirm the deletion or * to cancel.

To hear a report of list members, after pressing 4 at the Main Menu to hear the Personal Options menu, press 7 to access the Distribution Lists menu, then…

1. Press 4 to Review a distribution list.

2. When prompted, enter a 2-digit number to identify the list.

3. The system reports the list members one by one.

VerticalAnswer provides special Dynamic Messaging features to provide support for business travelers who need these remotely enabled functions.  The Boomerang feature enables you to return a call with the push of one button while you are in the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System. Private Messaging provides a way to leave a private message for callers who are difficult to reach.

The Boomerang feature enables the user to listen to messages in the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System, make calls to the parties who left the messages, and then return to the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System (like a boomerang). For example, this feature can allow a traveler to return calls for all messages with one call into the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System from a cellular phone.

When you make a Boomerang callback, the system automatically makes the call to the number captured by Caller ID. The Caller ID information is captured for all internal users and for external callers who have a publicly listed, unblocked number or who have entered their callback number in the delivery options menu after leaving the message.  If the caller ID was not captured, the user can enter the number manually.  Be sure to dial 9 and any long distance prefix digits such as 1 and area code.  Boomerang is configured for each user; check your access with your VerticalAnswer system administrator.

1. After or while listening to a new or saved message, press 5 to call the sender of the message. The system places the call if the Caller ID number is available.

2. If the Caller ID is not available, you can manually enter the number.

3. Press *** to disconnect from the call and return to the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System.

The Caller’s Options

After leaving a message, the caller can simply hang up or press # for the following options.

After pressing 2, the caller is asked to leave a call back number beginning with the area code. To notify your callers of this option, you may want to mention the option to leave a call back number in your personal greeting. If the caller’s number is a publicly listed number, there is no need to enter their callback number since VerticalAnswer automatically captures their caller ID information.

You have the ability to leave a private, detailed message in the VerticalAnswer Voice Mail System for a caller in case you are not at your desk or in the office to take the call. This feature is perfect for those who are difficult to reach and want to leave information for callers to pick up. When you leave a private message, the system asks callers to enter the letters of their names (last name followed by first name) to check if they have a private message.  You can have up to five private messages at one time, so you should delete messages that have been heard.

At the Main Menu, press 5 to access the Private Messaging menu and then proceed as follows:

1. Press 2 to record a new message.

2. At the tone, record message and press #.

3. Using the number pad, enter recipient’s last name followed by the first name. Use 1 for “Q” and “Z”.

4. When you have finished, press #.

To check the status of private messages that have been recorded, at the Main Menu, press 5 to access the Private Messaging menu, then press 1. VerticalAnswer reports the following:

• The time and date the message was recorded.

• The recipient.

• Whether the message has been heard.ail

• A replay of the message.

• A prompt for you to press 1 to keep the message or 2 to delete it.