Customizing a New Announcement Set

Customizing an announcement set consists of the following general steps:

• Identify an administrative announcement set.
• Copy, record, rerecord, and remove fragments, as described in Customizing Fragments.
• Copy, change, and remove announcements, as described in Customizing Announcements.

Identifying an Administrative Announcement Set

You must identify an announcement set as the administrative announcement set before you can record or rerecord fragments in that set.

 

Note: You can listen to fragments in a set even if the set is not the administrative announcement set. However, you cannot record new fragments, re-record old fragments, or remove fragments unless the set that contains those fragments is the administrative set.

You can also copy, change, and remove announcements in the active announcement set. However, subscribers and callers hear the changes immediately, before you are able to test the new announcements. As a result, this method is not recommended.

To identify an administrative announcement set:

 

1. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.
2. Under Messaging Administration, select Administration.

The system displays the Administer System Attributes and Features page.

3. In the Administrative: field under ANNOUNCEMENT SETS, enter the name of the announcement set in which you want to modify announcements and fragments. 

Note: For complete information about the System Parameters Features page, see Defining Basic Features and Parameters.

4. Click Save.

Note: If this announcement set is the same as the active announcement set, subscribers and callers immediately hear any announcement changes you make.

Customizing Fragments

You can customize fragments in a variety of ways. These methods are described in the following topics.

 

If you upgrade your system, you could lose any new fragments or fragments you copy. In addition, after an upgrade, fragments you removed can be reinstated. If a future upgrade is possible, it is recommended that you customize fragments by re-recording them. It is also recommended that you remove fragments by re-recording them using silence.

Re-recording an Existing Fragment

There are at least two standard fragments you will probably want to change when you customize your messaging software:

• The greeting callers hear when they are routed to a subscriber's mailbox
• The greeting a subscriber hears when calling the messaging software directly


 

Note: You must be administered as a subscriber with announcement control to be able to record fragments. You assign announcement control by using either the Class of Service page or page 2 of the Subscriber screen. See Subscriber Administration for more information about changing subscribers or Class of Service.

To re-record a fragment:

1. Identify the announcement set that contains the fragment as the administrative announcement set. See Identifying an Administrative Announcement Set for more information.
2. Use the information in Commonly Customized Fragments and Announcements to determine the number of the announcement whose fragment you want to change.
3. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.
4. Under Messaging Administration, select Announcements Admin to view sets that are available in the messaging system.

The system displays the Announcement Administration page, with the announcement set ID, the announcement ID, and the fragment numbers contained within the announcement listed.

5. Verify that the announcement you plan to change is actually composed of the fragments you expect.
6. Use your touchtone telephone to log in to the messaging software.


 

Note: You must be administered as a subscriber with announcement control to be able to record fragments. You assign announcement control by using either the Class of Service screen or page 2 of the Subscriber screen. See Subscriber Administration for more information about changing subscribers or Class of Service.

7. At the activity menu, press 9. (This option is not included in the voiced options.) If you hear "Invalid entry. For help at any time, press star H", you do not have announcement control permission.
8. When you hear "To record names, press 4. To play names, press 5," press 1 to change the fragment. (This option is not included in the voiced options, but it plays out if you press * 4 for help.)
9. Enter the fragment ID as prompted and then press the pound sign (#). For example, for f287, press 2 8 7 #.
10. Record the changed fragment when prompted. You can use all the normal voice mail editing capabilities on your touchtone telephone to make sure the new fragment sounds exactly how you want it.
11. When you are satisfied with the recording, press the pound sign (#) to approve it.
12. Repeat Step 9 through Step 11 for any other fragments that you want to change.
13. Activate the announcement set through the System Parameters Features screen. See Activating an Announcement Set for the procedure.

Recording a New Fragment

To change a fragment for some announcements but not for others, you need to substitute an existing fragment or create a new fragment for use by the announcements you want to change. You then leave the old fragment intact for use by existing announcements that you do not want changed.

For example, announcement a812 and announcement a834 are the only announcements that use fragment f87, "This call is experiencing difficulties." If you want to change this fragment for announcement a812 but not for announcement a834, you must create a new fragment to associate with announcement a812 instead of fragment f87. You then leave fragment f87 and its association with announcement a834 intact.

 

Note: You must be administered as a subscriber with announcement control to be able to record fragments. You assign announcement control by using either the Class of Service screen or page 2 of the Subscriber screen. See Subscriber Administration for more information about changing subscribers or Class of Service.

To record a new fragment:

1. Identify the announcement set that contains the fragment as the administrative announcement set. See Identifying an Administrative Announcement Set for more information.
2. Use your touchtone telephone to log in to the messaging software.
3. At the activity menu, press 9. (This option is not included in the voiced options.) If you hear "Invalid entry. For help at any time, press star H", you do not have announcement control permission.
4. When you hear "To record names, press 4. To play names, press 5," press 1 to change the fragment. (This option is not included in the voiced options, but it plays out if you press * 4 for help.)
5. Enter the fragment ID, 4000 to 4999, as prompted. For example, enter an unused number such as f4000 by pressing 4 0 0 0 #.


 

Note: The fragment numbers 4000 thru 4999 are reserved for customer use. Using numbers other than these could jeopardize the integrity of your custom fragments and announcements if these numbers are also used for new fragments in later versions or updates to the messaging software.

6. Record the fragment when prompted. For example, your new fragment might be "This call is experiencing difficulties and cannot continue at this time."

You can use all the normal voice mail editing capabilities on your touchtone telephone to make sure the new fragment sounds exactly the way you want it.

7. When you are satisfied with the new fragment recording, press the pound key (#) to approve it.
8. Use the Announcement screen to replace existing fragments with the new fragment. See Changing an Announcement for the procedure.

Copying a Fragment to an Announcement Set

You might want to copy a fragment from one announcement set into another announcement set. For example, perhaps you recorded the fragment "Your call is important" in Announcement Set X and you now want to use that recording again in Announcement Set Y. Instead of re-recording the fragment, you can copy it.

To copy a fragment to an announcement set:

1. Check the list of standard fragments in Commonly Customized Fragments and Announcements or in your log of custom fragments for the number and text of the fragment you want to copy.
2. On your touchtone telephone, press 9 2. Follow the prompts to listen to the fragment to verify that it is the one you want.
3. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.
4. Under Messaging Administration, select Announcement Copy.

The system displays the Copy Announcements or Fragments page.

5. Complete the fields on this page by using the information provided in the table for Field Definitions: Copy Announcements or Fragments page.
6. Select an announcement or a fragement and click Copy Announcement or Copy Fragment respectively.
7. Enter an Annnouncement ID.
8. Click Copy.

Removing a Fragment from an Announcement Set

Remove a fragment from an announcement when you no longer need it. Removing unneeded fragments saves disk space and makes your announcement set easier to maintain.

 

Check Commonly Customized Fragments and Announcements and your log of custom fragments to be sure the fragment you remove is not a necessary part of any announcements. Also, do not remove any fragments from your standard announcement sets.

If you remove a fragment, announcements that contained the fragment can no longer play it, even though the fragment number still appears for the announcement on the Announcement page. The messaging software skips the removed fragment and immediately plays any other fragments that are defined for the announcement.

To remove a fragment:

1. Check your log of custom fragments for the number and text of the fragment you want to remove.
2. On your touchtone telephone, press 9 2. Follow the prompts to listen to the fragment and verify that it is the one you want.
3. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.
4. Under Messaging Administration, select Announcement Administration.
5. Click the Select Fragment button after selecting a fragment from the list for an announcement set.

The system displays the Remove Fragment page, that lists the fragment number you are removing, the fragment's announcement set, and the date and time the fragment was last changed.

Customizing Announcements

You can customize announcements in a variety of ways. These methods are described in the following topics.

 

If you upgrade your system, you may lose any custom announcements. In addition, after an upgrade, fragments you removed may be reinstated. If a future upgrade is possible, it is recommended that you customize announcements by re-recording the fragments they contain. It is also recommended that you remove fragments in an announcement by re-recording them using silence, not by using the procedure for removing fragments listed previously in this topic.

Copying an Announcement

Copy an announcement to save time when creating new announcements and recording fragments. You can copy an announcement within an announcement set or from one announcement set to another. You can add an announcement by copying an announcement to a new announcement number. An announcement that you copy overwrites any announcement that already exists with the same ID.

To copy an announcement:

1. Check the list of standard announcements in Commonly Customized Fragments and Announcements or your in log of custom announcements for the number of the announcement you want to copy.
2. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.
3. Under Messaging Administration, select Announcement Copy. An announcement identifier can be in the range: a1 to a5000.

The system displays the Copy Announcements or Fragments page, with the announcement set ID, the announcement ID, and the fragment numbers contained within the announcement listed.

Verify that the announcement contains the fragments you want to copy.

4. Complete the fields on this screen by using the information provided in the table for Field Definitions: Copy Announcements and Fragments page.
6. Select an announcement.
7. Click Copy Announcement.
8. Select the set to which you want to copy the selected announcement.
9. Enter a valid ID for the announcement.

The announcement is now copied to the new announcement ID and to the announcement set ID, if any.

Changing an Announcement

An announcement can be modified by eliminating an existing fragment.

You can:

• Remove a fragment from the list of fragments that compose an announcement. For example, to modify the default voice mail greeting to say "For help at any time, press *4.", remove fragment f287 from the list of fragments that compose the announcement.
• Replace a fragment with another fragment. In the above example, you might want to replace the fragment with "Welcome to ACME Company." In this case, you record the fragment (see Recording a New Fragment for the procedure) and then substitute the new fragement for the old one.

You cannot:

• Add an announcement without starting with another announcement. Instead, you must first copy an existing announcement into a new announcement number and then change the text of this copied announcement. Available announcement numbers are from 1000 to 5000.
• Add a fragment to an announcement. For example, if an announcement has four fragments, you cannot add a fifth fragment.

To change announcements:

1. Use Commonly Customized Fragments and Announcements to determine the number of the announcement you want to change.
2. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.

Note: The announcement set you want to change must be designated as the administrative announcement set on the System Adminstration page. See Identifying an Administrative Announcement Set for more information.

3. Under Messaging Administration, select Announcement Admin. An announcement identifier must have a value from a1 to a5000.

The system displays the Announcement Administration page , with the announcement set ID, the announcement ID, and the fragment numbers contained within the announcement listed.

4. Complete the fields on this screen using the information provided in the table for Field Definitions: Announcement Administration page.
5. To remove a fragment:
1. Select a fragment and click the Select Fragment button. The system displays a the same page but with extra buttons, such as, Delete Fragments.
2. Click Delete Fragments.
6. To change announcements:
1. Select an announcement.
2. Click the Select Announcement button. The system refreshes the page and displays few more buttons, such as Update Announcements, Delete Announcements button. Please note that the buttons that display when you click Select Announcement or Select Fragment are contextual.
3. You can change announcement by changing its fragments. If the announcement that you select comprises of three fragments, those fragments will be displayed.
4. Use the tab key move your cursor through the different fragments. This action activates the Update Announcement button.
5. You can change fragments and thus update the announcement.

Displaying an Announcement

1. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.
2. Under Messaging Administration, select Announcement Administration. The system displays the set selected as the administrative set. The page displays all the announcements and fragments contained in this set.


 

Note: Select the set that you want to administer as the administrative announcement set on the System Administration page.

 

Removing an Announcement

1. Log in to the Communication Manager Messaging web page.

    

Note: The announcement set that contains the announcement you want to remove must be designated as the administrative announcement set on the System Adminstration page, under Messaging Administration . See Identifying an Administrative Announcement Set for more information.



2. Under Messaging Administration, select Announcement Administration. Select an announcement from the list.
3. Click Select Announcement. The system refreshes the page to display additional buttons.
4. Click Delete Announcement.

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