Chapter 19: The Message Menu

Messages left by callers for Mail Box holders can be accessed from the Messages menu, or accessed remotely through a User Access Phantom or Supervisor Phantom (see Chapter 23- Remote Access, see also Appendix g - Message Deletion).

Mail Box...

The Mail Box command brings up the Mail Box Messages window, which displays a list of all messages that have been left for the currently displayed Mail Box. The top of this window displays the number of the current Mail Box being viewed, the Box Name, and the Client Box which owns this Mail Box. There is also a display which indicates the Total New messages, Total Old messages, and the date the Mail Box was last used.

The Mail Box Messages display gives specific information about each message saved for the current Mail Box, including the following:

Date - The date each message was recorded.

Time - The time of day each message was recorded.

Secs - The length of each message in seconds.

From - The source of the message. If the message was left by a caller who was not validated on the system this number will be the same as the current Mail Box number. If the message was left by a Mail Box holder on the system or forwarded from another Mail Box, the From field will display the source of the message.

If the message was sent by an unidentified caller to a Group Mail Box, of which this Mail Box is a member, the Group Mail Box number will show. If sent by another Mail Box holder to a Group the From field will show the Mail Box number of the individual who originated the message.

Type - In the case of Mail Boxes the Type field will display "Voice", or "Fax" if you are using Fax Mail(not implemented). Touch-tone data cannot be held in a Mail Box. To capture touch-tone data you need to use a Question Box, not a mailbox.

Status - The status is either New (not yet listened to) or Old (listened to but not deleted). The status will change from New to Old when the Mail Box holder listens to the message. If a Mail Box holder listens to a message and chooses to save it as New (if allowed by the Mail Box holder's Privilege setting), this field will continue to display "New".

To locate a specific Mail Box to examine, use the Check Messages Icon in the Activity Bar. After you have located a specific Mail Box, click once on a specific message within the Mail Box Message display to highlight it. With a message highlighted, you can use the buttons to the right of the Mail Box message display to Play the message, Play New (leaves the status as New), Delete the message, or Move the message to another Mail Box. The Move button will bring up the Mail Box Finder screen which allows you to locate the destination box to which you would like to move the selected message. When you have finished reviewing Mail Box messages, click on the Done button to exit the Mail Box Messages window.

MailBox Display

This window will list any mailboxes that have messages in them - new or old, and how many. The system checks the status every 60 seconds. This option is only suggested to be used if you have 50 or fewer mailboxes. It is a valuable tool for a small business where people can see the screen and at a glance can see where messages have been left.  For the most current info, you can click on the refresh button, verses waiting 60 seconds for an auto refresh to take place.

Question Box...

 

The Question Box command brings up the Question Box Messages window, which displays the information stored within the currently displayed Question Box. The top of this window displays the number of the current Question Box, the Box Name, and the Client Box which owns the current Question Box. There is also a display which indicates the Total New messages (received since the last time messages were reviewed for this box) and the Total Old messages (reviewed but not erased).

The Question Box Messages display gives specific information about each message saved for the current Question Box, including the following:

Date - The date each message was recorded.

Time - The time of day each message was recorded.

Status - The status is either New or Old. "New" indicates that the message has not yet been reviewed.

Key - This field has assigned a unique identification number to the answer.  This would be useful if you are using the CalenDialer feature and a customer wanted to cancel an upcoming call they had scheduled.  They would have been given the number at the time they recorded their call. You can locate the call using this number. You can also then find and delete it from the scheduled outbound queue screen (Messages, Schedule Queue)., if you are using the CalenDialer feature, which can be used for reminders, wake-up calls, etc. Additional information regarding the queues is available under the Add-On modules sections of CalenDialer and PeopleChek.

To locate a specific Question Box to examine, use the Check Messages Icon in the Activity Bar. After you have located the Question Box which contains the messages you would like to review, double-click on a specific message within the Question Box display to review the information it contains. This will bring up the Question Box Message Info window which displays the information stored within a Question Box Message. This information can be in the form of either Tone (touch-tone input) or Voice messages. You will see that there are the same number of entries in this window as questions defined in the Question Box you are currently examining. The display will also show the length, in seconds, of voice messages and the digits captured as touch-tone input. To listen to a stored voice message, click on the message to highlight it. Now click the Play button. When you have finished, click on the Done button to exit the Question Box window.

Messages in Question Boxes can be in the form of a voice message or touch-tone input. If the question requests touch-tone input, it will not be "played" like a voice file. Instead, the touch-tone input from the caller will be displayed on the screen. If you requested callers to enter a particularly long number, such as a credit card number, it may not completely fit on the display screen. Click on the Play button to display the entire number.

Note: Touch-tone input can also be stored in a text file if you select the Save Queries As Text File option in the Question Box.

Screening/Capture Box...

The Screening/Capture Box command brings up the Screening Box Messages window, which displays a list of all recorded profile descriptions and new Mail Box information for the currently displayed Capture Box. The top of this window displays the number of the current Capture Box, the Box Name, and the Client Box which owns the current Capture Box being displayed. There is also a display which indicates the total of NEW Mail Boxes/recorded profile descriptions that are not yet approved (Total  New),  the number of APPROVED Mail Boxes/recorded profile descriptions that  ARE approved (Total Approved), the number of CHANGED descriptions (these were originally approved, then the box owner remotely changed them),(Total Changed), and the number of descriptions DELETED (Total Deleted). The system operator deleted those descriptions - perhaps they were long and intelligible and the operator did not want to listen to them again.

The Screening Box Messages display gives specific information about each Mail Box/recorded profile description for the current Capture Box, including the following:

Date - The date each recorded profile description was recorded.

Time - The time of day each recorded profile description was recorded.

Mailbox - The number of the Mail Box attached to a profile.

Visits - The number of times that a particular profile has been reviewed by callers.

The different status listings for survey descriptions are:

new:

this is the first state when someone has just created a new mailbox and survey description. If, in the accompanying search box, you have 'validate messages' checked, these 'new' listings will not be played. That way you can control the quality of your system.

approved:

this is the state the survey will enter after the system operator has approved the entry, The entry can either be approved from the screen, or you can call in remotely, enter the User Phantom, enter the capture box number and client password to approve these entries. Once approved, they will be accessible through your search box.

changed:

when a box owner calls in and re-records their survey description (provided you have allowed them this privilege), the status will go to 'changed'. This way you can distinguish the 'changed' from the the 'new'.

deleted:

if you listen to an entry and do not want to approve it for whatever reason, but you don't want to have to listen to it again, you can delete it. From the screen, if you double click on the entry, you can choose delete. That will ONLY delete the actual survey voice file. The box owner can still call in and re-record it correctly. If you choose 'delete record' from the screening box messages screen then the whole concept of the mailbox being attached to the capture box will be gone. The mailbox will still be there, but the owner can no longer call in and access or re-record their survey.

The 'Date Recorded' field represents the date and time the survey was last recorded. It is by this date that the accompanying search box decides which ones to play. The actual order played is set in the search box (chronological, etc). Note: The Mail Box privilege will be in force from the time a Mail Box is created, regardless of the setting of the "Status" option.

The order that the survey descriptions are listed in can be changed by clicking on your choice in the lower left hand corner of the screen. The listings are played in date order. The date is the date of the most recent recording of the survey description. If "John Smith" created his mailbox on February 15 and recorded the survey description at the same time,, the date of the survey description would be February 15. So if you set the search box to play the items from newest to oldest (reverse chronological order) then everyone who created and recorded survey descriptions after February 15 would be heard prior to John's listing.

If John wants to 'move ahead' in the playing order he can re-record his survey description periodically to 'go to the head of the line'. This feature keeps your most active customers the first one's to be heard.

Modify Creation Date:

Also, if you are using the capture/search boxes for information hotlines, or calendar related information, you can 'insert' new activities by modifying the creation date. You can add an item today which would automatically have today's date. But, by modifying the creation date to an earlier date, you can have the listing play earlier in the list.

To locate a specific Capture Box to examine, use the Check Messages Icon in the Activity Bar. After you have located the specific Capture Box which contains the Mail Boxes/profiles you would like to review, click once on a specific message within the Screening Box Message display to highlight it. With a message highlighted, you can use the buttons to the right of the Screening Box Message display to Play Survey (the caller's recorded profile description), Play Mail Box Name, Play Mail Box Greeting, Approve a profile, Add a profile, or Delete a profile. When you have finished, press the Done button to exit the Screening Box Messages window.

You can double-click on each survey for additional information. This brings up the same screen that you use to Add a survey. Survey descriptions can be added by calling in and entering a Capture Box, or directly from the Screening Box Messages window. If you are adding a new survey and wish to connect it to a Mail Box, an accompanying Mail Box will need to be created from the Mail Box screen in the Boxes menu.

View/Modify Survey (submenu)

The View/Modify Survey submenu screen is accessed when you click on an existing survey or click on the Add button.

 

Description - Enter a description here, such as '57 Chevy.

Fax Box - To attach a Fax Box to a survey, (not implemented) enter the Fax Box number in this field. If a Fax Box is attached to a survey, after hearing the recorded profile description callers will be given the options to go to the Mail Box that accompanies the survey, or receive a fax from the attached Fax Box. If no Fax Box is attached to a survey, callers will not have the option of receiving a fax after listening to the recorded profile description.

Mail Box - The number of the Mail Box that accompanies this survey.

Questions/Answers - Displays answers to the Capture Box questions. If you are creating or modifying a profile you can enter the answers that will be used by the corresponding Search Box for matching purposes.

Note: When creating or modifying a survey you can enter the star key (*) for any or all of the answers. The star key indicates to the corresponding Search Box that any response to the particular question in the Search Box will cause this survey to match. This could be used for advertising purposes if you know beforehand which recorded profiles you want callers to hear regardless of their responses to the Search Box questions.

Attached Question - The Attached Question button allows you to examine a caller's responses to a Question Box. This option will be grayed out have not set up a Question Box to immediately follow the Capture Box. If a Capture Box proceeds directly into a Question box, you will be able to view and/or listen to corresponding Question Box responses by clicking on the Attached Question button.

Billing Activity...

The Billing Activity command brings up the Billing Activity window, which displays a list of all Client Boxes and Mail Boxes, along with their current status. You will be able to see at a glance the time or units remaining for each box, the privilege set for each box, and whether or not each box is expired.

The Billing Activity display gives specific information about each Mail Box and Client Box on your system. This information ties in with the Privileges screens, and includes the following:

If you have not set up your Privileges to use time, expiration date, etc. the Unit type, total avail, period avail, and expired columns will be blank.

Box Number - The number of the Mail Box holder or Client which has logged activity on the system.

Name - The name that has been entered for the Mail Box or Client Box.

Unit Type - Possible unit types are Counts or Time.

Total Available - Displays the total of either Counts or Time, depending upon the Privilege settings that are in effect for the particular box, still remaining.

Period Available - Displays the total of either Counts or time, depending upon the Privilege settings that are in effect for the particular box, still remaining for the current period.

Expired - This column will display "YES" if a Mail Box or Client Box is expired.

Privilege - This column displays the Privilege setting that is currently assigned to each Mail Box and Client Box on your system.

Below the Billing Activity display are five buttons which you can use to modify the billing activity entries which appear in the display. The buttons are as follows:

Reset All - When a box is highlighted both the Total Available and Period Available values are reset according to the values in the Billing section of the Privilege assigned to the box.

Reset Total - When a box is highlighted the Total Available value is reset according to the Total Units field in Billing section of the Privilege assigned to the box.

Reset Period - When a box is highlighted the Period Available value is reset according to the Max Units Per Period field in Billing section of the Privilege assigned to the box.

Modify - Allows you to modify values in the Total Available and Period Available columns, and also the Creation Date, First Use, and Last Use of the Mail Box or Client Box. You can click on the Modify button, or simply double-click on an entry to bring up the Modify window. Enter new values in the fields provided and click the OK button to accept your changes.

If you are using Expiration options in your Privileges you can change the Creation/First Use/Last Use fields here to reset. This way you don't have to always change the Privilege. For example, if a box is created on 01/01/96, either by you at the screen or by a caller through a Capture Box, that date is entered in the program's Master Database (MASTER.DB). If you want Privilege 1 to always allow a user 30 days from creation date and you want to reset a particular user, who has now paid for an additional 30 days, you can reset the creation date here to allow them 30 more days without having to worry about any other users with Privilege 1. (See Privileges for a more thorough explanation.)

Schedule Queue:

This screen will show any calls the program has scheduled. This will include message notification calls as well as any calls scheduled through the Question Box using the CalenDialer or PeopleChek features. These calls are sent to the \stplus\db\schedule.db. After the call has been made once and was unsuccessful - as in a no answer or busy -  it will be sent to the retry queue and will no longer be visible on the screen. OutBound Box scheduled calls do not show on this screen. They go to separate queue database files (\stplus\db\schedout.db)