Groups

RingRx Groups are used for routing communications to teams of users.

Group Features 

`Basic Call Routing`

Calls placed to the extension of the group will:

If calls are recorded and play recording announcement is true a recording announcement will be played
If an entry media file is specified it will be played to callers
Members will be rung for call timeout seconds Each users Call behavior will be evaluated and followed

Ring My Phone:

The users desk phone and mobile app will be tried

Simultaneous Ring:

The users desk phone and mobile app will be tried as well as their Mobile number at the same time

Sequential:

The users desk phone and mobile app will be tried THEN their mobile number

Forward:

The users mobile number will be tried

If an exit media file is specified it will be played to callers
If a forward destination has been set, it will be tried
The call will go to the groups mailbox

`Announcement Call Routing`

Announcement groups are used to create an ad-hoc PA system using the speakers of desk phones in the office. There are two kinds of announcement groups

Announcement:: There will be a tone after each member device joins to indicate when to begin speaking
Announcement Mode B:: Tones are suppressed for member device joins. Use this for groups with many member devices

Calls placed to the extension of the group will:

If calls are recorded and play recording announcement is true a recording announcement will be played
If an entry media file is specified it will be played to callers
All members will be rung with the auto-answer flag set which will cause their phones to go off-hook on speaker. They will be muted so they will only receive audio from the caller like a PA system.
Any dialed party may press 2 on their phone to end the call and begin a 2-way conversation with the original caller

Note

If your facility includes an integrated announcement speaker, that device may be included in an announcement group to simultaneously announce from both

`Queue Call Routing`

Queue groups are used to create a more flexible and intelligent method of call distribution as there would be in a call center.

Full details are here: Queues

If a phone number has their incoming SMS messages routed to a group, any received messages will be sent simultaneously to all group members. In this arrangement the group effectively becomes the person the phone number is having a text message conversation with.

When a message is received to a group:

A group message chat will start for all members of the group.
The off-network phone number will see replies as coming from the groups outbound SMS number

Note

Take care to make sure that the outbound SMS number routes back to the group to avoid confusion

When a group member responds to an inbound group message

All other members of the group will get that message sent to them
That message is sent to the outside phone number from the groups SMS number
The outside party has no visibility into which member of the group sent the reply keeping the appearance of a single presence.

Note

Copies of all group messages will exist in each group members mailbox. IF a user is removed from a group, they will retain group messages from the time they were a member. Newly added members will only receive group messages going forward.

`Dynamic Member Login / Logout`

When group enable login is enabled, users can add or remove themselves from a group on demand from their phone, without an administrator editing the group’s member list in the portal. This is commonly used to staff a ring group or queue by shift – agents log in when they start and log out when they leave.

Membership is changed by dialing a star code followed by the extension of the group:

Login:: Dial *91 immediately followed by the group extension. For a group at extension 300 the user dials *91300.
Logout:: Dial *92 immediately followed by the group extension, e.g. *92300.

The user hears a confirmation tone and the call is released.

Note

The group must have group enable login set to true, and the caller must be a user on the same account as the group. If login is not enabled for the group the star code has no effect.

Behavior:

Login is idempotent. If the user is already a member of the group, logging in again does nothing – it will not add a second copy of the user to the group. A user can safely dial the login code more than once.
Newly logged-in members are added at the end of the group’s order. They are assigned the next priority value, so for queue groups using the Static linear distribution a dynamically added agent is tried after the members already configured on the group.
Logout fully removes the user from the group. Every instance of that user in the group is removed, so the user is cleared even if duplicate memberships had accumulated.

Members added or removed this way behave exactly like members added or removed in the portal: a logged-in user appears in the group’s member list (and receives group calls and messages) and a logged-out user disappears from it.

Group Parameters 

`group type`

Default:: basic
Description:: The behavior of the group (Basic, Announcement, Queue)

`name`

Default:: empty
Description:: The name of the group. Mostly descriptive but it can be used

`extension`

Default:: empty
Description:: The dialable extension of the group

`call timeout`

Default:: 24
Description:: Number of seconds for call legs in the group to timeout

`sequential`

Default:: false
Description:: Indicates that group users should be rung sequentially. This only is used for basic groups

`cnam prefix`

Default:: empty
Description:: A string of text to pre-pend to the callerID name to be passed to the users. Can be used to add information to the call.

`distinctive ring`

Default:: empty
Description:: For Polycom phones only Will cause calls passing through the group to ring with a special cadence

`entry media file`

Default:: empty
Description:: A media file from the accounts media library that will be played to callers before users are tried. A key press by the caller will terminate the media file and skip to ringing the users.

`exit media file`

Default:: empty
Description:: A media file from the accounts media library that will be played to callers after all users have been tried without the call being answered. A key press by the caller will terminate the media file and skip to ringing the users. If a forward destination is specified or a mailbox, this file will be played before engaging either of those features.

`forward destination`

Default:: empty
Description:: An extension or phone number that the call will be offered to after all users have been tried. This destination will be tried for call timeout seconds

`mailbox`

Default:: empty
Description:: The voicemail box associated with the group. Calls that are not answered will end up in this voicemail box.

`record calls`

Default:: false
Description:: Will record calls to this group. Recorded calls will be found attached to the CDRs

`play recording announcement`

Default:: false
Description:: Incoming calls will have an announcement played (before the entry media file) to indicate that calls will be recorded.

`tags`

Default:: empty
Description:: A list of tags that will be attached to all of the calls passing through this group

`outbound sms number`

Default:: empty
Description:: The phone number presented as the sender when a group member replies to an inbound group SMS conversation. Incoming texts to this number should be routed back to the group so replies stay in the same conversation. See the SMS Routing section above for the full group texting behavior.

`callback`

Default:: empty
Description:: An optional callback that fires a CallAlert event each time the group is dialed. The event carries the group members being rung, letting an external integration be notified whenever the team receives a call. Leave empty for no callback.

Queue Group Parameters 

These parameters only apply to queue mode groups

`q_max_callers`

Default:: 30
Description:: The maximum number of callers that can be waiting in queue

`q_max_callers_dest`

Default:: empty
Description:: The destination extension new callers are sent to when the queue already has the maximum number of callers waiting

`q_max_wait`

Default:: 1800
Description:: The maximum number of seconds a caller will be permitted to sit in queue. Defaults to 30min

`q_max_wait_dest`

Default:: empty
Description:: The destination extension callers in queue will be sent to when their hold time exceeds the max wait

`q_moh`

Default:: empty
Description:: Music on hold to be played while users are in queue

`q_alarm_on_max_wait`

Default:: false
Description:: Send alarm to all moderators and the queue alarm destination when a call reaches the max wait time

`q_alarm_on_max_callers`

Default:: false
Description:: Send alarm to all moderators and the queue alarm destination when a call is rejected because the queue is at max callers

`q_alarm_email`

Default:: empty
Description:: Comma separated list of additional emails to receive queue alarms (in addition to moderators)

`q_agent_wrapup`

Default:: 0
Description:: How many seconds to allow an agent for post-call activities before making them eligable for another call from the queue

`q_agent_holddown`

Default:: 30
Description:: How many seconds to suppress offering an agent a call after they failed to answer one (minimum is 10)

`q_agent_dist_alg`

Default:: Round-Robin
Description:: How calls should be assigned from the queue to users

Round-Robin: Each user is assigned calls in equal rotation
Longest Idle: The agent who has been idle the longest is assigned the next call
Static linear: Agents are tried in fixed priority order (lowest priority value first), so the same agent is preferred until they become unavailable

`q_annc_pos`

Default:: false
Description:: When true, callers waiting in the queue periodically hear their current position announced (“Your position in line is currently number N”). The announcement repeats every q_annc_pos_interval seconds.

`q_annc_pos_interval`

Default:: 60
Description:: How often, in seconds, to re-announce a waiting caller’s queue position. Minimum is 15. Has no effect unless q_annc_pos is true.

`q_annc_pos_mediafile`

Default:: empty
Description:: Optional media file from the account’s media library that will be played immediately before the position number. Leave blank to use the built-in RingRx prompt (“Your position in line is currently number”). Has no effect unless q_annc_pos is true.

`q_breakout_digits`

Default:: empty
Description:: One or more DTMF digits (0-9, *, #) the caller may press at any time while in queue to escape the queue and be routed to q_breakout_dest. Multi-digit sequences such as *0 or 00 are recommended over a single digit to avoid accidental triggering. Must be configured together with q_breakout_dest – setting only one half is rejected as invalid.

`q_breakout_dest`

Default:: empty
Description:: The destination extension a caller is transferred to when they press the q_breakout_digits while waiting in queue. Available destinations are the same set offered for q_max_callers_dest and q_max_wait_dest. Must be configured together with q_breakout_digits.