Show Hide

 

Feedback

  • Contents
 

Listen for Extension Dialing option

The Listen for Extension Dialing option appears on schedule and menu forms.  It sets up processing that Attendant interprets to handle multiple incoming digits as extension numbers, rather than as menu selections.  This option is disabled by default. 

In releases prior to 2.3.1 Feature Pack 1, "Listen for Extension Dialing" enabled always treated the # key as a termination digit.  Attendant has been modified to allow the # key when used by itself to work as any other menu digit and when used with other digits to work as a termination digit.

  • If # is pressed by itself, Attendant handlers interpret the pound key as a menu digit. 

  • If # is preceded by other digits, it is interpreted as a terminator.

Listen for Extension Dialing offers advantages and disadvantages.  It is a good idea to use it with discretion, since it causes user-entered digits to be processed differently, depending upon how quickly the user pressed keys.  A user who is familiar with a menu may enter digits quickly, fooling Attendant into processing menu selections as an extension-dialing request.  In general, you should use Listen for Extension Dialing only in situations that expressly call for it.  Otherwise, Attendant may perform the undesired behavior of transferring calls to extension numbers that correspond to legitimate menu selections.

  • If you use it, you may be able to reduce the number of extension dialing nodes in your menu interactions.

  • The downside is that menu interactions are slowed down by the delay interval specified.  For example, suppose that maximum delay is left at its default value of 2.5 seconds.  A caller who enters a digit to select a menu item will wait 2.5 seconds for Attendant to process the selection. 

  • This feature can potentially dial an extension, when the intent of the caller is to select menu items.  If a caller enters digits too rapidly, the entry will be interpreted as extension numbers to dial.

Maximum delay (seconds) for extension dialing spin control

This spin control sets the amount of time (in seconds) that Attendant shall wait for the caller to enter the next digit of an extension number.  If another digit is detected within this interval, Attendant considers that digit to be part of an extension number, rather than as a menu selection.  Attendant then waits the specified interval for another digit to be entered.  The default interval is 2.5 seconds.  Note—the number of seconds to wait before repeating value in the menu should be longer than the value set for maximum delay (seconds) for extension dialing.

Extension dialing takes precedence over menu option selection

When Listen for Extension Dialing in effect, extension dialing takes precedence over menu option selection.  This can cause unexpected processing behaviors to occur.  Suppose, for example, that callers press 3 to select a menu node, and then press 1 to transfer to a Marketing queue, whose workgroup extension is 3.  This works fine until Listen for Extension Dialing is enabled in the default schedule.

When Listen for Extension Dialing is enabled, any caller who presses 3 to select the menu is transferred to the Marketing queue, bypassing the menu node and any recording that it might play. 

In this scenario, Attendant had to decide whether the digit entered (3) was an extension number or a menu selection.  As a rule of thumb, Attendant gives extension dialing precedence over menu option selection when Listen for Extension Dialing is in effect.  Since 3 matches the extension of a workgroup, Attendant transferred the call to that queue.  To resolve this situation, you could change the Attendant menu selection digit so that it does not match an extension number.

When an extension number conflicts with a menu option, and Listen for Extension Dialing is active, Attendant assumes that the digit should be used to perform an extension transfer, rather than to invoke a menu selection.  In a complex menu interaction, there is no good way to make extension numbers disambiguous from menu selections, so use Listen for Extension Dialing carefully.