Introduction
The LightBurst Broadband Notify Plus service provides an outgoing voice message delivery capability that is ideal for automating the tedious task of calling multiple numbers to deliver the same message. Whether the message is a non-payment notice, a pending service disruption or simply a reminder of an upcoming PTA meeting the Notify Plus service is ideal for getting the message delivered.
By simply configuring a list of numbers to call, providing a recorded announcement and selecting a few calling options the service will begin calling and delivering the message. At each stage the administrator and subscriber can see the current status of the job including the number of successful deliveries, failures and remaining calls. When the job is complete the subscriber may receive a report by e-mail informing them of the final status of the calls made.
The LightBurst Broadband Phone Central Notify feature allows end users to manage their Notify Plus Service settings from their PC using the Phone Central application. For information on installing, logging into, and general usage of Phone Central, see the Phone Central General Info guide.
Phone Central Notify
To access the user interfaces for Phone Central Notify, first expand the Notify category in the Phone Central service navigation section, as illustrated in Figure 5-1 below.
Figure 5-1 Phone Central Notify Category
Once the Notify category is expanded, click on any of the items in the category to collect the Notify Plus Service data related to that item and display it in the service information section on the right-hand side of the Phone Central window. The following items are available in the Notify Plus category: Phone Books, Announcements, and Jobs. The Notify Plus Service settings available in these items are described below.
Phone Books
The Notify Phone Books section (see Figure 5-2 ) is used to manage the phone numbers that will be called by the Notify Plus Service. These phone numbers are grouped into “phone books” for ease of management.
Figure 5-2 Notify Phone Books
Instructions for adding, editing, deleting, and exporting phone books are given in the following sections:
- Adding Phone Books
- Editing Phone Books
- Deleting Phone Books
- Exporting Phone Numbers
Adding Phone Books
To add a new phone book, press the Add button located below the Notify Phone Books list. An empty Phone Book window similar to Figure 5-3 will be displayed.
Figure 5-3 Phone Book Window – Adding
Enter a short description of the phone book in the Description field of the Phone Book window. This description will be used to identify this phone book in other Notify Plus Service interfaces. A minimum of one phone number must be added to the phone book before it can be saved. Instructions for adding phone numbers are found in the following sections.
- Adding Single Phone Numbers
- Importing Phone Numbers
Phone numbers may also be deleted from the phone book by selecting the number and pressing the Delete button.
Once all of the desired phone numbers are in the phone book, press the Save button to create the new phone book.
Phone numbers may be added to or removed from the phone book after it has been created. See Editing Phone Books for more information.
Adding Single Phone Numbers
To add a single phone number to a phone book, press the Add button in the Phone Book window. An Add Phone Number entry window similar to Figure 5-4 will be displayed. Enter the new 10-digit number into the Phone Number field, and an optional name or description of the phone number into the Description field. Press the Apply button to add the entered number to the phone book. The Add Phone Number entry window will not close until the Exit button is pressed, allowing multiple phone numbers to be quickly entered.
Figure 5-4 Add Phone Number Window
Importing Phone Numbers
Files containing multiple phone numbers can be imported from within the Phone Book window by pressing the Import button. When the Import button is pressed, a standard file selection window will be displayed. From within this window, select the CSV, TXT, or XML file that contains the phone numbers to be imported and press the Open button. The valid phone numbers in the selected file will be added to the list of phone numbers in the Phone Book window.
There are three types of files (CSV, TXT, and XML) that may be used to import batches of phone numbers into a Notify Plus Service phone book. Examples of valid formats for these files are given below.
Editing Phone Books
To make changes to the phone numbers in an existing phone book, select the phone book in the Notify Phone Books list (see Figure 5-2 ) and press the Edit button below the list. A Phone Book window populated with the phone numbers of the selected phone book will be displayed (as illustrated in Figure 5-5 ).
Figure 5-5 Phone Book Window – Editing
Instructions for adding phone numbers to the phone book are found in the following sections.
- Adding Single Phone Numbers
- Importing Phone Numbers
Phone numbers may be deleted from the phone book by selecting the number and pressing the Delete button.
Once all of the desired phone numbers are in the phone book, press the Save button to save the changes.
Deleting Phone Books
To delete a phone book, select the phone book in the Notify Phone Books list and press the Delete button below the list. A delete confirmation prompt will be displayed. Choose Yes in the prompt to complete the deletion.
Exporting Phone Numbers
All of the phone numbers in a phone book can be exported to a CSV, TXT, or XML file by opening the phone book for editing and then pressing the Export button at the bottom of the Phone Book window. An Export Calling Number List window will be displayed, allowing a file type and location to be specified for the phone numbers that will be exported. Once the file name and type of file have been entered, press the Save button to complete the file export. All phone numbers in the selected phone book will be included in the export.
Announcements
The Notify Announcements section (see Figure 5-6 ) is used to manage the announcement audio files that are available to be played for notification calls.
Figure 5-6 Notify Announcements
To make a new announcement audio file available for Notify Plus Service calls, press the Add button in the Notify Announcements section. An
Figure 5-7 Add Announcement
Enter descriptive text of the announcement into the Description field. This description will be used to identify the announcement in Notify Plus Service interfaces.
Next, press the folder button next to the WAV File field to open a standard file selection window. Use the file selection window to locate and select the .wav audio file that will be used as the new announcement and press the Open button. The path to the selected .wav file will be displayed in the WAV File field. Press the Save button to complete the addition.
To remove an announcement audio file, select the file and press the Delete button located below the list of announcements. A delete confirmation prompt will be displayed. Press the Yes button in the prompt to complete the deletion. Announcement files that are currently being used by a job cannot be deleted.
Jobs
The Notify Jobs section (see Figure 5-8 ) is used to add, delete, and manage Notify Plus Service notification jobs.
Figure 5-8 Notify Jobs
The Notify Jobs section contains a list of all the jobs that have been defined for the current Notify Plus subscriber. Below the list there is a status bar that shows whether the selected job is Scheduled, Paused, Canceled, Running, or Completed. In addition to the status bar there are seven buttons that perform the functions described below:
