VirtualPBX.Com tutorials explain features of the Virtual PBX for special topics of interest to our users and give explicit instructions and examples.

Conventional Direct Inward Dialing (DID)

Many companies request the phone company to give them an area code, a three-digit prefix, and a block of the four-digit numbers which come after the prefix. They then set up their hardware PBX phone system so that anyone outside of the company can call any extension inside of the company by dialing his unique phone number which consists of the (area code and) prefix plus one of the four-digit numbers. Anyone inside of the company can reach any extension without having to dial the entire phone number. Typically the last four or five digits of the extension's outside number are use to reach it by anyone inside of the company.

The fact that anyone on the outside can call an extension directly as they would any regular phone without passing through an operator or an Auto-Attendant is the reason that this feature is called "Direct Inward Dialing". Since a block of four digits can provide extensions for up to 10,000 phones, this feature is often used by large companies; but it is also possible for a small company to have DID because the phone company does not have to assign them all of the possible numbers in a four-digit block.

Description of the VirtualDID Feature

The VirtualPBX^® usually handles incoming calls by answering them with an Auto-Attendant. The Auto-Attendant menus allow the caller to dial the extension of the person he wants (if known), use the company directory to spell the name of the desired employee, press the menu item for the sales, tech support, customer support, etc., or press 0 for a live operator.

VirtualDID (Direct Inward Dialing) can bypass the Auto-Attendant and route incoming calls directly to a designated extension based on the phone number of the incoming call whether Caller ID is blocked or not.

This very useful feature has a number of applications:

• A VirtualPBX® can be laid on top of an existing company phone system. This phone system can range all the way from simply a number of analog lines going directly to each desk to more advanced PBX systems such as an autoattendant or standard Direct Inward Dial (DID). All or part of the company's existing phone numbers can be remote call forwarded to the new VirtualPBX number and entered in the VirtualDID routing table. Then anyone dialing any of the company's old numbers will automatically be routed to the desired party just as before. This has the advantage that a company with a new VirtualPBX does not have to notify all its old customers of the change. Furthermore, laying a VirtualPBX on top of the existing phone system means that the employee who was called can be anywhere, at his desk, at home, traveling on business at a hotel, in a vehicle with a cell phone, on the other side of the world, anywhere that there is regular-phone or cell-phone service. This feature is especially useful for companies with employees who often travel, especially if they travel internationally.
• VirtualDID can be used to set up a Virtual Answering Service without the necessity of the Answering Service provider's purchasing, installing, or maintaining any special equipment or having a central office. His employees can work from home making it much easier to recruit reliable employees and making it possible for working mothers, for example, to remain at home. In case of a power failure, the Answering-Service equipment continues to function without any loss in revenue.
• The fax number of a customer may be entered in the VirtualDID routing table so that each time this customer sends a fax to the main business number of a company with a VirtualPBX, the fax is automatically routed to the specified extension's Fax Mail instead of to the company operator. Although the VirtualPBX supports a customer sending fax mail to an extension by dialing in from the fax machine, many customers are accustomed to simply placing a fax on their machine, dialing a number, and pressing start, also many new 3-in-one fax machines no longer have handsets. In addition it is more courteous for an employee to place the onus of the fax going to the correct extension on himself rather than on the customer.

• If a salesman for a company has a list of his own clients, he can configure his extension so that each time one of his clients calls, the call is always routed to him.
• This technique can be applied for any regular caller who can be immediately routed to the extension which he always calls without having to pass through the Auto-Attendant. For example, if a given employee's wife calls a company's VirtualPBX, the husband's extension can be configured to automatically ring him each time that she calls.
• Using the VirtualDID, it is possible to block certain numbers from being able to call in to the system. Once we had a customer whose VirtualPBX was continually called from a wrong number because of a phone company error. We were able to reprogram the system to block this number, but now any system administrator who has a problem like this can quickly block any number himself by using the VirtualDID feature.

To enable VirtualDID, an extension owner must have System Administrator privileges. If this is the case, take the following steps:

• Dial into the VirtualPBX and dial #[Extension number]#[Password]# to enter the hidden menus. Then press 2 to act as a System Administrator.
• After dialing 2, the VirtualDID routing options are reached by dialing 44.
• At this point VirtualDID phone numbers may be added or removed from the system by following the menus:

  Menu Item 1: Edit VirtualDID phone numbers blocked from calling in to the system. To enter a new number: listen to the menu, enter the number to be blocked including 1 and the area code, and press #. When the system has repeated the just-entered number correctly press 1. Next complete the entry as directed by the menus.

  Menu Item 2: Edit VirtualDID phone numbers that automatically route calls to a particular extension without passing through the Auto-Attendant. To enter a new number: press 2, listen to the menu, and then enter the number including 1 and the area code, and press #. When the system has repeated the just-entered number correctly press 1. The system will then prompt for the extension number to which calls from that phone number should be routed. Enter the desired extension and press #. Listen to the menu and continue the entry. When finished, the system will announce that the DID routing table was successfully updated.

  Menu Item 3: Edit VirtualDID phone numbers which route a call to a particular ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) queue. ACD queues are Sales, Customer Support, Tech Support, etc. They are manned by any number of employees logging into the queue and taking Sales, Tech Support, etc. calls in a round-robin fashion. If it is desired to route an incoming number to an ACD queue instead of an extension, press 3, listen to the menu, then enter the number including 1 and the area code, and press #. The system will then prompt for the ACD queue number to which the call should be routed. Enter the ACD queue number without the # character. Listen to the menu and continue the entry. When finished, the system will announce that the DID routing table was successfully updated.

  Menu Item 4: Edit VirtualDID phone numbers that automatically route calls to a particular extension's Fax Mail instead of to the company operator. To enter a new number: press 4, listen to the menu, and then enter the number including 1 and the area code, and press #. When the system has repeated the just-entered number correctly press 1. The system will then prompt for the extension number to which faxes from that phone number should be routed. Enter the desired extension and press #. Listen to the menu and continue the entry. When finished, the system will announce that the DID routing table was successfully updated.

To remove a calling number from the DID routing list, press 3 and follow the menu instructions.

In general once one has dialed #[Extension number]#[Password]#244, the system menus can be used to review or alter all VirtualDID settings. The four examples above explain how to make a new entry, but it is also possible to review or remove entries.

When a new VirtualPBX service is begun, VirtualPBX.Com does the initial set up so that the new system works as desired. At any time VirtualPBX.Com's technical support staff is ready to help with any details necessary to obtain sophisticated services such as the VirtualDID.