[asterisk-users] How to park calls on a specific extension

[Brad Templeton]

On Fri, Dec 01, 2006 at 04:55:51PM -0500, John Novack wrote:
> In most hybrid business systems one does NOT place a call on hold, but 
> begins a transfer, either a specific function button or intercom button 
> which automatically places the call on hold, gives a new dialtone and 
> another extension is dialed. IF the called party answers, the 
> transferrer can announce the call, and if the called party wants to 
> accept the call, they simply hang up. Blind transfer is done the same 


Alas, it's not possible in these days to make it that simple.  Today, almost
all calls will be answered (by a voice mail) if not by the person.  So you
need an additional UI for attended transfer, which allows you to say "No,
I got the voice mail, disconnect the voice mail and bring me back to my
call."   I guess you needed that for endless ring in the old days too.

You're right that there is no big difference between attended and
unattended in the UI when it works, but when the attended call "fails"
with voicemail or unlimited ring, or for that matter busy signal, you need
a means to go back to the caller.

That's one thing soft buttons are good for, you can create soft buttons
for specialty functions like this.   If you have "line" buttons on
your phone, normally the original call is on one line button, and the
2nd call on another line button, so you just press the first line button
to abandon the call attempt.

On my Asterisk system, I have done another thing which is handy.  My
extension macro looks at the caller-id.  Calls within the house do not
ever go to voicemail.  Calls from outside (including ones transferred)
will go to voicemail after the timeout.  So I never get voicemail but
I do get endless ring.

Many PBXs also offered a feature that if you blind transfer, and the call
goes into endless ring that it transfers back to you after some timeout.
Today, voicemail has largely eliminated that.