User's Guide To Voice Mail System
Overview
The Voice Mail application is a useful community service. It allows callers to call into your system and access a 'Voice Mailbox.' The caller may then leave a message for the owner of the mailbox, or the caller may also listen to the messages left in their own Voice Mailbox.
It is important that you be aware that the Voice Mail application is a two-part application. The first part of the application is the System Editor, which this manual primarily deals with. This is the part of the application that allows you to design, build, and edit the application.
The second part of the application is the part of the application that callers actually deal with - the 'running' (working) application. while the System Editor allows you to access Voice Mail for editing and design, the Business Manager program allows you to run the Voice Mail application. For instructions on running your Voice Mail application, refer to the User's Guide To Business Manager manual.
The purpose of this chapter is to acquaint you with the concepts governing the workings of your Voice Mail system, including:
Terms
Listed here are some terms you need to know, as they appear in this chapter:
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Application |
An application is a program that you design, build, or otherwise modify so that it does what you want it to. We design programs, while you design applications. |
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Commit |
In the context of this application, this is a finalizing procedure. To 'Commit' is to finalize and save changes to the system's structure. |
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Context Sensitive |
Context Sensitive, when applied to requesting Help, means that the help reply relates to the current item, operation or procedure. Within Windows, the cursor or the mouse pointer defines the context either through the current location of the cursor or the item under the mouse pointer. |
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Icon |
An Icon is a graphic representation of a application in Windows. The icon is typically composed of a small picture along with the name of the application below it. |
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Mailbox |
The object in the application that is owned by a Mailbox owner. This object allows callers to leave messages for the Mailbox owner, and the owner may retrieve these messages. |
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On-Line Help |
On-Line means that help is accessible at anytime in the application, unless you're already inside the Help function itself. |
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Program |
In this manual, we are referring to Voice Mail. This is the actual software that runs on your computer. You use the System Editor 'program' to design your Voice Mail 'application'. |
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Speech |
A verbal message, recorded on a tree object in this application. |
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System |
Your computer, while running the Voice Mail application. It's a neat little technical term to impress your clients, and it's also more convenient than saying 'Your computer, while running the Voice Mail application.' |
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System Editor |
The Voice Mail System Editor allows you to modify the way that your Voice Mail application works. This is where you design, build, and edit your Voice Mail system. |
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System Tree |
When we say 'Tree' or 'System Tree', we're referring to the structure of your Voice Mail application as it appears in the System Editor. As a tree has branches, so does the structure of your Voice Mail application. |
Cast of Characters
These are the people who take the stage in your Voice Mail application:
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System Administrator |
You, the Center Owner. You call the shots, decide when the system is operating, decide how much to charge Mailbox owners, etc. This application is your domain. Your word is law here. |
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Mailbox Owner |
This is the person that 'owns' a Mailbox in your system. They may record their Mailbox Greeting speech, retrieve messages left for them, and delete their old messages. |
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Branch Administrator |
This is a person who has control of a branch of Mailboxes. The System Administrator decides what the Branch Administrator can do with their Mailbox group, such as giving them the power to add Mailboxes, leave a message for the Mailbox owners, listen to all left messages, or enable and disable Mailboxes. You may or may not have Branch Administrators in your system. |
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Caller |
Someone calling into the system to leave a message in a Mailbox. |
You must first get your Voice Mail application up and running, and advertise your service to the public. There are many opportunities to market your voice mail system, and to offer your subscribers a service that provides more than the average 'run-of-the-mill' voice mail service. Refer to the Voice Mail Sales and Marketing manual for marketing tips and strategies.
You may offer voice mailboxes to individuals, but more often interactive groups find this service most useful. An example of such a group would be agents in a large real estate office, where the agents need to stay in touch but are not all in the same place at once. They would exchange Mailbox numbers so they could keep in touch with each other as necessary.
While your system is up and running, callers access your system by dialing the number of the phone connected to your computer. There are 4 types of typical calls into your Voice Mail system:
• A call from a Mailbox owner to retrieve their messages.
• A call from the System Administrator to create a Mailbox, modify system, etc.
• A call from a Branch Administrator to modify Mailboxes on their branch (If you have Branch Administrators).
Open the Business Manager program.
In Windows 95
• Move your cursor up to Programs on the menu. Programs highlights and another menu appears.
• Move your cursor to ECS Business Applications on the second menu. ECS Business Applications highlights, and a third menu appears.
• Move your cursor to Business Manager on the third menu and click once. Business Manager opens and the title screen appears as shown in the next figure.
In Windows 3.1
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• Double click on the appropriate icon in the ECS Business Applications program group. Business Manager opens and the title screen appears as shown in the next figure. |
With Business Manager open, you can open any of the control menus or dialog boxes by clicking on the appropriate menu heading in the menu bar.
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• Click on the Applications menu heading, and the Application Configuration box appears. Select the Voice Mail System* option by clicking it. A blue bar appears on this option. |
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• Now click the Edit button, or double click the Voice Mail System* option. Either way, you enter the System Editor for the Voice Mail application. |
The Voice Mail System Editor window appears as shown in Figure 1:
Figure 1 - The Voice Mail system editor window
• To get to the main screen of the editor, click on the File menu heading on the menu bar. Next, click the Tree menu option. The Tree Edit screen appears as shown in Figure 2:
Figure 2 - The Tree Edit screen
The Tree Edit Screen displays a 'system tree'. This is a graphical representation of the system. The tree that appears now is an example tree, which you will use to practice the skills you learn in this manual. This is a fully functional system, complete with working Voice Mailboxes. This means that you could run the Voice Mail application right now using Business Manager. You or other callers could call into the system and move through it. Calling into your own system gives you a good idea of how the system works. Eventually, you will either modify this tree to customize it for your use, or you will make your own system tree.
When you finish editing the system tree, you may exit the System Editor so you can do other things. It is a simple procedure to exit the Voice Mail System Editor, and you may use the following procedure to do so:
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You may also use the a+o key combination to exit the application. You may also use a+F to get to the File menu, and press the X key. |
• While viewing the system tree, click the File menu heading located on the Menu bar. The File menu appears. • Click the Exit menu option. The editor closes, and you return to the Business Manager window. • You may also exit Voice Mail by double clicking the control box in the upper left corner of the Voice Mail window. |
If you made changes to the system tree but did not commit these changes, the following advisory message appears:
Figure 3 - The Commit Changes Advisory box
• Clicking the No button allows you to exit the System Editor without committing changes to the system tree. This means that all of the changes you made during the editing session are abandoned, and the system tree remains as it did before you entered the System Editor.
• Clicking the Cancel button allows you to return to the system tree without committing any changes. This means that you stay in the System Editor, and may continue your editing session.
If you encounter a problem at any time during the normal operation of your program, all you need to do is ask for Help. The program includes an On-Line Help function to answer questions that you might have concerning Voice Mail (On-Line means that it is accessible from anywhere in the program, unless you're already inside the Help function itself). The Help function contains the same basic information that you can find in this manual.
Starting Help
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• To start the Help function, click on the Help button. Using the button saves you from having to select help using the Help menu. • You can also activate Help by using the Help menu heading from the Menu Bar. A 'Menu Heading' is the word you find in the white bar along the top of your program window. • The Help function is also accessible from anywhere in the program by pressing the lkey. |
Once you activate Help, you can select the topic you want help with from the contents table. Clicking the Contents... option opens the first Help Window, The Help Contents Screen. This screen displays the most general of the Section Headings. These Headings relate directly to the Chapter Headings in this manual.
Exiting Help
To exit Help, all you have to do is close the Help Window. There are three ways you can do this:
2. Select the Close option from the Window Control menu.
3. Select the Exit option of the File menu in the Help Window.
