Follow Me

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The Follow Me feature provides the ability to ring multiple extensions and/or external phone numbers simultaneously or in sequence. This feature is assigned on a per extension basis. There is no limit to the number of extensions or external phone numbers that can be configured in the Follow Me List.

There are 3 methods to enable and disable the feature:

  1. From the UCX Web-based Configuration Utility
  2. From the User Portal
  3. Using the feature code toggle *21
If you want to add the Follow Me settings for an extension just to give the extension's user the option to configure the destination(s) in the future, we recommend you to disable the feature using the Disable check box.  The user can enable the feature once they add the desired destination(s).  Keeping the Follow Me feature enabled with the only destination being the extension itself causes unnecessary processing and could cause small delays in call processing and/or interactions with other features.

To configure the Follow Me feature for an extension, perform the following steps:

  1. Open the UCX Web-based Configuration Utility
  2. From the PBX tab, select PBX Configuration
  3. From the left side column, select Follow Me
  4. From the right side column, select the extension for which you want to configure the Follow Me feature
  5. By default, the Disable checkbox is unchecked (the configuration is enabled). To disable the Follow Me configuration without deleting it, select the Disable checkbox.

Field

Description

Initial Ring Time

Use the drop-down list box to configure the amount of time (in seconds) to ring the primary extension prior to proceeding to Follow-Me List entries

Ring Strategy

Select the desired ringing strategy:

ringallv2 Ring extension for duration set in Initial Ring Time, while continuing call to extension, ring Follow-Me List for duration set in Ring Time
ringall Ring extension for duration set in Initial Ring Time, terminate call to extension, then ring Follow-Me List for duration set in Ring Time
hunt Ring each number in the list one at a time
memoryhunt Ring 1st number in the list, then 1st and 2nd number, then 1st, 2nd and 3rd number, etc.
*-prim Strategies with the suffix "-prim" will act as per their description. However, if the primary extension (first in the list) is occupied, the other numbers will not ring.
If the primary extension is in DND/MSB state, the others will not ring.
If the primary extension is in Unconditional Call Forward state, the others will ring.
firstavailable Ring only the first available number
firstnotonphone Ring only the first number which is not off hook - ignore call forward

Ring Time (max 60 sec)

Enter the maximum ring time (in seconds) for the Follow-Me List entries

Follow-Me List

Enter all the extensions to ring, one per line.
External numbers can be included by added the "#" sign at the end, e.g. 5551234#

Extension Quick Pick

Use the drop-down list box to add internal extensions to the Follow-Me List above

Announcement

 If you want the caller to hear an announcement before the system starts dialing the list entries, select a system recording from the drop-down list box
Play Music On Hold? If you want the caller to hear music while the system is dialing the list entries, select a music on hold class.
The caller will hear ring-back tone if the default value Ring is selected.
CID Name Prefix You can optionally prefix the Caller ID name when ringing numbers in the list.
Alert Info You can optionally provide distinctive ring tones on SIP phones. This option is applicable only to phones that support this capability. See Distinctive ring tones (Alert Info) for details.

 

Do not remove the primary extension number from the list.  If the primary extension is removed, the system would ring the primary extension only for the Initial Ring Time period (or not ring the primary extension at all if the Initial Ring Time is set to 0).

To enter external numbers in the Follow Me List, you must terminate the digit string with #.  External numbers also need to be compliant with the dial plan (e.g., if the user must dial 9 for an outside call, the prefix 9 must be included in the string of digits).

For example, to add a cell phone number (613) 555-1234 to the Follow Me list when the dial plan requires the digit 9 as the access code for external calls, the number entered would be 96135551234#.

Configuration Options

Call Confirmation Configuration

  • To enable a confirmation that a follow-me destination accepted the call, check the Confirm Calls checkbox. This option is useful in cases when the list of destinations includes phone(s) that have voice mail configured and the Follow Me processing would thus be terminated when the call is answered by the voice mail. To avoid this situation, the Confirm Calls option forces the recipient to press 1 to confirm that the call was answered by a person.
  • When the Confirm Calls option is enabled, you can use an announcement for follow-me destinations receiving the call. To do so, select a system recording in the Remote Announce drop-down list box. You can also select an announcement for follow-me destinations when the call is answered by another device while waiting for user's confirmation. To do so, select a system recording in the Too-Late Announce drop-down list box.

Change External CID Configuration

The next two fields - Mode and Fixed CID Value - allow you to alter the Caller ID information sent to Follow Me destinations.

Mode Description
Default Transmits the Callers CID if allowed by the trunk.
Fixed CID Value Always transmit the Fixed CID Value specified.
Outside Calls Fixed CID Value Transmit the Fixed CID Value specified on external calls only. Internal extension to extension calls will continue to operate in default mode.
Use Dialed Number Transmit the number that was dialed as the CID for external calls. Internal extension to extension calls will continue to operate in default mode. There must be a DID on the inbound route for this.
This will be BLOCKED on trunks that block foreign CallerlD.
Force Dialed Number Transmit the number that was dialed as the CID for external calls. Internal extension to extension calls will continue to operate in default mode. There must be a DID on the inbound route for this.
This WILL be transmitted on trunks that block foreign CallerlD

 

Destination if no answer

Use the Destination if no answer drop-down list box to select a destination to be used when none of the configured follow-me destinations answers the call within the configured time period.

DO NOT set the Destination if no answer to a path that will attempt to route the call back to this same extension. Doing so will cause an infinite loop and impact system performance and call processing.

Video Tutorial

Self Assessment Quiz

  1. What are the 3 methods to enable/disable the Follow Me (FM) feature?
  2. Is it good practice to remove the primary extension from the FM list?
  3. If you want to add an external destination to the FM list, how would you do it?
  4. Under what circumstance would you want to enable the Confirm Calls checkbox?