Amanda Work Group Installation Manual

							Chapter 10:
Configuring Amanda
Using This Chapter
This chapter contains a questionnaire that helps you determine exactly how 
your customer needs his Amanda system to be set up. It also guides you as 
you configure an Amanda system for the first time. Fortunately, The 
Amanda Company has configured Amanda so that over 90% of the 
configuration options need no change whatsoever. 
For a complete list of the configuration options, see “Chapter 18: 
Configuration Reference.”
Using the Questionnaire
Use this “First Use” questionnaire to find out how your customers prefer to 
use their Amanda system. Use the results as you run Setup, selection 4, to set 
configuration options, and as you create the mailbox template (usually 
mailbox 997). Then create mailboxes for users. It comes in both a standalone 
and voice server version because setting up mailboxes is different in 
Amanda Administrator.
Question Column
The questions address:
 How Amanda handles all callers.
 How Amanda interacts with most users. You assign new users the 
options that give them an initial, usable mailbox configuration. After  
						

							90 Installing [email protected]/DOS
each mailbox has been created, the System Administrator can 
change these options, and the users themselves can change some op-
tions.
 System Administration issues.
During your interview with the client, you will use the Question and Circle 
Response columns in this questionnaire to select the Amanda features for 
this site.
Location Column
You will use the Location and Action columns to implement these features 
on Amanda. The Location column uses this symbol 
→ to separate the choices 
you must make at each menu level to select the feature from the correct 
Amanda screen. For example, “In the Setup utility, select System 
Configuration Options
→General Configuration→Incoming Calls” means “In 
the Setup utility, first select Configuration Options, then select General 
Configuration, then select Incoming Calls.”
In the voice server version of the questionnaire, questions 10, 12-23, and 25 
(for Amanda Administrator), the Location column directs you to the default 
mailbox template (usually 997) that you use to set up new mailboxes. The 
Location column directions assume that you are already logged on to 
Amanda Administrator and are displaying the Mailbox window. If not, use 
one of the following procedures to display the default mailbox template. 
To display the Mailbox window (if you are not logged onto Amanda 
Administrator):
1. Start Amanda Administrator.
The Administrator Logon dialog box appears.
2. Enter your password in the Logon dialog box.
The mailbox List dialog box appears.
3. Enter 997 (or the mailbox for the default template).
The Mailbox window displays template 997. 
						

							Chapter 10: Configuring Amanda 91
To display the Mailbox window (if you are already logged onto Amanda 
Administrator but displaying another window):
1. Click the Mailbox menu and select mailbox. 
The mailbox List dialog box appears.
2. Enter 997 (or the mailbox for the default template).
The Mailbox window displays template 997.
The Location column includes the name of the configuration option (also 
called a parameter) for each feature. The current options and their settings 
are stored on the Amanda server in C:\AMANDA\INSTALL.CFG. You can 
view them using the Setup utility. From Setup, select System Configuration 
Options
→Advanced Configuration→General. 
Standalone Questionnaire 
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action
1)  Amanda normally says “Please 
hold while I try that extension for 
you” as she transfers a call. This fea-
ture can be turned off. 
Do you want Amanda to say “Please 
hold….?”YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Incoming Calls.Set the Amanda Says “Please Hold 
While…” check box to T for True, 
which is the default.
NOAmanda parameter is 
please_holdSet the Amanda Says “Please Hold 
While…” check box to F for False
You can also bypass this message for 
individual mailboxes using the Token 
Programming Language (although 
only blind transfers are supported).
2)  Do you want Amanda to verify 
that a caller is still on the telephone 
before transferring the call to an op-
erator?
(Amanda asks the caller to “Say yes 
at the tone” before transferring the 
call.)YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Incoming Calls.Set the Amanda Says “Please Say 
‘Yes’…” check box to T for True. 
NOAmanda parameter is 
dtmf_gateSet the Amanda Says “Please Say 
‘Yes’…” check box to F for False, 
which is the default.  
						

							92 Installing [email protected]/DOS
3)  Do you want callers to be able to 
hold for busy extensions?YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Incoming Calls.
Amanda parameter is 
cancel_busy_holdSet the Caller Can Hold check box to 
T for True, which is the default.
NOSet the Caller Can Hold check box to 
F for False.
4)  If YES to 3, do you want active 
or inactive hold?
On active hold, the caller is prompt-
ed to press * to remain on hold.
On inactive hold, the caller takes no 
action to stay on hold.
(800 numbers benefit from using ac-
tive hold, because the caller cannot 
leave the telephone unattended.)ACTIVEIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Incoming Calls.
Amanda parameter is 
active_holdSet the Active Hold check box to T for 
True, which is the default.
INACTIVESet the Active Hold check box to F for 
False.
5)  Do you want direct messages to 
play the Name/Extension recording 
instead of the mailbox’s greeting?
 (A direct message is left in a user’s 
mail box without attempting to ring 
that user. By default, Amanda plays 
the mailbox’s greeting. The Name/
Ext recording is shorter than the 
mailbox’s greeting.)YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Incoming Calls.
Amanda parameter is 
short_direct_sendSelect the Play User’s Name and Ex-
tension Recording option.
NOSelect the Play User’s Greeting option 
(which is the default).
6)  Do you want Amanda to answer 
all incoming calls or only answer 
when the operator cannot get to the 
phone within a certain number of 
rings?
(This decision can vary from port to 
port.)ALL CALLSIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
Advanced
Configuration→
Per Port.
Amanda parameter is 
n_ringsSet N_RINGS to 1 for each port.
This is a per port setting. The default is 
one ring on each port.
(Amanda is being set up as a primary 
attendant.)
AFTER x 
RINGS
What is x?Set N_RINGS to x for each port, 
where x in the number of rings. This is 
a per port setting.
(Amanda is being set up as a second-
ary attendant.)
Standalone Questionnaire  (Continued)
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action 
						

							Chapter 10: Configuring Amanda 93
7) Do you want callers who use the 
company directory (411) to press * 
to transfer to the mailbox being de-
scribed?YESGlobal settings parameter 
is tmo_dir_
transfer
.Set tmo_dir_transfer a number greater 
than 0. The default is 2.
NOSet tmo_dir_transfer to 0.
8a)  Do you want users and callers to 
be able to listen to, rerecord, or can-
cel messages and greetings that they 
create?YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Messages.
Amanda parameter is 
end_rec_menu 
record_menuSet the Allow Listening To… check 
box to T for True, which is the default.
NOSet the Allow Listening To… check 
box to F for False.
8b)  Do you want users and callers to 
hear a prompt before they start re-
cording or just the beep?
The prompt is “Begin recording at 
the tone. Finish by pressing # or 
hanging up.”PROMPT and 
BEEPIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
Advanced 
Configuration→
General.
Amanda parameters are 
begin_rec_prompt 
record_menu Set begin_rec_prompt
 to T for 
True, which is the default. Set 
record_menu
 to T for True, which 
is the default.
BEEP ONLYSet begin_rec_prompt
 to F for 
False. Set record_menu
 to T for 
True, which is the default.
9)  When users listen to messages, 
Amanda normally plays the messag-
es in chronological order. 
Do you want users to hear urgent 
messages first?YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Messages.
Amanda parameter is 
urgent_to_frontSet the Urgent Messages First check 
box to T for True, which is the default.
NOSet the Urgent Messages First check 
box to F for False.
10)  When a user listens to messag-
es, should Amanda start with his 
first new (unheard) message or the 
first message in his message list 
(whether heard or unheard)?NEXT NEW 
MESSAGEIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Messages.
Amanda parameter is 
play_new_firstSet the Play Next New Message check 
box to T for True.
FIRST MES-
SAGE IN 
LISTSet the Play Next New Message check 
box to F for False, which is the default.
Standalone Questionnaire  (Continued)
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action 
						

							94 Installing [email protected]/DOS
11)  What time stamp should a for-
warded message have? You can use 
the time the message was recorded 
or the time the message was for-
warded.
(When you use the time that the 
message was recorded, the person 
receiving the forwarded message 
may think delivery was slow and be 
confused—unless the person for-
warding the message adds a com-
ment.)TIME RE-
CORDEDIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Messages.
Amanda parameter is 
timestamp_
forwardsSelect the Time Originally Recorded 
option, which is the default.
TIME FOR-
WARDEDSelect the Time Forwarded option. 
12)  Do you want Amanda to tell the 
user the date and time a message 
was recorded before playing the 
message?
This option can be modified for each 
user.YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set the D/T option to YES.
NOSet the D/T option to NO.
N
OTE:
A user can always get the 
message date/time by press-
ing 74 during the message 
even if this option is set to 
NO.
13)  If YES to 12, do you want 
Amanda to say ‘today’ and ‘yester-
day’ instead of the exact date? This 
option is set for all users.YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Messages.
Amanda parameter is 
abbreviate_datesSelect the Amanda Says “Today” And 
“Yesterday” For Dates option, (which 
is the default).
NOSelect the Amanda Always Says Full 
Date option.
14)  How many times should the 
telephone ring before Amanda de-
cides the user is unavailable?
(After these rings, Amanda takes a 
message, reroutes the call, or does 
whatever she is configured to do for 
Ring No Answer.)1       2       3  
4       5       6  
7       8      9In Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set the Set Maximum Rings value to 
the circled number. The current de-
fault is 0, which means 4 rings.
C
AUTION: 
 If you are using the U to-
ken in Extension fields (to perform a 
partially supervised transfer), Maxi-
mum Rings must be set to 1.
15)  Do you want users to be able to 
turn Do Not Disturb on and off?YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Do Not Disturb’s Lock to OFF.
NOSet Do Not Disturb’s Lock to ON.
Standalone Questionnaire  (Continued)
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action 
						

							Chapter 10: Configuring Amanda 95
16)  Do you want Do Not Disturb 
initially ON or initially OFF?ONIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Do Not Disturb to ON.
OFFSet Do Not Disturb to OFF.
17)  Do you want users to be able to 
turn call screening on and off?
(Call screening allows users to ac-
cept or reject calls based on who is 
calling.)YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Screen Calls’ Lock to OFF.
NOSet Screen Calls’ Lock to ON.
18)  Do you want call screening ini-
tially ON or initially OFF?ONIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Screen Calls to ON.
OFFSet Screen Calls to OFF.
19)  Do you want callers to leave 
messages for the users they call? YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Store Messages to YES.
Set Store Messages’s Max to a number 
of seconds for each message.
NOSet Store Messages to NO;
make sure Copy Messages To is blank.
20)  Do you want everyone to use 
the same greeting (and in the same 
voice) when the telephone is not an-
swered?
(NO allows each user to create his 
own greeting.)YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Current Greeting’s Max to 0.
NOSet Current Greeting to 0;
set Current Greeting’s Max to a num-
ber of seconds for each user’s record-
ing. 
Each user should record a greeting and 
a Name/Extension recording. Until a 
user records these, the system greeting 
and Name/Extension recording are 
used. When the user records Greeting 
1, the Current Greeting setting chang-
es from 0 to 1 automatically. The user 
may also control what greeting is used. 
([email protected]/DOS pro-
vides 7 greetings per mailbox.)
Standalone Questionnaire  (Continued)
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action 
						

							96 Installing [email protected]/DOS
21)  If YES to 20, do you want to use 
Amanda’s system greeting or a 
company-wide custom greeting 
when a telephone is not answered?
(The system greeting is “Please 
leave a message for” followed by 
the system or custom Name/Exten-
sion recording.)SYSTEMIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Current Greeting to 0, which is the 
default.
CUSTOMSet Current Greeting to 1. Record a 
greeting for some mailbox (e.g., 445), 
then use DOS to copy it (e.g., 
C:\VMB.DB\5\%\GRT1.VOX
) 
as GRT1.VOX for each mailbox as-
signed to a user. For 3-digit extensions 
that start with 2, use:
COPY 
custom_grt 
C:\VMB.DB\?\2??\GRT1.VOX
For 4-digit extensions that end with 5, 
use:
COPY 
custom_grt 
C:\VMB.DB\?\4???\GRT1.VOX
(Here, custom_grt is 
C:\VMB.DB\5\%\GRT1.VOX
.)
Update the mailbox template (997) be-
fore you create the other mailboxes. 
Use the COPY command shown 
above after the IDs have been created.
22)  If callers are permitted to hold 
when a user extension is BUSY (see 
Question 3), do you want everyone 
to use the same greeting (and in the 
same voice)?
(NO allows each user to create his 
own busy greeting.)YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Busy Message’s Max to 0.
NOSet Busy Message’s Max to a number 
greater than zero, such as 45.
Each user should record a busy greet-
ing. Until a user records his busy 
greeting, the system busy greeting is 
used. The user may also control what 
busy greeting is used.
Standalone Questionnaire  (Continued)
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action 
						

							Chapter 10: Configuring Amanda 97
23)  If YES to 22, do you want to use 
Amanda’s system busy greeting or a 
custom busy greeting?
(The system busy greeting explains 
to the caller how to hold for the ex-
tension. If the caller presses *, 
Amanda plays music, then retries 
the extension. If it is still busy, 
Amanda changes the prompt: the 
caller can hold, enter another exten-
sion, or leave a message.)SYSTEMIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Busy Message to SYS.
CUSTOMSet Busy Message to CUS. Record the 
busy message for a mailbox (e.g., 
445), then use DOS to copy that mes-
sage (e.g., C:\VMB.DB\5\%
\BUSY.VOX
) as BUSY.VOX for 
each user’s mailbox. For 3-digit exten-
sions that start with 2, use: 
COPY 
custom_bsy 
C:\VMB.DB\?\2??\BUSY.VOX
For 4-digit extensions that end with 5, 
use:
COPY 
custom_bsy 
C:\VMB.DB\?\4???\BUSY.VOX
(Here, custom_bsy is 
C:\VMB.DB\5\%\BUSY.VOX
.)
Update the mailbox template (997) be-
fore you create the other mailboxes. 
Use the COPY command shown 
above after the IDs have been created.
24)   Do you want Amanda to let the 
user know who the call is for?
(This is primarily for people who 
answer calls for more than one per-
son or share a telephone.)YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set ID Call? to YES.
NOSet ID Call? to NO.
25)   If YES to 24, do you want 
Amanda to let the user accept or re-
ject the call based on who it is for?YESIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Screen Calls to ON and ID Call? to 
YES.
NOUse the settings already specified for 
Screen Calls and ID Call? in questions 
17, 18, and 24.
26)  If YES to 25, do you want users 
to hear:
 Both who is calling and who 
the call is for.
 Only who the call is for.BOTHIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
Advanced 
Configuration→
General (Settings).
Amanda parameter is 
modified_call_
screeningSet modified_call_
screening 
to F
 for False.
ONLY WHO 
CALL IS FORSet modified_call_
screening 
to T
 for True.
Standalone Questionnaire  (Continued)
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action 
						

							98 Installing [email protected]/DOS
27)  Do you want to use a system or 
custom Name/Extension recording?
(The system recording says the 
mailbox number instead of the us-
er’s name. For example, if the user’s 
mailbox is 143, Amanda says “For 
mailbox 1-4-3.”)
N
OTE:
  It is a good idea to have 
someone with a good voice 
make a Name/Extension 
recording for each user, so 
Amanda identifies users 
by name on the first day, 
even if you allow custom 
name/ extension record-
ing.
SYSTEMIn Amanda, select Users 
menu, then enter 997 in 
mailbox.Set Name/Ext to NO. The users cannot 
make recordings.
CUSTOMSet Name/Ext. to YES. Each user 
should make a recording. Until a user 
makes his recording, the system re-
cording is used.
28)  Do you want to log information 
about messages? If YES, the 
MSG.LOG file will store:
 The date and time every mes-
sage is received
 The date and time every mail-
box is checked for messages 
along with the DTMF the user 
enteredYESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Messages.
The Amanda parameter is 
msg_logSet the Log Info About Messages 
check box to T for True.
NOSet the Log Info About Messages 
check box to F for False, which is the 
default.
29)  Do you want to log information 
about accesses to mailboxes? If 
YES, the USER.LOG file will store 
the date, time, and mailbox when 
any mailbox is accessed by DTMF. 
This file can be analyzed for call 
distributions and accesses by dates, 
days, and times.YESIn the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Messages.
The Amanda parameter is 
user_logSet the Log Info About User Access 
check box to T for True.
NOSet the Log Info About User Access 
check box to F for False, which is the 
default.
30)  What password does the admin-
istrator want to use for Amanda?
(You may not want to write this 
down, but be sure that it gets reset. 
The default is AMandA with the 
first two and the last letter capital-
ized.)Write pass-
word here.In the Setup utility, select
System Configuration 
Options→
General 
Configuration→
Password.
Amanda parameter is 
passwordEnter a password which contains no 
more than eight letters. Passwords are 
case-sensitive.
Standalone Questionnaire  (Continued)
QuestionCircle
ResponseLocation and Amanda 
Parameter (if applica-
ble)Action