Phantom mailbox with outcalling

[Russff]

Using ACS R8 and Messaging R7.
We have an emergency mailbox setup so callers can leave a message after hours and the message will be forwarded to the on-call person. From the AA, the caller presses 9 and it transfers to ext. 47. Ext. 47 is setup as a guest mailbox with outcalling (there is no actual ext. 47). This all works fine. What I wanted originally was to setup ext. 47 as a phantom mailbox pointing to my extension (15) so that all messages would be sent to my phone and the message light would light. However, outcalling does not seem to work with phantom mailboxes (it won't outcall). So now I have to remember to check messages on ext. 47 periodically since there is no phone if the on call person doesn't remember to delete the message. I don't want messages left directly in my mailbox (15) to outcall and the priority setting for messages seems like a hassle for callers. I don't want to use the auto copy setting for ext. 47 because message will fill up that mailbox if they aren't deleted.

Is there any way to setup ext. 47 to outcall and send the messages to ext. 15 without messages being stored at ext. 47 (like setting up ext. 47 as a phantom mailbox with outcalling)?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Outcalling works fine from Guest mailboxes, like your 47. You've forgotten to add the 9* or have restricted the VM ports from dialing (or don't have lines assigned to them)

You can log into 47 and set it to Auto Copy to 15, so the message ends up in both places, but if you make 15 the phantom destination for 47, it will never outcall, since it never really records a message to outcall with.

 

[sysconsultant]

You could direct the callers to the general mailbox instead of X47, set the general mailbox to outcall, and assign X15 as the owner. The messages will be left only at X15 and the light will alert you to a new message.

If you do this, you will have two mailboxes attached to your extension - your personal and the general mailbox. The MW light will indicate when there is a new message but you won't know which MB has the message without checking both.

Also, if the general mailbox is being used in the Auto Attendant, you will need to remove it and direct the callers to X10 or another mb.

 

[Russff]

So if ext. 47 is a phantom mailbox for ext. 15 and someone leaves a message, the ACS thinks the message came from ext. 15 and not 47? That would explain why outcalling doesn't work for phantom mailboxes. I understand that the message ends up in ext. 15 but I thought the ACS would still recognize that the message was left via ext. 47 and therefore trigger the outcall.

 

[sysconsultant]

No, the ACS knows which ext is outcalling. Have you double checked all the programming? Outcalling can be tricky to set up. Also, there have been a few cases when it doesn't work consistently on a virtual port.

So, another suggestion is to create the phantom mailbox on an unused physical ext port. For example, if Ext 18 doesn't have a phone plugged into it, set this extension up as a phantom mailbox to X15 and assign outcalling. This may fix the problem.

 

[Russff]

I just created mailbox 25, which is a real (but unused) extension. I set it up for outcalling and phantom for ext. 11 (with retry interval at 5 minutes). Left a message, waited 10 minutes, nothing. Turned phantom setting off and left a message and it outcalled. Turned phantom back on and left a message, nothing. Repeated this several times (waiting 10 minutes between tries) and it always outcalls with phantom turned off and never outcalls with phantom turned on.
Definitely seems to be a conflict between outcalling and phantom setting.
Using the Messaging R7 PC software, if I turn phantom setting on, Call Answer Mode options get grayed out but outcalling does not, so I would assume the two can work together.

 

[TouchToneTommy]

You will NEVER get outcalling from a mailbox that has a phantom destination, because that mailbox never actually receives the message. The outcalling will come from the box that receives it.

sysconsultant had an excellent suggestion above - use one of the General Mailboxes. For instance 9994. Then you can set an extension to receive the MW light as well as set up outcalling from the box.

 

[Russff]

That does seem to be the best (and only) option, so thanks for the suggestions. TT's answer about phantom mailboxes never actually getting a message makes sense, my confusion came by the fact that the Messaging PC software disables Call Answer mode when you choose the phantom setting but not outcalling, so I thought it could be done.

 

[Russff]

I just changed the system over to use a general mailbox and assigned my extension as the owner. When I tested it, it turned my message light on and outcalled, so all is good. I just have to remember that I have two mailboxes assigned to my extension now, so if the light is on, I need to check both mailboxes. Two questions related to this:
1. I was already using general mailboxes for other things, so I now used them all. Can more be added (general mailboxes that can have owners assigned)?
2. Can I move the recorded message from mailbox 47 to the general mailbox I setup? Our recording person is not available right now to re-record it. I have a backup of the mail system, so is the sound file stored in there somewhere?