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Manage Configuration Files

The call flow interactions that you design in Attendant are called configurations. Configurations can be connected, locked, loaded, published, exported, imported and disconnected. You can export a server's configuration data to an Attendant file (*.att) to create a backup, or a file that can be imported into another server. Configuration files back up existing servers, and make it easier to configure multiple servers.

Understanding Packages vs. Configurations

When part of a call flow is saved to disk, the resulting file is called a package.  The command that saves a portion of the call flow is called Package, to distinguish it from Export, which saves the entire call flow in a configuration file. For procedural details, see export a configuration file and export a package file.

Packages allow part of a call flow to be moved from a test environment to a production server.  Packages can be used to create a template call flow that can be loaded onto a server and then customized.

Configuration files have an extension of .att. Package files have an .atp extension.  The difference between a package (created using the Package command) and a configuration (created using the Export command) is that:

A configuration always describes the entire Attendant tree: all profiles and everything below it. A package is a sub-section of a tree that could be any node along with all of its children, grandchildren and so on.  A package could contain a profile, a schedule, a complex action node, or any other combination of call flow logic.

When you import a configuration, all of the existing call flow is replaced by the imported configuration, but when you import a package, nothing is deleted. The nodes in the package are simply added to the existing configuration.  See import files.

Connect opens the last published configuration

When you login to a server with Attendant, you become connected to the configuration that is currently running, and the call flow is loaded into Attendant for editing. If no one else is editing the configuration, Attendant locks it for your exclusive use. This prevents other persons from publishing the configuration while you are editing it. Attendant notifies you if the configuration is locked by someone else.

Export copies the configuration to a disk file

Exporting a configuration saves a copy of it to a file. You can export an inbound, outbound, or operator configuration in one of three ways:

As a server-specific backup that can be imported only by the server from which it was copied.
As an exact full copy that can be loaded onto a similarly configured server. This is typically used to move a configuration from a test server to a production server.
As a generic configuration template that can be loaded on any server. This contains the general call flow layout, but without server-specific information, such as workgroup names, user names, or audio files. The resulting file can be loaded onto a server and customized to match the destination server. This option does not require servers to be identically configured. It is geared for partners and administrators who manage multiple sites.

Import opens a configuration file for editing in Attendant

Import reads a configuration file (or package) from disk into Attendant for editing. Import does not automatically replace the server's running configuration. You must explicitly publish it.

Load Active Configuration

Load Active Configuration abandons the changes that you have made and loads the configuration that is currently active and taking calls on a server.

Publish puts the loaded configuration into effect

When you edit a configuration, you can publish it to put changes into effect. Partial or unfinished configurations can be exported for later editing. If you connect to a configuration that has been locked by another user, you can still use Attendant to edit the configuration, but you cannot publish it. When you finish making changes, you can export them to disk, and import them later.

Disconnect closes the connection to the server, and its configuration

When you disconnect from a server, Attendant's connection to its Notifier subsystem is released, your lock on the data (if any) is removed, and the configuration is removed from the tree structure. If you disconnect without saving changes first, Attendant provides an opportunity to save your work.

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