Configuring Auto Attendants

An auto-attendant is a program that answers and handles inbound calls to your MiCloud phone system without human intervention. Auto-attendants typically provide menu-driven options through which callers can obtain information, perform tasks, or connect to a requested extension.

NOTE: A default auto-attendant named Tenant Auto-Attendant is created for each new account. This default auto-attendant can be modified (including the name), but cannot be deleted. You can choose to create your own custom auto-attendant(s) to use when configuring call handling for your account rather than using the supplied default auto-attendant.

The auto-attendant can answer incoming calls and transfer callers to an extension, a voice mailbox, or another auto-attendant. It also includes a dial-by-name feature that transfers callers to the system directory, where they can connect to an extension by dialing the user’s name.

NOTE: To route calls to an external number, you must first route the call to an extension with a telephony profile and then configure the call routing for that extension to route the external number of your choice.

As a MiCloud Administrator, you can configure auto-attendants for your phone system.

To configure an auto-attendant:

1. On the Account Console menu, click Main Line and then click Flows.
2. Click Add, and then click Auto-Attendant.
   NOTE: To modify an existing auto-attendant, click the name of the auto-attendant in the list on the Flows page.
3. In the edit panel on the right side of the page, specify the values as required.
   For more information about the auto-attendant settings, see the table below.
4. Click Add Auto-Attendant or Update to save the auto-attendant settings. The Review Add Order dialog box is displayed. 
5. Review the details and click Place Order to save the auto-attendant settings.
   NOTE: The Review Add Order dialog box is displayed only if you have selected a new phone number to assign to the auto-attendant.

To add or change the phone number for an existing auto-attendant:​

1. On the Account Console menu, click Main Line and then click Flows.
2. Click the name of the auto-attendant in the list on the Flows page.
3. In the edit user panel, click Change beside the Phone Number field.

   The Change Number dialog box appears.

4.  Do one of the following:
   • Select Replace with an existing number if you want to change the assigned phone number to another phone number in your account. Select a phone number from the drop-down list of phone numbers in your account.
   • Select Replace with a new number if you want to add a new phone number to assign to the auto-attendant. The new phone number will auto-populate in the number field.
     1. To assign a new phone number of your choice from a list of available phone numbers, click the prepopulated phone number. The Choose New Number dialog box is displayed. By default, a list of available phone numbers is displayed, based on the present location of the auto-attendant.

     2. To search for a new phone number based on a city, state, or area code:

        1. On the Search by City & State tab, click the text field under City & State and type the city, state, or area code.
        2. Select your preferred option from the list of areas that are displayed.
        3. Select a phone number from the list of available phone numbers that are displayed, or click Show Next to display another set of available phone numbers that match the search criteria.
     3. To search for a new phone number based on a phone number:
        1. Click the Search by Phone Number tab, type the first three digits or first six digits of the phone number in the text field, and click Search.
        2. Select a phone number from the list of available phone numbers that are displayed or click Show Next to display another set of available phone numbers that match the search criteria.
     4. Select the Use these criteria to automatically select a number for future users check box if you want the same criteria to be used for selecting a phone number for subsequent assignments. 
     5. Click Choose.

• Select Unassign number without replacing if you want to remove the phone number that is currently assigned to the auto-attendant without replacing it with a new one.
  NOTE: This option is displayed only when a phone number is already assigned to the existing auto-attendant.

5. Select the Also update extension check box if you want to replace the current extension for the auto-attendant with a new one.
6. Click Change to save your changes.
7. In the Release previous number? dialog box that opens, you can do either of the following: 

• Select Keep Number if you want to keep the user's previous phone number for future use.
• Select Return Number if you want to return the user's previous phone number. This will remove the phone number from the account.

8. The Review Add Order dialog box is displayed. Review the order details and then click Place Order to update the auto-attendant settings.