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Cisco WebAttendant allows you to answer and direct calls on an individual or company-wide basis. For example, you can use Cisco WebAttendant to handle the direction of calls for your entire company, or it can be used by an individual to manage calls coming into a single Cisco IP Phone.
Cisco WebAttendant works in conjunction with a Cisco IP Phone. The keypad template used by the Cisco IP Phone determines the number of available Smart Lines (SLs) on Cisco WebAttendant. The keypad template for the Cisco IP Phone must have buttons assigned for Hold, Transfer, and Answer/Release for Cisco WebAttendant to work.
Figure 1-1 shows an overview of Cisco WebAttendant.
Figure 1-1 The Cisco WebAttendant Interface
The interface is comprised of several areas. Each area is described in detail in the following sections.
The display on the Cisco WebAttendant is similar to the display on a Cisco IP Phone. It is located in the upper left corner and shows the call action in progress and the server and Telephony Call Dispatcher states.
The action buttons are located in the upper middle of the Cisco WebAttendant and allow you to perform the attendant functions, including going online, logging in, updating settings, and performing the various call operations.
The speed dial area is located on the upper right of the Cisco WebAttendant and allows you to program speed dial numbers. There are two columns of speed dial buttons, providing up to 26 different speed dial numbers. The speed dials have two buttons, one allowing up to six characters and a longer display area allowing up to 14 characters. See the "Setting Speed Dial Buttons" section on page 4-2 for complete instructions on how to program speed dial buttons.
The SL area appears beneath the display on the left side of the Cisco WebAttendant. It displays the number of smart lines (SLs) that are available, up to eight.
There are three SL states that are reflected by action and color on the SL button. A solid light blue SL button indicates an active line, a flashing yellow SL button indicates a call is ringing on the SL button, and a flashing or fluttering red SL button indicates a call on that line is on hold. The number of available SL buttons is determined by the number of lines on the keypad template for the associated Cisco IP Phone. Each SL has two possible calls: primary and secondary. See the "Using SLs and Primary and Secondary Lines" section for more information about calls on these lines.
The status displays on the lower left of the Cisco WebAttendant. For each entry in the directory, the status of the associated phone is displayed. A blue line indicates the user phone is available, a blue phone indicates the user phone is busy, and a red line indicates the user phone status is unknown.
The directory is displayed on the bottom of the Cisco WebAttendant. Directory information is provided by the Cisco CallManager database. You can click a column header to sort the column in ascending order, or search the directory by typing a letter or number in the title bar of the column you want to search.
Cisco WebAttendant can display one to eight Smart Lines (SL), depending on the number of lines configured in the keypad template for the associated Cisco IP Phone. Each SL has two lines, primary and secondary. For example, a call is received on the primary line for SL1. You can answer the incoming call on SL1 and then place it on hold. You can then click SL1 to activate the secondary line (you hear a dial tone). Using the secondary line on SL1, you can place calls or perform other functions without disturbing the caller on hold on the primary line of SL1.
After the system administrator configures Cisco WebAttendant and associates it with a Cisco IP Phone (through the Cisco WebAttendant Settings dialog box), you can set up your working environment.
Follow these steps to set up your environment:
Step 1 Decide whether you want primarily to use the mouse or the keyboard to handle call functions, and whether you want to use the associated Cisco IP Phone on occasion.
Step 2 Attach a headset if you have one (may be provided to you by your employer).
We recommend using a headset with Cisco WebAttendant if you expect to handle a large call volume or you expect to perform other duties while using Cisco WebAttendant. The headset allows you to use Cisco WebAttendant without picking up the handset of the associated Cisco IP Phone.
Step 3 Start Cisco WebAttendant.
Step 4 Log in.
See the "Logging In To Cisco WebAttendant" section for details.
When you finish using Cisco WebAttendant (typically at the end of the day), go off-line or close Cisco WebAttendant. This allows Cisco WebAttendant to release any memory stored in cache and perform optimally for the next session. You will also prevent calls from being transferred (through hunt groups) to an unavailable directory number.
Step 5 You can now begin using the Cisco WebAttendant. See "Using the Directory" section on page 3-1 for details.
Complete the following steps to avoid unintentional interruption of Cisco WebAttendant when you use Internet Explorer. For example, if you are running Cisco WebAttendant in one Web browser and receive an email with a link to a Web site in it and then click the link, the new Web site would display in the same Web browser as Cisco WebAttendant, causing the Cisco WebAttendant functions to terminate. To avoid this situation, configure the Internet Explorer using the following steps, and always open Cisco WebAttendant before any other Web browser windows are opened:
Step 1 Open an Internet Explorer (4.0 or higher) Web browser.
Step 2 Select View > Internet Options.
The Internet options dialog box is displayed.
Step 3 Click the Advanced tab.
A list of advanced options is displayed.
Step 4 In the list under the section called Browsing, select the check box for Browse in a New Process.
Step 5 Click Apply, and then click OK.
Internet Explorer is configured to always open a new browser window, instead of opening in an existing window.
Open a Web browser using Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher. Cisco WebAttendant will not work in conjunction with Netscape Navigator. In the URL box of Internet Explorer, type the URL provided by your system administrator. The URL is commonly in the following format:
http://computername/attendantconsole.asp
where computername is the name of the computer where Cisco WebAttendant is installed.
Click the Login button in Cisco WebAttendant. Cisco WebAttendant checks the information provided by the system administrator in the Settings dialog box, and accesses the user information for your company.