Topic: IP phone and line buttons

[del]

Hi All,

Is there a way or an IP phone that can be setup to provide line buttons like a traditional PBX system phone? So when a call comes in it shows which line it's on (example line 1) and when a second call comes in it shows on a different button. I hope this makes sense, I'm sure anyone with  background in traditional PBXs will know what I mean
I should probably metion that it's for a mixture of VoIP lines and ISDN2 trunks.

Regards,
Del

[SARK devs]

Most SIP phones can be allocated a bunch of BLF keys which will behave "somewhat" as line keys. They will flash the next free key when a call arrives, but it's just sequential, the phone doesn't know which outside "line" is involved and, it is local to that phone.  You can use the keys to flip between and hold multiple calls so it has value but it doesn't emulate a key system, if that's what you're after.

If they just want to know which trunk the call came in on then you can use alpha tagging in the SARK trunk or ring group to send an appropriate string to the phone.  If they are attempting to emulate or replace a key system then I think the short answer is, you can't, or at least not easily.  Asterisk is a PBX not a key system.

Kind Regards

S

   

[del]

Hi Selintra,

I guess deep down I knew what the answer would be 
So where can I learn about Alpha Tagging? Is it just a case of putting a name to the trunk in the alpha tag box on the line?
This is the scenario, 1 company with 4 businesses each with it's own number, all calls are answered by 1 operator so basically the operator needs to know which company line is ringing in so she can answer with the correct greeting. Will Alpha Tagging help with this? Thanks again for your time, it's much appreciated.

Regards,
Del

[SARK devs]

If they have separate DDIs then just put an appropriate string in the alpha-tag of each DDI trunk (e.g. ABC Co, XYZ Co, or whatever)  That's all there is to it.   The alpha-tag will appear on the phone display when it rings, assuming the phone has a display and the display is set to show caller ID and caller name.

Best

S

[del]

Hi Selintra,

Thanks for your help, I have tried that but it doesn't appear to like spaces, are they not allowed? Eg. US Visas is rejected with the message "tag Failed validation with US Visas" but USVisas is saved OK.

Regards,
Del