Calendar module 14.0.3.9. Customer uses receptionist in two different office locations. So at HQ setup Calendar to have receptionist answer on Mon-Wed-Fri and IVR answer on Tues-Thurs while she is offsite. Works great! The challenge comes when management decides to give some time off and close the office early.
I have the calendars setup as recurring, but if I need to alter a day everything beyond that date disappears and I have to recreate the calendar item on the next day. The next time they change the schedule ,which is completely random, then I do this all over again. Setting up remote calendars for all our clients would be a pain.
Can I create a separate calendar item for the date in question and will it override the recurring item on that same day?
I’m spoiled as in Outlook it will give you the option of changing one or all items in the series.
Appreciate anyone’s experience that will make these calendar changes easier.
Why don’t you start with a call-flow (day-night) switch in your incoming route? Create a customized button on your phones (red/green LED).
If the secretary presses the button, she overrides your calendar settings and all calls go to a business is closed destination. On the next day she has to press the button again…of course…to enable the calendar route.
Depends on your phones, if they can display a call-flow override state…
You can even use a password for the manual change…and you can do this from outside too…with a feature code…
Edit: By the way…why do you use a calendar for a weekday schedule???
CD, Thank you for the response. I agree about the simplicity of the BLF, but there are challenges with people pressing the wrong buttons accidentally. We also tried using the override and password on the Time Condition, but they would forget to do it and then I would get the call from the CFO asking why the phones weren’t working.
I used the calendar because I hadn’t used it before and as often as this account changes their hours I was hoping it would save some configuration grief…
Thanks for the business hours screen shot. Had seen it before, but had been quite some time. Gave me a laugh!
I think the time-condition-override in the Sangoma phone apps is way too complicated. I once used a customized button on Cisco phones for the override of a call-flow-switch (asterisk-feature-code). It turned red, when the override was active…and there was only one button to press…with a password…pretty fool proof…
Theoretically, you could create a time-condition chain…with a calendar-based time-condition in front of all other calendars (holiday, business-days). In this “special” calendar you could add your customized (away) hours, which are triggered by the secretary’s schedule
They would override all other calendars…
If you use ownCloud and the calendar module, you could even update the calendar events of this special calendar without connecting to the freePBX server. The calendar module in freePBX can connect to iCal-calendars in the www.
Furthermore…the secretary herself can update the business hours of this special calendar in the calendar application of a Mac or e.g. in Lightning (Thunderbird) etc…locally on her computer…in real-time…
Google calendar works too…but it’s from the Dark Force
