Amanda Work Group Work Place Instructions Manual

							Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda3
By default, Amanda starts with mailbox 990, known as the Company Greeting mailbox. 
Amanda plays a very short greeting for that mailbox, which is something similar to 
“Thank you for calling The Amanda Company.” 
The Done Chain field, one of the fields associated with mailbox 990, causes Amanda to 
route the call to mailbox 991, known as the Caller Instructions mailbox—unless the caller 
enters the DTMF (touch tone) digits for another mailbox, such as Ralph’s 123. The 
greeting Amanda plays for mailbox 991 is a menu of choices (for example, “For sales, 
press 1. For customer support, press 2….”). If the caller presses a number from the menu, 
Amanda routes the call to the mailbox associated with that menu number. 
The Caller Instructions mailbox (by default mailbox 991) is very important because the 
caller returns to it if all else fails. It is what keeps the caller from becoming lost in the 
system.
You don’t have to use mailboxes 990 and 991, but it is very important that you use two 
mailboxes. The first should always provide a very short general greeting. The second 
should be a very specific set of instructions or a menu that allows the caller to reroute 
himself. The caller can hear it under a variety of circumstances. The second mailbox must 
be the value stored in the first mailbox’s Done Chain field.
You can use these two mailboxes for all calls coming into Amanda, or you can use two 
different mailboxes per port. This allows you to have a separate general greeting and set of 
instructions for each port.
Mailboxes that Provide Information
An informational mailbox (such as 990 or 991) does not accept messages from callers; 
instead, its greeting is played to callers to provide them with various pieces of 
information, such as the company’s hours of operation, location, and so forth. No real user 
or telephone extension corresponds to this kind of mailbox.
The Power of Mailboxes
Amanda makes a distinction between the mailbox and the user’s extension, although they 
are usually the same number. The mailbox is the number for a record in Amanda’s 
database. The extension is what Amanda must dial to transfer a call. By making this 
distinction, Amanda can provide powerful features through her Token Programming 
Language.
All of Amanda’s mailboxes are stored in a single database, so no two users can have the 
same number. For example, you can have only one mailbox 0 (usually the company 
operator). To use 0 more that once, Amanda provides single-digit menus. When you 
define a single-digit menu, you provide a mailbox to be processed for each number on the 
menu (1–9 and 0). Amanda processes that mailbox when the user or caller selects the 
corresponding menu number. For example, if a caller is in mailbox 100 and mailbox 100 
maps the menu number 0 to mailbox 222, then Amanda sends callers who press 0 to 
mailbox 222 rather than to the company operator designated as mailbox 0.
When a digit is not mapped as a menu number, Amanda treats the digit as a mailbox. For 
example, if 0 is not mapped, the caller who enters it reaches mailbox 0, which is usually 
the operator. Similarly, if a caller enters more than one digit, such as 123, the caller 
reaches mailbox 123 (if it exists). 
						

							4 Administering [email protected]
Processing Calls and Mailboxes
To learn the basics of Amanda’s call processing capabilities, you must understand the 
following concepts.
 How Amanda processes a call by going from one mailbox to another
 How Amanda processes an individual mailbox based on the contents of its fields
Processing a Call
Amanda waits for incoming calls directed to her by your telephone switching system. 
When a call comes to an Amanda telephone port, Amanda goes from one mailbox to 
another as she processes that call. How does she know what mailboxes to use?
 As Amanda answers a call, she starts with the mailbox defined for use with the 
port that handles the call. This is usually mailbox 990, the Company Greeting 
mailbox. See “Recording the Company Greeting” on page 22 for more informa-
tion about setting up this mailbox.
 She proceeds with the mailbox she finds in the Done Chain field for the current 
mailbox unless the caller enters an extension.
 Amanda translates the digits that the caller enters (whether an extension or a num-
ber from a menu) to a mailbox and continues processing at that mailbox. 
 Depending on the fields associated with a particular mailbox, Amanda uses the 
contents of that mailbox’s Extension field, Done Chain field, Busy Chain field, or 
RNA (Ring No Answer) Chain field to determine what to do next.
 Tokens from Amanda’s Token Programming Language are used in the Extension 
field. The Done Chain, Busy Chain, and RNA fields contain only mailboxes. See 
“Programming Amanda” in Installing [email protected] for more informa-
tion about the Token Programming Language.
 Eventually, the caller talks to someone, leaves a message, and/or hangs up.
The following diagram helps to illustrate this concept. 
						

							Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda5
Call Processing Diagram
NOTE:If a Done Chain field is not defined, Amanda uses the Done Chain field of the 
Company Greeting mailbox as a default. While this default Done Chain can 
vary from port to port, it usually is the Done Chain field for mailbox 990 and 
is initially set to mailbox 991 (referred to as the Caller Instructions mailbox). 
Because of this feature, callers who make invalid choices return to the Caller 
Instruction mailbox and hear a menu of choices. This keeps them from getting 
lost in the system. 
						

							6 Administering [email protected]
Processing a Mailbox
Every time Amanda processes a mailbox during a supervised transfer, she follows the path 
shown in the following diagram. The settings for the fields associated with the mailbox, 
such as the Do Not Disturb, determine what actions Amanda does or does not take. 
While Amanda processes every mailbox the same way, the dotted rectangle around the left 
column of the diagram’s first page shows a typical call—starting with Amanda dialing a 
user’s extension and ending with the call being answered, busy, or not answered after a 
number of rings. 
The right column of the first page (outside the dotted rectangle), shows the processing for 
additional (in some cases, special) features. For example, it shows how Amanda:
 Routes the call if Do Not Disturb is on
 Identifies the caller, the called party, or both
 Allows the called party to screen calls
 Knows when to go to another mailbox or process tokens from the Token Program-
ming Language
The second page of the diagram shows in detail what Amanda does when she supervises 
the transfer of a call and finds that the extension is answered, busy, or not answered. The 
third page shows when messages are recorded and where they are stored.
N
OTE:At any time, the caller can enter a number from the menu or the number 
for another mailbox. If the caller enters a single digit and there are menu 
fields, Amanda checks for values in those menu fields first. If the menu 
field for that digit is empty or if the caller enters more than one digit, 
Amanda assumes that the caller entered a mailbox. 
						

							Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda7
Mailbox Processing Diagram 
						

							8 Administering [email protected]
Mailbox Processing Diagram (continued)
Mailbox Processing Diagram (continued) 
						

							Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda9
Customer Service and Support
The Amanda Company provides customer service and support Monday through Friday 
from 8:00 
A.M. to 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time, except holidays
. 
Customer Support:
(800) 800–9822
For sales, contact The Amanda Company at the East Coast office.
Dealer Sales:
Telephone: (800) 410-2745
Distribution Sales:
Telephone: (800) 410-2745
International Sales:
Telephone: (203) 744-3600
International Support:
Telephone: (203) 744-0860
We b  S i t e :
http://www.taa.com
End User Support
End user support covers the actual usage of Amanda through the telephone, such as 
picking up messages, sending messages, changing greetings, and using distribution lists. 
Registered Amanda sites receive free end user support for the life of their systems. Be sure 
to send in your registration card!
System Administration Support
System administration support covers the configuration of Amanda; such as setting up 
mailboxes, programming notification, setting automatic schedule changes, and creating 
reports. Registered Amanda sites receive free system administration support for up to six 
months after the installation. Be sure to send in your registration card!
Installation Support
Installation support covers the initial connection of Amanda to a telephone switching 
system as well as problems that occur when the system changes or Amanda is upgraded. 
The Amanda Company offers installation support to any dealer who buys a turnkey 
system. 
Qualified Amanda marketing partners and solution providers, who are in good standing, 
receive installation support for any system. 
						

							10 Administering [email protected]
Application Support
Application support covers extended programs that can be configured using Amanda’s 
powerful Token Programming Language. The Amanda Company can write custom 
applications for you. All Amanda solution providers, who are in good standing, receive 
application support. Please contact your Amanda sales representative for more 
information. 
						

							Chapter 2:
Getting Started
Starting Amanda
To start Amanda:
1. Turn the computer on. 
Amanda displays:
Do you want to run SCANDISK[Y,N]?
SCANDISK is a DOS program that checks that your disk and file structures are 
intact.
2. Press Y for Yes or N for No. If you do not make a selection within 30 seconds, 
SCANDISK starts automatically.
3. Next Amanda displays:
Do you want to run [email protected][Y,N]?
Press Y for Yes. If you do not make a selection within 30 seconds, Amanda starts 
automatically. This allows for unattended operation.
After Amanda loads and checks all the mailboxes, she displays the Main screen. The 
word Main appears in the upper right corner of the screen.
N
OTE:At step 3, press N to access system files or perform system tests with 
aN Amanda Company representative. After performing those oper-
ations (or if you press N accidentally), restart Amanda by typing 
amanda at any DOS prompt.
During start up, if Amanda cannot load the PBX and TON files, 
which store dial codes, tone patterns, and integration patterns for 
your telephone switching system, she displays a panic message and 
immediately shuts down.
Using Command-line Options
Amanda can be run with a variety of command-line options. The brackets [  ] indicate 
when n is optional. Do not use the brackets in the command-line option. The value n is 
italicized because you must replace it with a number if you use it.
/IRuns Amanda in what is called “demonstration mode.” Amanda does 
not answer calls, but you can change mailbox settings, notification 
records, and so forth. 
						

							12 Administering [email protected]
To change the command-line options, you can doing either of the following:
 Simply type the options after AMANDA as you start Amanda. (Your options are 
added to those already appearing on the RAMANDA line in the AMANDA.BAT 
file. If an option is used more than once, its last form is the one that goes into ef-
fect.)
 Alter the AMANDA.BAT file that runs Amanda. It is found in the root directory 
(C:) Use JOVE or another editor to change the line that starts with the name of 
Amanda’s executable, RAMANDA.
Shutting Amanda Down
To shut down Amanda:
1. Press Alt+S.
The password dialog box appears.
2. Type in the password. (The default is AMandA with only the first two and the last let-
ter capitalized.)
3. Press Enter.
4. Press Y (to confirm the shutdown).
5. Press Y again (to reconfirm).
6. After the DOS prompt C:\AMANDA> appears, wait 30 seconds before turning off the 
power.
/T[n]Causes Amanda to trace the activity on all ports, storing that 
information in C:\AMANDA\TRACE.OUT. Specifying n causes 
Amanda to write to disk after every n lines. (By default, Amanda 
writes to the trace file every 1024 characters.) New installations of 
6.02 run with /T /S1300 and store the last three trace files as well as 
the current one. Amanda creates a new trace file every time she 
restarts. 1300 kilobytes is suitable for copying to 1.44 MB floppy 
disks.
/S[n]Limits the size of the trace file to the last n kilobytes of information.
/PnRestricts trace information to port n. Use two digits, such as 01 or 12, 
to indicate the port.