Do you use the Dial-by-Name option of the current FreePBX Directory? If no, read on as you might find there is goodness to come. If yes, have you ever wanted to add a user with no voicemail? have your admin called instead of you? wanted to add a Ring Group or Queue to it, call an external cell phone, or more?
The current Dial-by-Name directory achieves some basic goals but has always left a lot to be desired. In a lot of use cases it was plagued with issues that made it less than desirable and in my opinion often not viable.
If all your users had voice mail boxes, and all your users were on the same system, and none of your users were reachable via Queues, Ring Groups, or Custom Extensions, and you didn't need to exclude any voice mail user from the list, and you're happy with the default prompts, and [your own specific needs here] - then it was great to have around. For the rest of us, read on...
The FreePBX development team, in conjunction with Schmooze Com are proud to announce the all-new Directory Module. We have aimed to fix just about every thing that was wrong with the old directory - and then some. Some of the features that we are really excited about include: [list] [*]Add/Remove just about anything anyone/thing that you can spell [*]Include users from other systems (by setting a custom user) [*]Multiple directories [*]Multiple entries (for different spelling/tags) [*]Include all users or just some [/list] There are other features as well, but we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise! Nevertheless, here is a screen shot of the new Directory (spoiler alert ;-) ):
If your running the 2.8 beta (in a beta environment of course), you can install this Directory module from the Module Admin. If you aren't actively testing the 2.8 beta, what are you waiting for? Install it now and start checking out all the 2.8 goodness, including [url=/news/2010-03-20/sneak-preview-of-2-8]new tooltips, reworked outbound routing,[/url] and a really cool new feature that I will leave to you to find (hint). Oh, and don't forget to look back here next week for the answer.
Of course, should your extensive test show any abnormalities in the Directory module feel free to file a [url=http://www.freepbx.org/trac/newticket]bug[/url].
One more thing. Some of you have been running the Custom Context module for a while. Save for some quirks, the module has been pretty stable. Until today. With the advent of FreePBX 2.8, Custom Context is pretty much End of Life.
But ... it doesn't have to be. A [url=/node/10354]group of concerned community members[/url] have set out to bring the Custom Context module up to date so that you can continue with your context quirkiness. [b]They need your help[/b]. Please take a moment [url=/news/2010-04-26/v3-2-8-and-custom-contexts]to read the details[/url] and help out in every way you can. Because Open Source is really for You.
p.s. Just a quick heads up: Some of you may have known me by my forum handle lazytt. As of today, I’ll be mbrevda in both the forums and on irc.
[b]Moshe Brevda[/b] - on behalf of the FreePBX Team!