IVR - Interactive Voice Response

Active Commands are the commands that IVM can execute when the caller presses a key, at the end of an Out-Going Message or when a transfer fails.

No Response

If this command is selected IVM does nothing when the caller presses the key. This option can only be used in a menu.

Invalid Option

If this command is selected IVM says "that is not a valid option" then replays the OGM. This option can only be used in a menu.

Go to OGM...

If this command is selected IVM opens to another OGM. This command is essential for multiple OGM interactive voice response setup as it lets the caller hear a sub-menu by pressing a key or to sequence OGMs by selecting "Go to OGM..." as the active command for the End of the Message.

Example: In your Answering OGM say "If you know the name of the person you want to speak to, please press 1. Otherwise, for s...". Create another OGM which says "For Joe Smith, press 1. For Jane Doe, press 2...". On the Key Response Menu of the first Answering OGM select "Go to OGM..." in the pull down list next to "Press '1'".

The OGM name to go to can include data-entry variable names circumfixed with the % character.

If you are using multiple level folders you can specify OGM names with folders. For example "MyMenus\StartOGM" would specify an OGM in the StartOGM folder. (You must have created the folder using the OGM Manager first). You can also specify relative directories like ".." for the parent folder or "." for the current folder (e.g. "..\MyOtherFolder\StartOGM").

Leave Message for Mailbox...

If this command is selected the caller can record a message for the selected Mailbox.

You can select whether IVM should play the Mailbox personal greeting before recording the message. This depends on the context. Generally with menu options or transfer fail you would want the personal message whereas with end of OGM you would not.

Example: "To leave a message for our technical support department, please press 6". Create a new Mailbox called "Support" which could be set to email the message to support@yourdomain.com. Select "Leave Message for Mailbox... Support" as the OGM Properties Key Response Menu press '6' option.

The mailbox name can include data-entry variable names circumfixed with the % character (often used were the PBX sends the extension number as in-band DTMF).

If the mailbox does not exist with that name and the Validate Extension Exists option (described below) is not selected it is created with all of the mailbox settings set to their default values.

If you have the option 'Use mailbox special menu' ticked then while the caller is recording a message they can press the # key to change their message. You can change the text to "...once you have finished recording press #". When they press # they will then be offered the menu option "1 to record again, 2 to to listen or 9 to end the call".

If you have the option 'Use OGM menu for any other keys' ticked then all (other) menu key options are governed by the previous OGM menu properties.

If you have the option 'Validate Extension Exists' ticked then the OGM will only record a message if the mailbox actually exists. This can be useful in cases where a variable is collected for the mailbox that is used for recording. So if the mailbox was set to '%extno%' and mailboxes 101-110 exist currently, then a value of 103 for extno would allow recording of a message, but a value of 999 for extno would not as long as the Validate Extension Exists option is selected.

Play Wav/MP3 File...

If this command is selected IVM will play the selected wav or mp3 file. When the playback is complete, the OGM Message will be replayed. IVM supports most wav files and mp3.

Example: In your Out-Going Message say "To hear our contact details or our office hours, please press 1". On the Key Response Menu of the OGM select "Play Wav/Mp3 File..." in the pull down list next to "Press '1'". When you select the option, you will be able to browse to select a wav file which could be a recording: "Our address is... Our Fax number is... Our email address is... Our office hours are... ". (You could do exactly the same thing by creating another OGM but the play option is sometimes simpler).

Note: There are times when it might be preferable to create a new OGM with the audio file and use the "Go to OGM" command instead of the "Play" command because then the audio can have its own menu options.

The play file name can include data-entry variable names circumfixed with the % character.

Record Wav File...

If this command is selected IVM will record the selected audio file.

Note: To record simple messages you should consider creating a Mailbox and use the "Leave Message for Mailbox..." option. Mailboxes can be much simpler than manually recording files using the Record Wav file command.

This option can be used to let the user record the audio for other OGMs. For example, if you have an sports results line, this feature can be used to let the reporter (after entering an access code) record the updated results.

The record file name can include data-entry variable names circumfixed with the % character. To ensure that a different file is used for each call, use the variable %callsequenceno% as part of the record file name. The %callsequenceno% is a unique number for each call.

The maximum record time and silence detect time must also be specified. If the maximum time is reached or silence is detected, the "After autostop" command will be executed. The minimum silence detect time is 1 second (0:00:01.0) which can be useful when prompting the caller for a sequence of very short statements (e.g. callers name).

If you have problems with silence detection when recording, you may need to adjust the Record Detect Level from Settings.

An advanced option is the "Append to end of previous recording" option. When this is ticked, the recording is joined to the file end. This can be useful when you want to prompt the caller for many items (e.g. name, address etc.) but have the recording as a single file.

Rewind/Fast-forward

If this command is selected during playback (of the OGM or an external wav file), playback will skip forward or back a predetermined time. Negative values are rewind and positive are forward. Times are entered under in the format [-]h:mm:ss.s. For example rewind 5 seconds is -0:00:05.0.

Pause / Resume Playback

When this command is selected during playback, playback is paused until it is selected again. You also specify a maximum pause time (default 60s). After this time playback is resumed automatically. Do not select too long periods because if the caller hangs-up while in pause and if the end-of-call tone is not detected the line will be kept off-hook.

Transfer to...

For more information about these options, please see: Transferring Calls.

Dial...

When the Dial active command is executed, IVM dials the entered DTMF digits including hook-flashes ('!') or pauses (','). When dialing is complete IVM executes the "Then" command selected using the Dial "Details".

Access Mailbox Control

If this command is selected the caller will then be asked to enter their access code to check mailbox messages. This command is usually selected as the press '*' option for the answering OGM.

Repeat OGM

If this command is selected the OGM is repeated. Any data entry is also cleared.

Goodbye (Polite Hang-up)

If this command is selected, IVM says "goodbye" then hangs-up.

Hang-up (Immediately)

If this command is selected, the call is hung-up immediately.