Advanced Call Handling – ­ Set Custom Rule & Advanced Custom Rules | AT&T Office@Hand      
Article #2607

Setting up a rule based on Called Number can be configured in your online account’s Advanced Call Handling section. This rule will help Administrators and Users manage calls based on what the caller dialed (for example, a phone number you are using for a sales campaign) to reach you.

IMPORTANT: Custom Answering Rules are applied before the Business Hours and After Hours rules.

1. Log in to your Office@Hand account as an Administrator.
2. Click Users located on the right of Phone System.
3. Click the name of the user or extension where you want to add a rule.
4. Go to Call Handling & Forwarding > Advanced tab.
5. Click Add Rule.
6. Enter the Name for the rule and then click Next.
7. Select Called Number, and then click Select Number.
   Called Number rules are based on the phone number the caller dialed; for example, a phone number you are using for a customer promotion campaign.
8. The rule is activated when callers dial the selected number. Select those numbers you want to handle with this custom rule by checking the box. Click Save to continue.
9. After selecting the number, click Next.
10. Configure the Call Handling for your custom Called Number rule. Follow the step-­by­-step on­-screen instructions.

Forward Calls

Select this action if you want to forward the call to multiple phone numbers in a specific order and have your greeting settings apply.

1. Select Forward Calls.
2. Click Screening, Greeting and Hold Music, and configure your preferred settings.
   Note: You can click on the information button to know more about these settings.
3. Click Call Handling & Forwarding, and configure your preferred settings.
   Note: You can click on the information button to know more about these settings.
4. Click Messages, configure your preferred settings, then click Done.
5. Click Save. The custom rule that you created will be listed under the Advanced Call Handling rules.

Take Messages Only

This option will send your callers directly to your voicemail.

1. Select Take Messages Only.
2. Default Voicemail Greeting
   “Your call has been forwarded to the voicemail for <your name>. No one is available to take your call. At the tone, please record your message. When you’ve finished recording, you may hang up or press the # key for more options.”
   Click Edit under Voicemail Greeting to configure what your callers will hear before they leave their voice message.
   Note: You can keep the default greeting, or you can customize by recording your own greeting or by uploading a pre­recorded audio file.
3. The voicemail messages are saved in your mailbox by default. If you want to save your voicemail message in another Extension’s mailbox, select the name of the Extension that will receive your voicemail messages, and then click Save.
4. Click Save. The custom rule that you created will be listed under the Advanced Call Handling rules.

Play Announcement Only

Play a pre­recorded announcement and end the call afterwards.

1. Select Play Announcement Only.
   Note: The Default Announcement says “No one is available to take your call. Thank you for calling. Goodbye!”. If you want to use the default announcement, click Done. If you want to use your own announcement, proceed to Step 2 below.
2. Click Edit under Announcement Greeting.
3. Click Custom. There are 3 ways to customize the Announcement. Follow the on­screen steps to continue with your selected option.
   • Record Over the Phone
   • Record Using Computer Microphone
   • Import
4. Click Save.

Unconditional Forwarding

Select if you want to forward the call to a different phone number without having to go through your greeting settings. This option is good when you want the call to go directly to your personal voicemail when you don’t pickup.

1. Select Unconditional Forwarding.
2. Enter the phone number on the field provided, and then click Save.

Back to top

In the Advanced Call Handling section, you can set up your preferred rules for better call management using conditions based on time of day, date range, incoming caller ID and called number. This section shows how Administrators can create and configure a Custom Answering Rule for AT&T Office@Hand Wireless or Wireless Integrated on your Advanced Call Handling Settings.

Advanced Call Handling ­ Set up Advanced Custom Answering Rules

1. Log in to your Office@Hand account.
2. Click Users > User List > Users with Extensions.
3. Click the name of the user or extension where you want to add a rule.
4. Go to Call Handling & Forwarding > Custom Rule tab.
5. Click Add Rule.
6. Enter the Name for the rule and then click Next.
7. Define the conditions for your Custom Answering Rule. You may enable a single condition or multiple conditions based on Caller ID, Called Number or Date and/or time.
   • Caller ID
     Type the phone number to use. You can use a partial number, such as just country code plus area code. Contacts from your address book can be found by starting to type their names or numbers.
   • Called Number
     You may use this option to configure rules based on the phone number the caller called. You may use this when creating custom rules for your phone numbers used on promotional or marketing campaigns.
   • Date and/or time
     To handle calls differently for holidays, vacation, or other specific dates, select a specific date range. To handle calls a certain way on the same days and times each week, select a weekly schedule. Note that such custom Answering Rules are applied before the Business Hours and After Hours rules.
8. Define the Call Handling for your Custom Answering Rule. Click Save when completed.
   • Forward Calls
     Select if you want to forward the call to multiple phone numbers in a specific order and have your greeting settings apply.
   • Take Messages Only – Send callers to voicemail.
   • Play Announcement Only
     Play a pre­recorded announcement and end the call afterwards.
   • Unconditional Forwarding
     Select if you want to forward the call to a different phone number without having to go through your greeting settings. This option is good when you want the call to go directly to your personal voicemail when you don’t pick up.
9. Your Custom Answering Rule will now appear on the Advanced tab. You may edit, delete, or save the rule as a template.
   Note: You can click Validate Rules to check if your Custom Answering Rule overlaps or has a conflict with another rule. For Custom Rules with conflicts, you may edit, delete, or temporarily disable the conflicting rules.

Back to top

Advanced Call Handling Rules can be set for Holidays, Sick days or any other situation where you will need the calls rerouted. This section will guide you, as a User, in setting up an Advanced Call Handling rule on your extension to manage calls based on specific time and date, and give you a general idea in handling calls during holidays, vacation, etc.

Advanced Call Handling ­ Set up Custom Rule based on Date/Time

1. Log in to your Office@Hand account
2. Click Settings, then click Call Handling & Forwarding.
3. Select Advanced and click + Add Rule.
4. Set a name for the rule you are about to create.
   In this example, you will create a Call handling rule to be applied on Independence day 2018.
5. Click on Date and/or Time and select Specific Date Range.
6. Set the Date and Time when the rule will be applied and click Next.
   Note: Click icon to add another schedule.
7. Configure the Call Handling for your custom Holiday Hours rule. Follow the step­-by­-step on­screen instructions.

Forward Calls

Select this action if you want to forward the call to multiple phone numbers in a specific order and have your greeting settings apply.

1. Select Forward Calls.
2. Click Screening, Greeting and Hold Music, and configure your preferred settings.
3. Click Call Handling & Forwarding, and configure your preferred settings.
4. Click Messages, configure your preferred settings, then click Done.
5. Click Save. The custom rule that you created will be listed under the Advanced Call Handling rules.

Take Messages Only

This option will send your callers directly to your voicemail.

1. Select Take Messages Only.
2. Default Voicemail Greeting
   “Your call has been forwarded to the voicemail for <your name>. No one is available to take your call. At the tone, please record your message. When you’ve finished recording, you may hang up or press the # key for more options.”
   Click Edit under Voicemail Greeting to configure what your callers will hear before they leave their voice message.
3. The voicemail messages are saved in your mailbox by default. If you want to save your voicemail message in another Extension’s mailbox, select the name of the Extension that will receive your voicemail messages, and then click Save.
4. Click Save. The custom rule that you created will be listed under the Advanced Call Handling rules.

Back to top

Play Announcement Only

Play a pre­recorded announcement and end the call afterwards.

1. Select Play Announcement Only.
   Note: The Default Announcement says “No one is available to take your call. Thank you for calling. Goodbye!”. If you want to use the default announcement, click Done. If you want to use your own announcement, proceed to Step 2 below.
2. Click Edit under Announcement Greeting.
3. Click Custom. There are 3 ways to customize the Announcement. Follow the on­screen steps to continue with your selected option.
   • Record Over the Phone
   • Record Using Computer Microphone
   • Import
4. Click Save.

Back to top

Unconditional Forwarding

Select if you want to forward the call to a different phone number without having to go through your greeting settings. This option is good when you want the call to go directly to your personal voicemail when you don’t pickup.

1. Select Unconditional Forwarding.
2. Enter the phone number on the field provided, and then click Save.

Back to top